Dinner

A few days ago, friend and fellow blogger Tim referenced an article about a restaurant with a “No Rowdy Kids” policy, which policy was made clear by a sign in the window stating:

Children of all ages will have to behave and use their indoor voices when they come to A Taste of Heaven

Some parents weren’t too pleased with this rule and tried to organize a boycott. The restaurateur was unrelenting and I commented that it was his right to keep his restaurant “brat free”. The parents are free to take their little angels to Chuck E. Cheese’s or some other place that doesn’t have such a policy.

Last night we got to see how Ally behaved in a place that definitely was not Chuck E. Cheese’s.

There is a good Italian restaurant nearby called Zeffirelli’s. Actually, there are two. The original Zeffirelli’s is quite nice. Reservations are a must, many people go there for a nice evening out. We’ve been there a couple of times, before we had Ally. The newer location was not quite so upscale, at least it wasn’t the first time Lauren and I tried it, just after it opened, again before we had Ally. I don’t know what it was about it but it just didn’t have the feel of the original Zef’s.

Anyway, we had a coupon for ten dollars off, at the new location only, so we thought it worth trying again. We walk in and were struck by how different the place looked. Why, it appeared downright fancy. And you know what they did to achieve this?

They dimmed the lights.

I’m quite sure that’s it. Everything else was pretty much the same. If you want to add a star or two to your rating, just turn the lights down. The darker the better.

Oh, and there were no other kids. In fact, I don’t think there was anyone under the age of thirty eating there. They had two high chairs, which didn’t look like they’d been used since the place opened. Ally’s graduated to a booster. They had one of those. Took ‘em a while to find it.

So we sit down and notice there is no kid’s menu. We sort of count on the kid’s menu with crayons so Ally can occupy herself in the meantime. It was okay, she was busy looking around the place, admiring the dim lights. And she could have some of what we ate; the portions are big enough to share.

Ally has had one restaurant meltdown. It happened this past summer when we were on vacation in Myrtle Beach. For some reason, she just would not calm down. Squirming, crying, the whole bit. We couldn’t figure out what was wrong so I told my wife to place my order while I carried the screaming flailing child outside to the parking lot. Some parents wouldn’t be embarrassed by such behavior. I am. I have this old fashioned belief that other people shouldn’t be subjected to your hysterical kid. I’m funny like that.

It took her a good fifteen minutes to calm down. I was ready to grab some fast food and call it an evening, but she finally simmered down.

I’m always afraid it will happen again, but it hasn’t.

And it didn’t last night. Ally was such a good patron, one of the waiters (not ours) came over and said that in his nineteen years in this business, he could count on the fingers of one hand the number of children her age who’ve been as well behaved.

Ahem. Excuse me while I act all proud and stuff. “Why yes, she graduated top of her class at finishing school”, I said. Seriously, we don’t know why she is the way she is and other kids are, well, not. I hope we’ve had something to do with that, but I’m thinking that it’s just her personality. That and the whole thing about girls being more mature than boys (which, by the way, continues into adulthood.)

Anyhow, I think we’re ready for A Taste of Heaven. Bring it on.