Showing posts with label eating out. Show all posts
Showing posts with label eating out. Show all posts
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Moment of the Week - 84: Mad Hatters
The best thing about kids' menus is their doubling effect as hats.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
No Kids Allowed
It seems like this keeps coming up. First, I posted about separating families on flights, then LZ Granderson popped in with his oh-so-expert opinion on "brats" and their parents, and now a restaurant has banned children under six from dining there.
And I'm still sitting here thinking, can't we all just get along?
Don't get me wrong, I actually have no problem with a restaurant determining that they no longer wish to serve little kids. I won't be eating there, of course, but that's because I have little kids, and they eat where I eat. It wouldn't be out of some battle over principles. Adults deserve their own spaces, too. Just like we parents wouldn't expect to see a group of college kids at the Chuck E. Cheese or a party of bachelorettes at story time on Tuesday morning, adults do not expect to see toddlers running around when they go out for their special snazzy anniversary dinner at the upscale steakhouse in town.
Except I've never seen that happen.
I feel like there's already an unspoken rule that places that serve $30 scallops don't serve children. Am I wrong? I've certainly never experienced a nice adult dinner being interrupted by raucous children. And the upscale places are already leagues above McDain's Restaurant and Golf Center, since they're keeping it classy, allowing their clientele to decide whether or not they should eat at that location. Most people understand their situation and will choose an eatery accordingly. It speaks to the management of such establishments that they can count on their customers to make the correct decision without having to, well, treat them like children and say "no."
In fact, it is not the customers who appear childish in this situation, but owner Mike Vuick, whose decision was fine by me...until he opened his mouth.
Vuick tries to say his decision is based on noise, to which I reply, don't lie to me. Unless someone is throwing a party for their three year old, or you've lined your walls with toys they can't touch, children don't make any more noise than the people congregating around the bar or the gaggle of guys who walked in to catch the latest sports game.
One of Vuick's customers put it well. "If they're so concerned about noise, what do they plan to do about the loud people at the bar?" Nothing, I would guess, since the problem isn't noise.
If you don't like the vibe of being a family restaurant, that's your business (literally and figuratively) and you are free to do as you choose. No need to couch it in false reasoning.
And the more he talks, the more foolish he looks.
"We've had the ... restaurant for nine [years], and I've noticed in those nine years there are certain parents who can't leave their children at home," Vuick said.
Yes. How about all of us. How about every parent. Leaving the kids home is great. We all love to do it when we get the chance. But four out of five times, you'll find me at the Chilis with my babies. That's kind of how parenting works. Again, we come up against someone who feels that parents think their children walk on gold and should be patted on the head for bad behavior.
Perhaps Mr. Vuick should change his assertion from "kids make too much noise" to "I have this one family who is really giving me grief, and I never really liked kids anyway, so this is a perfect solution." That might be more honest.
Vuick goes on: "You know, their child -- maybe as it should be -- is the center of their universe. But they don't realize it's not the center of the universe."
Looks like he's been reading some LZ Granderson, doesn't it? I almost feel like a chest bump is in order. Also, this is me laughing at "it's." Oh. I see. It does cry sometimes, and it does make trouble, and it is the center of my universe, but as I've said before, I do my best to keep it under control, since regardless of what it is, it certainly isn't an it.
For all of his grandiosity, Vuick may very well have succeeded only in shooting himself in the foot. Because the one thing that stuck out to me in this article was its final paragraph.
"Restaurants cannot ban senior citizens, because they're in a protected class under the law, but there is no law that protects children from being denied service."
I didn't know children weren't a protected class. To be honest, I'd never really given it much thought. But now that I do know, I'm left with the thought that perhaps they should be protected, too. And maybe someone, like my congressperson, should get to work on that. And I'm doubting I'm the only one whose eyes have been opened.
Thank you, Mr. Vuick. If I'm ever in PA, I'll be sure to stop by. Your restaurant sounds like a blast.
Link to news story: http://www.wtae.com/r/28488145/detail.html
___
Tales of an Unlikely Mother is on Babble.com. We're number 15, just scroll down and click on the thumbs up!
And I'm still sitting here thinking, can't we all just get along?
Don't get me wrong, I actually have no problem with a restaurant determining that they no longer wish to serve little kids. I won't be eating there, of course, but that's because I have little kids, and they eat where I eat. It wouldn't be out of some battle over principles. Adults deserve their own spaces, too. Just like we parents wouldn't expect to see a group of college kids at the Chuck E. Cheese or a party of bachelorettes at story time on Tuesday morning, adults do not expect to see toddlers running around when they go out for their special snazzy anniversary dinner at the upscale steakhouse in town.
Except I've never seen that happen.
I feel like there's already an unspoken rule that places that serve $30 scallops don't serve children. Am I wrong? I've certainly never experienced a nice adult dinner being interrupted by raucous children. And the upscale places are already leagues above McDain's Restaurant and Golf Center, since they're keeping it classy, allowing their clientele to decide whether or not they should eat at that location. Most people understand their situation and will choose an eatery accordingly. It speaks to the management of such establishments that they can count on their customers to make the correct decision without having to, well, treat them like children and say "no."
In fact, it is not the customers who appear childish in this situation, but owner Mike Vuick, whose decision was fine by me...until he opened his mouth.
Vuick tries to say his decision is based on noise, to which I reply, don't lie to me. Unless someone is throwing a party for their three year old, or you've lined your walls with toys they can't touch, children don't make any more noise than the people congregating around the bar or the gaggle of guys who walked in to catch the latest sports game.
One of Vuick's customers put it well. "If they're so concerned about noise, what do they plan to do about the loud people at the bar?" Nothing, I would guess, since the problem isn't noise.
If you don't like the vibe of being a family restaurant, that's your business (literally and figuratively) and you are free to do as you choose. No need to couch it in false reasoning.
And the more he talks, the more foolish he looks.
"We've had the ... restaurant for nine [years], and I've noticed in those nine years there are certain parents who can't leave their children at home," Vuick said.
Yes. How about all of us. How about every parent. Leaving the kids home is great. We all love to do it when we get the chance. But four out of five times, you'll find me at the Chilis with my babies. That's kind of how parenting works. Again, we come up against someone who feels that parents think their children walk on gold and should be patted on the head for bad behavior.
Perhaps Mr. Vuick should change his assertion from "kids make too much noise" to "I have this one family who is really giving me grief, and I never really liked kids anyway, so this is a perfect solution." That might be more honest.
Vuick goes on: "You know, their child -- maybe as it should be -- is the center of their universe. But they don't realize it's not the center of the universe."
Looks like he's been reading some LZ Granderson, doesn't it? I almost feel like a chest bump is in order. Also, this is me laughing at "it's." Oh. I see. It does cry sometimes, and it does make trouble, and it is the center of my universe, but as I've said before, I do my best to keep it under control, since regardless of what it is, it certainly isn't an it.
For all of his grandiosity, Vuick may very well have succeeded only in shooting himself in the foot. Because the one thing that stuck out to me in this article was its final paragraph.
"Restaurants cannot ban senior citizens, because they're in a protected class under the law, but there is no law that protects children from being denied service."
I didn't know children weren't a protected class. To be honest, I'd never really given it much thought. But now that I do know, I'm left with the thought that perhaps they should be protected, too. And maybe someone, like my congressperson, should get to work on that. And I'm doubting I'm the only one whose eyes have been opened.
Thank you, Mr. Vuick. If I'm ever in PA, I'll be sure to stop by. Your restaurant sounds like a blast.
Link to news story: http://www.wtae.com/r/28488145/detail.html
___
If you like this blog, please consider voting for me here! And if you really love me...Babble is the most important ranking to me, and I'd love you forever. xxoo
Tales of an Unlikely Mother is on Babble.com. We're number 15, just scroll down and click on the thumbs up!
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Ditch the Kids' Menu
When the babies first started eating real food, we were so excited about the kids' menus at restaurants. Look at all these shiny options! And they come with a snack and drink? And they're only $4 to $7? Sign us up! We'll take the chicken nuggets, no, the hotdogs, no, wait, we'll take the macaroni and cheese.
Our glee slowly faded, though, when we realized that the $7-dollar meal would never be eaten. We would be lucky to get even one no-thank-you bite out of them before the kids either refused to eat altogether or started nomming down on the adult meals, instead.
What a waste of money. And not only that, even if the twins wanted that food and scarfed it down, there's no reason for it. I don't make them special meals at home, why should they get used to fried, fatty, nutritionless food when we're out?
It seems like a lot of effort to chop up a portion of an adult meal for a child, but, really, it's no more effort than chopping up a kids' meal for a child. I've found it's easier to take a bite and give a bite from my own plate than it is to eat myself while continually checking up on the babies to see that they've even taken one half of a bite from their plate. They like to eat themselves, so I'll usually stack a few bites from my plate onto theirs and let them go at that while I get a few tastes of my own food.
Plus, this way I can be sure they get enough protein, carbs and vegetables. No matter which way you slice it, chicken nuggets, mac and cheese and a pre-prepared fruit cup is not as good for them as half of whatever I've ordered. At least that was cooked to order from fresh ingredients, not thrown from the freezer into the deep fryer.
We still ask for a kids' menu at every restaurant we frequent, though. The paper and crayons are worth it!
When it comes to actually ordering, however, we've found that ordering just two adult meals and asking for two little plates is the way to go. That and two extra chocolate milks, of course.
___
If you enjoy this blog, please vote for Tales of an Unlikely Mother on Babble.com. We're number 15, just scroll down and click on the thumbs up.
Our glee slowly faded, though, when we realized that the $7-dollar meal would never be eaten. We would be lucky to get even one no-thank-you bite out of them before the kids either refused to eat altogether or started nomming down on the adult meals, instead.
What a waste of money. And not only that, even if the twins wanted that food and scarfed it down, there's no reason for it. I don't make them special meals at home, why should they get used to fried, fatty, nutritionless food when we're out?
It seems like a lot of effort to chop up a portion of an adult meal for a child, but, really, it's no more effort than chopping up a kids' meal for a child. I've found it's easier to take a bite and give a bite from my own plate than it is to eat myself while continually checking up on the babies to see that they've even taken one half of a bite from their plate. They like to eat themselves, so I'll usually stack a few bites from my plate onto theirs and let them go at that while I get a few tastes of my own food.
Plus, this way I can be sure they get enough protein, carbs and vegetables. No matter which way you slice it, chicken nuggets, mac and cheese and a pre-prepared fruit cup is not as good for them as half of whatever I've ordered. At least that was cooked to order from fresh ingredients, not thrown from the freezer into the deep fryer.
We still ask for a kids' menu at every restaurant we frequent, though. The paper and crayons are worth it!
When it comes to actually ordering, however, we've found that ordering just two adult meals and asking for two little plates is the way to go. That and two extra chocolate milks, of course.
___
If you enjoy this blog, please vote for Tales of an Unlikely Mother on Babble.com. We're number 15, just scroll down and click on the thumbs up.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Serve Families First
This is going to sound privileged and whiny, but hear me out. Parents with children should be served first. I know it looks like I'm out for special treatment and think the world owes me because I chose to drag my brood into the restaurant, post office, wherever, but it's not just for my sake. It's for your sake. It's for the sake of the other patrons.
Please, don't read me wrong. I don't wish that you ignore your other customers. And if you choose to see to them first, I would never complain, as that's really the way things should be. But, I'm telling you from experience, if you bend the rules just slightly, your shift will run a lot more smoothly. Three minutes of waiting to the couple to our right is a much shorter time than three minutes to the toddlers I have with me. And that couple will most likely enjoy their meal much more if they don't have toddlers accidentally spilling their milk across the room, or wailing loudly, or singing silly songs at the top of their lungs. All of these things happen when toddlers are forced to sit in one spot and bored.
So, when we've just been seated, and you're done rolling your eyes at having to serve the family table, (it's okay, I'd roll my eyes, too, but we'll leave you a good tip) and we put our drinks in, really, go and get our drinks. It will help us distract the babies while you tend to your other, less offensive, patrons. When you come back with those drinks, if you ask to take our order, it will take you mere seconds and save precious and annoying minutes off the other end.
If we're not yet ready to order (and, trust me, we will try very hard to be ready as soon as possible), and you say you'll be back in a minute, try to be back in a minute. Normally, when diners aren't yet ready to order, it gives the waitstaff a reprieve to check on other tables, take a break, find out what's going on in the kitchen, etc. Now, you have every right to do that, should we need another minute, but, again, if you come back quickly, it may save everyone around us a huge headache. There are only so many times we can point out letters on the sugar packets before one of those packets gets torn open, know what I mean?
Now, parents should be able to control their kids, it's true, and you have no responsibility toward them if they can't or don't. We do absolutely suck sometimes. (Sometimes, we're awesome, the kids behave, they're cute, they don't ruin anything or make a mess, and we leave a big tip for your hassle. This is what every parent strives for, I assume.)
The most important time to be quick, though, for everyone, is after the meal is over. Usually there is a nice, slow, three-step process here, in which a server drops off the check and leaves, the patron puts the money or the card in and waits, the server after taking care of hungry customers on whose tip he or she is still depending, comes back and takes the money.
A slight adjustment here would help parents, servers, and other customers. When the check is delivered, wait for two seconds longer than normal. The parent will most likely pull out a card right away because at this point we are dying to leave the restaurant. There is nothing left with which to distract the kids, no promise of forthcoming goods or fun, and nothing new to show them. We need to leave, and we need to leaev now. When the parent whips out the card in a flash and gives it to a server, the server would do well to run it right away and give it back. The sooner the family gets out of the restaurant, the better, for all involved.
I'm not saying parents deserve special treatment. We certainly do not. However, should you choose to give it to us of your own voilition, things might be better for everyone. Don't do it for us; we're the jerks who showed up and ruined your shift. Do it for you. You have the power to salvage that shift, yet.
___
If you like this blog, please vote for it at Tales of an Unlikely Mother on Babble.com. We're number 15, just scroll down and click on the thumbs up! It's quick and easy to do!
Please, don't read me wrong. I don't wish that you ignore your other customers. And if you choose to see to them first, I would never complain, as that's really the way things should be. But, I'm telling you from experience, if you bend the rules just slightly, your shift will run a lot more smoothly. Three minutes of waiting to the couple to our right is a much shorter time than three minutes to the toddlers I have with me. And that couple will most likely enjoy their meal much more if they don't have toddlers accidentally spilling their milk across the room, or wailing loudly, or singing silly songs at the top of their lungs. All of these things happen when toddlers are forced to sit in one spot and bored.
So, when we've just been seated, and you're done rolling your eyes at having to serve the family table, (it's okay, I'd roll my eyes, too, but we'll leave you a good tip) and we put our drinks in, really, go and get our drinks. It will help us distract the babies while you tend to your other, less offensive, patrons. When you come back with those drinks, if you ask to take our order, it will take you mere seconds and save precious and annoying minutes off the other end.
If we're not yet ready to order (and, trust me, we will try very hard to be ready as soon as possible), and you say you'll be back in a minute, try to be back in a minute. Normally, when diners aren't yet ready to order, it gives the waitstaff a reprieve to check on other tables, take a break, find out what's going on in the kitchen, etc. Now, you have every right to do that, should we need another minute, but, again, if you come back quickly, it may save everyone around us a huge headache. There are only so many times we can point out letters on the sugar packets before one of those packets gets torn open, know what I mean?
Now, parents should be able to control their kids, it's true, and you have no responsibility toward them if they can't or don't. We do absolutely suck sometimes. (Sometimes, we're awesome, the kids behave, they're cute, they don't ruin anything or make a mess, and we leave a big tip for your hassle. This is what every parent strives for, I assume.)
The most important time to be quick, though, for everyone, is after the meal is over. Usually there is a nice, slow, three-step process here, in which a server drops off the check and leaves, the patron puts the money or the card in and waits, the server after taking care of hungry customers on whose tip he or she is still depending, comes back and takes the money.
A slight adjustment here would help parents, servers, and other customers. When the check is delivered, wait for two seconds longer than normal. The parent will most likely pull out a card right away because at this point we are dying to leave the restaurant. There is nothing left with which to distract the kids, no promise of forthcoming goods or fun, and nothing new to show them. We need to leave, and we need to leaev now. When the parent whips out the card in a flash and gives it to a server, the server would do well to run it right away and give it back. The sooner the family gets out of the restaurant, the better, for all involved.
I'm not saying parents deserve special treatment. We certainly do not. However, should you choose to give it to us of your own voilition, things might be better for everyone. Don't do it for us; we're the jerks who showed up and ruined your shift. Do it for you. You have the power to salvage that shift, yet.
___
If you like this blog, please vote for it at Tales of an Unlikely Mother on Babble.com. We're number 15, just scroll down and click on the thumbs up! It's quick and easy to do!
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