McMussels

My son loves mussels. My son is four years old. I find this to be very cute. I also find it unfortunate that mussels are not on the kiddie menu. They generally reside on the appetizer menu, which isn't as bad as the main course. I also find it cute, if a bit disconcerting with regards to their college funds, that my one-year-old seems to like to share his brother's mussels.

The last restaurant we went to, Ethan ordered the mussels and then we watched all the wait-staff pass by pointing and giggling as he practically stood on his chair with his little mussel fork, digging out the goods.

Many adults to whom I've told this story have told me that they won't eat mussels themselves--they look gross. So, why is it therefore so difficult to believe that a small child loves them? Case in point--I don't like McDonalds food. I think it looks gross. But my child and many others seem to love it. Or at least my child loves the interactiveness of the whole McDonalds experience (the little packages, the dipping, the playground). It would therefore stand to reason that mussels are a perfect kid-food. They are unique, highly interactive (little shells, sharp tool used for extracting the protein-nugget from it's packaging) and messy--especially if you're 4.