THE KIDDIE GOUR ME T

“The wind is fresh and free,” says a quotation. The food at the Wind is fresh, and if not free, a good deal. When we enjoyed this new restaurant, we were — shall we say — “gone with the wind.”

— by Barbara Blackburn

Wind Restaurant

7566 Transit Road

Williamsville, NY 14221

716-770-0688 windbuffalo.com

~ SPOONS ~ FOOD 5/5 SERVICE 5/5 FAMILY

The chain offers All You Can Eat for two different basic prices for lunch and dinner. Kids under 4 are $5. Kids 4 to 10 are $10.99 lunch and $15.99 dinner. Adult lunch is $30.99 and dinner is $40.99. Check your screen for confirmation. We spotted five high chairs and kids fascinated by a robot server. Take your pick of a table or a booth in this Japanese and Thai themed restaurant. We chose to go with the all you can eat and not just ordering a few items.

Who needs a fun page when you have a robot walking by, with big owl-like eyes and little pointed cat ears? They stop at the table to deliver the ordered food, then bid you goodbye after you take your plates of food from shelves. We asked for a printed menu at first before we ordered on the digital screen with the pictures and descriptions. On a small table, we maneuvered our chopsticks to enjoy high quality food. You can ask for silverware for children and adults.

My traditional Dumpling Soup ($6.00 if ordering a la carte) contained a splendid dumpling, seaweed and green onion. I never met a dumpling I didn’t like. We loved the “Pizza” and recommend it. Ours was a combination of Crabmeat Pizza and Salmon Pizza — crispy hash browns topped with some protein and served with mayo, eel sauce, and tempura bits (4 pieces of each kind). Chain restaurants, such as this one have usually perfected the art of deep frying.

We savored the Shrimp Tempura Roll ($18.00), with avocado, mayo, and fish roe. Also, we savored a Cheese Strawberry Roll ($7.50), as we let the good food and good times roll. The fruity roll was a dessert stand-in. Speaking of dessert, the Deep-Fried Mars Bar (3 pieces $5.00) fit in with the savories we had accumulated.

My favorite order was the Yaki Udon ($18.00) a stir fry of vegetables and an oyster garlic soy base — a bit challenging with chopsticks and the slippery noodles. Overall, our favorite was the Thai Peanut Curry. Our choice of chicken was pan fried with the sweet and spicy house peanut sauce and veggies. I’m so glad that I don’t have an allergy to my favorite go-to comfort food.

Dad made a wise choice with the Mango Salad ($10.00) pairing mango with sweet bell pepper, mint leaves, coriander, shallots, onion, and lime juice, topped with roasted cashew nuts. This is food to respect.

Back to the Tempura, battered pumpkin deep fried and served with house tempura sauce was a newcomer to our memories of tempura treasures. Another tempura battered captivator was the Rocky Shrimp, a tiger shrimp topped with “rocky” sauce and green onions.

So much more awaits your decisions. I’m not a screen person, but with help from our charming waitress (the opposite of a robot), we survived the modern world. This is one Wind experience we thoroughly enjoyed. Shall we say that we were blown away with the excellent fare.

Whether at home or in the car on a road trip, Would You Rather? questions can strike up some fun conversations .

Here are some QUESTIONS

you can ask your child!

Would you rather eat only vegetables or only fruit for the rest of your life?

Would you rather be a math genius or a science genius?

Would you rather ride a roller coaster or go skydiving?

Would you rather have the power to heal people or the power to fly?

Would you rather go to the playground or to the mall?

Barb has been happily doing the Kiddie Gourmet for over 35 years. She has two adult children and four grandchildren. She is a home instructor and community education cooking instructor for Williamsville Central Schools.