Jason's Deli in Riverside, CA

Foodie Baby

As you can tell from previous post, I am quite the grilled cheese connoisseur.
Whatever a connoisseur is.
This place make the best! I danced in my seat when I ate it, making the wheels on the high chair scoot away from the table. It was fun!
There's also little ice cream cones here. I ate all of my vanilla soft serve and finished the cone, or as my buddy would say, my 'ice cream and cookie'.


Mommy

After going over the top family restaurants again I had a craving for Jason's Deli, so I went with a mommy friend and her son during a play date. The only one in California sits on the Moreno Valley/Riverside border in a large shopping area.

Jason's touts an healthy menu of sandwiches, soups, salads and wraps and has a salad bar with organic options.
I love getting the salad bar, which has a variety of veggies, dressings, and other items like tuna pasta and three-bean salad.
And the french onion soup- adding a cup of soup to the salad bar is only 99 cents.
The kid's menu has a variety of options, mostly standards like various sandwiches, mac n' cheese, and pizza, and as with the rest of the menu, vegetarian menu items are marked.

Both the Kidwich and J.D Pickle menus include the options of organic apple juice, organic milk or chocolate milk or a fountain drink in a sturdy plastic cup. The Kidwich menu items also come with organic apples, organic carrots, fresh fruit, chips or a pickle.

There is also a salad bar option on the kid's menu, which could be good for someone who would like a lunch of grape tomatoes, uncooked vegetables like broccoli, cucumber and carrots, edemame, dressing, and pudding (we cheated and brought a couple things from the salad bar to the table. The crackers were perfect for keeping the two toddlers entertained while waiting for their meals.)

Foodie Baby wasn't into the red pepper hummus, but his friend really enjoyed a bite of chocolate mousse and both boys enjoyed gingerbread muffins from our plates.

When the boys' food came there were extra napkins next to the plates- a must- and plates were cleared for us occasionally (we got second helpings at the salad bar.

There is a self-serve soft serve station, and the boys both enjoyed a touch of vanilla on cake cones while we had bowls with chocolate sauce.

The iced tea selection boasted four different kinds including black currant and melon pomegranate green tea.

 To the left- a Kidwich grilled cheese on whole wheat bread with a fruit side. Foodie Baby has already grabbed the first piece.
Below is a box of apple juice and a cheese pizza off of the J.D. Pickle menu.

Jason's Deli is also special because it has a gluten-free menu, including a grilled cheese on gluten-free bread (more expensive than traditional menu grilled cheese).

To navigate Jason's might require more than one adult, depending on what you order. Since I went with another adult, we both went through the cafeteria-style line together and then picked a table, taking turns hitting the salad bar while the boys chugged their juices and eagerly awaited their lunches.

Everything but the salad bar can be brought to table- you get a number to place at your table for someone to bring the food on a tray.
The room is a large cafeteria-style room with tables that seat four to sic and booths that line the room.

The highchairs are strong molded plastic with wheels- they could be hard to navigate in the crowded room (even at lunchtime, I haven't seen one yet) but are a breeze around the sides and the booth seating. A stroller could also be accommodated at the tables on the sides of the room.
The employees are busy but friendly, helpful with menu questions and greeting young children (I had one stand and talk about her son with me on her break when I had eaten at Jason's before with Foodie Baby).

Jason's Deli also offers pickup ordering and catering.

Checklist

Changing table in the restroom

Molded plastic high chairs with wheels available

Most of seating is tables and chairs, strollers can be accommodated in some areas.
Kid's menu and gluten-free options available
Kid's menu items come with choice of organic milk or chocolate milk, organic apple juice or a fountain drink in children's cup