Best in chow

Photograph by Robert Büchler at Johnny Rockets, Styling by Sylvie Büchler, Hair/Makeup by Rita Madison/Perrella Management Inc., Model Nicole Malecka/Generation

At countless city restaurants, the same sad scene plays out. There sits a mother who knows her Masa from her Buddakan, her Bouley from her Batali—who moved to Manhattan just so she’d never again have to set foot in T.G.I. Friday’s. Once more she’s engaged in the futile exercise of trying to get her six-year-old to try pasta with plain tomato sauce. Sound familiar? Well, just because your daughter turns up her nose at anything that’s not breaded doesn’t mean either of you has to suffer: NYC offers such a stellar selection of picky-eater favorites, from fries to hot fudge sundaes, that there’s no excuse for sitting down to mediocre food. And so our editors have put together a list of the tastiest “kids’ food” to be found here or, we dare say, anywhere.

If you’re lucky enough to have a youngster ready for the culinary world beyond tacos, we’ve got options for you, too: restaurants where your tyke gets to eat with his hands. Plus, we’ve got top chefs’ tips on taking little ones out and reviews of theme restaurants from Jekyll & Hyde Club to American Girl Cafe. Read it—and then treat your family to a truly memorable meal.

Your kids want:

• Mac and cheese
• Chicken fingers
• Lemonade
• French fries
• A hot fudge sundae
• Tacos
• Hot chocolate
• Grilled cheese
• A milkshake
• Burgers

Plus:

• Patty time!: Even with NYC’s burger craze in full swing, we too rarely see one truly well done. All kidding aside, here are a few of our favorites.
• Table talk: Four chefs fess up about dining out with the toughest food critics around—their kids.
• Eat with your hands: Forks, spoons, knives—who needs them? At these ethnic eateries, everything is finger food (towelettes not included).
• Dinner theater: Welcome to the world of theme restaurants, home of $14 chicken nuggets and gratuitous souvenir cup displays. Our reporter (and Manhattan dad) says they’re not quite as scary as you’d think.

Reported by Carmela Ciuraru, Chad Frade, Rory Halperin, Carolyn Juris, Evan Narcisse, Amy Plitt, Katharine Rust and Drew Toal