lol Old Time Buffet use to serve some very decent “homes-style” meals. They had a corn chowder that is still one of the best I’ve ever had. We probably ate there once or twice a month when my kids were that age, simply because it was a place kids / children / babies, were perfectly welcome.
(one would only have to visit any given location one time to understand why we have an obesity problem in this country)
Greed is probably what appealed to me. I’m pretty sure I hadnt encountered an all-you-can-shovel-down place before then. Even now, you really only see them in the UK for Chinese and Indian food (the former generally being much worse than the latter)
I don’t defend the article. In the case, the journalist was travelling to Mexico City. I think when you are abroad with family, do you trust a baby sitter that you can hardly communicate with? Maybe you need to travel with a baby sitter too.
We now have Golden Corral in the states, the latest “upgraded” version of the Old Country Buffet. Look one up on your next trip stateside.
You are an upstanding citizen and commendable parent, JR. You should teach classes on parenting!
Thank you very much for the kind words, I can assure you I only come across well on the internet. If we were to meet in person you would probably think I"m just another jerk. lol
I spent a majority of my life in or around the restaurant & bar business, I honestly believe every student/child/young person should be forced to work in a restaurant as a server. You honestly have no idea how inconsiderate people can be until you are a server or in the service industry in some nature. People as a whole unfortunately suck, some intentionally some completely ignorant to their own suckiness. Being in the restaurant business you quickly learn this lesson and perhaps it can help people learn how to behave, or more importantly how NOT to behave when dining out.
Nah. You’re not a jerk, I can tell 
Hey, are you talking about me?
My first job was at a Loew’s Drive-In snack bar in the 70’s when I was fifteen. People would bitch at me for the prices on everything, examples 10 to 50 cent drinks and 25 cent boxed popcorn.
Why do people gripe at a fifteen year old kid? It’s like I set the prices and not the suits in Philadelphia.
Well if the bib fits…
Bring two for the next meet.
Is that one for me and one for you?
(Or two for you?)
My children are now fine, upstanding, law-abiding adults, which gives me decades of experience in taking children out to eat.
No.
I went to dinner with a friend with an active toddler- he didn’t make noise, but when we left it looked like a bakery had exploded at the table. It was mortifying.
My son was the exception- he loved restaurants so much he sat in awed silence the whole time, sometimes he was too excited to eat. And he never threw stuff. We’d never have taken him to a restaurant as a baby, they’re too unpredictable- they only have so many ways of telling you when something’s wrong, and they’re incontinent besides.
Bringing a baby to a really really expensive restaurant sounds like a waste of money to me. If I’m gonna be distracted the whole time, and forget about what I was eating, might as well save the money and go to a less expensive place.
That’s the funniest post I’ve read in a long time!
I can’t say I disagree with most of what others have written. As someone pointed out, it’s difficult to figure out what to do when traveling. Sometimes you have to travel like for a family wedding or a sick relative. I just can’t eat at places like Subway or McDonalds or Outback. So we plan ahead and call farmer’s market vendors and Whole Foods. Then, when we arrive, we’ll drive around and pick up all our snobby foods like croissants, ciabattas, goat cheeses. We can eat good bread and cheese for dinner, no problem. But if you’re not as pretentious, and you need a real dinner, I can see how you could be in a bind.
At home, we have pretty much eliminated eating out. In the last year, we’ve been to a pizza place twice. That’s like cheating, though, because we sit right in front of an open kitchen with beautiful ovens imported from Italy. Our kid just stares at the burning wood and watches all the pizzas going in and out. However, just recently we went to a fancy French restaurant as a reward for doing well in school. I was nervous, but everything went smooth. I think that’s the way we’ll keep it, a rare treat, something a couple times a year.
Still, if someone told me, you shouldn’t do it no matter how you justify it, I would not say they are wrong. And I say this even though my kid is a great eater who, upon receiving the kids menu, asked “Why would I want cheese pasta and chicken nuggets when I can have seared tuna with haricot verts?” But, my kid at least, the second your attention is diverted, will flag a waiter and ask “Did you know the purple crayon is missing from this set?”
I do.
My kids are raised to have refined palates.
As they eat what we all eat.
Knife and fork skills are learned at a young age.
No finger foods or sandwiches at a restaurant.
Kid friendly restaurants don’t serve food fit for human consumption.
The problem is that I raise my kids like this.
Nearly no one else does.
If questions arise about the venue, off hour dining might be an option. Upscale restaurants often don’t get fully booked at 5pm…
“Knife and fork skills learned at an early age”
That’s fine but the thread is specifically about babies, not toddlers. I’m unaware of any babies under the age of say 2 years/24 mos that can have the dexterity for knife and fork skills.
The OP states “babies and kids”.
Impressive, how old are they may I ask?
