The Guidelines

Here are a few sites that I find to be useful regarding advice on how to dine with kids. I know some people who are a bit timid when it comes to venturing out to restaurants with kids in tow, but I think using advice like this might make it easier. And it might make people think about things that aren’t so obvious as well.

( Where they came from http://www.dinnersfromhell.com/dining-kids.htm)

Dining out with Kids in Restaurants
(non-chain, non family) or, Tales of Training a Future Restaurant Critic

http://www.forkandbottle.com/rants/other/dining_out_with_kids_in_restaurants.htm

7 Mistakes Not to Make When Dining Out with Kids

http://www.fodors.com/news/story_2628.html

How to dine out with kids … and enjoy it! (ages 2 to 4)

http://www.babycenter.com/0_how-to-dine-out-with-kids-and-enjoy-it-ages-2-to-4_63913.bc

From the point of view of the wait staff

http://www.ragingserver.com/best_waiter_server_blog/2007/09/16/the-rules-for-eating-out-part-3-children/

There are a few things I’d add, just from personal experience (really only applies to kids in diapers and needing a high chair):

1) Do Some Research and Call Ahead: If we’re not sure a place is right for taking baby/kids, we call and ask a few questions. “Do you have high chairs?” being first and foremost. Most of the time we know the places that are definitely not for kids, but there are some that you’re just not sure (Tremont Tap House comes to mind, but more on that later). We also make sure to check the restaurant’s web site for hours and menu info. If there’s not one available those are also questions we ask when we call ahead.

2) Take The Portable High Chair: If a place tells us they don’t have high chairs, we ask if it’s cool to bring our own. We have this great chair that we actually use every day. It attaches to our island (no room for a big high chair) and detaches easily. Also folds up for easy portability. A lot of other models don’t fold up.

3) Make Sure You Have the Changing Pad: Not all places are equipped with changing tables so having that changing pad is essential. Counters and sometimes even the floor has worked. Some might think that’s gross, but most of the places we’ve gone have had very clean bathrooms, so we don’t worry about it. Plus the changing pad is washable. And we clean up after ourselves.

If anyone has any other advice to share, feel free to comment!

The Point

I would never claim to be an expert in the world of food, just one who enjoys and appreciates it. What I can say is that my husband Rich and I (and quite a few of our friends and family) really enjoy dining out and taking in all the culinary excellence that Northeast Ohio has to offer — as well as the culinary excellence of the rest of the country…and other countries…you get what I’m saying. We dine out as often as we can and when we travel the first thing we do is figure out where we’ll be eating throughout the trip. Luckily there are plenty of resources out there to give us the low down on just about every eatery out there. And that was fine until about 15 months ago.

May 3, 2007 we became the proud parents of a baby boy (Grady) and as every parent in the world could say “life as we knew it changed.” We expected it and knew we’d adjust, but we really, really, really didn’t want to give up our trek for great food finds. So we decided we’d take the little guy with us wherever we went, within reason of course. There have been date nights and times when it’s just some adults having kid-free time, but most of the time we pack him up and just head to dinner a little earlier than we used to. This is a good thing for a number of reasons:

1) It’s good to get your child out and about. Early exposure to public places gets them used to the world. Living in a bubble isn’t for us or him.

2) Dining earlier is pleasant because there isn’t much of a crowd and you can get in places without reservations (with some exceptions of course). Plus we know that not everyone enjoys children and may not want them around when they’re trying to enjoy a night out at 8 p.m. or later. And 8 p.m. is bedtime anyway.

3) We can come home, put the little man to bed and it’s still early enough for us to sit and watch a movie, play darts, listen to music, chat, hang with friends, etc.

It was especially easy the first few months where he mostly slept and we could tote him around in his car seat. I was amazed by the number of people who’d say to us as we sat at a table, “Enjoy it now! In a few months you won’t be able to do this!” And we’d laugh and nod like we knew our time was limited. But really we always hoped that wouldn’t be the case. Did we really have to give it up eventually? So far no, we haven’t had to. Things have gone well and our son really enjoys restaurants (must be in the genes) and we hope it continues. And this is where it comes back to the dining resources and getting the low down on where to go.

The information we need now is where are the kid-friendly restaurants? And I’m not referring to all the Applebee’s, Fridays, Champps or typical family restaurants out there — not that those aren’t fine at times. I’m referring to the chef-owned, inspired-cooking, local flare kinds of places that say “Hey! Kids can come too!” but it’s not really advertised (maybe for good reason, but we’re interested in breaking that stereotype of the loud, obnoxious kids out of control). These places do exist and we came across a number of them over the last year. And, thankfully, there is quite a selection. It’s good for us because we get out and keep up, and good for them because it’s business they’re not losing.

That brings me to the point of this blog. As we continue to dine with our child, and eventually children if we’re so blessed, I’m going to keep a running list of the places in Cleveland/NEO/wherever we travel that people can feel completely comfortable taking their kids to and still get the culinary experience they desire. Some offer more amenities like high chairs, changing tables in the bathroom and even kid-sized portions, and others don’t offer anything like that, but do welcome kids with open arms regardless. That will all be documented here, along with our own set of “Dining…with children rules.” But more about that in the next post.