An Afternoon at the American Girl Store and Cafe, Washington DC

April 26, 2014

An Afternoon at the American Girl Store and Cafe, Washington DC

Easter Weekend 2014 ~ Our family secured four tickets to the 136th Annual Easter Egg Roll on the White House Lawn, so we decided to make a weekend of it and do as much as we could while we were there. Read more about our trip here and find out how your family can do the same.

We left our home in South Boston, Virginia early on Saturday morning and drove straight to Northern Virginia to Tyson's Corner Mall, where we had reservations at the American Girl Cafe. I made the reservations several weeks in advance at www.americangirl.com. There are American Girl stores across the United States at this time, with one new store soon opening in Canada, plus rumors of one opening in nearby Charlotte, North Carolina this coming September. Find your nearest store on the website and click to open the information for that store, then follow the prompts to make reservations to eat in the cafe. You can also schedule birthday parties, can have a personal shopper, and can have your dolls' hair styled in the doll salon. You must reserve your spot in the doll salon in person.

This is the view of the American Girl Cafe from the sidewalk at Tyson's Corner, which is located by Dulles Airport just outside of Washington DC. Our reservations at the American Girl Cafe were at 1:45, and we were seated by 2pm. The resturaunt was decorated in a lot of pink. The booths, flower arrangements on the tables, the menus, walls, and even the waiters' aprons were various shades of pink.

When Carrington first saw this, he buried his head into his folded arms on the table and shed a few tears. We explained to him how imporant this day was to his Sissy, and promised him a trip to the Lego store, also at Tyson's Corner, if he promised to be a good sport. Desperate times call for desperate measures, and we're not above bribing in special circumstances. It obviously paid off, because he quickly perked up, and we all enjoyed our meal and the whole American Girl experience. I wonder if American Girl and Lego have ever thought about teaming up and offering a sibling package? Hmmm...

When you go to the American Girl Cafe, be sure to take your American Girl Dolls. Courtland took Caroline of the War of 1812 and the 2013 Girl of the Year, Saige. The girls were seated at the table with us and given tea to enjoy.

$8 champagne cocktail drinks such as Mimosas and Bellinis were on what I like to call the "mom" menu. I enjoyed this Pomegranate while waiting for our lunch to be served.

The American Girl Cafe menu was actually impressive. I ordered the Caprese Salad followed by the Herb Roasted Salmon with Lemon Beurre Blanc, served with oven roasted potatoes, sauteed greenbeans, and tomato-caper relish, all of which were absolutely delicious!

Mark ordered the Cuban Chicken Panini with ham, swiss cheese, grilled chicken breast, chipotle mayo, and sweet pickles on grilled sourdough served with fries, and was equally as pleased with his sandwich as I had been with my salmon.

Courtland ordered the Perfect Picnic Time entree, which incuded a mini burger and hot dog and a fruit kabob on fruits cut like flowers. Both children ordered the Dancing Dessert Sampler, though Carrington's two pink cupcakes were brought back to the hotel room in a to go box. It's ok, Mark and I didn't let them last too long in that box.

Before we took our seats at the cafe, we took the escalator the the store's lower level where we made reservations for the dolls to have their hair styled at the doll salon. We were told to give ourselves an hour and a half for lunch, so our reservations for the salon were at 3:30. At the salon, girls can choose from dozens of hairstyles for their dolls, each costing between about $15 and $20. The dolls can also get a good cleaning for $5. The stylists give instructions to the girls as they style the dolls hair on how to brush and keep the dolls' hair neat at home and how to curl and style the hair themselves. They give the girls a tip sheet, as well, to take home with them.

This is Saige having her hair done by stylist Julaine.

Aren't these salon chairs the cutest? They think of everything!

Caroline is having her curls restyled.

Courtland with her doll Saige, and stylist Julaine

Courtland, Caroline, and Saige ~ Three American Girls

We made our way from the American Girl store to the Lego store in record time, but not before I had the chance to do a little window glancing. I am always so impressed by the beautiful eye catching store displays. Aren't they pretty?