Am I in Chuckie Cheese?
Today is Valentine’s Day. Since my weekend plans to visit my siblings in NJ were vaporized by being sick all week (I’ve got to play catch up at work now) we decided to venture into DC and do something fun. Of course, this was fun by our standards, so we planned on going to the National Archives to see the Emancipation Proclamation, which is only on display 5 days a year. By the time we got there, the line was atrocious, so we decided to go to the remodeled American History museum instead, which I’d never been to before. Then, it was off to a restaurant I was very interested in trying out, a Mexican antojitos place called Oyamel (www.oyamel.com). It’s one of Chef Jose Andres’ restaurants, and considering we’ve been to two of his other restaurants in DC and loved them (Jaleo and Zaytinya) I had high hopes for Oyamel.
Having made it to Oyamel (www.oyamel.com) and ready to partake in the yumminess, I was amazed to see the number of children there. I’m not talking about teens or close-to-teens. No, I’m talking smaller children, less than 10 years of age. This really took me aback – this is a more refined, upscale restaurant, the kind of place that even in my early 20s I wasn’t sure I could appreciate like I do now, with prices to match. Why would people bring kids of that age here and pay that kind of money?
Now, before people come after me with pitchforks or tar and feathers for being mean to kids or whatever, I’m not saying kids shouldn’t ever go out to anything other than McDonalds, but I truly can’t understand why parents would bring them to a place like this. This is the kind of food that you really have to savor to appreciate, and I can’t imagine the chicken nuggets crowd is equipped to really get it. If anything, I could easily see them (the kids) being somewhat disappointed. I would have been at their age. Why pay that kind of money for the kids to not even get it? I’m sure some would argue that this is how you might develop a child’s palate, but I’m not convinced that’s feasible for younger kids. Sure, it makes sense for them as they get older, but not when they are young.
Notice that my first complaint wasnt’t that the kids were misbehaving, though a few were running between the tables, which was indeed inappropriate and for which I again call out the parents. Kids shouldn’t have to sit in a crowded, tight restaurants first waiting for a table, filled with people paying a lot for their meal and any of us be surprised when they do not behave. They are kids!
So yeah, some restaurants are not Chuckie Cheese.
The Pointy Stick 
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