MyKidsPlate.com: Official Blog

Where’s The Service?

bgobbi — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 20:19:28 +0000

Yay! It’s Friday night, the end of a long hard week. Time to celebrate and kick off the weekend! So the hubby and I load the kids in the car and head to one of the dozens of local restaurants for a family dinner and some fun bonding time. Well, that was the plan.

We picked a pizzeria that we had tried once before when it first opened, and didn’t quite enjoy, but decided to give them another try. I’ll call them “Tony’s Coal Fired Pizza”. We waited just a few minutes for our table, and when the friendly hostess brought us to our table, I was pleasantly surprised to see that the table was already set with the 2 highchairs that I had requested. It was all downhill from there. When our server finally came to our table to take our drink order, I learned that the only drink choices were soda or lemonade, neither of which is suitable for a young toddler. This restaurant has a bar that serves beer and wine, but no juice or milk for children? So after ordering my diet soda, I walked down the street to an (in)convenience store to buy milk for my kids to drink. After bringing our own drinks we waited for several minutes before the server came back to our table and in a very snotty tone said “So, do you want menus?” Uh, yeah! We didn’t come here to drink our own beverages and sit in your dimly lit, overly noisy restaurant and watch you ignore us. We want food! I asked her if they have kids’ menus, which they don’t, so our family agrees to order a plate of chicken wings, a salad and a large pizza. When Miss Congeniality returns to take our order, my husband tells her that we would like the chicken wings, a large pizza…AND SHE LEAVES! Is she returning? Did she forget something? At this point, I am so flabbergasted, that my typically passive personality has turned me into the Incredible Hulk and I’m pretty sure my skin was turning green. When she walks by, I say “Excuse me, we were in process of ordering and you walked away. Can we finish ordering? We didn’t even get to tell what we want on the pizza! And can we please have a salad?” Where is the manager in all of this? He is leaning against the take-out counter with several other employees watching the hockey game.

When I was a kid, we went out to eat when it was someone’s birthday or anniversary. It was a celebration of something more than just the survival of another week or because Mom didn’t feel like cooking. According to the National Restaurant Association, the restaurant industry receives 49% of the average American’s food dollar, and with over 945,000 restaurants in the US, restaurants need to be fighting to get my hard earned 49%. At www.mykidsplate.com, our customers tell us that “overall good service/servers” are one of the Top 30 Attributes they look for in a Certified Kid-Friendly restaurant. This particular restaurant was not only NOT kid-friendly, they weren’t even people-friendly. In 1980, we were on the brink of a recession that started in January 1981, and unemployment was 7.5%. Today, unemployment in this country is 9.9%! So my question is, why are these servers not trying harder to keep their jobs? Restaurants are closing their doors left and right and I can almost see tumbleweed rolling down Main Street in my town. Do the restaurant owners not care that their staff has become so callous towards their patrons?

Dining out is becoming a luxury again for many families like it was 30 years ago when I was a kid. When was the last time you had to wait an hour for a table at a restaurant? My husband and I usually try to go out to eat when it’s Kids Eat Free night at one of the local restaurants, and www.mykidsplate.com has a calendar for visitors to search restaurants in their neighborhood that offer Kids Eat Free deals. But as far my neighborhood pizzeria is concerned, unless service improves, I’ll spend my 49% elsewhere and ask, “Where’s the Service?”

The Hotness Factor

julie — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 21:17:42 +0000

There’s little arguing that most of the country is experiencing some very hot temperatures lately especially in parts where it’s not normally this hot. In the past week I experienced 2 separate dining experiences that just about received F grades for 1 reason – the temperature of the restaurant.

One restaurant was located right off the water in the Cocoa Beach area. They are located in an old building so they have had to figure out table locations based on the architecture. They have installed ceiling fans however, it was just my luck that I would sit under the one fan in the restaurant that wasn’t working. In many, many cases broken fans are not something that happened on the day I arrived. Most often it is something that has been broken by some time and management doesn’t see it as a priority so it doesn’t get fixed in a timely fashion. This doesn’t just happen with ceiling fans, it happens with all sorts of things in the restaurant – tables, chairs, sinks, soap dispensers… I could go on and on. But nothing ruins a meal quicker than sitting in a supposedly air-conditioned restaurant in the middle of the summer trying to enjoy hot food when you are sweating your hiney off. By the end of the hour-long sweat bath it didn’t matter how nice the server was or how satisfying the pizza was, my clothes were damp from sweat. YUCK!

The other restaurant was a downtown location and quite frankly, has no excuse. They should have anticipated the crowd with both the World Cup AND the community event going on right outside their doors. This restaurant clearly didn’t have A/C when they built the place and had these blue balloon looking things hanging from the ceiling with holes in it supposedly pushing out air. The ceiling fans did little of anything. And to top it off we waited an hour – for NACHOS! Really?

Looking at moving forward in a new economy that hasn’t quite recovered yet, especially in Florida, there is little room for stupid oversight. Making guest sweat making them miserable does little for “positive word of mouth” marketing. Get it fixed and cool off the place. Monitor your temperatures weither its hot or cold outside because it could be the last time you see that guest.

The Frozen Yogurt Craze is Back

julie — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 12:42:47 +0000

A new frozen yogurt place has opened in Orlando. Today is their grand opening and they are giving you FREE Frozen Yogurt ALL DAY! Located near UCF in East Orlando, the new FreshBerry Frozen Yogurt wants you to come in and say hi! The FREE yogurt offer is just for today and it’s one free small yogurt per person.

2010 Platinum Plate Award Winners

julie — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 01:08:49 +0000

Kid-Friendly Dining Guide Announces Platinum Plate Award Winners

The Kid-Friendly Dining Guide, MyKidsPlate.com, announces the winners of their annual Platinum Plate Awards contest.

And the winner is…

Orlando, FL (June 11, 2010) – MyKidsPlate.com is the kid-friendly dining authority listing restaurants that are kid-friendly and teaching restaurants how to better serve families with kids. The results of the annual Platinum Plate Awards have been announced naming chains and independents as award winners across 12 categories.

The nomination process began in January, 2010. Consumers were invited to nominate their favorites and restaurants were encouraged to nominate themselves.

“The Platinum Plate Awards are distinguished by a combination of consumer’s votes and kid-friendly restaurant expertise. In this day and age, restaurants should be doing more and the ones that do should be recognized,” said Julie Casey, The Restaurant Mom and founder of MyKidsPlate.com.

The 2010 MKP Platinum Plate Award Winners are:

Red Robin Flies to the Front of Kid-Friendly Dining

CaliBeth — Fri, 28 May 2010 05:31:58 +0000

In the 3yrs I’ve lived in what I fondly refer to as “Pleasantville”, I’ve eaten at the Red Robin in the Westfield Mall, Valencia Town Center a couple of times. Always OK, but never memorable… until today. My 5yr old son & I enjoyed an extraordinary luncheon that is worthy of shouting the praises of Red Robin from the highest mountaintop.

We were greeted & seated right away, arriving at the restaurant around 1:00PM. Our server, Sara V, acknowledged us on passing, & quickly got back to us for our order. Per usual, I toggled back & forth between a couple of items. Sara kindly recommended their “Grilled Chicken Alla Caprese”. My son was rightfully treated as a participating customer, above & beyond what I would expect of the best kid-friendly restaurant. During previous visits, my son’s palette was beyond picky. He has now branched out to the kid staples, Mac & Cheese, grilled cheese, & pizza. It may sound funny, but I’m thrilled! It sure makes dining out easier. What I did notice today on Red Robin’s children’s menu was the variety of meal options, along with a numerous choice of healthy sides. Thankfully, my picky eater does not like french fries, and chose apple slices to go with his “Cheesy Mac ‘n Cheese”.

Between the the kids’ menu activities & interesting decor, we were thoroughly entertained until lunch arrived. Large propeller planes hang from the ceiling, & everything from classic movie posters to odd & funny photos adorn every inch of wall space. My son found the modern pendant lamps particularly fascinating, in basic shapes (circles, squares, & triangles) & colors (red, blue, green, & yellow). Throughout our meal, Sara regularly checked on us, as well as brought a fresh beverage for me before I had to ask for it. I loved my lunch, down to the last bite. As a new item, it was not listed on the nutritional chart provided on our table, however I’m pretty sure it was lower in calories than the other items I considered.

Though our bill was ready & waiting, (an uncommon pleasure when dining out with children), my son had done a great job with his meal, earning him a special treat. Sara actually stood by for moral support, cheering him to his last bite of apple, to ensure his reward! We were appropriately offered the “kids sundae”, a smaller version of the adult size, complete with 2 cherries & 2 spoons.

What more can I say? I love this place! I’m not sure what has made today’s Red Robin experience different from the past, but whatever it is, Red Robin… keep up the great service in family friendly dining. As our governor would say, “I’ll be back”!

One of the MOST Kid-Friendly Restaurants EVER!

julie — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 00:56:47 +0000

Last Thursday I didn’t feel like cooking. It had been a long day at work and I picked up my kids late from after-school care so I bribed good behavior with a trip to a restaurant I had been meaning to take them to for a long time. I sure wish I had found it before now!

About six months ago I was contacted by the owner of a new restaurant called The Flying Pizza Company. After plenty of missed visits and follow-up phone calls to the owner, I made a secret shop visit to this little treasure on East Colonial Drive in Orlando. I had no idea what I was in for but boy! am I glad I finally visited this mom-and-dad-owned restaurant.

Upon walking through the front door, we were greeted by a friendly employee who told us we could sit where we wanted. I quickly noticed the restaurant was decked out in flying decor – hence the name The Flying Pizza Company. There were planes hanging from the ceiling, planes for kids to play with, and many Squadron badges tagged to the walls. As a former Air Force Reserves brat, I was loving it and knew my dad would appreciate it even more.

Immediately after choosing our table we noticed a flat screen TV in our booth; in fact, there was one at every booth. Before even asking us what we wanted to drink, the ever attentive server asked my kids what channel they wanted her to put the TV on. They asked for the Disney channel and while the server was gone noticed the kid at the table next to us had their TV on Nickelodeon. Without missing a beat, the server realized what was going on as she approached the table and told my daughter she would be right back. Suddenly our TV was on Nickelodeon. My daughter didn’t even get her sentence out and the server was already fixing the “problem.” The beam of happiness from my daughter melted away my bad day. It was as though Cinderella herself had just arrived at dinner.

When the server came back she asked us if we had ever been there before. We told her that we had not and she asked my kids if they knew how to write their name. Pointing to the paper on the top of the table, she asked them to write their name, which they did, with pride spewing from every pore of their body. After they did, she read their names out loud and then said “My name is R-O-N-N-I-E” as she spelled it and pronounced it for us. She then told my kids “if you need anything just ask me.” I almost fell out of my seat. Am I getting punked? Where are the hidden cameras?

I ordered my kids a small pizza to share which only turned out to be $6! - $5 for the pizza and $1 for the sausage on one side that my son likes. That’s cheaper than McDonalds. As we waited for their pizza to cook and the hubby to arrive, my kids enjoyed the play area at the back of the restaurant. It had table-sized checkers, more airplanes, books about airplanes, and an array of other games to keep them busy. Then my kids came back to take a sip of their half fruit punch/half water drink. When they did, Ronnie, almost on cue, brought over gummie candy slices of pizza to bribe the kids with. She showed them the candy as though she was going to give them to them and smartly handed them to me saying, “I’m giving these to your mom for later because I’m sure she wants you to eat your dinner first!” WHAT? Where did Ronnie the server goddess come from? My kids have never been so excited about cleaning their plate and that was even with all of the the fun distractions to entertain them in the restaurant! It’s pretty rare that I’m speachless and this was one of those rare moments.

The kid’s pizza came out shortly thereafter and it was served very hot. In most restaurants I would ding them on this but since The Flying Pizza Company has so much to do, it worked out great. I told them to entertain themselves while the pizza was cooling off and then it was time to eat. I don’t think I’ve ever seen my six-year-old eat that much pizza in one sitting. She even ate her brother’s with sausage on it and she never does that.

In addition to being TOTALLY KID-FRIENDLY, The Flying Pizza Company is a great value too. We ordered 2 pizzas, a large and a small, adult drinks and an appetizer and got out for under $40! Hello!!!! I would have paid $20 alone for the service. I can’t say enough about The Flying Pizza Company and neither can my kids. They have asked me every day since “when are we going back.” The answer finally I have for them: “tomorrow!”

The Flying Pizza Company 13212 E. Colonial Drive, Orlando, FL 407-380-6664

Tell them The Restaurant Mom sent you.

Orlando Events for Moms

julie — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 16:07:04 +0000

Are you a Money Savvy Mom?

Enjoy breakfast or dinner on us at the 5 & Diner next Tuesday or Wednesday and find out. This is not a sales pitch but instead an information session by Crockett Bohannon of Edward Jones. Join us for breakfast at 9:00 am on Tuesday, April 27 or for dinner on Wednesday, April 28. Kids are welcome and we’ll even have a “G” rated movie for them to watch. RSVP to Laura Burk at 407-658-3067.

Moms Make Chocolate

Haven’t you always wanted to make your won gourmetn chocolate? You are invited to a women’s only event at the Peterbrooke Chocolatier in Winter Park, FL. It’s only $20 and you’ll take home a pound of chocolate. Sign up for the 5:30 pm or 7:30 pm party on Friday, April 30. And “Bring Your Own Beverage!” Call 407-442-9300 or email julie@mykidsplate.com to reserve your spot. Spaces are limited so call soon.

Can a Sports Bar/Restaurant be Kid-Friendly?

julie — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 14:01:03 +0000

There are so many of them out there now: Ale House (Miller’s and Carolina), Buffalo Wild Wings, Buffalo Wings & Rings, Bru’s Room, Duffy’s, Beef O’Brady’s, and Scotty’s Brewhouse, just to name a few. Sure they have a bar but can they also be kid-friendly? The Restaurant Mom says “yes!”

What’s so appealing about this type of restaurant for a family? Well, a number of things.

To begin with, just like ANY restaurant, sports themed or not, they have to provide good service. Parents everywhere are really tired of going out to eat with their kids, mostly well-behaved, spending about $50 of their hard-earned money with each visit, and getting bad service. What gives? Why can’t a server talk to my 6 year old and ask HER what she wants to eat? She can talk and we’ve most likely already discussed what she’s allowed to have or not have by the time the server takes the order anyway. I am telling servers now, “if you just speak with my kids and treat them as human beings instead of a disease I just brought in your restaurant, I will tip you more- for that one action!” We ate at a Big Boy recently and although the food was barely edible, the server was FANTASTIC!!!! You know why? She engaged my kids by speaking to them! Even with bad food we tipped her 30%.

By design, sports-themed restaurants have advantages over some other restaurants:

The TV’s – kids of all ages like to look at TV’s. Notice that I said look and not watch. Sure they like to watch but they will look at a TV just for the sake of looking as it is an activity for their eyes which can correlate to 5 minutes that mom or dad get to eat hot food. And seeing something on that TV may even spark an impromptu conversation between parent and child. My three-year old son thinks he is a sports fanatic, already. While eating at one of the above mentioned restaurants, he noticed that someone scored a basket during the Magic game and proclaimed it so loud that I think even patrons at the restaurant next door heard him. This event prompted a conversation about sports between my husband and our son that may not have otherwise happened if we hadn’t been eating there at that moment. A memory!
The noise – most parents are timid about taking their kids out to eat to restaurants where there is not a decent level of noise. When the kids act up or get noisy themselves, it is the parent who is embarrased when the restaurant is too quite. At a nice noisy sports themed restaurant, I don’t have to worry about that as much and it relieves some anxiety about going out. Remember the basket my son celebrated? It didn’t matter that he was so loud and celebrating because he blended in with the environment.
The bar – I am not in any way endorsing excessive parental drinking out at an establishment with their children. However, the reality is that many parents like to have a beer or glass of wine with their dinner, especially while dining out with kids. At a sports-themed restaurant, we don’t look like some creep trying to get our drink on because we blend in with the environment of other patrons having one with dinner.
The video games – for the most part, many restaurants have provided a few of the more “rated G” video games in their sports-themed restaurant. If you are one of these restaurants and you do not have some “rated G” games, you are missing the boat. Focusing on your adult patrons for video game usage is a mistake as most are more likely there to enjoy a sporting event. When parents take their kids to your establishment they are hoping you have something decent the kids can play. If you do, and you place it where I can still see my kids while I sit down, then I’m droppin several dollars into that machine and more importantly I’m potentially leaving happy because I got a couple minutes of peace to eat my food.
The menu – sports-themed restaurants tend to have one of the broadest menus around; there is usually something on it that will make every member of the family happy. And smart sports-themed restaurants even have a couple of healthier options choose from. However, they better be good. As a mom who makes the decisions about where we go out to eat, if I order something healthy from your menu and it was bad, I’m going to your competitor that offers better healthy menu selections. Healthy can taste good, I promise!

With all these advantages that specifically target the hot buttons of family diners, why do these types of restaurants not want families to eat there? I wish I knew. What I do know is that it doesn’t take much to make my family and I happy when we go out to eat and if restaurants started treating families with a little bit more respect, I know that increases in revenues and repeat visits would be the end result.

MyKidsPlate Teams Up with Deals4Moms to Give Back

bgobbi — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 21:08:53 +0000

At MyKidsPlate we have always looked for ways to help families save money. We also love when we find organizations that give back to the community. So when we were introduced to Deals4 Moms.org, we were so excited to partner with them. Deals4Moms.org is a website that displays ads and links to over 60 companies designed to help moms from pregnancy to playgroups. Want to pamper yourself? Deals4Moms.org has plenty of choices for moms who want to escape it all and take care of themselves too.

What we love the most about Deals4Moms.org is that all of these companies have donated proceeds of their sales to 4 Kids of South Florida. This wonderful organization places foster children in a warm and safe foster home whether it be on a temporary or permanent basis. When someone visits Deals4Moms.org and buys a product or service through this site, not only will they receive a special discount, but each company has designated a portion of their proceeds to help these children. MyKidsPlate has offered the Orlando Kids Eat Free card on Deals4Moms.org and we will be donating proceeds of the sales to 4 Kids of South Florida. Helping families save money while they eat out and giving back to the community.

T-Rex, the Prehistoric Destination

janed629 — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 01:40:20 +0000

Downtown Disney Marketplace in Orlando, Florida offers a very animated-prehistoric family dining adventure. Founded by Landry’s Restaurants Inc., who are also the founders of Rainforest Cafe, this 300+ Seat restaurant offers full entertainment value. Throughout the restaurant, there are different themes in each dining area. The acoustics make it a very lively restaurant. So if you or your children are very sensitive to light and sound, you may want to consider another place to dine. The bar is my favorite for it boosts an aquarium that is at least 10 feet wide. There is also a gigantic octopus that is suspended from the ceiling. Then there are 2 foliage dining areas that have animated prehistoric animals that are arranged right next to some of the outer tables of both dining area. The glacier dining area or “Ice Cave” as my children called it, is very interesting. Throughout the entire restaurant, a meteor shower goes off every 15 minutes or so, and the Ice Cave seems to carry the flashing lights and sounds most intensely. There is a “Dino Dig” that is a great place for kids to hang out. You are also able to browse and walk through the Restaurant, Retail and Dino-Dig area if you are not dining there. The Retail shop has just recently added a “Build A Dino” (from Build A Bear) spot towards the back of the retail area.

A moderately high price tag comes along with the jammed packed adventure. The portions are big enough to feed a Dinosaur, but lack a little bit of creativity. We had reservations at 5:30 on a Friday night, and I would highly recommend reservations. As we were leaving the wait was up to about 90 minutes. I had the Wolly Mammoth which actually was pretty good. It was a grilled chicken breast with spinach, onions, peppers, zucchini, and mushrooms with a light tomato sauce and served with garlic mashed potatoes. My husband had a Shrimp Salad, which was simply that; Shrimp laid on top of a Salad. The kid’s meals where the steady standards. I do have to say that the Kid’s Activity book stated that it was made with recycled paper which I thought was great that the company is “Green” conscientious.

The service was “ok”, the server was just “there” doing his job without offering any suggestive selling. I had ordered a specialty drink, and to my surprise, the drink came with a souvenir glass which was I was not a fan of carrying this 16 ounce hurricane glass throughout Downtown Disney.

So overall our experience was; 1. Food- so so 2. Service- Thumbs down

3. Ambiance; Thumbs up

For more information go to: www. trexcafe.com