What About the Next Generation of Foodie?

It's a Tuesday night. All is seemingly calm as our Dynamic Duo heads out for culinary patrol. Captain Gourmet pulls up to a Mexican restaurant called Zuzu with his sidekick, Kid Ketchup fast asleep in the back of their patrol SUV. The captain surveys the surroundings and a dark, unsettling feeling sets in. Our heroes are supposed to meet up with long time friend Tiffany tonight, but the parking lot is quite devoid of her tell-tale red beamer. Something is amiss. The Captain wakes his sidekick with the news that they would be on stake out awaiting Aunt Kiki's arrival. The stake out proves to be uneventful, save for the smells of Mexican food wafting through the air, and after some time passes, our heroes break out the Cap Phone to call Tiffany to find out just where the hell she was. It's a sad fact, but a hero's life can be rough. For the lack of a properly delivered email message, she thought that the rendezvous with the pair of adventurers was cancelled, and other plans were made. Yes, our heroes were stood up.

At least our heroes would be able to make their way onto the evening's true objective....dinner. After having had Mexican food for lunch, and no longer being obligated by a dinner appointment, the Captain opted for Italian. Several places came to mind, but Primizie on East 11th street won out for our heroes.

The hero and sidekick arrive and the restaurant and are promptly seated by the staff. It was then that our Captain was hit with his profound thought. The waitstaff pointed out the children's menu to the Captain, and he was immediately impressed with that. You simply don't see that at too many restaurants that serve gourmet quality foods and arent' chains. Furthermore, when Kid Ketchup's pepperoni pizza showed up, even more praises needed to be sung. Primizie incorporated their own style into the pizza making a thin crusted pizza using the delicious flatbread that they serve with their meals. Quality ingredients were used as well. Captain Gourmet quickly noticed that the pepperoni wasn't the standard store bought or bulk fare that you would find, but appeared to be a higher deli-style pepperoni. That's not the end of it, though, true believer. This child's dish was plated with a very simple, yet elegant, arrangement of fruit (raspberries and melon). It was just as visually appealing as it was delicious....and it was a children's dish. (priced appropriately, by the way.)

Now, our hero is not here to review this restaurant. For that, you can read two accounts of this restaurant by Mariah and her friend Laura, some of the resident foodies here in Austin.

No, the Captain is here to point out how his eyes were opened by this experience at Primizie about the ease of putting together a children's menu. A child's palette isn't going to be as developed quite as much as an adult. Alot of the tastes are going to be more simplistic and will be focused around foods which will one day become comfort foods for them. For instance, there was no way that the Captain would have expected his sidekick to dive into the Braised Rabbit with Garganelli Pasta dinner that he partook of. However, that should have been no reason to deny a well behaved child like Kid Ketchup a chance to broaden his palette along lines that are comfortable for him....via a children's menu.

The Captain simply can not see why more upscale restaurants do not offer a children's menu given how simple it can be to implement. Now, granted, the captain does understand that some restaurants seem to have their target audience, which may not include children. However, we live in a free market economy. What sense does it make to exclude a foodie from the ranks of your clientelle simply because they can not find a sitter? The captain believes that a children's menu at restaurants such as this would help to encourage a large customer base, and would encourage restaurants to use this to their advantage.

What's more, one day the Captain realizes that he may very well end up in a superhero's retirement home. Who will be making his strained peas and mashed carrots? It will probably be someone from the next generation. So, let's start broadening the palettes of the next generation of foodies so that those peas and carrots won't be bland mush, but tastefully prepared mush presented with a gourmet flair. Yes, there are places like the Young Chefs Academy, but bringing them to nicer restaurants to experience food of the same qualities that a true foodie would appreciate is quite important as well.

Captain Gourmet and Kid Ketchup call up you, good citizen, to take note of the existence of a children's menu at restaurants you enjoy. If you have kids, bring them. If you don't, still ask why the establishment doesn't have one. The Captain believes that the we can, indeed, instill an appreciate for great food in the next generation of foodie, but he needs you, good citizen, to join in the cause.