kids won't eat foreign cuisine

[Anonymous]

We're planning a trip to Quebec. I have looked at some restaurant menus -- they look amazing to me, but I see nothing that my kids will eat. These are mid-range restaurants. The menus tend to have fewer items that U.S. restaurants, and many of the items include organ meats or fragrant cheeses. What would be the best approach if I go to one of these restaurants? I'll probably have to feed my kids first and then order something small for them and eat it myself, I suppose. Thanks for any advice!

[Anonymous]

What do your kids eat?

[Anonymous]

Work on expanding their palate now?

[Anonymous]

How old are they? Why are you going there now? Why don't you go to someplace where they'd enjoy the food instead? Why set yourself up for a bad time?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Work on expanding their palate now?

+1

Strategies:
1. Try introducing new foods now (it's a good habit even if you're not traveling)
2. Feed them before going to the restaurant.
3. Pick restaurants that have at least one item that they would eat (fries/frites, some variant of chicken cutlet, burger)
4. There's always the bread basket.

[Anonymous]

OP, it also depends on where you're going. Montreal and Quebec City both have a ton of food options at all price points for all palates. It's basically like eating in DC. There are fast food chains and 5-star restaurants. If you're going to smaller cities and villages, I don't know what to tell you other than maybe not to go to those places with your kids until they are more interested in new food experiences.

[Anonymous]

I went to Quebec with my aunt who only eats chicken fingers. She was able to find them on every single menu, even at high end restaurants.

[Anonymous]

Is this a troll post? Quebec isn't exactly eating freshly-harvested raw seal meat with Eskimos, now, is it?

We are an international family, so we eat European foods and Asian foods. My children are not used to eating Indian curries, and don't appreciate the spices. I thought you were going to talk about something like that!

But Quebec????
I'm sure you'll find something in that lonely, exotic, outlandish, far-off corner of the world to feed your kids...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Work on expanding their palate now?

+1

Strategies:
1. Try introducing new foods now (it's a good habit even if you're not traveling)
2. Feed them before going to the restaurant.
3. Pick restaurants that have at least one item that they would eat (fries/frites, some variant of chicken cutlet, burger)
4. There's always the bread basket.

+1 We cook and eat at other ethnic restaurants all the time. This is one of the bad things about American parenting.. the fact that parents only feed their kids "kid friendly" foods. I don't mind kid menus once in a while, but sometimes I really hate it. A lot of countries do not have kid menus, and we love to travel.

[Anonymous]

You have not exposed your kids to other stuff enough.
Quebec is not as foreign as you make it sound. There's always bread. And I'm sure the bread are not foreign. Find something more in the average range, nothing fancy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You have not exposed your kids to other stuff enough.
Quebec is not as foreign as you make it sound. There's always bread. And I'm sure the bread are not foreign. Find something more in the average range, nothing fancy.

+1 When in doubt, ask for poutine without the cheese and gravy (aka French fries)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We're planning a trip to Quebec. I have looked at some restaurant menus -- they look amazing to me, but I see nothing that my kids will eat. These are mid-range restaurants. The menus tend to have fewer items that U.S. restaurants, and many of the items include organ meats or fragrant cheeses. What would be the best approach if I go to one of these restaurants? I'll probably have to feed my kids first and then order something small for them and eat it myself, I suppose. Thanks for any advice!

Well, I have to say that my 9 year old would probably not eat organ meats or fragrant cheeses either whether in Quebec or Washington, DC (my 11 year old eats anything so he's not a problem). But like the PPs have said, I am sure there are restaurants in Quebec that serve different foods besides that! You have to adjust your expectations a bit and not choose the most exotic place, but maybe something with some local cuisine as well as some more traditional standards. I am not even sure what "Quebec" food is - except for poutine!

[Anonymous]

So, you feed your kid fast food and then have them sit with you when you eat. Simple.

[Anonymous]

Why are Americans so intent on sabotaging their childrens' health? It's truly mind-boggling. There is no other culture in the world that has so much trouble feeding its offspring normal food.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why are Americans so intent on sabotaging their childrens' health? It's truly mind-boggling. There is no other culture in the world that has so much trouble feeding its offspring normal food.

Most people who are parents are concerned about making sure that their kids eat. If you look at a menu for a place and you think, "Wow, there is nothing on this menu that my kid would eat" that is something that is worrying.

I'm an adult picky eater, and I do my best to find restaurants in whatever place I'm visiting that have stuff I know I'll be willing to eat.