No More Kids Menus, Please

Confession: I resent kids menus.

I think they demean our children, reducing them to tasteless creatures with no desire for adventure or variety. (The only exceptions to this are the kids menus that are truly exciting. The picture on the right is from one of our local restaurants. Kids have a choice of about five menu items, and they arrive in a retro metal lunch box with a choice of two sides. LOVE this.)

Now, before you get all worked up in defense of standard kids menus, let me clarify. My kids both love chicken nuggets, and we certainly serve mac and cheese at our house. BUT, these are not the only foods they eat. And, if we are at a restaurant, shouldn’t they get something different and exciting just like we do?

My best tip for getting out of the kids menu rut is to order from the appetizer section of the menu. For example, my daughter loves ordering Buffalo Wings (mild). She eats nearly an entire order at one sitting, happily dipping her celery sticks into the bleu cheese dressing. Max’s favorite non-kids’ menu item is chili. Many family-friendly restaurants have chili on their appetizer menu. He likes eating it with tortilla chips as scoops instead of a spoon.

The appetizer tip also works at ethnic restaurants. Empanadas, edamame and chicken satay are all kid-friendly and will all help to expand your child’s repertoire.

What do your kids eat when you take them out to restaurants?