The Eat Index IE: What and where to feed the kids

Mar 24, 2023

The Eat Index: IE is a weekly newsletter that lands in your inbox on Wednesdays. Subscribe here.

Welcome to springtime in the IE.

Lake Arrowhead is coming back from winter’s crippling weather. John Plessel has good news and bad news from the mountains in his Dine 909 column.

Baker’s Drive-Thru has refreshed its menu. Find out what you get in its first-ever kids meals.

Disneyland reporter Brady MacDonald can tell you what to feed your kids, and yourself, in the park’s overhauled Toontown.

Looking ahead, we can tell you what will be happening at Guy Fieri’s food tent during the Stagecoach Country Music Festival.

Looking way ahead, Redlands has started down the long path of getting its own In-N-Out Burger. The fast food chain, by the way, doesn’t have kids meals, but it has a new cookout truck dedicated to serving kids events.

Finally, we have a tater tots taste test and recipes for fish and chicken.

Dine 909: Las Cuatro Milpas is staying open in San Bernardino

Banners hang on Las Cuatro Milpas at 856 N Mt Vernon Ave, San Bernardino, announcing that the Mexican eatery is remaining open. The restaurant had planned to close at the end of 2022. (Photo by John Plessel)

The longtime Mexican eatery had announced its owners were retiring and it was closing its doors. Read more.

Baker’s Drive-Thru adds first-ever kids meals to its menu board

Kids meals at Baker's Drive-Thru include an item such as a taco, fries, juice and colorful stickers in a bag. (Photo by Fielding Buck, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG) — Kids meals at Baker’s Drive-Thru include an item such as a taco, fries, juice and colorful stickers in a bag. (Photo by Fielding Buck, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

The Inland fast food chain is serving child’s portions of some of its favorite items in a bag with colorful stickers designed by a local artist. Read more.

Stagecoach 2023: See who will be grilling with Guy Fieri

Members of the band Midland season a brisket with celebrity chef Guy Fieri Stagecoach Country Music Festival in Indio Friday, April 29, 2022. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)

Country music artists, TV stars and the prospect of getting free ribs and burnt ends attract festival goers to the celebrity chef’s food tent. Read more.

I ate everything at Cafe Daisy in Disneyland’s Toontown — Here are my favorites from best to worst

The Pepperoni Pizza Flop-Over is available at Cafe Daisy at Mickey's Toontown inside Disneyland Park in Anaheim, CA, on Saturday, March 18, 2023. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG) — The Pepperoni Pizza Flop-Over is available at Cafe Daisy at Mickey’s Toontown inside Disneyland Park in Anaheim, CA, on Saturday, March 18, 2023. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

The Cafe Daisy quick service restaurant opened this week in Mickey’s Toontown after a yearlong reimagination of the family-friendly themed land geared toward the grade-school crowd and their parents. Read more.

Redlands is getting its own In-N-Out Burger

Double Double Animal Style at In-N-Out is among the chain's the most requested off-the-menu burgers. (File photo by Cindy Yamanaka, the Orange County Register/SCNG) — Double Double Animal Style at In-N-Out is among the chain’s the most requested off-the-menu burgers. (File photo by Cindy Yamanaka, the Orange County Register/SCNG)

A plan for a two-lane drive-thru near Citrus Plaza has been approved by the city’s planning commission. Read more.

In-N-Out truck serves ‘cute’ mini burgers to help kids

The Esther Snyder Cookout Truck has joined In-N-Out Burger's fleet. (Photo courtesy of In-N-Out) — The Esther Snyder Cookout Truck has joined In-N-Out Burger’s fleet. (Photo courtesy of In-N-Out)

The Irvine-based burger chain has added a special truck to its fleet named after its owners grandmother and dedicated to children’s events. Read more.

Taste-Off: The best tater tots in supermarket freezer cases — and the ones to avoid

Tater Tots have been around since 1953, but Ore-Ida has plenty of competition in the freezer case these days. (Getty Images

Tater Tots have been around since 1953, but Ore-Ida has plenty of competition these days. We taste tested seven brands, from 365 Whole Foods to Cascadian. How did the OG Tot measure up? Read more.

Recipe: How to make foolproof breaded fish fillets

Fish fillets are shown served with capers and Meyer lemons. (Photo by Nick Koon)

Take fillets of mahi mahi, dust them with flour, dip them in eggs and milk and then coat them with panko crumbs. Read more.

Quick fix: Lemony chicken tenders are a tangy treat

Lemony Chicken Tenders with Spinach Rice. (Linda Gassenheimer/TNS)

A bright lemon sauce flavors delicate chicken tenderloins in this quick dinner. White wine and capers add to the lemony sauce for a tangy treat that goes great with a side of spinach rice. Read more.