Family Friendly Restaurants

Family friendly restaurants turn eating out with kids from a headache-inducing nightmare into a pleasant experience. Contrary to popular opinion, families are not relegated to a lifetime of McDonald's, Chuck E. Cheese, and other burger or pizza places.

To be truly family friendly, a restaurant needs to have more than loud music and dancing clowns, although those do help. A restaurant fit for the entire family should provide a balance of convenience, entertainment, and good food. Given the choice, many children would subsist entirely on chicken nuggets, macaroni and cheese, soda, and French fries. While many family friendly restaurants do offer those time-proven children's favorites, they offer healthier options, as well. In addition, family friendly restaurants should feature:

• Comfortable seating for children of all sizes
• Changing tables in restrooms, preferably in both male and female facilities
• Relatively quick service
• Books, crayons, or other engaging at-table activities for kids
• Friendly staff
• Music, televisions, or other entertainment

For a moderately priced family friendly meal, consider Chili's. Chili's offers books, crayons, and coloring sheets to entertain kids. The music is usually loud enough to drown out any unplanned temper tantrums or crying fits. In addition, the restaurants feature interesting artifacts and pictures, all guaranteed to keep little ones occupied. The kids' menu features timeless favorites like burgers, chicken nuggets, pizza, and macaroni, in addition to unique offerings such as:

• Grilled chicken platter
• Barbecue ribs
• Grilled chicken sandwich
• Pasta bowl

In addition to fries, Chili's offers a wide variety of kids' side items, including:

• Cinnamon apples
• Mashed potatoes
• Black beans
• Rice
• Corn
• Broccoli

Denny's is ideal for budget-conscience families. Kids' meals generally cost less than four dollars each, and most locations offer free kids' nights. What's more, Denny's offers side item choices beyond the usual French fries. Kids' choices include:

• Side salad
• Gold Fish
• Grapes
• Mixed fruit
• Applesauce
• Mashed potatoes
• Veggie of the day

Kids' drink choices include milk and juice in addition to soda. For added fun, Denny's gives children tasteless color packets to jazz up their water or juice. Children are given crayons and coloring sheets for quiet entertainment.

For a one-of-a-kind dining experience, dip into The Melting Pot. Be forewarned, this is not budget-friendly fare, but it is ideal for special events or occasional splurges. The Melting Pot is a fondue restaurant, featuring creamy, cheesy concoctions. Kids will have a blast dipping bite-sized bread, vegetables, and apples into creamy, cheesy concoctions-- and they just might not notice that they're eating healthily. For desert, The Melting Pot offers a dizzying array of snack-sized munchables, all designed to be dipped in chocolate sauce. Salads and entrees are also available. In 2004, Child magazine named it the best restaurant for families.

Ruby Tuesday offers a fun, low-key environment for family dining. Although details vary by location, all Ruby Tuesday restaurants feature fun music and a friendly staff. The kids' menu includes:

• Salad bar
• Pasta
• Grilled cheese
• Mini burgers
• Macaroni and cheese
• Chicken tenders

For side items, choose between French fries, mashed potatoes, and broccoli.

Try as we might, there are times when we have to go to non-family friendly restaurants. Work or family obligations sometimes dictate our dining locations. With a few adjustments, any restaurant can be family friendly:

• Try to plan meals at off-peak times. Kids generally don't do well with long wait times.
• Don't take kids out to dinner when they are starving! They will be cranky and irritable.
• Take your own quiet activities, including: books, crayons, coloring sheets, and quiet handheld games.
• If there will be a long wait, ask for quick finger foods, such as raw vegetables, bread, or crackers.

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