Posted by gretchen on May 25, 1997 at 21:57:12:
In Reply to: Re: Children and Restaurants posted by Michael Ledwith on May 16, 1997 at 01:10:29:
:
: : We serve one or two children per month, and they almost
: always are a problem. Usually they come at lunch time,
: which isn't quite so bad, because hardly anyone is trying
: to have a romantic meal with conversation then. At dinner
: it's more disturbing.
:
: : Older kids are almost never a problem, although I did
: have one who brought a video game in. I would have asked
: him not to use it, but the only other customer at the time
: was my hell-day-venting guy (see posting from a few weeks
: ago), so I wasn't too concerned if he was being bothered.
: I am offended by Mom and Dad bringing Burger King for
: little Johnny, however. We have fruit, we have cheese
: pizzas, we make peanut butter and jelly, we have plain
: chicken breasts with rice. Why doesn't anyone teach their
: children to eat anymore? And with that relatively
: good-sized kid menu, someone complained because I didn't
: have grilled cheese or hamburgers, and therefore wasn't
: "kid-friendly". Right. Good. We don't want to be too
: kid-friendly.
:
: : Why these babies and small children irritate me so much,
: I don't know. My parents took my older sister and me out
: to dine frequently as children, often to very nice, formal
: restaurants. I never behaved like a demonically possessed
: wild animal. It would never have occurred to me to be
: anything less than perfectly polite to the staff and other
: patrons of the restaurant.
:
: : I'm still toying with a no-children-under-five rule,
: maybe just at dinner. Did I mention that Foster's is
: attached to a gift shop? I cringe when I think of children
: running wild in Breakable Land. My poor servers are
: turning into the manners police.
:
: : Karen
:
: I've seen advertisements for a place stating "Children 12
: and over welcome". I won't be dining there even if my kids
: were old enough for them. If I take my son (3) and his twin
: sisters (2yrs) to brunch at a nice hotel, it's for my wife,
: my own and my kids enjoyment, ditto the small french cafe
: we've gotten to twice in the last year. The owners make us
: feel welcome, nothing in there ad about childrens age.
: In 18 yrs cooking I have only worked in one restaurant that
: had a problem with children diners( the owner disliked kids
: and I was a little to busy to mash potatos for a special no
: salt no butter kiddie request) but thats the idea, pleasing
: the guest two or eightytwo (soft asparagus please)
: Ask parents to maintain some control, and enjoy the kids
: chef mike
hi i would just like to say that as chef and mother that it is the parents who make beastly kids and that also kids are kids but i guess you forgot that .my son on occasion has acted-up in a cafe or such but never on purpose to ruin anyones dining exper.i do agree with you on the irritation of parents who bring their kids in with happy meals that are unhealthy anyways. my son eats everything from cherrios to paella .