Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Restaurants The bane of family restaurants' existence
Posted by Cliff Bostock @cliffbostock on Tue, Feb 14, 2012 at 9:49 AM
Is any issue as perennial as squalling kids in restaurants? I've written before that I really like going to Grant Central Pizza, just a few blocks from our house, in part because it often gives me the opportunity to interact with kids. I know that's not an inspiration to parents who may be escaping children by dining out for an hour or two.
I can usually take the squalling in stride, but apparently some Yelpers and the like, cannot. The notice above is now part of the restaurant's menu.
Comments (35)
Showing 1-35 of 35
GCP and Dakota Blue are great places to take the family and we've taken our kid to both many times. It's possible that there aren't enough restaurant options nearby for people seeking a less family-friendly, more quiet dining experience (yet not a smoky bar). Places with thoughtful food and a nice, relaxed atmosphere for grown ups.
There's Agave nearby, and Sound Table isn't too far away. Maybe an upscale Italian place like Sotto Sotto in the neighborhood would give Grant Parkers a good non-kid-friendly alternative to GCP.
It seems like you're really going to have to go out of your way to put together a restaurant with 'pizza' in the name that doesn't attract noisy families. Especially if you're in a 'hood with a lot of kids.
like
dislikePlaces with thoughtful food and nice atmosphere are not immune to the invasion of squalling kids. Every store I go in seems to be equipped with at least one, and the parents all seem to have gone conveniently deaf. When my kids were little (god I sound old!) I never allowed them to misbehave in a public place. What's wrong with parents?
"Every store I go in seems to be equipped with at least one" -- I'm always at a loss when I read a statement like that.
Barring obviously family-oriented spots, I can't think of any intown restaurant I've been to recently that has had a squalling kid. In the past month I've dined (without my kid) at Publik, Alma Cocina, No. 246 and several other places. No squalling kids. A few loudmouth adults, but not a single cry from a child.
Nancy: where exactly are you dining? I'm not doubting or attacking you, honestly. I genuinely want to know the source of our different experiences.
What a tame response by Grant Central Pizza. The heated debate is usually whether to allow children at all. A statement on the menu asking patrons to "tend to their crying tots outside" is downright innocuous and, moreover, just states the obvious. I cannot believe that parents would need to be told to take their child outside if he cries. Is that no longer the norm? Parents need to be told this?
My wife and I tried to get pizza last Friday night at Felini's in Candler park. Its was nuts in there. It was so loud it was unbearable. We were the only non-breeders in the whole place. Lesson learned: Never try and eat there again.
PS
Does having a kid make you immune to rude behavior?
I love how how quickly the anti-breeders jump in. For the record, I do not tolerate that from my 2 y.o. Unfortunately, most of the rude behavior we encounter when dining comes from adults (as shown here, as well).
Lorinming and all parents,
There was honest to god not one table in there that did not have screaming children at it. Im asking a valid question. Do you guys really just get immune to the screaming and jumping around? I would assume you would have to in order to not choke the shit out of your sperm creation. Pizza places in general have been taken over by families. I just dont get it. The only reason I was even dining in was because I was on my way somewhere. I almost always get pizza to go. What do you guys get out of bringing your kids plus all of your neighbors kids up to Felini's or GCP? I dont like going out to dinner with more than one person. Im just at a loss. I wish i still smoked though so i could have sat outside and blown smoke everywhere. Can't keep your kid at the table? Well here's a little reminder that its not safe around my table.
@ Cliff
Did you enjoy being around children in your 20s and 30s? Maybe I will grow out of it. But as a 30 year old married man with no children i find them unbearable. Every time we dine out we make sure that my wife is good on birth control. Not to mention living in an internet age where you watch friends and facebook "friends" who have no business having children continue to shit them out like drunken catholics.
When my kids were small they knew they'd get smacked good if they terrorized the place. When they were smaller, we just didn't go. God I missed dining out then.
It's not the kids per se, it's the indulgent, patronizing, Doctor Spock believing, non-spanking, free range unique snowflake non parenting parents.
You'll get your payback when they are terror teens.
Edge I know you will do better should you neglect to pull out.
screaming kids aren't as bad as messy kids. i can ignore screamers but someone's got to clean up cheerio crumbs and jam fingerprints on the windows
really though what bugs me are kids who don't even stop playing with a phone/DS long enough for me to put down their food. teenagers, too! i've seen entire eight tops of young kids not saying a word to each other, all hunched over their phones. texting each other?
"It's not the kids per se, it's the indulgent, patronizing, Doctor Spock believing, non-spanking, free range unique snowflake non parenting parents."
i blame the alcoholic, apathetic, overweight church moms with that peculiar i've-got-three-kids-my-life-is-over glaze slopped over their face like so much Mary Kay who just buy a digital babysitter doohickey for their kids so they don't have to deal with the responsibility they've created for themselves
i shit you not i overheard "C'mon Dakoda, put the iPad away" twice in one week. different kids!
Funny how so many parents these days get all pushed out of shape when someone has the nerve to ask them to make their kids behave in such a way that they don't run roughshod over others at a restaurant. What the fuck?!
My hat is off to Grant Central for plainly explaining to parents that THEY are responsible for seeing that their kids don't shit on other peoples' dining experience.
News flash folks. Kids like pizza. Kids cry. Some kids cry a lot. Some kids cry so much their parents opt to let them cry it out. If you go out for pizza, expect kids to be there. It'll be funny when the majority of you here whining have kids in five years.
An even better idea...go eat fancy pizza at Fritti or 246 or somewhere the pizza isn't $12 for a large. I guarantee there won't be kids and you'll be able to enjoy your mature, adult dining experience
" it often gives me the opportunity to interact with kids."
Makes you sound like a child molester.
@Jeremy; I've lived in Grant Park for over ten years, have eaten at GCP since I moved here. The onslaught of ill-mannered families dining there has been ramping up the entire time, concurrent with the gentrification of Grant Park and the success and growing desirability of the Neighborhood Charter School. The "official car" of Grant Park used to be a fucked-up Volvo. Now it's an expensive, 18-wheel stroller.
Across the street from GCP is Dakota Blue, a virtual playpen that caters to families w/ kids. Kids running amok there is, apparently, part of their business plan. I'm fine with that: I've never eaten there for that reason. Apparently grown-up dinners without ill-behaved kids ARE part of Grant Central's business plan. That's why we eat there. If that's OK with you, I mean.
When did people become so scared of telling parents to shut their kids up?
Quit being pussies and take action people.
I have two kids who wouldn't dare act like animals at a McDonald's, much less somewhere with a wait staff.
Again, quit being whiney pussies and do something if you feel so strongly about the issue.
I don't get the problem. I don't have kids, and don't want kids -- but I want the people who have them to also have have a decent social life. And I want the kids to be socialized in adult environments, so that they grow up knowing how to behave in public places.
If this means hearing an occasional scream, I can live with it. And you should be able to live with it, too.
I'm not talking about banning all kids. I'm saying places like the candler park felini's and GCP have gotten out of control. It's like a chucky cheese. Which if that's what they are going for then cool. I just won't go there. And it must suck for the employees. Also could a parent please answer my question? Are you just immune to the flailing limbs and screaming??
" ' it often gives me the opportunity to interact with kids.'
Makes you sound like a child molester. "
No, it makes him sound like a man who doesn't have children, hasn't spent years of his life babysitting or taking care of younger siblings and isn't subjected to family reunions with screaming children on a regular basis, and therefore finds it "refreshing" to interact with children. Personally, I have lots of experience with children, so I don't have the same perspective.
Once, back when Chef Liu's was still in the little trailer in the parking lot, I noticed a young Asian couple with a baby having a quiet meal. Every time the baby acted up, the father picked her up and took her out to the parking lot so the mother and everyone else could relax and continue eating. It was refreshing because I so rarely see parents act this way, but also refreshing because he was clearly giving mom a well-deserved break, and she was relaxed enough to enjoy it, while I also got to enjoy my meal. I particularly like going to Japanese restaurants, where I often see children, but they are always well-behaved. I tend to avoid many American style restaurants in most price ranges because most of them seem to be overrun with conveniently deaf parents and their wild offspring.
I can also empathize with the server who posted upthread, as I've been unfortunate enough to be clotheslined by free-running children who were quite lucky that I didn't drop the hot plates I was carrying directly onto their fragile little skulls. Parents these days really do need to at least pretend to try a little better.
We have a 3-year-old who has accompanied us to Sotto Sotto, No 246, and plenty of other upscale restaurants in the area, and we've never had a problem. It's not because our son doesn't occasionally melt down or get loud, but a) we try to plan our excursions early to avoid the inevitable exhaustion and crankiness that cause the meltdowns/loudness in the first place; b) we bring books, stickers or other stuff for him to do (or we interact with him!) to stave off the inevitable boredom; and c) we take him immediately elsewhere and help him calm down/chill out if he begins to get loud. Generally, he sits and eats his dinner without incident. There's no reason young kids can't eat almost anywhere if their parents are tending to them and treating them like human beings, not either ignoring them or screaming at them.
When my son was little we always brought books, a Magna Doodle, and other quiet toys. Never a problem. I want to scream when I see kids scraping the brick wall of the Marlay with cutlery and then falling off the wall while the table of parents continued to down their brewskis in complete oblivion or denial. I've seen kids run head first into a table edge and break the skin. I've seen a server drop a tray of food after a kid ran into her. It's not only rude to let kids run amok in a restaurant, it's dangerous. If I see that we're being seated next to a table full of kids, I'll ask the host(ess) to put us elsewhere.
Parents do become a little immune to the sounds and gestures of children, after all, you are around it all the time. We also become immune to the sneers and looks of sheer terror you give us when you see us coming. Got over that when my kid was about 3 months old. That being said, some of us American parents do take our children outside and/or leave if the behavior becomes disturbing to others. And then,some people are going to let themselves get their panties all in a wad about being near children whether they misbehave or not.
The world will always have children in it. You were a child once. You were annoying, too. Maybe you still are, with your cell phones in public, body odor, cigarettes, and other poor habits that are intrusive upon others.
Totally agree with those who require appropriate behavior of their children and speak out if necessary to the parents of unruly children (although that has nearly gotten me beat up in the past). The first time I asked my melting down child if he/she wanted to go outside, he/she eagerly said yes. After getting spanked outside for unacceptable behavior once or twice, the answer invariably became no. And voila! I had children who behaved beautifully in restaurants. But people don't discipline their children any more. This has been an awesome thread of comments. You people are great writers of scathing diatribe!
My sister recently told me that we could go to lunch but that we'd have to take turns eating. Because one of us would be chasing her child from table to table around the resto. Um. NO. She didn't want to hear it. We didn't have lunch.
And I do think Cliff is making a bad example by interacting with children who wander over to his table. You should give them a scary growly face and wave your knife at them so they'll cut that shit out.
I had to haul my 2-year-old daughter out of Sapori di Napoli in Decatur because she was wailing. It was 6ish on a Friday.
She had hooked her foot around part of the high chair, which seemed painful, but still somehow didn't want to be extricated from it.
Anyway, the servers asked if something was wrong, the neighboring diners were concerned. Everyone else was really nice. There were other well-behaved kids there, I felt like a doofus.
I write this basically to point out that some pizza places in child-friendly parts of town are not dissolving into chaos.
We got it easy in the city though. If i dont want to deal with kids i can just go somewhere mildly upscale or to a bar. the people in the burbs really get fucked. My Mom lives in Johns Creek. I recently took her to a place called Marlow's Tavern for her birthday. Its a bar. It has tavern in the name. There was a tennis mom with two kids in there kicking my booth the entire time. So now your kid needs to come to the fucking bar too??? My mom claims there is no escaping it in Johns Creek. And she is an elementary school teacher.
Does anyone remember the days of "smoking or non-smoking"? Sometimes, I wish restaurants offered the option "kids or no kids." If smoking can be banned in restaurants, why can't unruly kids? Screaming noise is not unlike cigarette smoke - both pervade the air with unpleasantness for those who do not find them enjoyable. Restaurants are not playpens, playgrounds, Romper Room or your living room. What strikes me is how comfortable or oblivious families seem to be at a restaurant table that looks like a small bomb went off. Baby or kiddie paraphernalia everywhere, never mind the mess. Perhaps this has become the norm, but I don't think it was always so. My husband and I (non-breeders) always ask to be seated away from tables with kids or, if we don't like the spectacle from outside, we'll walk or drive away (eh, too many kids!). The debate will surely continue (like pets vs. screaming babies on airplanes.)
I don't mind well-behaved kids in a restaurant, they can be fun to watch in some circumstances. I think the statement from GCP is perfect and the only bad thing about it is that they felt they must print it. That sentiment should be standard procedure for any parent, but alas, it isn't. I would also suggest that adults who don't understand the concept of "inside voice" or who thing shouting into their phone in the middle of the dining room is OK should also be directly outdoors.
@ FuziOh
i could not agree more about the inside voice. My bigger pet peeve than children is "ladies night". You know when a bunch of cackling fatties from marrietta decide to loud talk there way through 12 margaritas at Agave on a thursday night.
what do you guys think you are eating at rathbun steaks? give me a break. this is what you are going to get going to a family pizza joint.
I do agreed... I really don't want to hear little children ages 3+ crying that knows better.. I do understand that there are some inconvenience with the children.. There's parents that has infants/toddlers in the restaurant and they will cry.. The babies/toddlers I can stand, because they don't know any better... But, children who knows better and SHOULD know how to use their manners and doesn't follow the rules in the restaurant, the parents should be respectful to take the children outside until they are quiet and use their manners.
So many comments exaggerated to make your point. "Every kid is screaming." No, they are not. Believe me you'd know if that really happened. And calling Grant Central a "dining experience," seriously? Compared to McDonalds or The Varsity I suppose. If this is the worst thing thing that happens to you people then I'd say you are doing OK. BTW go check out whitewhine.com.
To be clear, the real problem here is with entitled "parents" who, for some reason, think that everyone else should have to suffer their inability to control their children. Unsurprisingly, those interviewed in the FOX piece took no responsibility & that seems to be indicative of too many parents in Grant Park/Inman Park area. Of course not every child in Grant Park pizza is screaming, etc, but there are enough to drive away customers who don't cause problems & spend more on drinks, etc. I commend Grant Park pizza for addressing this bullshit & will be supporting it regularly. Dakota Blue & Matador are intolerable to me because they refuse to address it & will lose $ because of it. That's their loss.
Everyone just needs to learn to act right: parents, kids, hen parties, hipsters...When in a public place have a good time, but don't interupt others. There is a time and a place for everything; know how to act where you are at any give time.
Get drunk if you can hold you liquor.
Take out your kids if they behave.
Talk on your cell if you can do so without yelling.
If these things are too difficult to manage work on them and be a better person.
Is this stuff really so difficult?
Everyone just needs to learn to act right: parents, kids, hen parties, hipsters...When in a public place have a good time, but don't interupt others. There is a time and a place for everything; know how to act where you are at any give time.
Get drunk if you can hold you liquor.
Take out your kids if they behave.
Talk on your cell if you can do so without yelling.
If these things are too difficult to manage work on them and be a better person.
Is this stuff really so difficult?
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