This post is by SmartBlog on Restaurants and Restaurant SmartBrief contributor Janet Forgrieve.

There’s a fairly memorable scene in one of the later seasons of “Sex and the City” in which happily child-free Samantha comes close to losing her cool when a precocious child tosses a helping of pasta pesto on her clean white business suit, after she’s told by the waiter to turn off her cell phone so she won’t disturb the other diners. It may be the same episode in which mom Miranda explains that she doesn’t bring her toddler to places that serve $12 pieces of cake while Charlotte coos about the cuteness of a chocolate-covered child running loose.

Scenes like Samantha’s dousing in green sauce may be extreme, but we’ve all seen some version of the out-of-control toddler who has been fed sugar and forced to sit for longer than his brief attention span will bear. In fact, it’s scenes like that one — and the expectation of them — that fuel the long-running debate on whether children belong in restaurants that cater to grown-up tastes. For one casual restaurant in North Carolina, the answer is yes — as long as the tots obey rules about volume. The Olde Salty in Carolina Beach now boasts a sign proclaiming that “Screaming children will not be tolerated.” Owner Brenda Armes said she posted the rule after growing tired of customers complaining about the problem, and she never asks guests to leave the restaurant when their youngsters grow too loud — she merely requests they take the screamers outside to calm down, before resuming their meal. Her strategy has apparently been a success — the signs have brought in more customers than they’ve turned off, she reports. (read more…)

SmartBrief’s Angela Giroux Scheide tuned in to this week’s episode of “Top Chef D.C.”

“Top Chef D.C.” left D.C. and headed to Singapore for the first part of the final.

Imagine flying halfway around the world, meeting internationally known food local expert KF Seetoh, experiencing a tour of hawker centers with ubiquitous street food and taking in the atmosphere. Just when you are ready to go to the hotel to get over your jet lag, you meet Padma Lakshmi and you know you’re in trouble.

In front of you are largely unfamiliar ingredients marked only with Chinese characters, and you are told to replicate local street food … in a wok. Spoiler alert! (read more…)

SmartPulse — our weekly reader poll in SmartBrief on Restaurants — tracks feedback from restaurant owners and managers about current trends and issues.

Last week’s poll question: Does your restaurant franchise?

• I am a franchisee. — 13.04%
• I work for a company that franchises, but I am not a franchisee. — 35.87%
• My restaurant is not involved with franchising. — 43.48%
• Currently my restaurant is not involved in franchising, but it’s something I am considering. — 7.61% (read more…)

Nick Sarillo is the founder and CEO of Nick’s Pizza & Pub, located in Crystal Lake, Ill., and Elgin, Ill. This year, Nick graced the cover of Inc. magazine as the “Blue Collar Millionaire” and has been driving success with a unique leadership style. His leadership has helped his restaurant develop a set of innovative social media strategies, and SmartBrief is lucky enough to have him participating in a panel in the upcoming Facebook Success Summit. Rob Birgfeld (who will be moderating the October panel) had the chance to bounce some questions off of him in advance of the event.

You are known to create a culture at Nick’s Pizza & Pub where your employees feel empowered and are a key piece to sharing your message. How has that ideology applied to social media?

“That Ideology” — clearly defined purpose and values — is at the very core of being effective with social media. With that clarity, as not just a piece of paper on the wall, but actually a process to make decisions by, we allow the team to speak with their own voice. The other important element is that we hire people that are in alignment with our values, and we keep the bar high and hire high performers. It is no surprise to me that Cory [who now runs the social media efforts for Nick's Pizza and will be presenting tactical strategies on the upcoming panel] would do this well, because he performs at a high level as a server and bartender at Nick’s Pizza & Pub. (read more…)