Should fine dining establishments go out of their way to accomodate toddlers?

[agzg]

What say you, GC?

NYT Article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/09/ny...s.html?cnn=yes

IT began at Fred’s. I was tucking into a lobster salad over a business lunch at the swanky eatery inside Barneys when I noticed, amid the sea of designer handbags and diners who define chic, babies dotting the room. And instead of grudgingly accepting them, the staff was doting.

My daughter, Meenakshi, was 8 months old at the time, and my husband and I had been getting our restaurant-food fix by ordering takeout or hiring a sitter. Whenever we took her with us we ended up wishing we had stayed home.

At our favorite pizza restaurant, which was always full of families, we were told that we were not allowed in with a stroller — Meenakshi was just 4 months, too small for a high chair, and the thought of working our way through a pie while taking turns holding her was not exactly appealing, so we took it to go. A casual American spot with a separate children’s menu seemed promising, but I was left struggling with my stroller down the handful of stairs while the staff stood idly watching.

But after seeing the babies at Fred’s, I decided to try again. We were able to check in our bulky stroller, and when it came to ordering for our little gastronomist, then about 10 months old, the Fred’s waiter suggested an off-the-menu grilled cheese on whole wheat with a side of sautéed broccoli. It arrived within minutes. He was amused, not annoyed, by Meenakshi’s game of dropping her plastic cutlery on the floor more than a dozen times so he could pick it up.

Meenakshi turned 2 last weekend — we celebrated at Café Boulud, where she selected her raisin-walnut roll from the bread tray to go with her goat-cheese risotto balls, and finished with a milk chocolate and peanut butter bar plus chocolate tuile (they wrote “happy birthday” on the plate), followed, of course, by the signature madeleines. She has been to some of New York’s finest eateries, finding obliging staff and a hint of culinary adventure in an otherwise uninspired diet. (And, I’m sure, some fellow diners who had paid for baby sitters and were perturbed at her presence.)

She finishes the article with a list of places.

Read the comments. I tend to agree with most of the commenters against this idea.

AND, on CNN.com:
http://www.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/wayof....html?hpt=Sbin

(CNN) -- First, it was babies in bars. Now, children in fine-dining restaurants are feeding a raging debate.

The argument is fueled by new efforts of some Michelin-starred New York restaurants like L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon and Café Boulud to cater to the under-3-year-old crowd.

Not every patron of expensive restaurants desires to share a formal dining experience with young children who may be more interested in playing with their food than savoring it

Some are upset at the parents of the young diners, but others believe that even adults don't always behave in ways that allow customers to enjoy peaceful dining.

More than 100 people -- mostly against the idea of tots at upper-echelon restaurants -- posted their heated comments in response to Shivani Vora's recent New York Times piece, "Fine Dining Where Strollers Don't Invite Sneers."

"People who force their toddlers on others in enclosed public spaces like fine restaurants (and airplanes) are even more selfish than those who insist on talking on cell phones in such places," one Times reader said.

"If you object to 'howls' (based on your ridiculous presumption that all children inevitably howl), let's start by excluding all the adults who are yelling into their cell phones, are drunk and/or obnoxious, etc." another commenter said.

More at the source.

So, thoughts?

[ComradesTrue]

No they should not, says the mother of a 3 yr old and a 1 yr old. There are plenty of places that I can go with my kids. In addition, there are plenty of sitters if my husband and I want an upscale meal.

[Senusret I]

Hell no.

[Munchkin03]

Nope.

I love kids. I love babies. I also know how expensive those places mentioned in the article are, and if you can afford to have a $20 individual pizza in a department store that sells $2,000 shoes, you can afford a babysitter. That's the reason there are "Family" restaurants like TGIFriday's or Romano's Macaroni Grill. Babies are okay there. Babies are NOT okay in Fred's.

[ISUKappa]

Well, it's easy to see where some kids get their sense of entitlement. If this had been happening 5 years ago, before these parents had children, they would have been some of the most vocal against it. But now that it's *their* children, it's now acceptable, and even encouraged? Way to only think of yourselves.

I love my kids. I love them to death. But I don't want them (or anyone else's kids) interrupting my very lovely, most likely very expensive, meal. There's a reason we don't eat out very often, and if we do, it's to a family-friendly restaurant.

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by Blondie93

No they should not, says the mother of a 3 yr old and a 1 yr old. There are plenty of places that I can go with my kids. In addition, there are plenty of sitters if my husband and I want an upscale meal.

This.

[AOII Angel]

Considering that the point of going to Joel Robuchon's restaurants or Daniel Boulud's Cafe Boulud is almost as much the ambience as it is the food, I'd say that having children there is a huge NO! At least she didn't take her child to Daniel! I've eaten at 20 or so of NYC's top 50 restaurants, and I've never had adults making idiots out of themselves disturbing my dinner, so saying that this justifies letting children dine with their parents is absurd. Diners at these establishments are paying good money for a nice experience and don't need it ruined by someone else's poorly controlled children. They can experience the restaurant with their children when the kids are old enough to remember it!

[33girl]

If by "accomodate" you mean "have a soundproof room to stick them in" then yeah, I'll get on board with that. But if I go to a NICE restaurant, the last thing I want is a baby/toddler crying, stinking, drooling or all of the above next to me.

Really all you need to say about this.

[groovypq]

After our last flight to Florida, my dad and sister got the idea of starting adults-only flights...

[dreamseeker]

Originally Posted by 33girl

If by "accomodate" you mean "have a soundproof room to stick them in" then yeah, I'll get on board with that. But if I go to a NICE restaurant, the last thing I want is a baby/toddler crying, stinking, drooling or all of the above next to me.

Really all you need to say about this.

this! lmfaoooooooooo @ that clip. i'm gonna watch it again.

[sceniczip]

I hate kids so no I don't want them dining with me at a high end, expensive restaurant. I don't want them on my flights either. Kids usually aren't happy when flying but I enjoy flying and I want to continue to enjoy flying, which can't happen when some little kid is crying the whole trip or kicking my seat. If you want to go eat with your kid, take them to a family restaurant. Sorry if it sounds harsh but I really can't stand children who misbehave and their parents do nothing about it. We were at my cousin's first communion and the people's baby behind us cried the entire mass all 1 1/2 hours.

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by AOII Angel

Diners at these establishments are paying good money for a nice experience and don't need it ruined by someone else's poorly controlled children. They can experience the restaurant with their children when the kids are old enough to remember it!

Besides, the average kid would rather be anywhere other than that nice restaurant.

[AOII Angel]

Originally Posted by MysticCat

Besides, the average kid would rather be anywhere other than that nice restaurant.

I agree with that, too.

[agzg]

I think the problem lies with the parents. They should be practicing how to eat out, AT HOME, with their kids. How to order. How to behave. How to ask for extra something-or-other, POLITELY. But, the vast majority of families that I see in restaurants (and yes, some of these include highly-zagat rated restaurants here in Chicgao), DON'T do that.

Some kids can handle it, others can't, but that has much to do with the age of the child and how much practice they've had at home. Unfortunately, we can't count on the majority of these families to be well-prepared.

And if I see ONE MORE portable DVD player pulled out in a mid-level to fine dining establishment, I'm seriously going to lose my shit. If I wanted to eat in front of the TV I'd have stayed at home.

[33girl]

Originally Posted by MysticCat

Besides, the average kid would rather be anywhere other than that nice restaurant.

And as a commenter pointed out - the "children's menus" at those restaurants aren't healthy or adventurous food that's opening up the kid's palate. They're spaghetti and chicken nuggets at ridiculously jacked up prices. A more responsible parent would take their toddler to the cafe at the food co-op and feed them fresh things that are good for them.