When you take the time to take in the magnificent magnitude of The Jungle Fun in San Jose (or Concord) California, you need to beware that there’s a café adjacent, called Mookie’s Café, and more than that, you need to beware that in many ways they will cater as much or more to your parents wants and desires as your own. I’m not sure what my summary will be in the end, but I know the elders in my crew straight up raved about it.
If you’re a kid, don’t sweat it, they’ve got menu offerings from pizza to corndogs to PB&J and Mac & Cheese with very few stops in between, and you can even watch your master chef of cheffress whip your pizza in to shape from scratchy nothingness to oven-ready delightfulness. They’ve got kids meals with toys included and a full spectrum of soft drinks from root beer to juice and water, but that’s not the point. The point is that this is supposed to be a place for kids, but despite all that, they have all sorts of stuff designed to make the parents’ visit not just tolerable, but outright delightful… who authorized this madness?
Seriously, though the pizzas are fresh and tasty, the kitchen offers all kinds of topping offerings that, on the surface, appear to be more geared for old people and attendant types than us kids. Beyond that they’ve got a bunch of other menu items us kids would never eat, not to the least of which is salads with an assortment of decidedly adult-themed dressings.
What’s worse is that the music in the café isn’t even the typical, unending and often nauseating barrage of lackluster children’s music, but rather 10-year-old hits. It’s almost as if they want a welcoming environment for the parents to enjoy while we’re off in the other parts of the complex.
Left – I know it isn’t the best picture but we were just so wrapped up in stuffing our faces that we didn’t have time to take better pictures.
Worse still is that on weekends, rather than showing the typical kiddo-centric television that us juniors admittedly don’t even glace up at, they show the big sporting events of the weekend. It’s almost like they want the parents to have a comfortable place to hang out while us kids are tearing it up in ways we’ve never previously known we were able.
And you know I’m no technocrat or anything, so when I found out that the whole place is a WiFi hotspot, needless to say, I was even more concerned still. How can that be? Do we really want the grownups to enjoy their time and feel at ease? Out of curiosity, what is this WiFi stuff and why are spots of it so commonly hot?
I’m not saying I didn’t like my fries and what have you, and I’m also not saying that I’m not still playing with the toy bracelet I got in my meal, what I’m saying is that kids are supposed to be a steadfast hassle to their elderfolk, and that this place makes bringing us in to play an experience that’s affordable, satisfying, and dare I say even relaxing for them elders. This simply cannot stand.
When we go out to play, we should be fed nothing but garbage, the parents should be uncomfortable and regrettable for my attendants, and we should all go home cranky and dissatisfied. In all these regards, Mookie’s Café and it’s included Jungle Fun Adventure have let me down. Not only did I fill myself from tummy to gills on quality food at fair or better prices, but I got to play myself silly with my brothers, while the parents took a chill in the parental lounge.
Mookie’s Café is located inside of The Jungle Fun Adventure in both San Jose and Concord, California. For hours, rates and menu samplings, check out their website at www.TheJungleFun.com. But don’t be surprised if your parents find the overall experience as restful as you personally find it exhausting. I tried to find one to the contrary, but what can I say, these guys cater to parents as much as they do the kids.