So the Rainforest Cafe in Towson Town Center has closed. It's bittersweet news for our family, because I had the worst restaurant experience of my life there -- and also, in a way, some of the best.

The best came because my children fell in love with the theme of the place from an early age. I still remember my daughter, only about 2, being reluctant to leave after boogeying around the table to something by the Miami Sound Machine as the "thunderstorms" and whooping "animals" made noise above her.

"I just want to dance a little more," she sighed as we left.

Another time, my son saw a slightly younger friend who was a little scared of all the action -- and went over to his table to calm him. And I was tickled when my husband requested that we have Father's Day dinner there. He knew he could actually enjoy his glass of wine and steak (which might not have been the best we could get, but parents learn to compromise) while the kids were entertained.

The worst experience? When my in-laws were in town and wanted to treat us to dinner someplace that the kids would like. On this special occasion, we were saddled with a waitress who was as uncaring as she was slow. The last straw came when she finally delivered everyone's meals -- except for my daughter's grilled cheese sandwich. I had to hunt down a manager to ask where the kitchen was, because I wanted permission to make it myself.

Then when the sandwich finally came -- after everyone else had given up waiting and eaten -- they still charged us for it.

I'd like to say we never went back, but my son wanted to take his best friend on his birthday. What are you gonna do?

In one sense, I'm happy that my kids are outgrowing their passion for bells and whistles (or, in this case, chest-thumping monkeys) when we go out to eat. In another, the passing of the local Rainforest Cafe is an important scene from their childhood gone. In a strange way, I'll miss it.

(1999 photo of the Rainforest Cafe in Towson by Baltimore Sun photographer John Makely)