'Nibble and Squeak' makes fine dining accessible to families

GREENPOINT, Brooklyn (WABC) -- Just because you have young children it doesn't mean you can't enjoy a real meal, one without chicken nuggets and mac and cheese.

You can still enjoy fine dining.

"There's an apple cider butter sauce with lots of roe folded in," the server said.

It is dish number two, part of a tasting menu at "Luksus", a Michelin starred restaurant in Greenpoint.

But guess who is sitting at the table? Little ones!

"It's so nice to see you all. I'm so glad we can do something special with our kids," said Melissa Elders, the founder of "Nibble and Squeak".

"Nibble and Squeak" is the brain child of Elders.

Her child, 18-month-old Serena, prompted the idea for these meals, lunches and dinners, at the kind of restaurants you wouldn't normally bring the kids.

"I wanted to try all the great new restaurants in my new neighborhood and it was stressful with a little person in tow," Elders said. "The stress is about disturbing other patrons in the restaurants and this takes away some of the stress."

The restaurants that participate accommodate the lively group in a private room or slightly off hours, but the menu is exactly what regular diners get.

"It's a chance to get out during the day when I don't have my partner to hold her. It's okay if she runs around the restaurant," said Marzana Wolert, a mother.

So what's the cost for something like this? Parents pay for their food and drink. "Nibble and Squeak" doesn't charge a ticket price or any overhead.

And the kids learn about dining while they're exposed to a wide array of flavors.

"If you're just served fried foods and French fries when you are a kid you have less of a palate and appreciation for healthy things and all sorts of different and delicious flavors," said Chef Daniel Burns, "Luksus".

"We can get a sitter and go out to a meal like this, but that has its own set of stress with it too. And we like to, when we can, be together as a family and be together with our children," Elders said.

"Nibble and Squeak" events take place several times a month.

They're also offered in London and will soon be available in Miami and Washington D.C., giving parents all over a taste of the good life with the little ones.