As frequent restaurant-goers with a long list of places we want to try, it can be frustrating to return to the same old spots when the kids are in tow. Even more so when those spots must have a hot dog to even get them through the door.

But we are all about trying mightily to expose our kids to food that doesn't come out of a box or freezer, and when great restaurants make an effort to not just tolerate but welcome the youngest set of diners, we take notice. Here are three spots that kids — and adults — will love.

Gia

A multicourse kids' menu to keep your child at the table longer than it takes to say mac and cheese? Yes, please. Gia is an upscale Italian restaurant that celebrates seasonality, and it doesn't leave kids' palates or attention spans behind. The three-course meal starts with garlicky buttered bread, carrot sticks and housemade ranch dressing. For an entree, your little one can choose one of three sauces to top their spaghetti. And for dessert, vanilla gelato. Owners Jo Seddon and Lisa Wengler have thought of everything, even beyond the food. Each kid gets a little kit to make dyed pasta necklaces/noisemakers, and a jar of markers is placed next to the vase on each paper-topped table, for artwork to flourish between courses.

$20; 5555 Xerxes Av. S., Mpls., giampls.com

Okome House

Known for its onigiri, Japanese sculptural rice balls often stuffed with fish or meat, Okome House's regular menu is already full of promise for anyone who finds the appeal in fun food shapes. In this kids' bento box, a bear-shaped mound of rice comes with delicately fried chicken karaage, plus some fruits and veggies that cover at least half the food rainbow right there. Another kids' option is a simple bowl of udon in a rich vegetable broth.

$9; 4457 42nd Av. S., Mpls., okome.house

Sharyn Jackson, The Minnesota Star Tribune
Gia in south Minneapolis offers kids a three-course menu, with art supplies to decorate the table while they wait

OG Zaza

The "Happy Pizza Meal" gets you an 8-inch pie (plain cheese, pepperoni or sausage) and a drink. But if OG Zaza's charred-and-chewy New Haven-style pizza weren't enough of a draw, note the packaging: a cartoon slice and all the toppings are just waiting to be colored in with the accompanying crayons, keeping kids occupied while the hot-out-of-the-oven pie cools down.

$9; Potluck at Rosedale Center, 1595 Hwy. 36, Roseville; 2885 Winners Circle Drive, Shakopee; 550 Vandalia St., Suite 140, St. Paul, ogzazamn.com