amanda mcclements

click image to zoom To wrap up Kids Week here on Metrocurean, Savory Style rounds up some darn cute kitchen tools for budding cooks. Plus, you can teach the kids a new word: anthropomorphism . 1. This serrated dog knife, complete with wagging tail, is sized for small hands. The blade is sharp enough to cut soft foods but not hurt little fingers. Kuhn Rikon kinderkitchen dog knives , Sur la Table, $9.95 2. Cute and eco-friendly, these reusable bamboo utensils bring out your kid's inner BamBam. Bambu Bamdino utensils, Hill's Kitchen (713 D St. SE), $8.99 3. Ice cream sandwiches just got even cooler with these animal-shaped molds. Tovolo ice cream molds, Hill's Kitchen (713 D St. SE), around $15 4. As they say ... monkey see, monkey do. Animal House monkey peeler, Home Rule (1807 14th St. NW), $8.99 5. This little army "staring" back at me kinda makes me want to get cooking. Head Chefs utensils , cheftools.com , $9.95 apiece Savory Style is an occasional wee...

The Saucy Apron , a mom to three kids under 4 and another on the way, sends in today's bites with a few date nights and kid-friendly spots. She also offers some food tips for parents here . 1. Squid ink pasta with soft shell crab on date night at The Tabard Inn (pictured above) 2. Beef tongue tacos for a cheap date night at Taqueria Distrito Federal 3. Fried oyster sandwiches, best eaten with a cold beer from trunk of your car while the kids are bewitched by live crabs, at the Maine Avenue Fish Market 4. Pizza and banana shakes at Palisades Pizzeria — sit by the fish tank for free kid entertainment. 5. Kiwi burger with a fried egg at Cassatt's — Great New Zealand wines, and the kiwis love kids. Five Bites is a place for Metrocurean readers — and now DC's top chefs — to share all the delicious things they've been eating and drinking. E-mail five of your favorites and whether you'd like your name and a picture included to metrocurean AT gmail DOT com. Stay tuned a...

The husband-and-wife blogging team of Jason and Amy Storch offer some wonderful guidance on dining out with children. They should know — in addition to being parents to two boys, Jason is the founder and editor of DC Foodies , and Amy writes the fabulously candid mama blog Amalah . When Amy and I had our first son (Noah), we took four or five weeks off from eating out and did a ton of takeout and delivery. At the time, we lived in Cleveland Park, close enough to Heritage India for delivery, and their deliveryman knew us by name. When Noah was about 5 weeks old, we found a babysitter and went out for the first time and it was very unnerving. After a very long night, we decided to find places that we could take Noah. We started with louder restaurants like 2 Amys , but then we realized that Noah slept a TON. It was common for him to sleep through an entire dinner. One night, we actually got brave enough to take Noah to Komi ... and he slept almost the entire time. (Seriously, Komi is ...

Colleen Levine of FoodieTots offers 10 excellent tips for encouraging little ones to love food. The first thing people tend to ask when they hear I write a family food blog is, “How do I make my kids eat vegetables/anything but chicken nuggets/fill-in-the-blank?” Parents know it’s hard to “make” your kids do anything, but here are a few tips that I’ve found are helping encourage my nearly 3-year-old son (pictured) to be a more adventurous eater. 1. Set the table together. Kids who are too young to contribute much to the cooking can still feel a sense of ownership in the meal by taking on simple tasks like putting out the napkins and silverware. (Save the china and stemware for the older kids, of course.) 2. Encourage kids to play with their food. You may think you’re leaving the messy floors behind when the kids move from finger foods to silverware, but encouraging silly behavior — trying to stack new potatoes to make snowmen, for example — helps keep the mood light-hearted. 3. Kee...

Mrs. K's Tollhouse in Silver Spring just introduced a family happy hour. Free food! Not that kids' menus usually run to the big bucks, but here's a round-up of some great deals around the metro area. This is by no means a comprehensive list (hey, I'm just one woman), so please add on your favorites in the comments. • 2941 : Get the kids started early on fine-dining decorum with 2941's nightly $25 three-course kids tasting menu (kids 12 and under). A refreshing break from chicken fingers and hot dogs, the children's menu changes regularly and offers choices like warm pea soup with mousseron mushrooms, hanger steak and chicken breast served with home fries or vegetable fricassée. • Austin Grill : At this Tex-Mex chain's multiple locations, Tuesday is officially kids' night, when they eat free. • Kitchen : On Sundays at this Southern-flavored spot, the wee ones eat free from 5-7 p.m. Kids get free dessert Monday through Saturday from 5-7 p.m. • Mrs. K'...

Here's a look at some of the kid-focused food events this month ... June 13 - Kids' Restaurant Week Kickoff at Eastern Market To mark the start of Cookie and Gourmet Kids’ Restaurant Week , sponsored by Destination DC and Pure Via, this launch event at Eastern Market will offer kid-focused chef demonstrations, arts and crafts projects and presentations by market vendors from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Presentations include: 10 a.m.: Mike Bowers of Bowers Cheese on how cheese is made with samples 11 a.m.: Cooking demo by Travis Timberlake of Art and Soul 11:30 a.m.: Dan Donahue of Agora Farms on local farmers with samples of what’s in season Noon: Cooking demo by Greg Lloyd of Zola 1 p.m.: Cooking demo by Danny Bortnick of Firefly and his son Jonah Look for the action near 7th and C streets Southeast. June 14 - Dino Kids' Pasta and Polenta Cooking Class The flour will fly at Cleveland Park's Dino from 1 to 3 p.m. as kids learn to make simple dishes and cut their own pasta. Pa...

It's kids week here on Metrocurean, and I'll be dishing up tons of kid-friendly food events, tips and ideas from some fantastic parents/bloggers, and cool kitchen products to get your kids cooking. I owe the inspiration for this week to Cookie and Gourmet magazine's Kids' Restaurant Week , which runs from June 13-21. At participating restaurants , kids 11 and under pay their age for prix-fixe menus; grown-ups pay $29. The deal will be offered from 5-7 p.m. each night. Mie N Yu will be feeding the wee ones dishes including tandoori chicken skewers with mint yogurt, duck tacos, and shrimp and mushroom fried rice. At Firefly , kids can decorate their own cookie after dining on BLT sandwiches with veggie sticks and mac and cheese with sweet peas. Art and Soul will be serving PB&J hoecakes and turkey burgers with peas and carrots. Stay tuned for details on the Kids' Restaurant Week kickoff event at Eastern Market on Saturday.