 |
| My favorite vegetable and fruit are all of 'em! |
Hey, if you remember anything about me, back when I was a Tiny Baby, it's that I really looked forward to eatin' off the menu in restaurants, insteadda havin' Similac or little tubs of pureed peaches Mommy brought me from home.
I always thought there was something so glamorous and delicious about restaurant food, even though I wasn't allowed to have any of my very own for what felt like a LIFETIME. Friends, I'll tell ya what. I will never, ever forget the first time I actually go to order something off the menu in a restaurant. It was Jell-O at the dang ol' Texas Hot in Downtown Wellsville. It was red Jell-O, with a generous helping of whipped cream on top. It was the best thing ever!
Once I got past the stage where all's I could do was gum bananas, though, I noticed something disconcerting about a lotta Kid's Menus in restaurants where I go. A lot of 'em are a choice of Hot Dog, Hamburger (or Cheeseburger), Mac-N-Cheese, Chicken Nuggets (or Chicken Fingers, or Spaghetti. Sometimes, you can get little steak medallions off a Kid's Menu. At the Red Lobster, you can get a piece of tilapia fish. In a lotta places, to go with those entree choices, the Kid's Menu offers sides such as French Fries, broccoli, apples-n-grapes, applesauce, or cottage cheese. Red Robin has an excellent fruit salad.
Thing of it is, I can't help but notice that restaurants are heavy on the breaded chicken foods and mac-n-cheese, and I understand that a lotta Little Kids don't like vegetables, but they love cheese and noodles and breading. I am not like a lotta Little Kids. I love fruits and vegetables.
So here's what I do. I've gotten so I don't usually bother with the Kiddie Menu, unless I'm at the dang ol' Red Lobster. There, I get myself a piece of tilapia fish, a little house salad, and orange wedges off the Kiddie Menu. I hafta ask for the little house salad separate, but it's so worth it. At other places, I ask for a little house salad (with lotsa grape tomatoes if they don't mind, but if they do mind, that's all right) and a side of whatever their finest Kiddie Menu fruit is, and then I just figure if there's anything intriguing on Mommy or Daddy's plate, I'll just have a coupla bites of that. Restaurants always bring a lot more food out to people than they really ought to be eatin', anyways.
This is a win-win, you know, because I get to try foods that aren't chicken nuggets and mac-n-cheese, Mommy doesn't hafta feel like a loser for asking for a to-go box and then forgetting it, because I usually eat enough off her plate to render the to-go box useless. And I get to have vegetables.
I know there's other Little Kids like me out there, Friends, and I just want 'em to know that it's okay to be underwhelmed by the Kid's Menu choices. It's okay to ask for your own thing. Nobody ever gave a Little Kid a dirty look for askin' for more fruits and vegetables!
Come to think of it, I don't think anybody would throw shade at a Big Person for doing the same, either!
I love ya lots, Friends! I'll see ya tomorrow! Muah!
No comments:
Post a Comment