A Community Pub with Kids

This past weekend on a cold, blustery day with winds gusting at 85 miles an hour, my sister, Rose, and I took my three boys and her daughter out to lunch.

We played outside together for a while, but negotiating the wind proved too much for all of us, especially those who weigh in at just over 30 pounds. Our hunger was piqued by weather so we chose The Kitchen [Next Door] as a destination.

Rose and I spend our days talking about feeding our kids healthfully and how best to nourish them and their diverse diets.

My four-year old won't eat meat because he says, "You shouldn't eat things with bones." It's an intuitive directive he takes from his gut, his conscious, his little developing morals. After a walk at preschool one day where he observed a coop of backyard chickens, I coincidentally served roast chicken for dinner. I pecked at him with fork insisting he try the best one I ever roasted.

He asked, "Is this chicken? Like bock-bock chickens I see on my walk?"

"Yes," I said.

"So, you chop off its head and its legs?"

"Yes."

"No way, Mom."

That was that.

Rose has her challenges with her little one who is on the run most meals. She's two and won't sit tight for a second.

We chose The Kitchen [Next Door] because of this Kid's Menu. It's a mother's dietary dream. It's a self-proclaimed community pub open seven days a week, serving farm-to-table food in a kid-friendly atmosphere. I especially like that, "Kids are welcome day and night, and $2 of every kids meal is donated to help plant gardens in local schools."

In the Boulder culture, there are an increasing number of high-end foodie destinations that are truly great, but a dearth of family-friendly affordable joints that are healthy.

Our kids ate organic quesadillas, fresh organic milk, roasted cumin carrots, marinated beans, garlic mashers and a pork sandwich with pesto and arugula. There was some hemming and hawing over the lack of "sides of fries," but they ate well and we were all so satisfied ... in every way.

Nugget o' the Moment: "Is this chicken? Like bock-bock chickens I see on my walk? So, you chop off its head and its legs? You take its bones away?" - Jack (4), a naturally budding vegetarian and his incredulity at eating chicken or any animals with "bones" in them.