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When fast food won't do
By ALEX ZIMMET © St. Petersburg Times, published November 13, 2000 My mom always says dinnertime at our house is a real challenge. The challenge is finding something each person in our family will eat. Sometimes she has to make three different meals! Eating out used to be the same challenge unless my parents agreed to fast food favorites such as Mickey D's, BK or even the Colonel. But, I have found two restaurants that help us break out of the fast food chain and still please everyone in our family. They're both fun and offer a big selection of food kids like. Sweet TomatoesLocations:
Prices: $7.89 per person (excludes drinks); kids 6-12 $4.49; kids 3-5 $1.49; kids under 2 eat free; seniors 60 and older get 10 percent discount The fun ofSweet Tomatoes' buffet and soup bar is serving yourself. That attracts kids of all ages (adults like that, too). On my last visit, I noticed that about half the tables and booths were taken up by families. Ray Trudell, manager of the Sweet Tomatoes in Largo, says the big buffet selection is what makes Sweet Tomatoes so popular. If you can't find something you like here, you're just not trying. "Everything we have is made fresh from scratch," Trudell says. "We use our own recipes, not someone else's." That appeals to health-conscious adults. The make-it-your-own-way style pleases kids. "Kids can choose what they like and don't like," says Trudell. For this review we dined at the location in Palm Harbor. The first thing you do at Sweet Tomatoes is go through the salad bar line. There are usually two or three specialty salads, such as Caesar or wonton, up front. You choose your lettuce and begin piling on your favorite salad fixings, including celery, carrots, cucumbers, mushrooms and sprouts, most of the usual stuff plus beets, chick peas, raisins and sunflower seeds. Dressings run the gamut from the ever-popular ranch to the basic oil and vinegar. Next is the soup and pasta bar where you select from various fresh pasta dishes or several soups, such as clam chowder or chili. If you go the other way, you'll end up at the bakery, which is not a bad place to be when you see the variety of muffins, cornbread loaves and even pizza made on focaccia bread. I like the chocolate chip muffins the best, warm and gooey and falling apart when you bite into them because they're so moist. If you've got your mouth set on the chocolate chip muffins or the pizza, which is soft and bubbly with golden cheese on top, you'll have to be quick. These seem to disappear at the speed of light. Trudell confirms the muffins and pizza, along with the pasta and ice cream, are kids' favorites, but I also saw plenty of adults going for these things. There are also baked potatoes with many toppings, and sweet potatoes, too. Chocolate and vanilla frozen yogurt are available. (Again, it's self-serve, which is dangerous when my sister gets near it!). Several toppings and sprinkles are offered, too. We like to get a chocolate chip muffin, split it in half and top it with the frozen yogurt, chocolate sauce and Oreo sprinkles! If you're watching your weight, you might choose from the selection of fresh fruit or take a spoonful of pudding or Jell-O. Sweet Tomatoes is open for lunch and dinner, and there is no smoking section available. T.G.I. Friday's
The fun of eating atT.G.I. Friday's is the atmosphere. The servers all wear different hats, many of them funny. Lots of them have pins with funny sayings all over their shirts, too. "We treat families and kids like they're No. 1," says Jim Keenam, manager of the Friday's in Clearwater. Kids get balloons, and the kid's menu is full of activities such as connect-the-dots, mazes and word puzzles. You shouldn't have trouble finding stuff you can stuff yourself with from the kids' menu. They have hamburgers, hot dogs, spaghetti, grilled cheese, pepperoni pizzadillas, macaroni and cheese, and (my favorite) chicken fingers. They are light and crunchy with just a touch of spice; on my last visit, I noticed most of the kids there ordering chicken fingers. The french fries are extra long and a bit spicy, too. The regular menu offers appetizers, such as wings and potato skins, soups and salads, a variety of sandwiches and burgers, pastas and even steaks and seafood. One of the unusual offerings is pizzadillas, which Friday's describes as "Mexican-pizzalike-Italian-quesadilla things." On the downside, there is a smoking section and people smoke at the bar. So, on a busy night, the smoke could bother you. I was surprised to learn from Keenam that Friday's has restaurants in almost every country in the world. So, if I ever get to live my lifelong dream of visiting Spain, at least there will be a familiar place to get some good old American food! - Alex Zimmet, 9, is in the fourth grade at Cypress Woods Elementary School in Palm Harbor.
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