Kids' Restaurant Week

By JULIETTE ROSSANT Do kids need their own restaurant week? For Cookie and Gourmet magazines, the answer is "yes." The two Conde Nast publications are behind the first-ever Kids' Restaurant Week in Washington DC (June 13-21, 2009). That will be followed by Kids' Restaurant Weeks in other cities (New York and Chicago from June 20-28). The idea is to get kids (and their parents) to eat out at fine dining restaurants. According to the press release, throughout the week, participating restaurants will offer special discounts and fixed-price menus with dinner seating from 5 p.m to 7 p.m. That's when many young children eat dinner and, more important, a time restaurants could use the extra business. Kids aged 11 and under will pay their age, while adults and children 12 and over will pay $29.00 each. A portion of the proceeds will benefit Eastern Market and Miriam’s Kitchen. Kids’ Restaurant Week festivities kick off with the national launch event on June 13 at Eastern Market, on Capitol Hill neighborhood. The event, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., will feature cooking demonstrations, as well as food tastings with top chefs from other participating restaurants and culinary activities for kids. By Super Chef's latest count, there are 15 participating restaurants in Washington DC including Art & Soul, Beacon Street Bar & Grill, Café du Parc, Firefly, M Street Bar & Grill, The Hay-Adams and Zola. Super Chef was sorry not to see more restaurants on the list - like Michel Richard Citronelle where the Obamas recently dined. It is not clear just what the restaurants will be serving to children. Super Chef canvassed several restaurants, but none had settled on the menu yet. Super Chef hopes it will not be the usual chicken tenders and spaghetti marinara that hardly challenge children's palates. Let's hope that during Kids' Restaurant Week introduces children to interesting, healthy, correctly portioned dishes. Let's excite little palates -- and encourage parents to explore food with their kids. Previous articles: [Chefs & Charity - complete] Technorati Tags: superchefblog, Juliette Rossant, super chef, celebrities, chefs, food, restaurants, cooking, branding, cuisine, blogging, food blogging, cookbooks, cookbook reviews --> back to Super Chefhttp: