We know that pre-pubescent foodies exist. Heck, some of them even write reviews for magazines and some restaurants flat-out cater to them, still every time we read a story about precocious kids who prefer the "$25 black cod with miso from Nobu" we die a litte on the inside. Shouldn't those kids be off eating Happy Meals or downing margaritas at Applebees or something?
Anyway, the Post this weekend took another gander at what the stroller set is eating, and the news is as bad as ever. First there's the three-year-old who "knows how to order. At Phillipe, he asks for the chicken satay. He loves the spicy tuna rolls. He loves Peter Luger’s, Pastis and Norma’s for brunch, where he gets french toast with walnuts.”
And there is the couple who takes their five-year-old daughter out to restaurants at least twice a week ("we want her with us as much as possible,” explain her parents).
And though some restaurants will still scorn the kids, more and more are noticing that the tiny gourmands are a great cash cow. “We encourage the more adventurous kids to try the tasting menu,” Per Se general manager Andrew Rudolf told the Post. And that tasting menu he is talking about is a $295-per-person, nine-course sampler that takes over four hours to eat. “We have hosted children that have enjoyed offal preparations, such as ris de veau [fried calf glands].”
At least Balthazar-king Keith McNally seems realistic about what kids really want: “The only food I ever see children enjoy at any of my restaurants are the pizzas at Pulino’s. That’s all children ever want to eat. Anyone who says anything else is lying.” And we have to agree, Pulino's is a good place to bring the kids.
In the meantime, these kids are exactly why we tend to try and go out to eat at the later side of things—unless we happen to be going out to eat with them.
