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Where kids eat like kings: Children’s menus for grown-up palates

Rachel Nania | rnania@wtop.com

January 11, 2017, 2:00 AM

The main course on the Petit Gourmand children's tasting menu at Trummer's on Main: a beef shortrib stroganoff, served with homemade paparadelle pasta. (Courtesy Dusty Lockhart)
Trummer’s On Main Many fine-dining restaurants in the area offer tasting menus — but only one offers a tasting menu specifically for youngsters. At Trummer’s On Main in Clifton, Virginia, foodies who are 14 and under can dine on a progressive feast of fried arancini, cheeses and charcuterie, beef stroganoff, horseradish-crusted organic salmon and an ultimate ice cream sundae. “The idea is to introduce [kids] to some new ingredients, while still finding textures and flavors that work well for their palate, and exposing them to this type of dining and just the natural progression where our meals go from lighter fare to heavier,” Austin Fausett, former chef of Trummer’s on Main, told WTOP in an earlier interview. (Courtesy Dusty Lockhart)
Courtesy Dusty Lockhart
A dish of mussels roasted with pine needles is displayed during a cooking demonstration at the both annual Maine Fishermen's Forum, Thursday, March 5, 2015, in Rockport, Maine. Maine fishermen set a state record with a catch valued at more than $585 million in 2014. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
Grilled Oyster Company  Forget fish sticks: The Grilled Oyster Company, with locations in Potomac, Maryland and Northwest D.C., serves its youngest diners grilled salmon, garlic butter mussels and mini crabcakes. There’s also the option of an Angus burger and buttered noodles — and house-made sodas to wash it all down. (AP Images)
AP Images
If there’s one word that describes a traditional Italian woman dedicated to the craft of hand-rolling sheets of fresh pasta, it’s “sfoglina.” That word also happens to the the name of Fabio Trabocchi’s newest D.C. restaurant. (Photo by Lisa Lake/Getty Images for Audi)
Sfoglina The newest eatery from award-winning restaurateurs Fabio and Maria Trabocchi caters to even the youngest of its customers. The kids’ menu at Sfoglina includes buffalo milk burrata, prosciutto, beef short ribs and polenta, pappardelle and gnocchi. (Getty Images)
Getty Images
Silver Diner currently runs 15 locations in Maryland, Virginia and New Jersey, as well as its more upscale Silver concept and Silver Diner Airport. (Courtesy Silver Diner/Eric Vance)
Silver Diner You won’t feel bad about letting your little one eat “diner food” at Silver Diner. The pancakes are quinoa-coconut, the hot dogs are all-beef and nitrate free, and the chicken tenders are antibiotic and hormone-free, served with strawberries or veggies. There are also options like a side of brown rice, a plate of sustainable teriyaki salmon and berry yogurt shakes. (Courtesy Silver Diner/Eric Vance)
Courtesy Silver Diner/Eric Vance
Republic  Takoma Park tots have their choice of cheesy baked grains and summer vegetables, or crispy Gulf shrimp and Virginia catfish at Republic. There’s also house-made chicken fingers, a hamburger from Virginia’s Smith Meadows Farm and rigatoni with basil-tomato sauce. (Courtesy Silver Diner/Eric Vance)
Urbana At Dupont Circle Italian hot spot Urbana, kids can build their own pizza, slurp house-made tagliatelle with Bolognese sauce, or sink into a piece of grilled Norwegian salmon with roasted potatoes and sautéed spinach. Crudités with hummus, glazed baby carrots and fresh fruit and berries are options for sides. (WTOP/Rachel Nania)
WTOP/Rachel Nania
Old Ebbitt Grill is the highest-grossing restaurant in D.C., according to Restaurant Business. (Courtesy Old Ebbitt Facebook)
Old Ebbitt  There’s no need to book a baby sitter the next time you make plans to eat at Old Ebbitt Grill — the kids can come along. The children’s menu at the iconic D.C. restaurant lists panko-crusted fish and chips with lemon and tartar sauce, sautéed Maine cod, grass-fed cheeseburger sliders and salmon teriyaki.   (Courtesy Old Ebbitt Grill)
Courtesy Old Ebbitt Grill
DC Harvest  House-made pappardelle with olive oil and roasted carrots, and smoked chicken breast with crispy potatoes are two options for little ones at H Street’s DC Harvest.   (Courtesy DC Harvest)
Courtesy DC Harvest
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The main course on the Petit Gourmand children's tasting menu at Trummer's on Main: a beef shortrib stroganoff, served with homemade paparadelle pasta. (Courtesy Dusty Lockhart)
A dish of mussels roasted with pine needles is displayed during a cooking demonstration at the both annual Maine Fishermen's Forum, Thursday, March 5, 2015, in Rockport, Maine. Maine fishermen set a state record with a catch valued at more than $585 million in 2014. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
If there’s one word that describes a traditional Italian woman dedicated to the craft of hand-rolling sheets of fresh pasta, it’s “sfoglina.” That word also happens to the the name of Fabio Trabocchi’s newest D.C. restaurant. (Photo by Lisa Lake/Getty Images for Audi)
Silver Diner currently runs 15 locations in Maryland, Virginia and New Jersey, as well as its more upscale Silver concept and Silver Diner Airport. (Courtesy Silver Diner/Eric Vance)
Old Ebbitt Grill is the highest-grossing restaurant in D.C., according to Restaurant Business. (Courtesy Old Ebbitt Facebook)

WASHINGTON — Kids’ menus are getting a major makeover.

At many restaurants in the D.C. area, greasy chicken fingers, bland burgers and savorless spaghetti are out; flavorful fish fillets, grass-fed beef sliders and house-made pastas are in.

Here are some of the best places to grab a meal with growing gourmands.

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