An Experiment

So as I mentioned over at Dining with Monkeys, I got my hands on a list of places where kids eat free from Memphis Loves Kids. I organized it by day, alphabetized it, added and subtracted from it after a few calls and googles, came up with a plan to get the monkeys a free meal every day this week, and even got the Memphis Flyer to agree to run an essay (with professionally taken photos) about the experience.

The list of places is actually quite long, but unfortunately none of the places is really all that exciting or even somewhere I would normally go. But I told myself that if I could find a way to stay in Midtown/Downtown for the most part, it would be do-able. I don't like to cook and the monkeys like to go out, so it should be a win-win situation, right?

After carefully perusing the "Kids Eat Free" selections, I made my itinerary:

Monday: CiCi's Pizza (technically not free for kids, but almost free)
Tuesday: McAlister's
Wednesday: IHOP
Thursday: Picadilly (again, almost free)
Friday: Gus's or The American Cafe
Saturday: Hooter's (Yes, Hooter's. How could I pass this up??)
Sunday: Gus's, The American Cafe, or Rally's

When I told Warren about my plan he said, "You are probably going to get sick." I laughed, but knew he had a point. I've been doing everything possible to make sure the monkeys have a solid breakfast, an insanely healthy lunch, and extra milk and fruit before bed. I have been eating extra fruit and lunching on salads all week.

Sadly, I am only on day four of this experiment and I already feel as though I am poisoning my precious babies. I mean, have you seen what most places consider a kid's MEAL? What do these places have against nutrition!? CiCi's had a salad bar which was nice, but the food options at McAlister's and IHOP were rather sketchy. For instance, Satchel had chips and dip one night and a giant chocolate chip pancake with whipped cream the other night. (Clearly I let him choose his own food, but it wasn't like he was bypassing organic delights to get what he wanted.)

I think we ought to fare better at the cafeteria tonight, but I don't have much hope for the other restaurants on my list. Clearly when kids eat free, you get what you pay for.