The boys actually have never ingested grilled cheese or, get this, mac and cheese! I swear…I’ve tried on multiple occassions to give them these (supposedly) kid-favorite items and they won’t eat them!

Panera and Au Bon Pain….yummy.

Getting out and about “early” I am convinced eased the segue to “restaurant” dining for our duo. (I’m an AWFUL cook) Now 6, our two love all Mexican restaurants, Red Robin (which is GREAT for really little ones too…fast service and a good dull roar noise level), Friendly’s and a few neighborhood places as well.

No matter the “caliber” of the dining facility, I do think kids can sense they’re being “trusted” to behave appropriately, and rise to the occasion. (and when ours didn’t, we hightailed it out! They learned pretty quickly on that one! Potty training? Well, that was another story! )

Great post!

I’d add quesadillas at Mexican restaurants to your list…it’s practically a grilled cheese, and you can usually get black beans on the side for a nice healthy choice that’s fun finger food.

As a quick warning, though, remember that some of those restaurants you listed have a lot of nut cross-contamination issues. We have absolutely no food allergies anywhere in our family tree, yet still have a child who turned out to have a nut allergy. So anyone with kids under 2 might want to at least be aware of the potential issue!

For table service, it is hard to beat Cracker Barrel. I am ashamed to admit it (!), but they have toys at the table, booster and high chair options, very kid friendly, and the endless options for the kids are amazing.

I also tend to take the kids place they can run around before we get to the table… the key to toddlerhood is releasing energy before containing energy.

We walk to farmer’s markets for fresh fruit and veggies. I know, I know … boring!!

Perhaps I’ll get risky this week and take a walk for lunch. Lunch has become my rut meal, actually, so this might work. I’m thinking a sushi place that has rice. My girls LOVE rice.

We only share one of the restaurants you mentioned (Panera). The kiddos do okay there, they are really into soup so they like that, though it’s a lot of work to feed soup to 2 unless (and even if) both parents are there.

We’ve found that we prefer (quick) table service (and asking for the check with the food help). That way, we can get the kiddos ready, let them play with menus, etc., while someone else brings the food to the table. And then someone clears the table for us (though we do crawl around and try to clean the floor at least). That’s probably because ours are closer to 2, though, we did faster places when they were younger. . Things that have worked lately include pizza/pasta (including Rotelli’s), Chinese, Thai, stir fry, pancake house type place, Mad Mex… Mostly more local places. What didn’t work was the allegedly family oriented place that was so full of TVs and games that the kiddos had no interest in eating.