During Culinary School, I interned/cooked at an Italian Restaurant where EVERYTHING we made was from scratch: Bread, ice cream, ladyfingers for tiramisu, you get the point. Our menu changed seasonally. We did not have a kid's menu, but should someone bring children to the restaurant, we kept pepperoni on hand so we could make a pepperoni (or cheese) pizza, we would make buttered noodles, or pasta with marinara, etc. We didn't cater to children but we were always flexible for them or any "should have went to Olive Garden instead" adult. Under no circumstances ever, should a restaurant be obligated to have a Kids' Menu. However, IMO, a restaurant should be able to serve ANY customer that walks through its doors.

One of the most memorable meals of my life was when I was 14 in Lafayette Louisiana, at a restaurant called Jacobs, I think. We had my 4 brother and 1 year old sister, and asked about a kids' menu (which is sometimes a separate menu). They didn't have one, and asked what the kids might want. That was it... Tell us what you want, and we'll do our best. It turned out the chef had brought in a mess of catfish he's caught that morning, and they brought that out for my brother and sister. They got a great tip, too.

Certainly no one should be required to have a kids' menu, especially a restaurant that isn't trying to be a family joint.

I'm just saying that if you DO have a lot of families, and you DO want to cut down on the crying, screaming kids, mac and cheese has a whole lot of "sit down and shut up" magic in it.

I have a small child. I almost never order from the kids' menu, because my small child won't eat mac n cheese (except for the stuff I make where you caramelize the onions and use a vast amount of sharp cheddar), chicken nuggets, or hot dogs. She will eat hamburgers but usually isn't in the mood for them.

We feed her our food or appetizers usually. We love restaurants that say "We can do a half-size for the child if you want" or "Would you like us to bring rice out early?" I honestly don't care whether or not a restaurant has kids' menus. I'd like them to be polite to my child (and I'll insist on her being polite, too) and we'll all show some flexibility. She'll eat most things, but maybe you could figure out how to produce pasta al olio or the equivalent, whether or not it's on the menu. And frankly, better restaurants usually do better on this -- at 2 my daughter took advantage of a delay in ordering caused by my husband and I discussing side dishes, and when I looked up was finishing ordering her own dinner; when asked for pasta, the waitress didn't blink an eye or say anything about the menu, she just thought for a second and
listed sauces for her to choose. (There were noodles on the menu, although not in the form she got them; they offered her butter or the sauces from other dishes.)

Oh, and a small plate and glass (unbreakable would be nice but isn't required) would be nice, and please, do not give my small child a knife, a wineglass full of anything, the appetizer for the table, or a plate hot enough to burn her. If you do not understand anything about small children, it is OK, although not productive of great tips, to treat her as if she is radioactive, but please do not ignore her existence and use her place as an empty space.

Your points are well made, Kate, and as a parent of one picky eater who also has an extremely hard time sitting (what a joy in a restaurant!) and another child who does just fine at restaurants, I've enjoyed all the comments.

I wish that kids' menus (the typical chicken finger, hotdog, mac n cheese ones) weren't offered anywhere! Because restaurants have catered to the so-called special needs of kids, my kids now expect it. I like the rule of being flexible in the kitchen but not going off the cuisine of the restaurant just to please kids.

We've gotten ourselves into a rut with kids' foods in this country - at restaurants and in the grocery store. It's got to stop. Kids need to eat real food again.

My feeling is that there are family restaurants and then there are restaurants. Families should respect this. If I want Mac n Cheese, I go to a family restaurant if I want to be with adults only and have adult food I go to such place. If I want a QUIET adult dinner WITHOUT screaming, running and complaining kids that have parents that believe the kids run the home, then I pay for such a meal at a fine establishment. Next time, you think that your little Johnny or little Susie are well behaved and could handle being in an adult restaurant, remember this when your little angel starts complaining about the food that you should've probably chosen a family restaurant rather than an adult one. Everyone around you will thank you and the owner or manager will thank you too.

Kids menus, family restaurants...yikes! I see all this as a by product of the Disneyfication of our culture. It's as bad as it sounds.

As the parent of a young girl, I am extremely disappointed in what passes as a "kids menu." My preference would be for smaller portions of what a restaurant regularly serves rather than trying to cobble together some items that may seem to be kid friendly. I have always had an open mind with regard to my eating; since my daughter was born, I have also tried to eat more healthy (both in the way food is prepared and in eating more organic food). Kids menus seem to run counterintuitive to this philosophy as everything is either fried or drowning in cheese and is from prepackaged foods.

We are cognizant of where we go for dinner as my daughter is not always willing to sit through a long dinner that we would otherwise enjoy (she's 3, we can't blame her). So, we don't take her everywhere and do not expect to take her everywhere. Likewise, we do get upset when it is just the two of us and people have brought their kids and they are flying around the restaurant with reckless abandon.

All we want is healthy choices with appropriate portions (don't get me started on this as all kids meal portions seem to cater to 12 year old boys who are training to become an NFL offensive lineman)for kids in restaurants that are appropriate to bring them. Rarely have we had our needs met.

Who are you people that see mac and cheese as the harbinger of the end of civilization?

It's MAC AND FREAKIN' CHEESE.

Is this a class thing I've blundered into here? Is my blue collar showing?

Or am I really a bad parent because I'm not making my kids eat the tasting menu at Blue Ginger and teaching them to drink their juice with their pinky finger out?

I'm giving myself a time out. I'm getting too frustrated about this topic. I'll come back when we're back to whiskey and good recipes.

I once worked at a wine bistro with a European bend that had a simple but upscale lunch and dinner menu (at the time I was there, I worked lunch). There was a day where some group of people rented out our joint for a brunch, which was fine. There was a little buffet and limited breakfast menu and it was no big deal.

Remember the words: Wine Bistro.

Some giant woman came up to me asking if there were any hot dogs or chicken fingers or french fries I could make for her kid. When I said the best I had to offer was a fruit plate, she said "never mind" and walked away.

I was so disgusted by that and felt so bad for her kid that I could barely talk.

As a restaurant owner and parent I'll weigh in here. It seems that for some people the difference between a "family" restaurant and other restaurants is that kids can run amok at "family" restaurants. THIS IS NOT THE CASE.

Kids should not being running amok in ANY restaurant.

Unfortunately, the parents of amok-running kids are usually the ones who want a kids menu. I understand children have different needs and attention spans and most of us will do what we can to accommodate them. We may not however, fundamentally change who we are.