Harbour Bar Gives Us Sneak Peak at Menu
Decatur Metro | August 24, 2011Christine, the wife of one of the owners of the new Harbour Bar in the old El Tesoro space, was good enough to send along a first draft of their menu. She notes that while it’s still subject to modification, it’s about 90% in place.
Additionally, here’s a blurb that they sent around yesterday about their new seafood pub…
The owners of Napoleon’s in Oakgrove Village will open a newly renovated neighborhood Seafood Pub in downtown Decatur (the old El Tesoro house).
The refurbished open floor plan will showcase a wrap around bar creating the perfect atmosphere for causal dining and a gathering place for friends and neighbors. The pub dining area will extend to an outdoor bar and stage for live music.The family friendly yard is a great place to let kids play with the addition of an adult bar in the back (21 and over after 9pm).
The menu offers something for everyone! Highlights include raw oysters, Lobster Corn Chowder, Rhode Island Clam Cakes, steamer baskets, fish in parchments, entrée salads and much, much more.
The opening is expected to be mid to late September.
You had me at Lobster Corn Chowder.
Simple stuff, reasonable prices. This could work if the food is decent. I can never get too many fish sammiches.
$12 for a po boy and $10 for 6 fried oysters sounds a little pricey to me. Maybe I’m cheap? Sounds delicious though.
What does Sawicki’s charge? Their po boys are good so that might be a good comparison but they do not have the cost of wait staff and table service.
Wait staff = $2.13/hour per waiter. Not much of an expense.
I’m with you, Chris. Sounds a bit steep, especially for a family. The gold standard of “affordable southern seafood and bar” in Atlanta, IMHO, is Six Feet Under, and 6 ft. has a cheaper and more extensive menu than this.
The draw to this place, however, is the yard play area for kids and live music stage for adults.
“affordable” is relative to disposable income. “casual” is a better adjective.
+1 — I love the sea food menu choices at Six Feet Under.
I agree that the prices seem a little steep…..but we haven’t seen the portion sizes.
However, I’m not going to be tempted by the $1 less per dozen ($.08 per oyster) to shuck my own oysters and potentially slice my hand open at dinner. And, with only two non-fried fish entrees why would they both be salmon?
I’m lovin’ the idea of an outside bar. Helps to get a somewhat beachside feel and I like enjoying a beverage outside. Without the actual beach or ocean of course.
This sounds *really* promising, and it doesn’t largely duplicate anything else nearby. I have high hopes. The old El Tesoro/Jakes space is nice.
I’m totally excited. Yes its not cheap, but its seafood. I love 6 feet under, but the convenience of this and the more family friendly layout are a huge plus. As for suggestions, I’d like to see a steamed clam app, crab legs (!!!!!) and blackened shrip tacos. Also curious about kids menu as this is after all Decatur.
Menu looks delish, but…no scallops! Really?!?!? Wondering why…
Because they are disgusting bottom feeders? But what do I know, I hate all seafood…
I don’t think they are bottom feeders — they are filter feeders. Crabs and lobsters, on the other hand, do eat just about anything that happens to be lying on the bottom of the ocean and/or riveer.
Well, actually filter feeders sometimes concentrate pathogens or toxic substances. Having said that, I LOVE crab, lobster, scallops, oysters, mussels, most shellfish. I just won’t eat them raw!
You’re absolutely correct, DEM. But bottom feeder or not, I luuuurves me some scallops, lobster, scrimps, mussels, clams, & crab. Oysters I can do without, cooked or otherwise. Just can’t get past the texture, cooked or raw…
You hate ALL seafood? Gah! Between you & Token, y’all are killin’ me!
I love seafood.
So I’m not ALL bad.
I like the menu and think the prices are fair for seafood…provided the quality is good. I like that there are plenty of non-seafood choices too, like interesting salads and even what sounds like a house-made veggie burger. Good mix of healthy and indulgently fried options. Love the idea of an outdoor bar, live music and an opened up interior space. I really hope this place works!!
I love fried pickles. Can’t wait!
I am hungry now…. Love that space, my kids (and husband) will be happy it will open soon
Hmmm…have high hopes for Harbour and wish them all the best. Worried the menu is too extensive. Restaurants can spread themselves too thin financially and quality wise when they try to do everything. Some of the most successful restaurants (profit and longevity speaking) do a few things brillliantly and not only have lines out the door but save in inventory costs. And um…where is the Kids menu? This is Decatur, afterall.
Dead horse territory. I think it’s fine to have at least a couple of places that aren’t catering to the kid crowd. Most other places do. It does have the word “Bar” in the name of the place after all.
But if you want to take a group of 5 year olds in, any chef would know how to make grilled cheese sandwiches. They’re new and trying to build a good rep, so they probably wouldn’t tell you no.
@ Rebeccab:
The Square Pub is indeed a Pub serving good quality beers, yet it has a small children’s menu and even a kid’s night, despite being called a Pub.
“Bar” and “Children” are not mutually exclusive. Indeed, it’s a great way to increase non-vampire business. Bar/Pub regulars don’t usually come out until the sun sets whereas young kids are at home before the sun sets. It’s along the same lines has having a lunch menu to increase revenue during the lower-demand periods.
“Bar” and “Children” are not mutually exclusive
Didn’t believe that I suggested i was. I actually proved your point, in my first post. That most places are child friendly, and it’s fine have a couple of places that are less so.
Anyhow, didn’t even realize there was a name for the singles & couples without kids like that. Does that also include people with kids, who are just out on a date night as well? Or just the barren folk?
Take 2. You actually proved my point. And yes, that was fairly humbling actually…
Sorry, Rebecab. I’ve been reading a lot of Charlotte Harris lately after watching True Blood. Vampires are neither good nor evil, but are different. Perhaps that was a poor choice of a word as a short-hand for “usual dinner or later” customers that comprise the peak time of bars and pubs. I also didn’t mean to imply anything as harsh as “barren”. Yeesh. Very, very sorry, seriously.
Charlaine Harris
We’re cool. Well, other than the fact you have stolen my thunder a little. I was prepared with a comeback line that went something like, “perhaps you should boycott any restaurant that doesn’t allow for changing your child directly where others are dining” But now it’s no longer necessary, and would have lost it’s sting.
But I’m keeping it in my hat, and reserve the right to use it later for some child/restaurant post.
(And BTW, the I read the changing story on this very site a while back. Could have been fictitious, but it didn’t sound like it)
What Rebeccab said.
+1 for “Mt. Vernon Mom”
Decatur is indeed kid-centric. We took advantage of kid’s night last night @ The Square Pub (kids eat free with parents) and at least 80% of the people in there at the time were families with young kids, like us.
Also, it may be just me, but Oakhurst seems to have an especially high concentration of families with younger kids.
“Decatur is kid centric”– I think the actual statistics of the resident make-up here would prove you incorrect. Most Decatur PWKs are certainly kid-centric, but fortunately, not all of them believe that the whole town is (or expect it to be). It is, however, certainly “kid-friendly”, which I have no probkem with. I, for one, hope it never becomes “kid-centric”, because that would basically reduce it to an ITP suburb, where there’s no diversity, and no one dares have fun, be different, or loud, or non-kid-centric! In a word, boring.
Not sure how suburbia equals ‘kid centric’ and ITP equals childless. I don’t see that line of demarcation.
Not “kid centric” versus “childless.” I think Cuba was comparing “kid-centric” versus “kid friendly.” (Cuba, set me straight if I’m over-projecting my own perspective.) “Kid-centric” means contriving the environment (built and social) to accommodate every possible, conceivable want and whim of children (and of the parents rearing them), to the point that anybody not actively raising children feels marginalized (and, inevitably, annoyed). In contrast, “kid-friendly” means children are welcome to be present and participate, to behave in ways that give and get respect from others, just like everybody else in the community — but not be the center around which everything else has to revolve. I know that has to be a tough distinction for parents to make sometimes. The parent’s world MUST revolve around the kids’ well being, 24/7. But the larger world shouldn’t.
I pay taxes to support our school system without complaint. I enjoy having kids around the neighborhood, watching them grow up (so fast!!), and I reflexively keep an eye on them even when they and you don’t realize it. I think children have an important place in our community, just not at the center of everything, all the time.
I was childless for 33 years and never once did I sense these threats you speak of. How someone can translate one person’s wish for a child’s menu gets into a sense of marginalization is simply beyond my comprehension. What type of environmental contrivances, both built and social, are you referring to? Too many playgrounds? Please help me understand.
Rebeccab and Cuba beat me to it and said it all well (as usual). Not sure I have anything to add although I reserve the right to think of something later.
BTW, if Harbour Bar comes through with quality oysters on a consistent basis, I’ll be there once a week during months with an ‘r’ — yippee! I like the shuck-your-own option, too. (When I think of all the dozens and dozens of oysters my pappy offered to shuck for me when I was a kid and thought they were too slimy to be food…)
Honestly, these days, I much prefer hanging out with my friends who are childless, or spawnless–or whatever you kids are calling the reproductively disinclined.
Stg, exactly. Chadly, there were several queries about why there didn’t appear to be a kids’ menu (turns out there is)– the trigger for me, though, wasn’t just those inquiries. It’s kinda been building up for the past few months. I don’t think the childed realize how they can often seem as if the community should reflect their mores and lifestyle to the exclusion of all others. Not saying the CFers don’t have our own moments, but (IMHO), you guys have us beat. Who was it who said there’s no anti-tobacco zealot like a reformed smoker? A bit analogous to the formerly CF who have kids…
“I think children have an important place in our community, just not at the center of everything, all the time.”
I got to this party a little late today and missed all the good stuff! But I think that comment was probably the best out of them all from my perspective.
If DM should still be around somewhere…
Lots of interesting points came out from both sides, and we have all been heard. I have no doubt this will come up again, and I hope we can discuss it when it does because generally we manage to play fairly nicely together.
What bugged me personally about the menu comments was that to my ears/eyes, they read a little snooty. Like “How dare you not welcome my child” and I just don’t think that’s the right attitude to have. I don’t think a business should receive scorn if that’s not the particular crowd they want to cater to. If you don’t want to go there then don’t, but the posters seem to think that every place should automatically offer that. It’s nice if they do, but if they want to cater to other folks than just those with kids, that’s OK too.
I personally witnessed someone picking up their screaming child and hauling them out of a coffee shop not too long ago. But we have also all seen toddlers at a10p movie, and parents who don’t seem to get that their child is being disruptive to others. So I hope it’s still OK to have the conversations, and that they are not totally off limits. From what I have seen on the boards, parents who generally do the right thing when their child is being disruptive, and realize everyone’s world doesn’t revolve around their child, aren’t offended by the conversation.
Say it, Becs! You & Stg are batting .1000 lately…
I understand and agree with your notion of not wanting kids around at a 10PM movie. Hell, I don’t either. I unequivocally oppose that type of behavior. And I suppose I understand that a parent’s wish for a child’s menu creates a ‘social’ contrivance. What I still struggle with is an example of ‘built’ contrivance.
Oh, Chadass, since you insist on pursuing a completely literal construction of my comments, here are a few quick examples of what I consider “kid-centric” elements in our built environment…
– choochoo trains and such at a shopping mall, a source of annoyance to me and many I know (with and without kids); it may well attract a particular segment of customers but the noise and overall air of a giant hamster wheel undoubtedly drives away others (including people like me who have more money to spend on ourselves b/c not raising a family). I used to enjoy a nice mall browse from time to time; now I only go under duress, on specific quests, get in and out as rapidly as possible and absolutely spend less money than otherwise would.
– racecar grocery carts at the supermarket – upside is they keep kids from rampaging through the aisles, downside is they’re huge and complicate navigation for everybody. People have been shopping in supermarkets accompanied by children for 50 years or longer, these wheeled leviathans are relatively recent and IMO a response to the prevailing trend of not requiring children to behave themselves in public. (See previous rant about child deportment in stores.)
– n’hood restaurant that wedged a tiny “children’s area” with a few toys into a corner of the dining room, in close proximity to many tables. All it did was encourage a pre-school playroom atmosphere to pervade the whole dining room, which is not what the proprietors were aiming for, based on the menu, prices, and other aspects of decor and branding. Tried it twice before scratching it off the list — good food and decent service but not worth enduring the constant potential for toddler frenzy. Not saying there’s anything wrong with restaurant making that choice. Just an example of what I was talking about.
Thank you, for clarifying. I’m know I’m persistent. I just wasn’t following if your beef was a public or private sector sort of issue. That’s why I asked about playgrounds earlier. As a parent, I hate choochoo trains and race car carts as much you do. (Try pushing one of those sonsabitches around Publix.) But to me, that’s more about capitalism and brand-building than ‘centric’ or ‘friendly.’ Make no bones about it, Decatur is a kid centric/friendly city as evidenced by the misty statue on the square. But I also agree that there should be kid-free zones. I would never take my kids to Trackside, unless they were old enough and buying. ‘One bourbon, one scotch and one beer, please.’
Ah, ma-a-an, you’re makin’ me think too hard.
I hadn’t really thought about it in terms of public/private sector. Now that I do think about it (with some end-of-week cognitive impairment, mind you), I’m not sure it matters, at least in terms of what I’ve been trying to articulate. Our susceptibility to marketing, and how our responses feed the beast, is germane to this discussion but beyond me at the moment. I can say that I believe mroe parents these days are more likely to expect the world to focus on their children, than was the case a generation ago; and that the public sector has to deal with those expectations. So yes, the grocery carts and mall amusements are private sector marketing, but they contribute to a culture that the public sector ultimately has to reflect and/or respond to.
In terms of what the public sector has to respond to, I’d argue that the growing necessity of two-income households is about as kid UNfriendly as it gets.
“becomes “kid-centric”, because that would basically reduce it to an ITP suburb, where there’s no diversity, and no one dares have fun, be different, or loud, or non-kid-centric! In a word, boring.”
I had no idea that children hated fun, being different, or being loud. This leads to the question of just who IS this the fun-loving loud person living with me, who likes to wear different colored shoes and make up songs at the top of her lungs?
And they kill diversity, too? You mean no matter the parent, they’ll all come out the identically, socially, ethnically and culturally? My goodness you ARE giving me insight into certain hand-woven all-natural well-read standards of just how to live properly.
Seriously though, I see no correlation between the presence of children and the stifling of cultural life. And if a place sells itself as having a kid-friendly front yard, then it logically follows that a kid’s menu would be available.
Well, I suspect you’re being deliberately obtuse, but I’ll bite anyway.
Kid-centric communities are not diverse in that they cater principally to the lifestyles of the childed, and everyone else is relegated to the periphery. For those who live (or want to live) in such communities, “culture” and “fun” mean principally child-centric, rather than adult-oriented, attractions & activities; “loud” means the sidewalks basically shut down at 9:00 pm (“better not be loud when my kids are in bed”, and places like clubs, live music venues, bars, theatres, fine dining restaurants, and other adult-oriented amenities are few and far between. In short, kid-centric places are places where no one really wants to live except the child-centric– and that’s fine, if that’s your bag. It’s definitely NOT mine (or a lot of other folks’ here).
Decatur is not one of those places, even though it is “kid-friendly” (which distinguishes it from being “kid-centric”). I stand by my assertion that I don’t want it to become one. Sorry if that offends your sensibilities, because it’s not meant to offend. It’s just how I feel about the subject. YMMV.
Yum!
They are apparently nicking some of the most popular, tried-and-true menu items from the menu at Napoleon’s. Which is a good thing–the crossover items are some of the more delicious ones, like the Thai Chicken salad, the Chic sandwich, fried pickles, etc. We eat these at Nap’s all the time, and always feel like we get a very good, if not fantastic, meal for the money. Wishing them great success!
And yes, they should DEFINITELY consider putting a sandbox out in the yard…(not just for kids! A few beachy drinks and a sandcastle session sounds fun!
for gosh sakes – WHERE IS THE KIDS MENU???
FH +1
Totally agree. IMHO, kid-less menus are OK in VH, L5P, Memorial, Midtown, etc.,. but not a good idea in Decatur.
This from the guy whose daughter is downing espresso shots at C&A? TDS doesn’t have a kid’s menu and they were also expressly kid-unfriendly in the beginning, yet kids are always there and my daughter loves it! Chef Ryan has kids (and is a Decaturite) so I am sure it has crossed his mind.
Our daughter loves TDS as well, but they don’t really need a kid’s menu as their prices are more affordable and smaller than most sit-down Decatur fare to begin with. Our daughter likes the margaritas. (kidding, kidding !). See my response in the C&A thread re: espresso. I admit I didn’t choose my original phrasing wisely.
My point about Harbour is that there’s not many options on their menu for small kids under $10, despite them having a play yard seemingly targeted for families with kids. Kind of defeats the purpose, no ?
Maybe the play yard is not meant to target family business for the restaurant. Maybe it is intended to be an amenity for those of us dining without children.
+1
I say we child-free folk take it over every evening promptly at 8:00. Scatter, ye small fry! Begone, ye spawn of the over-entitled! (Ducking for cover from those serial moms Karass warned us about…)
From the restaurant’s own release – “The family friendly yard is a great place to let kids play with the addition of an adult bar in the back (21 and over after 9pm).” So, yes, I think this is meant to be “kid friendly.”
Frankly, if you know anything about seafood, you’ll know that higher prices are often a good sign. When I see cheap seafood (catfish and a few other exceptions notwithstanding), I immediately get nervous about the sourcing. And when it comes to seafood, sourcing is paramount. The fact is, we live inland, and to get quality product, seafood restaurants have to pay a premium. Crawfish Shack on BuHi, my current favorite seafood joint, can be pretty pricey. But the freshness and quality of the fish they’re using is unquestionable. That’s why they display it in a case when you walk in and only cook to order. I like Six Feet Under alright, but you’ll never see them doing this.
I’m heading down to Pensacola Beach and New Orleans this week, and it’ll make it a little easier coming back knowing that we have a promising looking seafood house going in in our backyard.
making mental note to try Crawfish Shack
Do, THC– it’s gooooooood!
The menu says “Buffalo any basket for .50.”
Pier 1 tried this back in the early 90s. It was a disaster.
They can flash-fry a Buffalo at Uncle Moe’s Family Feedbag.
Any word on when they hope to open?
They’re saying mid to late September.
[edited]
LOL! I *heart* you when you’re being curmudgeonly.
I have two children under nine, and I love this comment. Right on, J_T, and no flames from me.
By the way, with two kids, we just order one adult meal and split it. Or if you have just one, take home leftovers.
A chorus? Really?
On second thought, I don’t know why I’m allowing this. Laughing at others opinions is something I used to fight. Maybe I’m just tried and some sort of brain-dead idiot since I have a kid now.
Name-calling is name-calling. “Spawners” was cute, if unoriginal, at first, but look at the factions its creating. I’m cracking down. Go call your child-bearing neighbors names to their faces if you want to vent.
It’s not like you to be thin-skinned, DM, or to not see when someone’s joking. What’s up with that? J_T was totally being tongue-in-cheek (or at least, that’s how I took it), as was I when I joked about taking over the “play yard”. But I’d have thought that you’re familiar enough with my posts by now to know that I very, very seldom ever use terms like that for kids, and certainly never when I’m actually being serious.
It’s your blog, of course, so you’re the final arbiter of what stays & what goes, but what “personal attack” was there in J_T’s post that merited it being removed? It would help to know, so we don’t cross your line again. I’m honestly confused now.
Indeed. And if J_T was being totally tongue-and-check, I apologize. But I believe the comment called the “spawners” “whiny” and something else that I can recall and laughed off their general concerns. I believe he also referred to children as “it”. I used to give people all kinds of crap for laughing at another’s opinion, remember?
Anyway, it seems to me like this joking around “spawners” name-calling is getting a little out of hand. Both sides can give as good as they get, which I guess is why I was allowing it to continue, but now that it’s seen as acceptable it seems to slowly be getting a bit more aggressive.
Sorry I singled you out, but I know that you will call me out and challenge me. I need to put myself in check too.
You know I dig where you’re coming from, and I hope you dig where I’m coming from in return. While I personally thought J_T’s little manifesto was pretty funny, it’s mostly because it seemed like it was NOT coming from a hostile place. Others may disagree. All in all, I do think the chiding from some of us to our childed neighbors was fitting– too many people seem to forget that barely 15 years ago, “kids’ menus” were a novelty, not the norm. Frankly, I often think people don’t give their kids enough credit where food is concerned, because you’d be surprised what they’ll eat if you sell it to them the right way. How do I, a CFer, know this? No less than a dozen nieces & nephews whose parents (my & the spousal unit’s siblings) would tell us, “Oh, s/he won’t eat that, so we can’t go there…”, and somehow, when we “went there”, the kids would end up gobbling down whatever the verboten food was. (Yes, I have quite a bag of tricks I’ve used successfully to get my little kin to try & like “grownup” food– I may have a bestseller in my future!)
Both sides can be a bit smug in our assumptions, but I think we all could use a step-back. Now, can we all agree that no matter what, we love our community, we love this blog, and all of us love the way it knits us together like no newspaper or other type of “local news” can?
(Oh, and as for putting you in check, DM, you know you my dawg & I gotcher back– but if it need to be checked, you know this Cuban-Black-Irish-Cherokee-Sicilian woman gon’ check it!)
Me too…
To complete the picture, yes, I was kidding and I thought that my sense of humor would be understood by all. Seems to me that DM having a kid has colored his perspective and thus restricted certain avenues of conversation. I apologize if I offended anyone but I do not apologize for what I said in the context that it was said. Cuba and DTR, I appreciate your understanding of where I was coming from.
I hate to say this, but this exchange has made me decide to refrain from commenting on DM for a while and I will go back to lurking for the near future. DM, you know who I am and where to find me. I hope that this was just an unfortunate overreaction. If not, I guess I will inhabit the Gibbetts moderated territory for the time being. Peace out, y’all…
Well, then I’m truly sorry for the overreaction then J_T. I didn’t get that it was all in jest. Having a kid may have colored my perspective a bit, but honestly, when it comes to these types of topics and “parenting” in general, I usually side on the place cuba’s coming from still. (The Chik-Fil-A thread is another story…)
I can understand if you just want to go back to lurking for a while, and I take full responsibility for that. But it’s still a hard pill to swallow, since you have such an adept ability of saying what needs to be said, humorously, without venturing into any realms of indecency. But I totally understand it.
Not that it’s any excuse, but I had a long and hard day yesterday. And I should know better at this point then to go on a moderation spree at 10:30p.
As for longer term moderation, that didn’t ever enter my mind.
Well, how could I *not* respond now! It’s all good. Seems that yesterday was just a crazy day for everybody. I thought my little rant was amusing but I do get that some people will not see the humor in certain topics. And while I would prefer the actual olive (preferably stuffed with garlic or feta cheese like the ones at Kroger!) I can take the branch for now. Now that I’ll be working from home most of the time, I have a feeling I’ll need my time on this blog to keep me (relatively) sane.
And I did learn one thing from this little brouhaha – if I ever need back-up in real life, I hope cubalibre and Deanne are around!
Glad to hear it.
And yes, folks like cubalibre and Deanne are invaluable to the site in many ways.
J_T-
Oh HELL NO!!! No laying low for you!!! You’re one of the funniest and best arguin’ folks on here!!! Thanks to #^@! computer issues, I missed the comment. Sounds like it was quite the pot stirrer, and that’s not always a bad thing. I don’t envy DM trying to figure out when to step in. (Yeah, DM, dadhood’s made you quicker to react to kids comments than anything else. It’s happened 2-3 times on FFAFs. Papa Bear!) Can’t say as you could expect a better olive branch than the one DM’s extended, so please jump back into the fray!
( Besides too much free time for you means Stanley will be out there peeing on all of your new neighbors’ yards! Talk about reactions!!!)
Apparently the lady who sold us our house was the one on the street who would call the police about things like dogs and kids in her yard or cars parked on the public street in front of her house so the the neighbors are happy to put up with a little pee on their lawns to be done with that. The really unhappy critters are the chipmunks and rabbits that Stanley has been digging up in the backyard!
If Deanne is telling you “Oh, HELL no!” you best take heed. It’s not often something makes her rare up & go all in ya face!
Eh, as a clear member of the “spawner” crowd, I have a different take. I don’t see any need for a specific kids’ menu. They’ve made it clear that they’ll be friendly to child diners. We’ve fed our kids off the standard menu at other places, and i was happy to see the steamed options as well as fried and the selection of vegetables.
I do love Six Feet Under, but don’t love the drive. So I hope Harbour Bar does well. It will be a very nice addition to the Decatur dining scene.
I took most of the “kiddie menu” posts as being somewhat facetious, but I could be wrong…
There can only be facetiousness when there’s something to be facetious about…
Agreed. PLEASE don’t have a kids menu that looks like this:
Mac & Cheese
Grilled Cheese
Hotdog
Chicken fingers
Spaghetti
It’s the same everywhere we go. How about junior versions of your regular plates? How about–smaller portion of any entree for $5? Let’s allow our kids to develop normal taste buds instead of perpetuating their appreciation of starchy pasta and cheese!!!
Basically I agree. But please keep the hot dog on the menu because I have a picky eater who often chooses a hot dog over all sorts of delicious alternatives, even pizza. I bought some wonderful fresh ground beef from Oakhurst Market yesterday for last night’s hamburgers but had to buy a package of hot dogs to go with it.
Couldn’t agree more. It is really sad that kid’s menus are full of these standard choices, even when the regular menu is nothing like it. Too many parents, IMHO, cater to their kids picky eating habits and I truly believe its to their detriment. When I got full custody of my son when he was six, all he would eat is hamburgers, steak and chicken fingers. However, I made him eat whatever we were having (two-bite rule at minimum) and now the kid (now 11) will eat almost anything. He hates ordering off of the kids menu because he would rather have the salmon sandwich, etc. I see too many parents making separate meals at dinner for their kids and not requiring them to try things. In my opinion, that’s a shame.
Ditto. When my daughter was six we took her to Mezza on Lavista. She thought everything looked “weird” and opted for their gawdfersaken chicken fingers kids plate. Once all the tapas plates started showing up, and we started devouring them, she decided to brave a sample. One bite and her response was, “Aw, man. I got gypped.”
She’s tried new things, and avoided kids menus, ever since. Doesn’t always like everything, but always tries. Which makes eating out a lot easier.
Haha, I can hear a kid saying that! And I realize that not all kids will like as many things as mine does, but we/he would never have know that if we didn’t push him to try new things.
I just hope there weren’t any ethnic Romanis within earshot who may have been offended by her use of the term “gypped”. They’ll put curses on you, ya know!
I’m offended…
Oh, lord! My maternal grandmother, God rest her, had a bad habit of saying “Indian giver”– and she was half Cherokee!!! *sigh*
This is why I feel OK calling stupid people “Polacks” and drunken people “Irishmen”…
There will be a kids menu…just forgot to include it.
Hallelujah!! The world can start turning again.
Maybe my initial judgment about the reasonableness of the prices is colored by the fact I just spent a couple of days in Savannah, where there’s no entrees under $25 in the historic district seafood joints. Compared to that, this seems OK. And looking at the Six Feet Under menu online, I don’t see any comparative bargains. Half-dollar more for fish and chips, half dollar less for a burger, $2 less for steamed shrimp. No spicy rat toes, but Six Feet doesn’t offer brown gravy cheese fries. I get the impression that these folks have studied the competition and priced accordingly…
I’m really trying to follow you. Give me a real-life example of this:
“Kid-centric” means contriving the environment (built and social) to accommodate every possible, conceivable want and whim of children (and of the parents rearing them), to the point that anybody not actively raising children feels marginalized (and, inevitably, annoyed).
See, e.g., Alpharetta, Dunwoody, Sandy Springs, et al. Suburbia is child-centric because that’s traditionally been its purpose: To be where the familiesw/ children live. Any place having that as its central purpose is child-centric. It’s why families who DON’T want their lives to revolve solely around raising children and all things appurtanent don’t choose the suburbs, they choose places like Midtown, VA-Hi, and here.
Though I generally agree with you, Cuba, I think Decatur is certainly the most kid-centric of the intown places you mentioned. I don’t have kids either, and though poorly behaved ones annoy me too, I view it as a small price to for the stability that Decatur’s kid-centric focus provides.
Being family-friendly, yet interesting and attractive to others need not be mutually exclusive.
I’ll go out on a limb and claim that a large number (majority ?) of those with kids who choose to live in Decatur rather than Alpharetta, Dunwoody, or somewhere else other OTP do so in no small part because Decatur is simply an interesting place to live while having good schools, good public services (police, fire), and exposing our children to a variety of experiences a variety of people. In other words, we reject the notion that one must raise children in a bubble for them to be safe and have a good education. We *want* our children to be engaged in the world.
As for a “child’s menu”,CSD Mom hit the nail on the head: smaller (half-sized) portions of the regular menu items. I, too, am tired of the usual mac&cheese, chicken fingers, etc.,. “Kids Menu” selection that most places have. I’d like for our 4-yr-old daughter to enjoy a variety of (healthier) food.
As it is, without menu selections of appropriate prices for children, Harbour is potentially missing the opportunity to get early (pre-7pm) dinner business from families with small kids.
-David
Looking forward to the opening! Menu looks fantastic except for lack of lobster rolls. These simplest of delights are a staple of any seafood restaurant.
Oh, don’t we all live sheltered lives when the biggest thing we debate is whether the newest restaurant should have a kid menu (or even cater to kids at all) and how to keep our precious children sheltered from life in general in public spaces.
First world problems, to be sure.
Gonna be awesome! Can’t wait. Best of luck to the owners.