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Beyond Chicken Tenders and Fries ...
Over the Christmas holidays, my mother, sister, Flipper and me traveled to Old Salem in Winston-Salem for the afternoon. It was heaven; we love historical things like this and Old Salem has been beautifully preserved. Flipper, while not as enraptured with root cellars as the rest of us were, has been on enough of these little jaunts to stand silently by while the costumed informers do their informational spiel.
As it grew darker and colder, we made our way to the tavern for dinner. (HINT: make a reservation for this. We called from a cell an hour before and there was a crowd at the door before they opened at 5 that we were able to bypass). Anyway, I didn't have particularly high hopes for the dining experience, praying, I think, that it WOULDN'T be authentic. I feared options like salt pork and beans. Blessedly, it wasn't. The food was really good, a nice, creative menu with, indeed, "something for everyone." Annoyingly, however, there were no options for children beyond the obligatory "chicken tenders and fries," and here is where my rant begins.
Why, pray tell, do good restaurants, or any restaurant, really, have such a hard time providing tasty options for children? I won't even touch the nutritional aspect of almost any kid menu; that is another post in itself. No vegetables. No flavor. Just the same boring standards no matter where you eat: macaroni and cheese. Hamburger. Chicken. Grilled cheese. All with fries. All junk food. All bad for you. And all devoid of any of the flavor and creativity of the regular menu items. This drives me crazy, not to mention to assumption that my child won't eat any food but something lifted directly off a fast-food drive-through board.
Very rarely can we buy a half portion of an entree, even though that food is so much better than the ever-present and excruciatingly boring chicken and fries. I cannot tell you how many really good, nice, upscale restaurants I have been to where the host's first words are, "We don't have a children's menu." In other words, go away and take your little chicken-tender eating kid with you.
Now, why is this? Is this really all parents want their children to eat, food that is not only boring, but not that great for you either? Food that is really just one or two colors, those colors being beige and white? What has happened to kids and food? People think Flipper is a great eater, and in some ways she is: below is a picture of her after devouring an entire seaweed salad from Mt. Fuji in Durham. Bear in mind, however, that this is a child that will not eat pb&j, or almost any sandwich, really, or pancakes, waffles, or...chicken tenders. She WILL eat fries.
But it isn't some magic trick that permits us to eat out with her anywhere, in places that often lack a children's menu, like Lantern in Chapel Hill, or Piedmont in Durham. And so, free of charge, here's my little trick: Take them hungry. No milk, no juice, no crackers. Just a pen and the back of a checkbook for occupation. No toys, no books. Just some adult conversation that doesn't revolve around them. Now, this takes practice. But they'll get it one day, and you'll be glad. Very glad.
But do go to Old Salem and eat at the Tavern. Ask Flipper: Her Thai short ribs were fantastic, according to her and my mother, the other rib-lover in the family. Why would anyone choose fried chicken chunks over that?!?
Leigh appears Mondays on TriangleMom2Mom. Read more about Leigh on her blog Flipper and Me.
Leigh Sparacino
Leigh is a TriangleMom2Mom featured blogger, appearing every Monday.
Leigh grew up in Durham, attended college in North Carolina, left the area for an island off the coast of Georgia, the high mountains of Colorado, and her favorite mountains in western North Carolina, before returning to the Triangle eight years ago. She lives near Carrboro with her 4.5-year-old daughter Flipper and two dogs. She is single in marital status only, surrounded by friends, family, and her daughter's very involved and loving father. She works part-time and tries to be as involved as possible in her daughter's school, The Emerson Waldorf School, where Flipper is a kindergartner. She likes wood, glass and other natural materials for toys, loves the principles of Waldorf education and hates plastic. She might be the only person in the world with no TV and who hasn't been to a movie in 15 years, but races to the mailbox every Saturday for the most recent issue of People magazine. In other words, a contradiction. Or just human.
Leigh appears Fridays on TriangleMom2Mom. Read more about Leigh on her blog Flipper and Me.
Comments
Amen ... totally agree. Check my earlier post for some half-decent kids menus in the area: http://www.trianglemom2mom.com/content/great-kids-menus
There are a few more that I've come across that are escaping me right now.
It's annoying, I agree. We've learned to order an extra salad for all the kids to split, so they can have something green on their plates. A small side garden salad even. I always wondered if restaurants found most kids didn't eat the veggies so they don't bother or what. I don't know!
Feeling very devilish in my advocacy this morning, I want to point out a couple of things:
1. I have met Flipper and thanks to Leigh's parenting, she is a lovely and well-behaved girl. I am certain that her presence would not interfere with my enjoyment of a quiet dinner with my husband at a nice restaurant.
2. Leigh clearly gives thought to the right preparation for Flipper to be at those types of restaurants.
3. There are many parents of less well-behaved children than Flipper who are less sensitive than Leigh who think nothing of dragging their tired, whiny babies and children (who are most likely accustomed to dining at 5:00 and being in bed by 8:00) to very nice restaurants at very adult hours. This makes me really mad. If I went out to eat at 5:30 or 6:00, I would understand. But if I go out with my husband at 8:00 p.m. to a restaurant where we are going to spend over $100 on a meal and (in the old days) I'm paying a sitter $30 for the evening, I think I should be spared the sound of children crying, whining for attention and their parents alternately ignoring them and cajoling them to stop crying/whining. I would have no issue if the parent immediately scooped the child up and removed him/her to an area where the child would not bother other diners.
4. I agree that there needs to be something more than chicken nuggets (which have only a marginal quantity of chicken in them anyway) and mac & cheese. (And now some places have FRIED mac & cheese...like it desperately needed MORE fat and calories.) My kids like the salad bar at Applebees.
5. I have a friend who brought her children to fine restaurants from an early age because her family would often visit Boca from out of town during "season." She met my criteria...swooping the kids away if they cried, etc. But she said it was funny because her daughter Casey grew so accustomed to these kinds of dining establishments that one time when Casey was two and a half and in a high chair, the waitress came by to clear the plates and Casey said, "I'll have a decaf cappuccino, please."
6. The thing I always liked about ordering the kids meal for my kids was that I could demurely order a salad with light vinaigrette and then chow down on their fries.
Di
I agree with you Di. I take my three-year-old to nicer restaurants. We go as soon as they open - 5 p.m. or 5:30 p.m.. often the first people at the door. And we bring activities for her to do - coloring, etc., but never snacks. Like Flipper, she eats what's on the menu.
She has never caused a scene (if she did, I would take her out immediately). Still I can't tell you how many times I've gotten nasty looks from other diners and restaurant staff as we're sitting down because they're sure that she's going to spoil their evening. In fact, a couple of times at these restaurants, she's complained that everybody else is too loud.
And Leigh, I'll also add that I love the restaurant at Old Salem too. Went there a couple of times when I lived there. Very yummy.