Scott, Scarlett and Alice Warnick Celebrate Six Years of Taco Tuesdays

Scott Warnick is on a mission to make sure his daughters, Scarlett and Alice, get as much quality time with him as possible when he has custody on Tuesdays. But instead of watching television or playing games, for the past six years he's taken them for Taco Tuesday dinners and turned that meal into a family tradition.

That tradition hit the six-year milestone on July 29 and the trio celebrated at Chubby Unicorn, a Mexican restaurant and bar next to the Mission Ballroom. "It's a lot of work," Warnick said, settling in at the table. "But the more you do, the more it sort of motivates you to be like, what's next? What are we going to do to fill the calendar? It's the project manager in me. It's constant, I have to be pretty thorough."
One decision was easy, even without dad's project management skills:tThe location of this special Tuesday night. "Yeah, they girls really love unicorns. That's their thing," Warnick said. "So the fact that it's called Chubby Unicorn, they had to come here. It was fate."
Or kismet: The restaurant could have a more typical name for a business serving Mexican food. But it's in the River North Art District, also known as RiNo. And what's a rhinoceros? A chubby unicorn, of course!
The owners and staff of the restaurant were ready for the trio, with a reserved table and a few surprises. The family was dressed for the occasion, with matching outfits of pink shoes and shorts with black "Taco Tuesday Legend" T-shirts that Warnick had ordered in varying sizes to accommodate the girls' growth spurts (and his growing belly, he jokes). Warnick did not match his daughters' bling: They both wore dangling, taco-shaped earrings.
Though the meal was comped by the restaurant, the family members had their usual, nothing extravagant. Dad ordered his standard tacos al pastor and the girls ordered chicken tacos. Afterward, they gave a thumbs-up review of the food.
But wait, there was more: Chubby Unicorn had ordered a special cake for the family from 3 Cherries on Top, a nearby bakery run by cake artist Angel Figueroa, a semifinalist on the Dr Seuss Baking Challenge on Prime Video. She'd created a cake to resemble to two large tacos in exquisite, yummy details. The girls didn't want to ruin it by digging in (although Alice did pick at one corner when it was brought to the table). After a rousing chorus by staffers, diners and members of the Chubby Unicorn ice hockey team of "Happy Sixth Annual Taco Tuesday to You," the girls blew out the candle on top of the taco cake.

The action was videotaped by 9News for a segment on its Storytellers program, which will air next Friday, August 8.
Dad and daughters loved the experience so much that they bought Chubby Unicorn caps on their way out.

The trio still have a half-dozen years of Taco Tuesdays left, with Scarlett now ten and Alice seven. There are now 98 places on their lists of new places to try, but other options crop up all the time (Chubby Unicorn didn't open until this year).

And then, whenever they run out of tacos, the girls already have a plan: Sushi Saturday.