We discovered Manny’s almost by accident. As we were leaving LEGOLAND, we stopped at the Tourist Booth at the exit of the park. I told the young lady we were looking for a kid-friendly restaurant that wouldn’t mind us by our dress. She mentioned several ones in the area and on our way home – Manny’s was one of them. And since they also had kids eat free (Mondays and Tuesdays), we thought we’d give it a try.

We arrived by about 6 o’clock, and even despite the rain and it being a Monday night, they were already on a wait. It was short enough though, about 20-25 minutes so we waited and enjoyed a couple of well-deserved happy hour beers. Looking around the décor was fun – old gas station signs, hubcaps, and street signs; plenty going on for the kids to look at. Look at the handle on the front door! And there was energy in the place amongst the guests and the servers – it appears as though people were having a good time. I couldn’t wait to sit down.

We were seated within the quoted time and greeted by a very friendly, and smiling young lady named Lynell. We were able to remember her name because she wrote it on the paper table cover along with the name of her manager, Jen, in case we needed anything. I was stunned! In all the restaurants I’ve been too, I have never been offered the manager’s name when I was greeted. Nice touch!

Lynell shared with us her recommendations, as we had never been there before, and we quickly took her up on them – ribs and a rib eye steak. My daughter ordered the steak medallions and mashed potatoes from the kids menu and my son ordered the kids pizza with a side of vegetables. A few minutes later Lynell came back and tossed a house salad tableside for us to share along with a side of warm buns and cinnamon butter. The dressing on the salad was my best guest, a house ranch, made fresh. It was amazing. And the warm buns with the cinnamon butter were like cheating – having dessert before dinner.

The food arrived in perfect time, as we were finishing our salad. And oh my goodness, I cannot describe to you in words how amazing this rib eye was. Ever been to melt-in-your-mouth, amazing meat heaven? If not, you need to go to Manny’s and have this rib eye. I have cut way back on my red meat intake because it doesn’t always agree with me, but I would make the 45 minute drive back to Manny’s to have this rib eye ANY day of the week – kids eat free or not! The ribs were fabulous too; fall-off the bone tender and full of mouth-watering bar-b-que flavor, but that steak was like none I have ever had before.

The kids were happy with theirs too, eating just about every last bite, but I would probably let them choose an entrée from the adults menu and split it. They both like items with bolder flavor like the steak we enjoyed and they both started with bites of our salad and ended up having plates of their own.

Lynell, our server, was on the ball! Her recommendations were spot on, her smile was warm and genuine, and her timing couldn’t have been better. She is the example of what servers all over this fine nation should be doing and she can be found at this fine little chophouse in sweet little Haines City.

Now comes the hard part. Usually the planning of the meal for special occasions comes pretty easily for me mostly because I love to do it. But do you ever get into one of those food funks? Bored with the same ol same ol? And I like to try restaurants I’ve never been to before but do I really want to take a risk for Easter? I know many other families have planned this weeks in advance and even made reservations. Not sure what to do. When I don’t know what to do… I google.

Upon my first search, I realized I had totally overlooked the traditions we already have with our kids. Hunting for eggs is one of their favorite, especially when my dad is involved. The kids have a blast so now I need to either find the plastic eggs from last year or add it to my grocery list for the week.
Plastic Eggs, check

The kids are also really into arts and crafts and we always color eggs too. The egg dying kits of today have really gotten interesting but I like the good old traditional way of doing it. Another thing to add to the list.
Eggs, check
Egg dye, check

Easter to me is one of those holidays similar to others, spending time with friends and family, with the difference that the word RELAXING must play a roll (as opposed to Christmas and some of the more chaotic holidays). And at the center of most holidays with friends and family is the meal experience. So by writing this blog today, I’ve just come up with the theme for the meal: RELAXING. A relaxing meal. What does that look like though? Cooking to me is relaxing so that’s what we’re going to do. Time to get busy.

Monday, look at recipes and decide on menu items. Choose items that are easy to make and in some cases can be made ahead of time. I don’t want to spend all day in the kitchen by myself – would rather be outside with family. The grill is outside… that’s an option.

Tuesday, make the grocery list and pick up what won’t go bad before the weekend.

Wednesday, prep the food for the items I can prepare ahead of time. Prepping is what usually takes the most time anyway so I can get it out of the way.

Thursday, cook the “ahead of time” items and put in the fridge or freezer.

Friday, pick up the rest of the ingredients to finish the menu.

Saturday, boil the eggs and cook what’s left that doesn’t have to wait until tomorrow.

Sunday my work time in the kitchen will be shorter and family time longer if I can actually follow this great plan I just came up with. We’ll see. But at least it helped me not feel so panicked that it’s already April and Easter’s on Sunday!

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Based on the report on the Today show, it sounds like the child was under control and ready to go when the pilot made the decision to turn the plane around. If that’s how it went down, than I am really disappointed. I’m even more disappointed that it happened on JetBlue. I’ve never had the pleaure of flying this particular airline, but I have flown on many others and based on what I’ve heard – that treasured “word of mouth”, if you will – JetBlue sounded like THE airline to fly, next to Southwest. I expected this said scenario to happen on a whole list of other airlines other than JetBlue.

But getting beyond that, it’s the fact that it happened again. Again we’re in a debate of us against them… the people who have kids versus the ones that don’t. The ones that go out to eat with kids versus the ones that don’t. The ones that fly with kids versus the ones that don’t. It’s disappointing that at the end of the day the story is ultimately about service, and it’s pathetic that it has to be turned into an us versus them debate.

The responsibility of delivering the service experience falls on JetBlue. I’m not pointing the finger at a JetBlue staff member who was involved in this incident. I’m pointing the finger at the leadership, the top. Situations like this are more avoidable than anyone wants to acknowledge. It’s about getting back to basics:
– Identify the problems (or situations).
– How can we best address these situations when they occur (because they will AGAIN), so that everyone is satisfied; the passenger (or restaurant guest), the employees, and the other passengers (or restaurant guests).
– How are we going to train our employees on how to appropriately and successfully address these situations?
– What tools are we going to put in place so that our policies to address theses situations are executed consistently?

Kids can be unpredictable. But there is more than enough information out there to know what kids do and don’t do at certain ages, what they like and don’t like, and how to talk to them and to their parents. Kids also tend to appreciate a distraction from a stranger over that of their parents. Imagine how differently this scenario would have ended up if a JetBlue employee had the tools (i.e. a toy or bag of animal crackers) to give to this child in an effort to settle the child so they could get going. Instead, they rely on the robotic response of “we have to abide by FAA regulations” and repeat that over and over again as though its going to help.

I’ve been saying it for years and it applies to this scenario as well… it comes down to training and employers giving their employees the tools to do their job the best for themselves, the customer, and the other customers affected by the situation.

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When the alcohol incidents occured, I refrained from comment – I used to work in restaurants and understand how it can happen. Although they were terrible accidents, they served as long-overdue wake up calls for some places to change their operational procedures. Then when the North Carolina restaurant posted their sign, I quietly provided my opinion on the matter. However, with the latest publicity from poor handling of situations with customers with kids, it’s time I weighed in.

As a kid-friendly restaurant consultant, I work with restaurants to help them realize the value of the family consumer, what it means to the bottom line and how easy it really is to serve this customer and make their employees and other customers all happy at the same time. I’m not trying to sell anything, it’s just the way it is and I know so from many years of research and conversation with parents who take kids out to eat as well as the restaurants that serve them. So as The Restaurant Mom, industry consultant, a voice for the consumer, and mom of 2, I see both sides of the idea of banning kids from restaurants.

On MyKidsPlate we fully recognize that there are kid-friendly restaurants, there are restaurants better for what we call grown ups night out, and there are restaurants that are a hybrid of both. Patronage of restaurants is determined by consumers on many things including the food, the atmosphere, and the location. Some restaurants are located in areas that have higher demographics of seniors, for example. Some restaurants are pretty clearly, by their branding and atmosphere, not geared for dining with young kids and that’s ok too. Different strokes for different folks, right?

To some extent I agree with the Pennsylvania restaurant owner that some parents have become ‘too selfish’ and think this is their world and the rest of us are living in it. I’ve seen those parents myself who let their kids run all over the place, scream and holler, and the like. However, I am getting really tired of hearing people from the non-kid population put all parents with kids into this proverbable bucket that all kids act in such a way. The reality is that it’s not all parents with kids that go out to eat and in fact, it’s less than you would think. But because the ones that are so loud or out of control are so noticeable, it seems bigger than it really is.

Restaurants have a dual role when it comes to serving the public: it’s providing good food but in an environment that the people eating it want to be served in. Consumers today are more individualistic than they’ve ever been, putting themselves into their own social groups. This can be seen clearly through social media especially on Facebook and tools like Meetup. The point is that restaurants have been slow to change their marketing strategies to be geared more specifically to the consumers they want in their restaurants. These different consumer groups have different hot buttons about where they want to eat, what they want to eat, and how they want to enjoy it.

In many cases of kids being loud or running around, it’s because they’re bored. If some of these restaurant experiences weren’t so boring, you wouldn’t see as many kids distracting the other guests through their noise or behavior. You hear it all the time, we are in a media overloaded world. Is there really any doubt as to why going out to eat at a boring restaurant can be boring for today’s kid? If restaurants don’t want kids running around and ‘being loud’ than turn up the volume, literally and figuratively. Restaurants that want families as customers (they do spend more than diners without kids) should be doing certain easy things to enhance the experience for the kids which ultimately makes it better for everyone else. Activity sheets are a good place to start but if they are lame, it’s pointless. Sports bar themed restaurant are popular because they are noisy. But if a restaurant doesn’t want families with kids, then it’s the restaurant’s responsibility to create that environment within the restaurant. A ban based on age for an entire population is inappropriate and over the top. Ultimately it is a punishment for those parents who do their job in teaching their kids how to behave and act appropriately.

Last year I was contacted by a mom who said she was banned from a Chicago area restaurant because her kid was crying. When I contacted the restaurant to get more information, I ultimately heard the “two sides” of the story. In this case, the restaurant manager asked the mom to step outside with the crying child because she was getting complaints from other people in the restaurant. That is how it should be handled and done so with dignity and respect. Each restaurant should have a policy for how they will handle those situations and be consistent with it, not discriminatory. Banning people, based on age or for any other reason is a slippery slope we should not go back down. Seniors can’t be banned based on their age. Do we really need to go there with kids? Personally, I think there is a better approach.

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Follow the link above for the location nearest you and to download a coupon for $.99 Kids Meals and $5 Off any $25 Order.

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Kids at CRAVE. Sunday nights are kids eat free, one per paying adult and CRAVE offers a wider variety of kids menu items than most casual dining restaurants I’ve seen. Sure, they have the traditional favorites of chicken tenders, pizza, and mac-n-cheese but have you ever seen a Sushi Cone (cooked snow crab, sushi rice, and sweet soy reduction in a crepe cone), Shrimp Guppies (cooked shrimp, sushi rice, and sweet soy reduction) or Smelt Roe Sailboats (smelt roe served in a cucumber sailboat)?

If you haven’t been to a CRAVE yet, give it a try. I hope you will be as pleasantly surprised as I was. Check out their listings on MyKidsPlate.com to see their kid-friendly listings, a video and directions. If you’ve been to any of these locations, you can also rate them on these pages.

CRAVE, St. Louis Park, MN

CRAVE, Edina, MN

CRAVE, Bloomington, MN

CRAVE, Minneapolis, MN

CRAVE, Orlando, FL

CRAVE, Omaha, NE

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“The 10 chains on the list get straight A’s for offering families healthy and tasty food with a side of fun,” Parents reports. To compile the list, Parents analyzed the calories, fat, saturated fat, and sodium on the kids’ and adult menus of more than 150 national restaurant chains. Editors also evaluated the quality of the ingredients and conveniences like call-ahead seating, online ordering, crayons to keep the kids busy, and the availability of high chairs and booster seats.

“We are honored to be named one of Parents magazine’s Top 10 Restaurants for Families for the second time,” said Mimi Somerman, Mimi’s Cafe Senior Vice President of Marketing. “We pride ourselves on offering a variety of nutritious and delicious options that both kids and parents love in a warm, welcoming ambience.”

Parents singled out Mimi’s for having one of the most extensive menus in the survey with more than a dozen entrée choices and seven side dishes. Mimi’s all-inclusive kids’ meals range from the new Grilled Chicken and Veggies (176 calories) to all-day breakfast items like whimsical Mimi Mouse pancakes. Kids 12 and under get crayons and their own printed menus with fun activities such as mazes, crossword puzzles, jokes and word searches. Younger guests in high chairs enjoy Mimi’s signature touch: a complimentary bib and a toddler plate filled with cereal, crackers and an orange slice.

The 2011 ranking by Parents magazine adds to a growing list of accolades Mimi’s has relished through the years. In 2010, Mimi’s Cafe was top vote-getter in the Best Restaurant Chain category in The Orange County Register’s Best of Orange County, and a Platinum Plate Award recipient for Kid-Friendly Restaurants by MyKidsPlate.com. Mimi’s also has won Best Family Dining award from the California Restaurant Association, the Kids Choice Award for Best Appetizer from Southwest Florida Parent & Child Magazine and Best Family Dinner by the Daily Press, among others.

Mimi’s offers convenient meal solutions for busy families such as online ordering, curbside to-go, seasonal family meals and call-ahead seating. The Mimi’s Cafe eClub features exciting offers such as free kids’ meals and Buy One Breakfast Entrée, Get the Second Free coupons.

Mimi’s Cafe serves breakfast, lunch and dinner seven days a week in cities coast to coast. For locations, hours, and menu and nutrition information, please visit MimisCafe.com. You can also find Mimi’s on Facebook at Facebook.com/MimisCafe and at Twitter.com/mimis_cafe.

ABOUT MIMI’S CAFE

Mimi’s Cafe is a collection of upscale casual dining restaurants with 145 locations in 24 states as of the end of the first fiscal quarter (July 30, 2010). Mimi’s Cafe is a unit wholly owned by Bob Evans Farms, Inc., a publicly traded company (NASDAQ ticker symbol BOBE), known and loved for its bountiful breakfast, lunch and dinner menus with high-quality cuisine, unparalleled service and tastefully appointed décor.

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Here is the video of the drawing of the winner…

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