This was my first time at Taste Buds Kitchen in Bannockburn, IL. This was part of a team building…read moreexercise that my manager put together for a group of eight people. About a week or so before the event, we were given three options to select from for the menu we would be preparing, so we ended up with pasta. Taste Buds Kitchen is located in a mall, so I had some difficulty locating it, but finally saw it. We were split into teams of four and the meal we were prepping was fettuccini, spinach/ricotta ravioli and a marinara sauce. Our instructor was Lauren and she was very nice. There were two ladies assisting her as well, responsible for the clean-up and helping with the prep work. Lauren was great explaining all the steps as well as showing up the prep moves. I love fresh pasta but never thought about making it (and still won't do it at home), but I had no idea how easy it could be with the right tools. Making the dough was fun and interesting, with each of us taking turns kneading the dough in preparation to make the fettuccini and the spinach/ricotta ravioli. Making the fettuccini was such fun and so easy if you have the proper equipment. I really enjoyed putting the dough into the pasta roller to flatten it, then into the cutting attachment to make the pasta. We each got turns going through the process, so I can say that all of us made the pasta and sauce. The spinach/ricotta ravioli and a marinara sauce were also very easy to make. Marinara I have made at home before, but the recipe we used at Taste Buds added a twist by adding shredded carrots for sweetness. Not something I would have thought of, but it really worked. Making the spinach/ricotta ravioli was a hoot. The very first one was a hot mess, but I learned and moved on to make perfect restaurant quality looking ones (IMO). Because we did a morning 2-hour session, tea, water and lemonade were provided for us. What we prepared was delicious and a nice early lunch. Because Lauren and her crew had made dough in advance, there was plenty of pasta for eating and to take home. My only complaint (if there is one) is I would have loved that we had made more of the marinara because it was so good and I would have loved to have taken more home. Overall this was a wonderful experience and the staff was amazing, cleaning up behind us, setting the table, cooking the pasta and ravioli for us. I think this is something I would consider for my direct reports as a team building event.

What a wonderful experience! We did a chocolate summer cooking camp from 9-12. And it was so much…read morefun. They really made it exciting for the kids and we really enjoyed the treats after chocolate camp. We plan on returning next year. Thank you Taste Buds

If you want value for money, The Science Lab is not it. I don't know who is giving all the positive…read morereviews but Im being generous giving 3 stars. We had my son's 5th birthday party at the Northbrook location this past June and I was shocked. The kids had fun with the experiments but the place was dirty and unkempt. The overalls the staff and kids had on needed a good clean. The room we were given for the party was small and a dump. For almost $800 and just 2 hours start to finish was a joke. I don't know what i was thinking. This place is not worth it, it is a complete rip off. And the do called gift box that comes with the package is laughable. It probably cost them $2.

We had a party on Saturday for my daughter's birthday. It was fine…read more Communication leading up to the party and the process of booking was a mess. No response for days, multiple phone calls in the same day trying to book the party (apparently no good record keeping system, no central location for info of people spoken to). But my main issue is after the party. My daughter received "insta-snow" in her goodie bag. 4 hours after the party she was using it and it got into her eyes. I immediately called the only phone number I could find and am still upset with the response I received. First of all, they have "no phone number" to their location in Northbrook - where we had our party. They can't transfer you, you can't get any answers. The only thing they could help me do is book a party. They can't get in touch with anyone, can't get in touch with a manager. Nothing. So we left it as he was passing an "urgent message" to their manager. I'm not interested in their urgent. It's been over 30 hours and no response. Still waiting. They don't care about the safety of my child. We will never participate in any activity at KSL again and will also share that they don't have good safety and communication protocols in place.

My children have been coming to Language Stars for the last ten years! The Deerfield location is…read morethe best we have experienced! The center director is amazing and very responsive! My children have learned a lot of their second language skills here, and the instruction is top-notch! We will continue coming to Language Stars and highly recommend it to all!

One of my grand-darlings had her birthday bash here and it was a ton of fun for all involved…read more  There are a bunch of ninja stations for the kiddos to burn up much of their energy before a birthday celebration meal.  They get 2 hours of supervised fun and it is broken up into 80 minutes of ninja stations and then 40 minutes birthday meal time.  My daughter arranged everything and I was just one of several parent/grandparent photographers/observers basically. Maggie was the welcoming receptionist and she provided a gift t-shirt to the birthday girl (part of the BD package) and got everyone signed in and made sure they had all of their waiver forms signed haha.  This place isn't cheap (ballpark $600 for the birthday package per the daughter) but it seems you get what you pay for - a clean and well maintained facility, a staffer to direct the kids' activities and help serve food, plenty of fun ninja activities to choose from, a private room (there are 2 of them) for the birthday meal, and pizza (by Viccino's, a local favorite anyway) and fruit provided from a local vendor, plates and utensils, and most importantly - a big and grand blast of a time for all the kiddo participants and us by-standers as well.  Apparently, you can also bring your own food in, but there is a healthy $25 per entree charge for doing so, and besides it's an additional hassle.  There is a downstairs and upstairs party room and both are nice and spacious.  One of my grand-darlings has been here several times as a birthday party guest, and she has always had a great time.  I didn't pay, but I still can say a big thumbs up for this place!

Had my kids birthday party here - and everyone had an amazing time. This place is great for all…read moreages, which I loved! The staff was phenomenal and went above and beyond with making sure everything went smoothly. HIGHLY recommend this place to host an event!

Such a hidden gem. This is a members owned small club. It offers 2 swimming pools, (1 lap pool and…read more1 kiddie splash) many tennis courts, and small restaurant that serves hot food and snacks. They offer a super great summer camp for children. The groups are much smaller then park district and I love that they focus on tennis lessons and swim lessons vs the standard just letting the kids play all day, best part children stay on site. They offer crafts and other activities such as soccer. You can choose to have a hot lunch provided for the children or pack a sack lunch. Also and something I think is a HUGE bonus is that you can sign up for full weeks or just one particular day, so its very flexible around summer vacations. My kids are excited to start summer camp!!

FSA = a well organized frat party for little kids... My son…read moreabsolutely loves his schoolyard sports class he takes at Joy of the Game (they teach at a few different locations). He's in good company because I don't know any kid or parent who doesn't love FSA. And what's not to love? The coaches are high energy, friendly & have the ability to keep the attention of dozens of pre-schoolers at once. I don't know what happens at half the classes my kids attend due to lack of communication from the teachers, but FSA does an amazing job communicating via email with us. We receive weekly updates, they post a ton of cute pics and my son loves their monthly challenges. The February challenge was to take a picture of your kids eating veggies and they'll give them a piece of candy. My son was almost as excited to eat his veggies at dinner that night as he is to go to FSA every week. Between the emails I get from FSA and the limited info I get from my pre-schooler it seems like they are introduced to many different sports, but most of their time there is spent playing game after game (including a lot of different versions of dodgeball). While dodgeball may be my worst nightmare, throwing balls at each other is a dream for these little boys (or even the few girls who sign up for their classes). My son comes out of FSA with a huge smile on his face and always sleeps well that night...so that's really all that counts! The schoolyard sports class consists of the youngest kids, but they have sports leagues (flag football, basketball& baseball) as the kids get a little older. They also have a summer camp that is extremely popular among the elementary aged school kids And their bday parties are also always a good time. Basically FSA is "strong" when it comes to everything they do and I know my son is in good hands with them!

Just want to take a moment to share my praise for Bach To Rock Northbrook. Both of my children are…read morein private and public classes here. The teachers make learning music fun! Their enthusiasm has even inspired my 6 year old son to take classes that he would never have imagined (a beginning DJ class). You are in good hands here.

Recently had my elementary school daughter's birthday there. We were super excited to sing and…read morerecord in the studio. We had booked the party 2 months in advance and picked the song off the list they provided. We were told that the song would be on the tv screen so the kids could read it. Instead when we arrived the song was printed on a piece of paper for the kids to hold. We were very disappointed and underwhelmed by the experience from start to finish. the administrative help were very friendly with booking the party and securing the date, We found the actual party to be disappointing. The woman who 'taught' the kids to learn the song was boring, disinterested and lacked the type of enthusiam that was needed to ensure the kids were excited to record. All she did was give out a piece of paper and had the kids practice over and over. She did not split them into groups, nor make it fun and kept looking at the clock to see 'when they could go to the studio.' She then kept saying to the group of 8 year olds 'are you nervous.' Instead of encouraging them and being enthusiastic. She was disorganized and when asked if the kids wanted to sing the song again had the majority of the kids say 'no,' even the adults were not wanting to sing again.she made little effort to break up the song, make it more interesting. it was an overall disappointing experience for my daughter. If you do a party there, make sure you find out who will lead it.The facility is nice and clean.. the employees will do minimal extra for you. You will take the lead on setting up the room and will need to ask for them to get out tables for the party. I had higher hopes. It is a nice facility and for the price of the party it was just okay. We have had much better parties.

Love Working out here in the a.m. when in the North Chicago Suburbs traveling for business!read more

Clean with adequate facilities. Staff is friendly and focused on keeping everyone safe as possible…read moredue Covid19. My new gym!