Kids Cuisine

I waited for six months for the new Mexican restaurant on the corner to open. Visions of family burrito night danced through my head. My kids have loved Mexican food from the time they could put a handful of beans and rice in their mouths. A good local Mexican place would mean that at least one night a week I wouldn’t have to inspect my pantry for dinner options and despair.

But lo — the Mexican restaurant finally did open. And it didn’t have a kids’ menu. Not only that, but they looked askance at me when I ordered one burrito and two plates. They serve a burrito that you could wrap a large man in. It would feed the three of us. There’s no sense in buying one for everyone. I tried to impress this upon them. To no avail.

So I don’t go to the Mexican restaurant much.

Conversely, when I find a restaurant or diner that caters to kids — and by that I mean a kids’ menu you can color on and kid-style food in kid-portions — I patronize the heck out of the place. And I keep a running tab of these places. Because I love to eat out, which more often than not means I have to bring the kids, who themselves love to eat out.

So if you don’t carry a rice and bean plate or a kids’ sized burrito, don’t expect my business. Got good kid eats? I’ll make the schlep.
Imagine my delight when I found out that the Getty Museum sold peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and junior hamburgers at its expansive cafe. It might take me an hour to drive up to the Santa Monica mountains for a visit, but I’m almost grateful for the opportunity.
Funny that I would be pondering this very topic as a post just after Sarah Smee wrote about the guys at GastroKid and their coolio Kid Friendly Restaurant Map. I expect to add a few entrees myself. Why don’t you, too?

Because we parents gotta eat. And so do our kids.

(Photo credit: Scott Bauer via USDA)