The Boys Love Golden Corral
Categories: My boys have a totally different opinion from me of what makes for a good restaurant. They love Golden Corral. I started taking Calfgrit8 there when he was still in a highchair (just he and me), and we continued when Calfgrit4 was in a highchair, and now we still continue to go there once every month or two. (We do this when it’s just us guys out for dinner.)
I like going to a restaurant to have someone wait on me — someone to take my order, bring me my sweet tea, cook my meal, and serve it to me all while I sit and just entertain the boys. But the Golden Corral buffet doesn’t work like that — I have to get up and get my own food and serve myself, and the boys.
I originally took my boy/boys to GC because it was a real easy way to get fruits and vegetables in them. It’s easier to get such stuff in their mouths when they can look over the range of choices and pick what they want. Then they can’t complain that they don’t like it or don’t want it. (Cooking for them can be a crap shoot, with one wanting one thing, and the other wanting something completely different. “But I don’t like green beans, I want corn.”)
We don’t go to GC very often, but the boys seem to always ask for it when given the chance to pick a dinner destination. Last night I finally learned/realized why they like GC so much.
Calfgrit4 directly said, “Daddy, you know why I like Golden Corral?”
“Why?”
“Because we don’t have to wait for them to bring us our food. We can get it ourselves and eat it soon.”
Well, yeah, that makes sense for him. Four-year-olds aren’t big on waiting, especially when they’re hungry and waiting for food.
But another reason dawned on me last night when we were at GC: the boys like getting up and moving around during dinner. Sitting at a table and just chatting with Dad gets boring, apparently. With a buffet, they can get out of their seats and move about the restaurant every few minutes.
I remember when I first started letting our oldest Calfgrit go about and get his own food. When he was six I let him go to the buffet by himself — I picked a table where I could see all up and down the buffet line so I could watch him while he navigated the people and got his food. I started letting him go on his own for two reasons: 1- because he needed to learn a little independence, and 2- it was a hassle to have to bring his little brother in his highchair with us every time big brother needed more food.
Now, at 8 years old, Calfgrit8 can completely handle the buffet all on his own. He even knows to always get at least one vegetable and one fruit before he gets his pizza, without me needing to tell him. Calfgrit4 still needs my help, but since he’s long out of the highchair, the process is much easier. He even knows to hold his plate with two hands so he doesn’t drop his food on the floor, without me needing to tell him.
Bullgrit
