I was reading an article about a restaurant in Missouri who refused a potential customer's request to prepare a meal to go. The disgruntled (not)diner placed a strongly worded complaint on Yelp.
The restaurant owner then replied to the review with his own thoughts on both the original request and his employee's refusal of the request.
In my opinion, BOTH were immature and this is a silly argument. I am a parent of an almost 3 year old whirling dervish of a sweetheart who can become much less of a sweetheart under certain circumstances. I also really enjoy fine dining. Finally, as much as I adore a grown up night out with Jeff, it isn't always feasible to hire a sitter, especially while we're traveling.
Last year, we were spending a family weekend in a town about two hours away and I had heard about a delicious French restaurant there. French food is a serious weakness for me. I visited their website and two things occurred to me.
1) I HAD to eat here.
2) It would NOT be fair to their other customers to dine in that atmosphere with a two year old.
I called and explained the situation and they were thrilled to offer to let me order over the phone and take it back to our hotel room kitchen/dining room to enjoy it together, stress free, and not potentially being a distraction in the restaurant. By the way, a hotel room with a kitchen/dining room is brilliant if you are traveling with littles. Extended stays usually offer this sort of room really reasonably.
The food was incredible. Totally worth it!! What would I have done if they had refused? I'd have been really disappointed and probably made the reservation for three and prayed for the best. I would have been massively stressed throughout dinner that Sam was going to disrupt people and I wouldn't have felt the way that I do about this restaurant. I wouldn't have written them the glowing review that I did.
What would I not have done if they'd refused? I wouldn't have wasted my time with a review based on a restaurant's policy. It's a stupid policy in my opinion, but it's their policy. They can be unreasonably rigid if they so desire but don't be an asshole. Take your money to someone who will be happy to get it.
It's a negative world and that's sad. So, my response..........the good.
If you are in Tulsa, you must eat at the French Hen.
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| The French Hen dining room. |
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| The Amazing Patio |
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| Toddler-nado enjoying our French feast. Stress free for everyone! |
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| The feast! |
It's expensive, but you will not be sorry if you are a foodie. Absolutely every bite was a pleasure, the staff who helped us were beyond amazing, and the food did not suffer for us driving 5 miles back to our hotel and eating off of plain white Corelle. If you're able, eat at the restaurant. It's beautiful, elegant, and luxurious, but comfortable. They have an indoor dining area and a cute little patio that screams for a long, slow night lingering over a meal and some wine with your sweetie. I can't wait to get back someday for a mommy/daddy trip and do just that! In the meantime, if your kiddo dynamic simply won't allow dining in, pick up the phone and order to go. Tell them the Red Headed Mother sent you!
