Family Outings, Recession-Style

There are still eating joints in this very expensive part of the country where two kids and two adults can eat for less than $30. Unfortunately, they are all restaurant chains. But in these recession-hit times, they are still a fun family outing.

1. La Salsa Fresh Mexican Grill, 580 Post Road, Fairfield. Their Baja Fish Taco Platters are my personal favorite and their choice of toppings and salsas are awesome. Seating is iffy and parking even more so, but the food more than makes up for the inconvenience.
2. Panera Bread, 1063 Boston Post Road, Darien and 596, Westport Avenue, Norwalk. If the grown-ups choose the half salad/sandwich-soup combo and the kids choose a kids' meal, everybody gets to eat good, fresh food at very reasonable prices. My pick when I want to spend quality time one-on-one with either of the kids.
3. Any McDonald's. Least healthy and least expensive of all the choices. Still, these days at least you can choose a salad (I like their Southwestern salad, they no longer serve my previous favorite, the Asian salad) and well, nothing stops a kid complaining than a mouthful of French fries.

I don't like pizza much - except for one memorable pizza in the south of France many years ago - so I didn't include any pizzerias (my kids on the other hand would eat pizza for breakfast, lunch and dinner if I allowed it). I would love to hear of more choices for family dining in Fairfield County.