OregonYeti, it’s not just the $30 per child and worrying about who has whose spoon. Throw in “bathroom inspection” (For those who do not have children “bathroom inspection” is a peculiar habit that children of a certain age have. They have a obsessive compulsive desire to visit every public restroom they encounter to determine if the toilets are self-flushing, what type of hand soap (foamy or non) is offered and how much of it they can extract from the dispenser in a 30 second time period. Heaven forbid it have an air blowing hand driver!) and the twenty dollars over and above the percentage based tip you have to leave the server because more food ended up on the floor than in the toddler’s mouth!
However, we do take them out to posh places on a somewhat regular basis. Our favorite is an exclusive local hotel that offers a Sunday brunch buffet, and yeah we do spend way upwards of $200 when we go, even with the two littlest ones eating for free. That type of setting provides the fine dining experience in an atmosphere that the children are more comfortable with.
We reserve those trips for special occasions: some Easter Sundays, Mother’s Day, and our Anniversary. (We celebrate our wedding anniversary with the entire family and make a point to the children that it isn’t only a celebration of the day my husband and I got married, but the day our family began so they are always included.)
Stellasmomma,
“izbnso- all well said- i think if you wanted to give up catering you could have a nice writing career!”
Thank you, and from your lips to God’s ears.
“So if I or anyone else were to choose to spend time with their children and eat something fantastic, I really don't think that some self-important chef who seems to be in this business more for the ego stroke than pleasing guests, should have any say about it. A private club is one thing. A restaurant open to the public, quite another.”
I find that I often agree with people on their point, not their premise, which was something I attempted to touch on in my initial diatribe. But I “feel ya” on this one. Let’s just say that we all encounter adults who are prime examples of why raising children who feel entitled to constant satisfaction of their every whim is not such a good idea.
Jbd,
I agree with you as well. (Oh, by the way, there was another thread that got so out of hand it was closed. That one was, more than the current one, the impetus for this thread.)
I love my children, but I realize that not everyone else on the planet harbors those same feelings. So, I try not to “inflict” my children upon people unnecessarily. That includes restaurant personnel.
I have never worked in a restaurant kitchen that didn’t also have a drive thru window attached to the building. (Catering is a different form of service than restaurant service and cooking to order as customers walk through the door is more than I want to do. I want a minimum two weeks notice and an accurate head count! J)
However, I think that I can say with reasonable accuracy that all restaurant kitchens are fine tuned around the menu they offer. You don’t show up at the chicken joint and ask for a hamburger. It is rude, not to mention tacky, to ask a business to throw a monkey wrench in their operating process to accommodate one person or table.
That being said, as an adult with allergies I have no problem asking that the grilled vegetables with peppers not come on my plate along with my steak. I don’t require a substitution or that a special batch of veggies be grilled for me, just leave it off. I know that the chef worked really hard to develop the perfect flavor combination and then composed the plate to be visually pleasing as well. I know that I cringe when clients request food that I find to be lacking, because ultimately I don’t want my name attached to something I consider sub-standard. But I think that leaving off an element of a dish that doesn’t upset the established process for a client, no matter what their age, is reasonable.
I don’t consider it poor form if I ask that you send out a deconstructed version of something on your menu so that I can please the kid. I will ask nicely and if the accommodation is impossible I will adapt.
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