Best Kids' Menu Ever - Bluefin Restaurant in Middleton

Back when we lived in Cambridge's Porter Square, we frequently ate at Bluefin Restaurant in the Porter Exchange, which also houses part of Lesley University. Bluefin offers delicious traditional Japanese cuisine at reasonable prices. Our kids love the sushi, especially the tofu-wrapped inari, and my younger daughter particularly enjoys their miso soup. I love their bento boxes and their udon noodle soup.

When we moved out to the North Shore, we decided to try their restaurant in Middleton. To our surprise, the menu was subtly different. While all of our old favorites were present, they also offered what has got to be the best kids' menu I have ever seen. For $7.50 (admittedly pricey), your child gets to choose four of the following offerings:

• Crispy Fried Chicken
• Shumai Dumplings
• French Fries
• Deep Fried Shrimps
• Sweet Potato Tempura
• Sweet Corn
• Rice
• Fresh Fruit
• Chicken Tempura
• Chicken Cutlet
• Sausage

Why on earth hasn't anyone thought of this before? This is picky eater heaven. The child has total control over their dish. My picky elder daughter ordered shumai, sweet potato tempura, chicken tempura, and rice. My younger daughter ordered deep fried shrimps, sweet corn, fresh fruit, and sausage. And blissfully, everyone was happy.

I'd love to see them add miso soup, some sushi - say three or four pieces of cucumber maki, or one inari - and generally some green vegetables. I'd love it even more if they had a less expensive option to choose only three items for younger children who eat less.

More generally, I'd be delighted if this became a meme copied by other restaurants in the area. What if a seafood restaurant offered kids the choice of fish, shrimp, hot dog, corn on the cob, deep fried zucchini, french fries, rice pilaf, and apple slices? What a great, well balanced meal your child could put together for herself.