The New York Times has an interesting article today that questions whether children’s menus are good for kids. David Kamp writes, “the standard children’s menu is regressive, encouraging children (and their misguided parents) to believe that there is a rigidly delineated ‘kids’ cuisine’ that exists entirely apart from grown-up cuisine.”
Especially irritating to the author is the ubiquitous chicken finger. I have to admit, it is on every kids menu I’ve ever seen, even at Avanti’s where chicken fingers wouldn’t seem to fit an Italian menu. Says Kamp, “It pains me that many children now grow up eating little besides golden-brown logs of kid food, especially in a time when the quality, variety and availability of good ingredients is better than ever.”
The NY Times offered a place for readers to posit their opinions here. But I wonder, locally, what do you all think of children’s menus? Are you concerned that the food offered isn’t the healthiest? Or are you most concerned with the limited number and homogeneous nature of the offerings? Or do you think they’re great and wish you could order off of it yourself?
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Having a seven year old, I appreciate the choice of a children’s menu. I appreciate it more when there are healthier options. However there are times when my daughter wants to order off the adult menu, and I am not thrilled about paying $7 to $10 for a menu item for her and she barely touches it. I wish that there were children’s portions of the adult dishes in more places so that I could encourage her to try new things.
I would be all for graduated portion sizes. Kids’ portions at places like Baker’s Square or Olive Garden are large enough for two or three young children (ages 1-4). And you know that much of what was leftover from a restaurant does not reheat well. Separate sizes and selections for younger and older children would be tremendously helpful. And I would definitely be in favor of smaller portions of adult menu selections for the older children (something akin to the Senior menu selections).
I hate kids menus. Or, to be more truthful, I like the concept of smaller portions for kids for a smaller price, but I hate the food offered on the menus. I think kids menus are part of a general movement in this country to “dumb-down” our kids’ taste buds and condition them to only like fried and overly-processed foods. This starts with baby foods, which are overly bland, then the “toddler” foods, which are just more expensive versions of grown-up TV dinners and just as disgusting. Then we continue with school lunch menus and kids menus at restaurants. All of this is designed to make kids better consumers of fast-food chain food as adults.
I cringe at the thought of fighting with my now-infant son about wanting to order off of the kids menu or visit certain fast-food restaurants. Kids should be encouraged to try new things, including new foods and tastes. By limiting our kids eating, we will limit their life experiences. Learning about culture is so often tied to experiencing the culture’s food and drink. We cannot provide them with such a narrow view of the world that only includes chicken fingers, macaroni and cheese, and fish sticks. Gross.
The stuff offered on most kids menus is just short of inedible at best, and sometimes borders on poisonous. The problem, as Julie points out, is that parents cannot afford to buy kids adult entrees that largely go to waste, so they cringe and let the kids eat the garbage.
I am a big proponent of “grown-up” restaurants. I enjoy going out on a date with my husband to a place we wouldn’t take our children. Under those circumstances, I wouldn’t expect those restaurants to have special dishes for children. It would destroy the atmosphere to be served a slice of prime rib and, next to it, a hot dog with smiley faced potatoes. The places to which I referred are billed as family fare.
Interestingly, the new VOPs is one of those upscale places that still has the kid’s menu; however, their kid’s menu prices are more than twice what they used to be.
As far as how we feed our kids at home, they don’t have a choice. They eat what we eat, whether it be steak, scallops (which my four year old loves), hamburgers (which the same child hates), or pasta. If it’s something I know they don’t care for, they don’t have to eat as much, but they are required to eat it. If they don’t, then they don’t get dessert. Most of the time they do eat it. So I think they look at chicken tenders and macaroni and cheese at Cracker Barrel as a treat; it’s the only time they get to choose.
I think it depends on the restaurant. In Peoria, for example, I wouldn’t expect finer dining restaurants like 7, 2 Chez, French Toast, etc. to have a kids menu because for one reason or another as they do not cater to children. Not that they won’t try to accomodate your kids if they don’t have a kids menu by making a half portion (if possible) of something. More on that later.
I guess it may depend on the age and eating capacity of the child, but if a child can eat 4 – 2 ounce chicken strips and fries, why can’t they handle a grilled chicken breast, an 8 ounce steak, a pork chop, a serving of meatloaf or a piece of lasagne? Do chicken fingers just sound more appealing to them? Or is it to what they are accustom? Which makes me ask this question: what are they being fed at home\school\daycare, etc.? Are they used to chix strips, mac & cheese, pizza, hot dogs & fish sticks? If they were eating Veal Prince Orloff, Osso Bucco, Shrimp Madagascar or Chicken Ala Jerez at home, maybe they wouldn’t be tempted by the unhealthy, non descript, boring child’s menu. Maybe it is the parents. Now, before I get kicked in the teeth for those comments, I’m sure those who have worked in restaurants without children’s menus can attest to these phrases: “There’s nothing on this menu that my kids will eat” or “There is nothing on this menu for kids”. It starts off at the defensive from the getgo. Believe me. So what will your children eat that I, as the owner\chef\manager can provide that I have here at the restaurant? I can’t make, for example, spaghetti and meat sauce if I don’t have those items in a restaurant. Sometimes a little compromise on both sides can produce a positive situation.
About 1/2 portions. I realize that goodwill is sometimes greater than profit. However, one really hates to cut a 14 ounce strip steak in half for a child’s portion. Or toss the other half of a stuffed cornish game hen. Or the other half of a Chilean Sea Bass filet. Would you toss it at home? A restaurant doesn’t want to toss it just as much as you hate paying $10 for something of whicn your child may only eat a few bites.
I know I must sound anti-child. I’m not. It is great to see here and in restaurants when children want to try “adult” food because they read the menu and it sounds good to them. That chicken strips and mini burgers don’t have the appeal of Pasta Alfedo with Shrimp. But unfortunately, that seems to be the minority and that is more than likely why there are so many mundane, unhealthy kids menus.
Chef Kevin, as a parent of several (4), it’s hard and expensive to eat out. I don’t expect any restaurant to split a steak, nor do I expect my kid to eat Oscar- nor would I take them there. Geesh, I don’t make that much dough.
I have taken my kids to Basta, when it used to be on Pioneer Parkway, several times for special occasions. We’d go early as to not embarrass ourselves or disturb other parents who are having a night out without the kids. They were always very accommodating with half portions of Fettucini or Tortellini at a reasonable price. Haven’t been to the new one in the heights yet.
The places that I can afford to go with my kids in tow aren’t the finest of dining anyway (other than special occasions, as I explained), so that they are ordering off the kids menu with smiley faced french fries with chicken strips doesn’t bother me.
Heck, even a night out at Steak-n-Shake will put us back 40 bucks, easy.
Young kids get bored. Taking them out to a nice dinner usually turns into more of a chore than a nice evening, so kick me, but I don’t have a problem with the kid’s menus. They can get what they want at a reasonable price. If they want a Filet, fix it on the grill and make a sandwich for yourself the next day with their leftovers.
I wouldn’t bother with Basta in the Heights. We went a couple of months after they opened there. They raised the prices and made the portions smaller. They were trying for an up scale feel but it wasn’t really working. I just wanted Basta. If I wanted French Toast or Seven I would have went across the street. We now go to the one in East Peoria only. Unfortunately that means we hardly ever go there, the Pioneer Park location was so convenient.
Our ancestors are laughing their heads off at such nonsense!
I don’t have a problem with kids menus either. But I am lucky. My husband is an excellent chef – not just a cook, but a chef even though it’s not his job. He loves cooking and is very good at.
So my two boys have been exposed to a wide variety of foods at home (as opposed to me cooking, which usually means hot dogs, fish sticks or peanut butter and jelly).
So, the other night, my four year old willingly ate frogs legs. My six year old, last night, proclaimed the stir fried vegetables to be his new favorite. They both love fish, blue cheese dressing and broccoli. They’ve had calamari, Szechuan, all sorts of foods and cuisines. The down side of this is that now my son doesn’t much like the lunches served at his school and I have to spend a lot more to provide lunches for him that don’t need to be heated and will keep – a challenge I’m sure anyone would agree with, and that isn’t conducive to sending fresh, unusual foods.
But my six year old, as adventurous as he was prior to the age of 5, is going through a very picky phase and he won’t try a lot of stuff. So, for parents, that kids menu is important! Most kids do go through a bland phase, I think, no matter what they get at home.
So I am the first to promote experimentation, but the last to criticize kids menus. They serve their purpose.
And since when did the presence of a kid’s menu stop you from ordering something for yourself that you intend to give a part of to your kid? That’s what I often do, as restaurant portions for adults are often way too big, too.
I find some of these editorials from the NYTimes rather whiny, honestly. I have bigger fish to fry, IMHO and pun intended, than to worry about kids menus. Plus, I don’t have the money to eat out all the time. That frogs legs meal I mentioned before, cost us about $15 total.
Oh, and Karrie, folks starving in Haiti and Darfur are laughing at us for getting upset over this too.
I hate to proffer such guilt, especially among those of us, like me, who grew up being threatened at meals to finish with “There are children starving in (insert country here, my mom’s was China”).
But seriously, only the pampered US of A is this a problem. Although, yes, we do have that obesity issue. But it’s being so damn pampered that brought about the concept of kids menus in the first place, IMHO.
cgiselle: I think that it would be contempuous laughter from either group. We live in a land of plenty and many times fill our bodies with toxic and empty food that feeds the obesity factor and leaves us malnourished. Ingratitude causes more than physical problems. End soapbox.
This is an interesting thread. 🙂 I see no reason why a restaurant can’t provide a couple standards (hamburger, grilled cheese) and also provide some kiddie versions/portions of the adult menu. Maybe kids won’t leap on the octopus, say, but maybe some of the pastas in smaller portions. I think that’d be really neat.
The other option, of course, is to limit Junior to ordering something from the adult menu that can be reheated later and take 3/4 of it home. Which is what I have to do for me half the time anyway. 🙂