Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m with you, OP. I drove my newborn straight from the delivery room to Ruth’s Chris.

For New Year's Eve, right?? (C'mon, who has been here a long time!!??)

That kid has got to be at least in middle school by now, right?

I followed that thread in real time... just checked the original link, it was posted in 2012 about a 3-year-old. I so want that mom to come back and tell us how her 9th grader is doing!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m with you, OP. I drove my newborn straight from the delivery room to Ruth’s Chris.

Hopefully it was on New Year's Eve.

My toddlers judge you for thinking Ruth Chris is decent food. Their first words were pate and sushi (I don’t get the reference and I desperately want to…please link!!!)

https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/280828.page
It's a DCUM classic. Note that the question was posted on the afternoon of Dec 31, not a lot of time to actually adjust plans based on feedback

My favorite restaurant with my toddlers was sushi. Quick, delicious, OK to eat as finger food, available in toddler-sized portions.

Otherwise, my criteria for "family friendly" meant:
- Reasonable timelines. I don't want to wait 45 minutes for a table (I'm fine making reservations, but the no-reservations places that make you wait an hour+ in the waiting room ... no thanks), I don't want to sit at the table for 45 minutes waiting to place our order, I don't want the food to take forever. Dinner does not need to be a 2-3 hour event with young kids.

-Kid sized (and -priced) options. Doesn't need to be a kids menu with chicken nuggets and plain pasta. I actually preferred kid-sized portions of 'normal food'. Sometimes an appetizer or side dish makes a good "meal" (often combined with bites from DH's or my plate). Chicken skewer appetizers, side of meatballs + side of broccoli, etc.

-High chairs and changing tables. Bonus points if both the mens and womens restrooms have changing tables!

- General noise and activity level that doesn't make me feel like an a$$ for bringing a toddler in. They were usually well behaved, but a sudden squawk can light up a room with little warning.

- Not necessary, but extra signals that you not just tolerate but actively appreciate families: paper activity placemats with crayons, non-breakable kids cups with lids and straws, training for servers to smile at and engage with kids. And a kids dessert with their meals (cookie or small scoop of ice cream, nothing huge) never hurts .

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m with you, OP. I drove my newborn straight from the delivery room to Ruth’s Chris.

Hopefully it was on New Year's Eve.

My toddlers judge you for thinking Ruth Chris is decent food. Their first words were pate and sushi (I don’t get the reference and I desperately want to…please link!!!)

If you need a high chair and the restaurant does not have a high chair -- they don't want you. That's the way I knew we weren't who they wanted for customers. And that's ok. They don't want very young kids.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m with you, OP. I drove my newborn straight from the delivery room to Ruth’s Chris.

I did that too, on New Year's Eve.

A classic.

Anonymous wrote:I’m with you, OP. I drove my newborn straight from the delivery room to Ruth’s Chris.

Hopefully it was on New Year's Eve.

Anonymous wrote:I don't. I'm a foodie and am raising my kids to be foodies also. They're not chicken nugget type of kids.

I had no intention of raising my kids to be foodies, but one naturally gravitates to the more expensive items (lobster, crab cakes, steak) on the menu. I’m having to rein her in now that food is so much more expensive.

To me, family friendly casual restaurants are places that have high chairs, booster seats, kids’ menus, lids on kids’ cups, dinner is going to be relatively quick (an hour or less, unless it’s peak dinner time on a weekend or holiday).

Family friendly higher end restaurants have kids’ menus (can just be smaller, cheaper portions of the same dishes adults eat; don’t have to have chicken nuggets/mac & cheese/pizza), and aren’t the kinds of places where patrons speak in hushed tones, the tables are very close together, and dinner will be numerous courses and take a good 2 hours.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m with you, OP. I drove my newborn straight from the delivery room to Ruth’s Chris.

On NYE?

Yes! How did you know? Were you there too? Wasn't my little lamb a gorgeous baby! Everyone was looking.

I love the southern German and Austrian idea of family friendly “restaurants” (more rural areas). Roomy Outdoor seating for everyone, usually with swings and/or a play structure of some sort. Not necessarily a kids menu, but easily available kid portions. Children are WELCOME, and parents sit and chatter while the kids play and be kids. Even if they don’t know each other, kids all play together and form their own little community for what is often the afternoon into the evening.

The self proclaimed “foodies” here would turn their noses up at such “peasant food” I’m sure, but chances are it came off the land that morning or within the past few days, and it is more delicious than pretty much any super hard to get into restaurant in any North American metropolis.

I’m not sure if they’re the most insufferable, but anyone who self identifies as a “foodie” is in the top tier of insufferable people.

Anonymous wrote:

Since my kids were little, I've taken them to restaurants where I want to eat. Basically the same kind of restaurants I went to before kids. Of course, I'm not taking toddlers to Alinea or for 9pm dinner in the city, but I'm not going to eat at special super-casual kids-room-on-the-side eateries for 5-7 years of my life either.
They sit at their chair and are no more noisy or disruptive than any average patron (probably less), whether we are at a casual or a fancy place, so we're going to nice places with good food.

You must be a superior parent.

Anonymous wrote:I’m with you, OP. I drove my newborn straight from the delivery room to Ruth’s Chris.

I did that too, on New Year's Eve.

Anonymous wrote:Family friendly to me just means no one will be annoyed about your kids' presence. I don't want any funny looks. My kids are well-behaved, don't watch tablets but they are mac-and-cheese or plain hamburger kids (sadly) so I need something for them to eat.

Unlike you, I don't pay any attention to people who are being unreasonable. If someone at the next table is annoyed on principle because my kid is playing on her tablet ON MUTE then they can roll their eyes until they pull a nerve.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m with you, OP. I drove my newborn straight from the delivery room to Ruth’s Chris.

For New Year's Eve, right?? (C'mon, who has been here a long time!!??)

That kid has got to be at least in middle school by now, right?