Katie grabbed a few friends to hop aboard her epiphany train to launch Ketchup Kids, a website where parents can see just how family-friendly a restaurant is! We dine with you (and your kids) in mind and tell you all about our experiences!
The parents of Ketchup Kids will be dining out at various restaurants in the Acadiana area and will critique the family-friendliness of a restaurant, rating everything from the kids menu to the cleanliness of the changing table in the bathroom to the wait time for the kids' food.
Every family has a different dynamic and all have very different dining experiences. For this reason, we have chosen families of different sizes and age groups to be a part of the Ketchup Kids review team. Each month, the team will TRY to all dine out at the same restaurant (at different times) and provide individual family opinions and anecdotes on the overall experience. We will then average our ratings, while still providing individual feedback on why we chose a particular rating. If one of our families visits a restaurant not on our monthly restaurant list, that family will do an individual rating and the rest of the team will add to that page once they have the opportunity to visit that restaurant. It may take us a while to all rate a restaurant since eating out is expensive!
Please understand that our experiences, whether good or bad, depend on a lot of different factors: time of day, moods of our kids, how crowded a restaurant is, if we have extra adult helpers in our party, etc. If you have had a different experience than one of our reviewers, please feel free to comment on that review page!
If you have any questions or comments for your critics, please e-mail us at ketchupkidsreviews[at]gmail[dot]com.
MEET THE KETCHUP KIDS REVIEW TEAM!!!
Katie & Jake
Kids: Cole (1)Thoughts on eating out with kids: xxxxxxxx
Favorite Restaurants to take kids: "Izzo's Illegal Burrito, Olive Garden, Athenas, Texas Road House, La Hacienda, Burger Smith, Shintos... the list goes on and on..."
Least favorite place to take kids: "Copeland's and Blue Dog Cafe"
First thing you do when you sit down at a restaurant: "I order Cole's food and drink. I ask the server to please put the order in right away."
Preferred seating with kids: "I love booths."
Your kid's favorite table entertainment: "Anything on the table... and the people around him. He is such a flirt!"
Best Restaurant Dining Experience: "We haven't really had one. Most experiences have been average. When Cole was a baby and slept in his carseat, eating out was easy (except the whole "lugging the baby around" thing). I find that we eat out less now that he's older, but we are trying to venture out more and more."
Worst Restaurant Dining Experience: "McDonald's. I was at my first playgroup and I went to change Cole in the bathroom. I had never been to a playgroup before so we were both dressed to impress. My plan was to quickly change Cole's dirty diaper before he messed up his nice clothes. Being the new Mommy that I was, I had diaper changing down 95%, but that remaining 5% came back to bite me in the butt that day. Before I could get the diaper on, Cole peed all over himself, the changing table, the wall, the floor... and ME! I just stood there, stunned. I was so embarrassed, yet slightly impressed at my son's aim. Of course, I walked out of there soaking wet with my child in a completely different outfit."
Restaurant Pet Peeves: "My biggest pet peeve is when a hostess sticks two families (four adults and two children) at a table made for FOUR adults. Really?? Yes, we only have four adults, but my toddler deserves to be comfortable and not crammed into the corner of some table. Better yet, I deserve to be comfortable. Yes, the kids take up a larger table and we won't spend as much as a table of six adults, but I DON'T CARE!!! ::GASP:: It's kind of a crazy idea, treating families with table respect... LOL I need to stop or I will keep ranting."
Casey & BoKids: James (4), Leyson (2), Baby #3 (in the belly)
Thoughts on eating out with kids: "How much energy do we have today?"
Favorite Restaurants to take kids: "Sicily's"
Least favorite place to take kids: "Blue Dog Cafe (reserved for date nights only!)"
First thing you do when you sit down at a restaurant: "We remove everything within the kids' reach. And, when necessary, wipe everything down with a wet wipe."
Preferred seating with kids: "Booths since my kids refuse to sit in high chairs."
Your kid's favorite table entertainment: "Cars. Each kid gets to bring 1 car to drive on the table."
Best Restaurant Dining Experience with kids: "Any time where the adults outnumber the kids."
Worst Restaurant Dining Experience with kids: "My husband and I decided to make an unplanned stop at a restaurant when James was just over 1 year (old enough to sit in a high chair, too young to to pitch a fit when he couldn't roam around... or so we thought). We, and the rest of the rush-hour customers, witnessed James' first mega-tantrum. No amount of puffs or juice would keep him quiet. His rice dinner could not have come out fast enough, and when it did, it became confetti being thrown across the table. Bo and I got our meals to-go (which also couldn't come fast enough) and poor Bo had to walk out of there consoling both a hysterical child and a crying Mommy. That was my breaking point when I realized one of my favorite past times would never be the same again."
Restaurant Pet Peeves: "When I go to a restaurant WITHOUT kids and they stick me in the family section. Romantic table for two, please."
Kids: Talben (10), Brennan (5), Jalin (3), Addison (1)
Thoughts on eating out with kids: "I think it's important to take children out to eat. It's not always enjoyable, but it's a learning experience for them."
Favorite Restaurants to take kids: "Golden Corral... I know it sounds horrible, but there are so many choices and we don't have to wait."
Least favorite place to take kids: "Anywhere kids aren't welcome. Signs kids aren't welcome: No activities, no childrens menu, super quiet."
First thing you do when you sit down at a restaurant: "It depends on the restaurant. If I know the restaurant is going to be a little slow getting food out, then I ask to order the kids food right after we order our drinks. I usually have snacks with me for the baby, so if it's an average restaurant we just order all the food at the same time."
Preferred seating with kids: "BOOTH... I can trap them in!"
Your kid's favorite table entertainment: "The Peg Game (like the one at Cracker Barrel)."
Best Restaurant Dining Experience with kids: "I'm not really sure I've ever been anywhere that was just awesome. It seems that places that are great for children don't havve the best food, and places with great food aren't intended for children."
Worst Restaurant Dining Experience with kids: "P.F. Chang's (see note above about places with good food not being intended for children."
Restaurant Pet Peeves: "Slow service. Places that don't allow you to flip the high chair upside down to make it a car seat holder when they don't have the car seat sling. Being cramped in a table where you can't even fit your leg in between the seats. Dirty high chairs. Places that automatically add gratuity on our check. We are a family with 4 kids and I don't think this should qualify for the 6 or more people."
