MORNING
Getting a brood of three grandchildren dressed and ready for their favorite Mickey Mouse pancake breakfast is one thing, but trooping them out the door on a Saturday morning is quite another.
But what better way to start a weekend than to gather up the three of them, along with their mother and Uncle Al and head for Eggcetera Cafe (19709 S. Mokena St., 708-478-6051) in Mokena, where the Mickey Mouse feast is a must for kids.
The restaurant is in a particularly historic spot in the southwest suburb, because it formerly was a feed store. Before that, it was part of a historic grain elevator complex that still adds considerable flavor to downtown Mokena. These days, the village is in the midst of a revitalization plan that includes condo buildings, coffee shops and other retail outlets.
The grain elevator was known as Ebert’s Farm Service not many years ago, and longtime owner Chester Ebert, who is in his 80s, lives only a stone’s throw away.
As well as Mickey Mouse pancakes, there were various skillets and egg dishes: For the seven of us, the tab totaled about $45, plus tip.
Other nearby restaurants include Paul E’s Place (11116 W. Front St., 708-479-2333), Fox’s on Wolf (11247 W. 187th St., 708-478-8888) and Aurelio’s (19838 S. Wolf Rd., 708-478-0022).
Next up: A late-morning walk through Mokena’s weekly French Market (Front Street, just east of Wolf Road), 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Saturday through October. It is held on the parking lot of the Metra station.
It’s a place to buy top-quality tomatoes, sweet corn, melons and carrots, as well as other vegetables, not to mention French bread and pastries. There also are hawkers of jewelry, apple butter and prepared foods. It was a nice place for the grandkids to be “lookers.”
AFTERNOON
Next up was a trip three miles east to the Square Links Golf Course ( 7861 W. St. Francis Rd., 815-469-1600), in the Frankfort Square neighborhood that borders Tinley Park. It is six blocks west of Harlem Avenue.
A large bucket of balls ($8) kept the grandkids busy for more than a half-hour, as they propelled spherical projectiles into the distance on the driving range. In downtown Frankfort, at the historic Trolley Barn mall on White Street, the kids got ice cream at Treat Street (11 N. White St., 815-464-4466). For various ice cream cones and candy, it came to about $9.
EVENING
After the kids went back home to their mom and dad, the two of us finished up with an early dinner at Los Angeles Cafe (Haven and U.S. Highway 30, 815-485-2880) in New Lenox. For the fiesta combination and quesadillas with steak, plus iced tea, the total came to less than $25.
