“Return to Wonderverse” family food & fun!

**** In July, I was delighted to visit Oakbrook Center and enjoy a “Christmas in July” party at their newest attraction, Wonderverse. They had invited a number of people and I attended with Frank and Cary. Jane was out of town and my grandkids were unavailable, so I was unable to get the true feeling of the “family fun” aspect. They also had some great food, but it was more “party food”, not their regular menu.

What I saw was a fun place, perfect for a corporate outing, large party or festival. I wanted to get the feel of what it would be for a typical family ( although I don’t know if we qualify) so tonight, Jane and I picked up our granddaughters, Sarah and Rebecca and drove to Oakbrook Center. We did learn that a Tuesday night is ideal in that the crowds are smaller, leaving more time to explore the various games and attractions.

Our dinner was made up of a few “shareables” or for a better word appetizers. We selected chilled shrimp and crab dip (chilled dip with poached shrimp, crab, and tomatoes served with fried baguette- wonderful flavors with just a little heat (spice). The other dish was the Fried Mac N’ Cheese Balls- wow! Homemade mac n’ cheese breaded in panko, deep fried & served with a marinara sauce that is perfect.

FYI- They have many other great items, some wonderful looking salads and some amazing sandwiches. The girls wanted something I have only had once, Chicken & Waffles ( southern fried chicken thigh, Belgian waffle, topped with hot honey & brown sugar cinnamon butter. Jane had the salmon (grilled with grilled asparagus, fingerling potatoes & knob onions with a truffle-balsamic glaze). I was unsure of which way I wanted to go, but felt the need to sample a pasta dish so I had the shrimp pasta ( New Orleans style pasta with a trinity sauce over fettuccini topped with green onions and some perfectly prepared shrimp. I was in heaven! They also have steak. fish & Chips,  Tacos, wraps and much more. To end your meal, some unusual sweets ( we were all pretty full, so we decided, next visit, we will hit the sweets.

Tomorrow, is school, so we could not stay to do it all, but managed to do the Ghostbusters virtual reality game. While Jane did not get it right, she had a ball and the girls loved every minute of the 5 minute game. We ten went to the bumper cars, where we all bumped each other over an dover, laughing for the five minutes we did this. The girls ended up doing a second run to get revenge. I got out to take some phots!

We also did some of the electronic games as well as a basketball, four-in-a-row, and lots of cycles and race cars. To sum it up we had a blast! And there is still a lot more to cover for the next visit. This is a place where you can return and return because there is more to do . They have the escape rooms (3), Ghostbusters, Jumanji jungles, and lots of games to play. They also have live performances on certain nights. They also have a myriad of board games in the lounge area.

Bring a group, find a comfy spot, pick a game, enjoy a cocktail and some nibbles and find a pleasurable experience with no clean-up.

Wonderverse is located at 2310 Oakbrook Center in Oakbrook.

More information, visit www.wonderversechicago.com

Open from noon til 9 p.m. (Friday and Saturday til 11 p.m.)

FREE PARKING