From macaroni and cheese to milkshakes to pizza, these are the greatest dishes found on -- and inspired by -- the kids' menu.
From macaroni and cheese to milkshakes to pizza, these are the greatest dishes found on -- and inspired by -- the kids' menu.
Episode includes:
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Find episode transcript here: https://the-best-thing-i-ever-ate.simplecast.com/episodes/kids-menu-ft-alex-guarnashcelli-claudia-sandoval-jet-tila-and-more
SPEAKER 1: Who doesn't love great food?
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SPEAKER 2: It's more than just eating. It's an experience.
SPEAKER 3: Do you have any more?
SPEAKER 4: This is the best thing I ever ate.
SPEAKER 5: Some things are adult dishes, but they capture the soul of a kids' menu dish. They embody that kids' menu feeling, and this is a grown-up kids' menu dish. We're talking about the grilled cheese with tomato soup at Ted's Bulletin in Washington, DC. This is the best thing I ever ate. On the menu, it says grilled cheese and tomato soup.
"What's this magical mystery dish I've never heard of?", said no one ever. But then it says superdeluxe. Stuffed with braised short rib and mac and cheese. This is a dish that checks all the kid's menu boxes, and then you're going to add 10 more categories. Oh, it also did this, also this, also this, also this.
There's a lot going on in this sandwich. The macaroni and cheese itself, they make a roux, equal parts of butter and flour. But instead of adding milk, they add heavy cream.
SPEAKER 6: And then we have three different kinds of cheese that go into it-- Velveeta, Tillamook, and also we have some shredded Asiago cheese. And then I'll add the macaroni.
SPEAKER 5: Then they braise the beef short ribs with carrots, and celery, and onions, red wine, veal stock. They cook all that down until the meat flakes and falls apart.
SPEAKER 6: And now, I'm going to assemble the dish. We're just putting cheddar cheese down on the bread while it's toasting so that way it can warm through a little bit. Mac and cheese goes on one side, you have your short rib on another. It's going to get a little ooey and gooey, which is the point. This grilled cheese is for the kid and everybody.
SPEAKER 5: Tomato soup is made from caramelized onions, cooked Roma tomatoes, and seasoned with just a dot of honey, just a little bit of sweetness. You got to teach a kid how to eat this dish. All right, kid. Here's what we do. First, you take one bite out of the corner.
You process. You get that creamy mac, that beef, and then I dunk. That second bite gets tomato soup. We drag the sandwich through the soup, like water skiing on the ocean. You get that crunchy, crispy, toasty grilled cheese sandwich, belly-warming, punchy, acidic tomato soup, and the cheese in the middle.
You don't need another thing. For all those mornings you got up, went to the gym and drank celery juice, this is the opposite. This is pure recreation. This is going to bring out your inner kid.
ALI: When I was a kid, I did not order off a kid's menu. I wanted to eat from the grown-up menu. The game has changed. There is some kid menu action. What are you going to get?
SPEAKER 7: Steak.
ALI: Launderette, Austin, Texas. Kid's menu, steak frite. When I saw that, I was like, I want this for me. Steak frites is a very simple dish. It's steak and French fries.
But come on, steak on a kid's menu? Done deal. I am tempted to go to Launderette without my son Heath and get the steak frite, but I am worried about being disciplined. I'd like to make a plea, Launderette. Would it be OK if I can order the steak frite off the children's menu for myself?
SPEAKER 8: For you Ali, seriously? We're using a choice hanger steak.
ALI: The French call onglet. It's known as the butcher's cut. This thing has so much flavor.
SPEAKER 8: We keep it nice and simple. Salt and pepper. A little canola and olive oil.
ALI: They are grilling it over wood.
SPEAKER 8: So we use post oak here at Launderette.
ALI: Post oak is like the native wood. Same wood you use to smoke brisket and do all that barbecue.
SPEAKER 8: This steak's going to take about eight minutes to cook to medium rare.
ALI: You let it rest. That allows the juices to evenly distribute. I'm channeling my Alton Brown here, right? And then they carve it across the grain.
SPEAKER 8: Just helps it be even a little bit more tender.
ALI: If you're going to eat the butcher's steak, you got to have perfect French fries. So they cut them up, then they cook them twice.
SPEAKER 8: We go ahead and blanch them at about 250 degrees in canola oil for six minutes.
ALI: Then, they're going to cook them at 350 degrees until they're golden brown. This is what I'm talking about. The first thing I do is I grab a frite. Crispy on the outside, buttery in the middle. But I'll tell you, that steak has a lot of complexity to it.
It's got a little bit more fun. It's rich, but it almost has this mineral-like quality. It's a rock star of a steak. He's so lucky. He crushes that steak.
Do you taste the wood on there? Look at that. We'll get one more and we'll split it. Is that cool? You know what?
Here. Just take it. Just take it. That's love. That is the love right there.
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SPEAKER 9: This isn't just for kids. This is dough stretched out, brought to you on a wooden board with all of the accoutrements you'd want on any standard pizza. When you bring your kids here, instead of giving them crayons, let's give them ingredients and let them play. This is the Make Your Own Pizza at Cucina Urbana. Child labor at its best. [LAUGHS]
On the menu, it's listed as "A Modo Mio" pizza, which, of course, means my style of pizza. It's truly genius. I want to make a pizza. When can I make the pizza? Can I order the kids' menu? [LAUGHS]
SPEAKER 10: First, we start with by making the dough.
SPEAKER 9: This is not just any regular, frozen, pre-made dough. No. This is made in-house.
SPEAKER 10: The dough is made with a hundred year old sourdough starter. It has been at the restaurant for the entire 10-year existence of the restaurant. Some instant yeast, salt, sugar, and water. We're going to mix it for about 10 minutes before we let it rest for another 10.
SPEAKER 9: That dough then gets put into a refrigerator for 48 hours. That's two whole days just to make pizza dough.
SPEAKER 11: For a kid?
SPEAKER 9: For a kid. [LAUGHS] It's insane.
SPEAKER 10: So once we cut the dough, we're going to shape it.
SPEAKER 9: They actually put it in a brick oven for about three minutes, just to get a nice little seal on the outside.
SPEAKER 10: Next, we make the sauce. So we're going to take our California-grown San Marzano tomatoes.
SPEAKER 9: Tomatoes that are crushed by hand. Then, they tear basil into the sauce, add a little bit of salt and pepper and a squeeze of lemon.
SPEAKER 10: And just a little bit of sugar. Get everything mixed in thoroughly.
SPEAKER 9: And then they bring it all out to your kid. They bring out bowls of shredded cheese, pepperoni, and of course that beautiful hand-crushed sauce. It really is a ton of fun, like swirling the sauce around and being all fancy with it. And once your kid's done building their own pizza--
SPEAKER 10: And we put the pizza back into the oven. And after about three minutes, we take our bubbling hot, golden brown pizza and cut it and serve.
SPEAKER 9: When you take a bite of this pizza, I think the first thing that you'll notice is how nice and crisp that pizza dough is. It has some of those blistered, burnt bits on the side. The mozzarella cheese melts so perfectly, but then you get the sweetness of all of those tomatoes. And of course, you've got a little bit of pepperoni, so you bring in all that nice saltiness. It truly is a perfect delight.
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SPEAKER 12: I am an ice cream fiend, right? I am a ice cream guy, which I guess, by default, makes me a milkshake guy. So when I'm thinking about the best thing I've ever eaten on a kids' menu, I'm thinking about the cookie delicious milkshake at Legendairy Milkshake Bar in Nashville, Tennessee.
Most normal kids love ice cream, milkshakes, and candy, which is basically the genetic makeup of Legendairy. This is the best place ever to get your sugar fix. People who make your milkshakes are called milkshake artists.
CHEYENNE: My name is Cheyenne. I am head of the cookie dough here at Legendairy Milkshake Bar.
SPEAKER 12: So to begin this masterpiece, you have to start with the obvious, which is the edible cookie dough. They start with an absolutely obscene amount of softened butter.
CHEYENNE: Some butter is good, but more butter is better. The next step is going to be at our sugar.
SPEAKER 12: This is where they add the heat-treated flour to the batter.
CHEYENNE: So we don't use any eggs in our cookie dough. So we make sure that we heat treat our flour so it's also safe to use.
SPEAKER 12: Then, they mix on low, adding milk.
CHEYENNE: And then we're going to hand mix the chocolate chips in there, just flip around like I was making bread or something. And then we're just going to seal it away and let it chill.
SPEAKER 12: Now, it's time to make the milkshake.
CHEYENNE: So we're going to scoop some cookie dough ice cream. A little splash of milk, and I just hand churn it. And you want it to be so thick that it doesn't pour out.
SPEAKER 12: They take the frosted mason jar, and then slather on chocolate icing. Then tediously, one by one, they're adding chocolate chip cookie dough bites. Then they drizzle the chocolate syrup inside the mason jar, pour in the blended ice cream milkshake. And then they actually portion out the dough into mini little baseballs, like cake pops on a stick. If you haven't realized, it's like cookie dough on cookie dough, finished with cookie dough.
CHEYENNE: We're going to add our whipped cream to fill up the jar.
SPEAKER 12: Oh, my god.
CHEYENNE: And to top it off, we're going to end with some chocolate syrup.
SPEAKER 12: Eating it all together, the milkshake is creamy and cold. It's anchored by vanilla flavor. And then you get the bits of chocolate chips behind it. And then you eat the cookie dough. And then you finish it with all that whipped cream.
It is so decadent, but you don't care. It's perfect for kids. It's really also for the kid in everyone. It brings you back to everything you love about childhood.
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SPEAKER 13: You know when you were taken to a restaurant by your grandparents and they could spoil you. They would get you messy. It would fill you up. This is the dish they would buy you. This is the Croque Madame Hot Dog at the Senate in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Anyone who is a kid, or is a kid at heart, would love this hot dog. Quite frankly, if you didn't, you've got something wrong with you. I'm going to admit something now. I never used to like hot dogs. And I--
SPEAKER 11: Boo.
SPEAKER 13: Yeah, I know. Boo. Boo me. But now, you see, I am an American citizen. I'm here for good.
And this hot dog was one of those dishes where I went that's joy on a plate. A Croque Madame sandwich is one of the most indulgent sandwiches in the world. Ham, cheese, bechamel sauce, and an egg. Combine that with a hot dog, this is a really top-notch, all-beef, beautiful hot dog made by a local butcher.
SPEAKER 14: Boy, you got white pepper in there. You got a little bit garlic. You got a little bit of onion in there.
SPEAKER 13: And they cook it properly. So this is a hot dog that has a bit of a snap to it.
SPEAKER 14: That sizzle right there is exactly what you want.
SPEAKER 13: If you're listening to the sizzle and doesn't make you want to eat a hot dog at the Senate, then you're probably a little bit dead inside.
SPEAKER 14: We have a whole bat of butter right here, just that gloriousness.
SPEAKER 13: Then on top of that, they layer chunks of griddle, sky-haven ham that's been smoked slightly, beef and pork together. It's like Lennon and McCartney. It's fantastic. Then on top of that, a perfectly poached egg, where the white is solid, but the inside is going to run the moment you prod it with your fork.
A bechamel sauce is just flour and cream sauce thickened. And then folded into that is going to be American cheese and cheddar cheese.
SPEAKER 14: And you really want to just load it up with it. And then just a little bit of salt and a little bit of black pepper.
SPEAKER 13: The best way to eat that is to go straight for the egg. You skewer that egg and you get that yolk all over. The egg is meant to break and run yolk everywhere. The bechamel sauce is supposed to go all over your face. You want to get a good bite of that salty, smoky ham.
And then finally, you want to hear [POP] as you bite into that perfectly charred hot dog. [POP] You have to hear that when you eat a hot dog. It makes you feel young again. You kind of expect your mom to come up to you afterwards and start wiping off again, oh, look at the state of you. And a hot dog, when it's done well like that is brilliant. It's one of the best things you can ever eat.
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ISAAC TOUPS: I'm Isaac Toups, father of Poppy and Ivy Toups. My kids are blond-haired, blue-eyed, and belligerent.
SPEAKER 15: You like your hat?
ISAAC TOUPS: I love my hat. Can you take it down?
SPEAKER 15: No.
ISAAC TOUPS: Heavy on the belligerent. I might have to eat you. Ready?
[LAUGHING]
When I think of the best kid's dish on a kids' menu, it's got to be the chicken pho at MoPho in New Orleans. Families got to stick together. I don't want to go to a place and have to go somewhere separate from my children. And nobody got time for that. This is proper food that I don't mind serving my children.
Like it, love it, want some more of it. Chicken pho is essentially a really good chicken noodle soup, just a little more complex of flavors. If you like chicken noodle soup, you're going to love chicken pho. I promise. And if you don't, it's on you.
SPEAKER 16: Kids love chicken noodle soup. And the main part of the chicken noodle soup is the broth.
ISAAC TOUPS: The broth of the pho is the lifeblood of the dish. If you don't have good broth, you're not going to have a good pho.
SPEAKER 16: We use chicken leg quarters. They have the most flavor.
ISAAC TOUPS: It's got these wonderful spices.
SPEAKER 16: Coriander.
ISAAC TOUPS: Cardamom.
SPEAKER 16: Black peppercorns.
ISAAC TOUPS: They add this wonderful Vietnamese cinnamon.
SPEAKER 16: And then we have star anise. That's licorice-y type of flavor. So we're going to roast these. Now, we're going to add our roasted aromatics-- our onions, our ginger, and our garlic. Oh, man.
It's the best smell in the world. It makes that broth taste really good.
ISAAC TOUPS: So it's a very low simmer overnight at 200 degrees to really get all the juices out of the meat and all of the bones as well. Just super savory.
SPEAKER 16: So now that this has been simmering overnight, we're going to strain out all those solids that have been cooked for a long time, and just freshen it up with some lemongrass and then season it up.
ISAAC TOUPS: And then they make the chicken thighs, which is brined in salt and sugar, and it's just super delicious.
SPEAKER 16: And then we're going to sear that to get a really nice caramelization on that. Once that's cooked through, we cool it down and then cut it up into a nice kid-sized bite.
ISAAC TOUPS: And now, it's time to put the whole dish together. First, we start with the noodles, which they blanch in salted water for 45 seconds. Real quick. And then they add the chicken to it. Pour in the broth.
It's beauty and simplicity. Kids love it.
SPEAKER 17: Are you ready for some pho?
SPEAKER 18: Yeah.
SPEAKER 17: It smells so good.
ISAAC TOUPS: The chicken thighs are super moist. They taste great. I can taste the complexity of flavors. My kid doesn't care. The chicken is super tender.
All dark meat, which I'm a big fan of. Mmm, that's the good good. The best part about the rice noodles is that it sucks up all the broth from the pho. That's why get all the noodles. It's really juicy and really delicious. It's good to see them get out and venture out and eat different stuff.
SPEAKER 17: It's exciting. I think I'm raising them right.
SPEAKER 18: Yeah, you are.
SPEAKER 17: Yeah.
SPEAKER 15: This is the best thing I ever ate.
MONTY: I've never in my whole life seen a mac and cheese like this. It had caramelized onions and burnt bacon ends. Stop. What are you doing? This isn't a kid's dish.
This is real talk on this table in an arcade. Button Mash. We're here. I love it. My favorite arcade and the best mac and cheese ever.
Echo Park, Los Angeles, California. You don't even have to hang out with your kids. They're going to be busy playing video games. You're going to be eating good stuff. It's an arcade.
You walk in expecting a Pac-Man game. Get out of here ghost. You end up getting the best thing you ever ate. I'm dead.
WIN TRAN: I'm Win Tran. Here at Button Mash, we're making mac and cheese.
MONTY: First, they make the cheese sauce. They take whole milk and they add four melted cheeses.
WIN TRAN: The mozzarella, that is actually melted. Cheddar adds a little sharpness. Parmesan is the umami, and a fatty Swiss Gruyere.
MONTY: It is ooey and gooey and their cousin wooey.
WIN TRAN: The macaroni, it's just elbow macaroni. And you take it out and you just shake it. That's fun.
MONTY: They mix in this cheese sauce.
WIN TRAN: We're going to fold in caramelized onions, brown sugar caramelized bacon bits. I know Monty likes a lot of bacon. A lot of bacon.
MONTY: Wow. Win knows what's up.
WIN TRAN: Is that generous enough, Monty? Is that enough bacon for you?
MONTY: Keep it coming.
WIN TRAN: Got your bacon, Monty.
MONTY: I'm very impressed.
WIN TRAN: So next, we're going to cover the mac and cheese with more cheese. We're going to put this bowl under the salamander.
MONTY: They have green onions for some herbaceousness What else is going to go in there? My hopes and dreams?
WIN TRAN: Monty, are you getting this? One more bacon, not just for you but for everybody.
MONTY: Oh, yeah. This is so creamy, but it's got the herbaceousness from that fresh scallion. Nuttiness from the Gruyere. Sharpness from the cheddar. When you get that burnt, brown sugar crispy, crunchy bacon end, [GRUNTS]
Oh, my god. My son is playing old-school video games, losing all my quarters. And I'm having this mac and cheese. It's a perfect day.
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