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Hannah, 10, and her friend, Kailey, 11, at the Anaheim White House.
Today we welcome Nancy Luna, the Register’s Fast Food Maven, to Food Frenzy. She just got back from brunch with her daughter, Hannah, at the Anaheim White House during Kids Restaurant Week. Here’s what she had to say:
Kids Restaurant Week kicked off Sunday and runs through Saturday, July 3. As a mom who enjoys taking her kid dining, I’ve been looking forward to this first-time Orange County restaurant event for months.
We love going out to dinner with our daughter Hannah, a true young foodie. But we don’t have the budget to pay for a fancy meal every week.
Enter Kids Restaurant Week — a potential marketing bonanza conceived by the OC Restaurant Association. The whole point of any restaurant week is to offer a tantalizing menu package that tempts foodies to try a new restaurant (or two) because the meal deal is priced just right.
The idea of a restaurant week geared towards children takes that notion one step further. It’s about treating your kids to a meal without sacrificing your own taste buds, and more importantly, without sacrificing your bank account.
During this event, families can choose from 50 restaurants offering a wide-range of various family-meal options — from a $49.95 barbecue feast at Beach Pit BBQ’s three restaurants to a special make-your-own pasta meal at the Anaheim White House. The latter deal comes free with an adult purchase. One restaurant, Bluewater Grill, had some math fun with its meal deal. The restaurant, which has locations in Tustin and Newport Beach, is charging kids 10 and under 25 cents for each year in their age.
I like that various restaurants are giving families different options. However, that made it all the more difficult for us to pick a place to eat on our first outing. Since my daughter turned 10 on Saturday, we let her pick.
She chose Anaheim White House because it was one of the fancier places participating in the event.
Here’s the lowdown on our meal:
Value: The award-winning restaurant owned by Bruno Serato offers a kids-eat-free meal with each adult purchase. You can either build your own pasta plate or choose from a standard kids meal menu. Since we only have one kid, we invited a friend of Hannah’s to join us to get the best bang for our buck.
As it turns out, the restaurant was doing brunch on Sunday, so we got an even better deal. We paid $28.50 per adult for a three-course meal, and both kids got the same three-course meal for free! Normally, kids pay half-price for brunch. We saved nearly $30, and got more food than we expected.
The food: Brunch offers an amazing variety of selections, so we tried to stick with those that are offered on the main lunch and dinner menu to give you an idea of what to order if you go this week. Among the best dishes we ate:
Zenga Rigatoni Formaggio: This huge main entree dish featured a trifecta of savory flavors (melted Parmesan, bacon and creamy white sauce) melted over large tube pasta. We all shared our various dishes, and this one won over everyone, especially the kids: “Oh, that was good,” my daughter, Hannah said. “I like that type of white sauce, and I love bacon and Parmesan.” (Price $13.95 at lunch and $26.95 at dinner, according to the restaurant’s website.) For the kids’ build your own pasta meal, children can get a version of this by ordering the rigatoni with white sauce and bacon.)
C. Klein Gnocchi al Pomodoro: Being that owner Serato is one of Orange County’s best known Italian chefs, we leaned heavily on pasta dishes. That formula seemed to work. For starters, many of us opted for gnocchi — an always safe, classic potato dumpling dish. This one came served in a tomato beurre blanc that was good, but not knock-my-socks-off great. I needed some Parmesan sprinkled on it, to give it a bit more dimension. (At lunch, the cost is $14.95, and for dinner, it is served as an appetizer portion for $9.95)
Cartier Tenderloin of Pork: This dish is served with “Eastern pork tenderloin” that is so tender you could cut it with a butter knife. The green peppercorn sauce gave the main entree a much-needed kick. It came served with mashed potatoes, a medley of lightly sauteed vegetables and the restaurant’s signature thin flatbread molded into a garnish in the shape of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Other plate garnishes came in the shape of a butterfly, resulting in a lot of “oohs and aahs” from the kids, as well as the adults. (Note to adults: If you are ordering a side dish for dinner, try the White Chocolat Mashed Potatoes. It is a divine specialty of the house.)
Walter Nudo Ravioli: My daughter’s friend, Kailey, 11, ordered this meal, which came stuffed with a combination of Italian cheeses in a wild Porcini mushroom sauce. A big ravioli fan, this newbie to fine dining was in awe. She wiped her plate clean. (The lunch portion costs $14.95; dinner, $25.95)
Profiteroles for dessert: These crème puffs filled with vanilla pastry crème are an option at brunch, but are also served as the dessert for kids during restaurant week. My husband, Brady, ordered the puffs: “I think the kids would love the puffs. It’s like a mini-creme filled doughnut with chocolate on top. It’s definitely a step up compared to a normal kids menu dessert.”
Service: For me, the whole point of Kids Restaurant Week is to expose kids to new, exciting dining options. I appreciate that California Pizza Kitchen is taking part in this event, but I want to go to a place we might normally pass up because it is too expensive or too formal for a pre-teen. This is where the Anaheim White House shines as a bright star during the week-long event.
Hannah and Kailey were treated like queens, and loved the pampering. I love that our server specifically looked at them, instead of me, when taking their orders. Both girls rose to the etiquette challenge because they were treated with respect.
The service was top notch, but not intimidating — an important factor for any family trying to treat their kids to a special meal.
“I felt comfortable,” Hannah later told me of her experience. “I felt proud to be there because there was mostly adults there.”
Anaheim White House
887 South Anaheim Blvd.
Anaheim
714-772-1381
LIST: Kids Restaurant Week menus
(Nancy Luna covers the restaurant industry and pens the Fast Food Maven blog for The Register.)
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