American Girl Cafe at the Grove

American Girl Place is every marketers dream. From the moment you walk in to the time you leave, moms, dads, and grandmas are plunking down credit cards all over the store. It's a place where the average visit lasts 4 hours, the average purchase tops $300 per girl, and because it's usually centered around a birthday, the money flows all year long.

Oh, and if you want to eat there on a weekend, you need to call months in advance. It's a hotter reservation than El Bulli.

Well, that's not entirely true. You can eat there on very little notice if you pick the 9:30AM breakfast seating, which is exactly what I picked to celebrate the 11th birthday of my little sis, K.

K and I showed up bright and early, right as the store was opening at 9AM. That gave us a little time to peek around and decide what she, her doll Lily, and I would do after breakfast. Just as we were oohing and aahhing over the doll-sized shoes and dress hangers, an attendant rang a bell and asked the 9:30AM group to form a line outside the cafe door. It's funny when little girls go to a faux grown-up restaurant: you could tell they all wanted to rush up and push and shove their way to the front of the line, but because it was the American Girl Cafe, they were on their best behaviour and (im)patiently bounced and fidgeted until it was their turn to be seated.

The American Girl Cafe couldn't possibly be any cuter. Designed to look like a fancy restaurant that's just for girls, they have both indoor and outdoor seating, plus special chairs that allow your doll to sit next to you at the table. K and I decided to sit outside on the patio, where we had the entire balcony to ourselves.


While the restaurant decor is special by itself, it's all the little details that really take it to the next level. For example, the napkin holders are pretty hair scrunchies, there's a fresh pot of pink sunflowers on each table (they're fake), and a polka dot gift box holds a set of "conversation starters" designed to provoke the thoughts of girls and big sisters alike.


The food is nothing to write home about, but it's certainly cute and a lot of fun. To start, mini cinnamon buns - these were probably the best part of the meal.


K had heart-shaped waffles, which came garnished with star-shaped fruit. I'm sure they'd make the sausages a special shape too if that were possible, but then again, let's not give them any funny ideas.


I had a quiche. I think. I've never seen a quiche that looked like this before - it was more like an eggy doughy puffy soggy thing.


The grapes were good! Oh well, I had some of K's waffles to curb my appetite.
At the end of the meal, out comes dessert: chocolate mousse topped with Oreo cookie crumbs, plus a little daisy. Cute, cute, and cute.


I remember when American Girl first launched in 1986. Even though I thought I was too old to play with the dolls, I still loved reading the books and looking through the catalogue. Today, American Girl has grown from just a few historical doll characters to a dozen, plus an entirely new line of dolls that are "just like you" (in case you're wondering what I look like, check out GT25H).


After our meal, we decided to take Lily (the doll) on a little spa day. First we'd style her up, then we'd do a photo shoot with her and K. Here Lily is getting her hair done:


Yes, there really was a 60 minute wait to get your doll's hair done. Don't worry, you can always shop while you're waiting! (hmmm... methinks the wait is on purpose)

After the hair salon, we headed upstairs for a photo shoot, then headed home.
All in all, it was a very special day with a very special girl! Love you, K!