Well, not literally kids’ menus. Meals served in smaller portions to children is fine.
I’m talking about extremely bland food that is geared towards American children. I think it’s crazy when I go to a fancy, trendy, or eclectic restaurant with all kinds of interesting options…and then I see the kids’ menu with items such as tater tots. Isn’t that kind of tacky? I recently went to an awesome Asian fusion restaurant that had all kinds of tasty choices. The kids’ menu? Chicken fingers, mac n cheese, fries. AT AN ASIAN RESTAURANT!
I get the logic. Kind of. Most kids are picky eaters. Instead of pandering to Karens who only feed their kids hyper-palatable beige foods, why not introduce children to that restaurant’s ACTUAL cuisine? Sure, start with something basic. Like at an Asian restaurant something like plain fried rice or sauteed broccoli.
Consider this: parents who take their children (who, yes, may well be very fussy and unimaginative eaters) out to a restaurant may just want to have an enjoyable evening out, and have a meal which they – the parents – will actually enjoy, without having to argue with their children and (probably unsuccessfully) cajole them into eating something the kids aren’t familiar with.
Yes, many of those parents are probably trying to get their kids to eat more than chicken nuggets on an ongoing basis, but it might be less challenging to get them to try something new at home, without the distractions of an unfamiliar environment.
And, those restaurants are not mandating that kids must order from the kids menu, and I would suspect that some kids do try things from the regular menu.
No one is making you order chicken fingers and tater tots at that Asian fusion restaurant.
Do you have children? Have you ever tried to get a 4-year old to eat anything they’ve never eaten before? It’s not the parents who are being Karens, it’s the kids.
One of my Japanese-American wife’s most embarrassing memories is when she took her parents to the best Japanese restaurant in this bland Midwestern city, and her much younger brother - who had been raised on rice and various authentic Japanese dishes - decided he wanted a hamburger.
There’s no rule that says parents can’t feed a child bites of their own entrees to acclimate them to new foods, but when the kid shuts down and not only refuses to eat but is cruising toward a hunger-driven tantrum, it’s chicken fingers to the rescue or the parents don’t eat in a nice restaurant until the kid goes off to college.
I agree with the OP in this. Why can’t we get children sized steaks in a steakhouse or a couple ribs in a BarBQ joint for our kids that appreciate different foods?
I will say that, as a general rule, people who manage restaurants and restaurant chains aren’t idiots, and they tailor what’s offered on their menus to what their patrons want and will order, as well as what they can profitably sell. Especially at the bigger chains, they test the living hell out of their menu line-ups, and frequently run small scale test markets to see if offering new items are worth it.
If a steakhouse or a BBQ joint don’t offer kid-sized versions of their regular offerings on the menu, it’s probably less a function of “wow, we didn’t think of that,” and more either (a) there simply isn’t a lot of demand for it, or (b) they can’t offer it at a price that parents will actually pay, while still meeting their profit margin.
I don’t think restaurants that fit that description have a kid’s menu. They are not generally a kid friendly environment with food most kids would like to eat.
Often kid’s menus have an eligible age range listed, typically “under 12”.
But I wonder how old the typical kid is who orders (or is ordered for) off the kid’s menu? ISTM the taste range on a current common kid menu applies to normal 4-6yos. Not normal 11yos. Unless raging food issues and fussiness has become the new normal even unto adulthood.
Seriously. I’m a father of 3 and grandfather of 4. I’m done with that stuff. The last thing I want to see at a restaurant, especially a higher end restaurant, is anyone under 25. I don’t want to hear a whiny, fussy, crying kid nor their impotent parents trying to reason with them.
So if corn dog bites and French fries is what it takes to get them to STFU, so be it. Fight with them at home. I think the establishment is smart for having those items on the menu.
Really high-end restaurants? Probably not. But, for certain definitions of “fancy” and “trendy” (i.e., a step or two up from Olive Garden or Applebees)? Yeah, they probably do have kid’s menus, as they recognize that a fair amount of their clientele are families with younger children.
For example, some of the nicer sit-down chain restaurants which I’ve visited recently, including Seasons 52 and Bonefish Grill, absolutely have kid’s menus.
And, beyond that, compared to decades ago, when it wasn’t common for parents to bring the kids along for a nice dinner at a nice restaurant, it is very common today.
Round here, there are two types of kids menus on offer
Smaller portions of the regular menu
“Bland” food that is kid friendly
As the parent of a slightly fussy eater - I appreciate the kids menu because it allows our demon spawn to order something we can be confident she will eat, rather than risk spending money on something she will take a bite or two of and then reject.
Picky kids won’t touch broccoli. Or fried rice. The ones I’ve known would rather starve than eat anything other than Kraft (and only Kraft!) mac & cheese, with chicken fingers (but only if they’re shaped like dinosaurs).
I am NOT saying anyone should starve their children (read that again) but I am willing to bet any child that gets hungry enough will get a lot less picky about what they eat.
Restaurants are in the business of selling food, not creating refined young palates. If selling mac & cheese and chicken tenders gets them more family business selling their core food then that’s what they do.
Many restaurants (in my experience) offer some limited core menu item in the children’s portion: a small steak, an order of fried rice, a taco, etc in addition to the usual burger, nuggets, pasta offering. Also, (in my experience) most kids just naturally move out of the children’s menu anyway because they see their parents eating menu items that look good. Some don’t and they probably stand out more but their pasta and red sauce isn’t hurting your dinner anyway so spend less time worrying about it and more time worrying about your own plate.
Prior to the point of eating out of desperation, they will be cranky and noisy which isn’t good for anyone at the restaurant.
