Baby food go bye-bye

By Jessica Strand

April 24, 2003 12 AM PT

Special To The Times

JUST when you were getting used to the cup of crayons and the special “kid friendly” menu, there’s a new wave of chefs offering more sophisticated choices for your kids.

No longer will you glance quickly at their mac & cheese (spelled just so) or hamburger and fries and offer up the bottle of ketchup.

Now you may even long for a bite, and perhaps while your child is looking elsewhere, grab a piece of their tender filet mignon or twirl your fork in their exceedingly creamy fettuccini Alfredo.

The question is, are kids becoming more knowledgeable about food and demanding more intriguing choices, or are chefs, along with parents, educating children on how to eat?

Joachim Splichal, chef-owner of the Patina Group restaurants, doesn’t offer a kid’s menu; instead he offers anything on those restaurants’ regular menus free to kids under 12.

“The idea came to me when I had my twins,” Splichal says. “At 2 1/2 they ate at Patina Bistro and loved it. So I thought all kids should have the opportunity. This way they learn about interesting, well-cooked food and begin to develop a real palate. How wonderful [when we] hear that one of our patron’s children is a giant fan of the roast chicken with onion sauce.”

At Bastide in L.A., chef Alain Giraud and general manager Donato Poto were stunned by a group of 10- and 12-year-olds who came in recently with their parents.

“I couldn’t believe them,” Poto says. “They sounded like a bunch of food journalists discussing foie gras and various exotic French items on the menu.... They were amazing.” The kids’ menu at Rancho Bernardo Inn’s El Bizcocho restaurant in San Diego is so sophisticated that each dish comes with an “education card,” which explains the more exotic ingredients and their history.

With appetizers such as lobster salad served with eggplant caviar and heirloom tomato confit, or an entree of chicken marsala with sauteed wild mushrooms, potato dumplings and demi glace, parents might even learn a thing or two.

Debra Matsumoto, director of catering and special events at Le Merigot hotel in Santa Monica, began to develop a new kids’ menu when she started noticing that children were becoming much more adventurous, and ultimately more demanding, about their eating choices.

When it came to several items on the menu, she relied on the advanced palate of Jamie, her 7-year-old son.

“He’s begging for [us to put] rack of lamb on the menu, so we probably will put lamb on as well. Jamie is the one who came up with the ‘fundue’ idea. I walked into the hotel kitchen and found him alternating between dipping butter cookies into a bowl of fresh, warm chocolate sauce and a bowl of bubbly caramel sauce.”

Firefly Bistro in Pasadena offers high-end comfort food including a rich fettuccini Alfredo or fun skewers crammed with succulent pieces of grilled steak that kids can enjoy with a side of buttery sauteed sweet potatoes.

Then there’s Fuga in Studio City. Bento boxes for children have compartments filled with edamame, tsukune (a ground chicken dish) tempura, cucumber roll, fresh fruit and the highlight: a cute toy.

From the time Fuga opened a year ago, manager Osamu Harada insisted on bento boxes for kids. “This is what they have in Japan,” Harada says, “and we wanted to be a truly traditional Japanese restaurant. It’s something you don’t find often in the United States, and kids just love it.”

So much in some cases that parents may start to feel a little jealous. Not only can kids order off the adult menu, but their own menus are becoming so appealing you may want to order off theirs.

If you’re too embarrassed to do so, just remember: You can always pick off their plate.

Cuisine for kids

Bastide

8475 Melrose Place, Los Angeles

(310) 651-5950

El Bizcocho

Ranch Bernardo Inn, 17550 Bernardo Oaks Drive, San Diego

(858) 675-8500

Firefly Bistro

1009 El Centro Ave., South Pasadena

(626) 441-2443

Fuga