Ask any family where they like to eat when they have the money, and most of us have a pretty specific answer, which is often based on what foods our kids will actually eat, as well as who serves free food when. For example, we like Captain D’s on Thursdays because of the free kids’ meals, though we can all eat there for around $10 any night if we get the $2.99 deals and one drink to split (or waters). We also like Cicis because our daughter eats there well and we always get coupons, so we can all three eat there for between $12 and $15.
O’Charley’s has always been our favorite actual restaurant, however. We can get all you can eat soup and salad deals for $7 each, which are delicious—and our daughter has always been free. She loves the kids meal with shrimp and broccoli. Together, we eat for about $20, which is amazing at a sit-down restaurant like that. Plus, you get all you can eat rolls on top of it, and they are scrumptious.
That said, we took my aunt to eat there yesterday, and my daughter’s meal was on the ticket for about $5. That doesn’t sound like a lot, but that could have been part of the tip; we ended up spending $10 more than I had anticipated. When I asked about it, the waitress apologized, saying that since Easter, kids’ meals are now only free Monday through Thursday. That made sense, since we do usually eat out during the week rather than the weekend.
Still, it would have been nice to have known—there was no sign or anything posted, and I didn’t see it in the menu, either (though it could have been; we know what we want and rarely look at it!). How about a little consistency here, restaurants?
Every restaurant that has free kids’ meals—and not all of them have them, of course, but those that do—seems to have them on different days. At Steak N Shake, it’s during Saturdays and Sundays only, while at IHOP, I think, it’s after 4:00 PM. (We haven’t eaten there in years, so I might be wrong; I heard it on the radio.) I think we should pass the Convention on the Privilege to Free Kids Meals, which mandates that free kids’ meals should be on the same night every week—or that they should just be all of the damn time, because let’s face it, our kids only eat two bites and they are done, anyway.
All kidding aside, some transparency would be nice—just have it posted somewhere so parents don’t have to hunt for it. I guarantee you that we will all come on that day just to save $5—which, of course, will probably be spent on an action figure or something later anyway…