Macaroni Dinner

We had one of the nicest meals out with the kids that we've had since, well, since we've had kids. We went to Romano's Macaroni Grill tonight, our big Weight Watcher point splurge for the week. First off, in a gimmick-turned-brilliant-family-enterntainment maneuver, all of their tables are covered with a sheet of butchers' paper, and crayons are placed on the table. The waitresses use this as a huge "nametag" to write their name, but the kids used it as an easel for their own little works of art. This kept Ben and Joseph both fascinated, and it was wonderful to give Joseph some crayons and not have to worry that he was going to color on something that he shouldn't.

Secondly, we had a great waitress who was very thoughtful. There was bread on the table in almost no time at all, and when dessert rolled around, and Josh showed no signs of interest, she brought him the vanilla ice cream that we requested, but also brought sides of strawberries and hot fudge, should he want them.

Joseph gnawed on bread very happily, and when that was gone, he shared some of our appetizers. Once dinner proper had come, he enjoyed sharing some of my pasta, but he had to have his own fork (he's very particular about that), so he attempted to eat with one of the big restaurant forks. It's funny to watch Joseph eat with any sort of utensil. Obviously, it's good practice for him, but he can't quite manipulate a utensil, yet; so, he goes through a brief show of attempting to pierce his food with a fork, or scoop it with a spoon, both of which appear to the untrained eye as though he were gently patting his food with the back of his utensil, and then, the implement is moved aside as he reaches out with his other hand much more effectively to grab a fistful of food. And boy does he grab a fistful! Two fistfuls if he can handle it. He keeps his mouth full, and revels in it.

In any case, I think that everyone had an enjoyable time. All were in a good mood, and enjoyed the food. Joseph, in particular, came away from the restaurant with his eyes dilated in a sort of hypnotized stare of astonishment, both at the wonders that he had just tasted (and put in his hair, I might add), as well as at the fact that he was up past his bedtime; he was quite amenable to sleeping when the opportunity arose.

'twas a good evening, and I highly recommend the restaurant to any and all, but especially to those with kids.