Carter Zembik eyed his food suspiciously. Ordered off the robust children’s menu at River North’s Bar Goa, it was a block of pan-seared paneer set in a bowl of creamy russet makhani sauce. “C’mon, bud, I think you’d like it,” urged his dad, Josh, dipping the tines of his fork into the sauce and aiming them at his 5-year-old son’s mouth. Carter pursed his lips: No dice.

Carter and Josh, my neighbors, had agreed to accompany me for an early dinner at this trendy modern Indian spot to test-drive the uncompromising kids’ menu ($10 to $14 per item). Would an avowed picky eater warm to the charms of a crisp dosa?

I asked Carter what he generally likes to eat. “Peppers!” he said excitedly. “And peas!” Josh chimed in. “He will eat a lot of raw fruits and vegetables. Other than that, it’s, you know, buttered noodles.”

I do know. My daughter Leah was a buttered-noodles kid. At one restaurant, my wife and I made sure the chef understood not to put cheese or anything else other than butter on the spaghetti. But he couldn’t leave well enough alone. It arrived, tragically, with a sprinkle of parsley, which rendered it inedible in Leah’s eyes. There might as well have been spiders crawling atop. She was so unlike her older sister, Rachel, who was much more interested in what we were eating. So often Rachel devoured my fish, and I housed her chicken fingers and fries. How did we spawn such different eaters?

Carter falls between the two. Picky as he is — “This kid won’t even eat pizza,” his mom told me — he was game to order several items from the kids’ menu. The dosa was a bust, and I don’t blame Carter. It was thick and floppy, one of the worst I’ve had, filled with a few pebbles of hard cheese, which he tried to pick out to no avail. The paneer was a pass. (I took a taste: It was as leathery as it looked.)

But he did take a couple of bites of the sabudana vada, Mumbai-style fritters made with tapioca pearls and potato. I could see the appeal: They were crisp and savory with tempered spice. He also tried three shards of a very sweet potato-and-tamarind-filled puri shell and a bite of a floppy garlic naan, the latter of which was not on the kids’ menu. Both were, in my expert opinion, just fine.

After the meal, Josh asked Carter to rank the dishes: “What was your No. 1?”

“The fritters!” Carter responded, smiling at me sweetly. He then ranked the garlic naan, the puri shell, and the dosa in descending order. “What about your No. 5?” Josh persisted. Carter looked at the uneaten food on the table, furrowed his brow in thought, and finally said, “I don’t have a No. 5.”

Fair enough. I didn’t either. This kid who barely touched his food had made all the right calls.

Later that evening, Josh texted me a picture of Carter sitting in the kitchen and digging happily into a bowl of buttered noodles. Finally, he got his dinner.

Four More Standout Kids’ Menus

By Chandra Ram

Picture yourself chatting with that snobby parent in the school pickup line and humble-bragging about how your kids insist on brunch at Itoko for kabocha pancakes. Gene Kato’s children’s menu includes chicken yakitori don and a beginner’s sushi set. Hit brunch between 9:30 and 10:30 a.m. and it’s free for those 12 and under; otherwise, kids’ options are $12 for brunch and $20 for dinner. Lake View

Get the young’uns involved in the cooking with the DIY pizza at this Lettuce Entertain You spot. They get a tray with dough to stretch before adding sauce, cheese, and pepperoni. This option is available Monday to Thursday from 4 to 6 p.m. Other standouts on the $7.95 menu: grilled cheese with a blend of cheddar and American and breakfast for dinner with silver dollar pancakes. Lincoln Park

This glam Italian steakhouse has a “Littles” menu to hook kids on the carnivore lifestyle. For $14.99, they get beef or chicken Parm sliders served with fries; seasonal grilled fish and vegetables; linguine and meatballs with marinara; or buttered noodles. All kids’ options come with a drink (no, it’s not a martini). West Loop

Even the pickiest eaters will find something to love on Alfonso Sotelo’s Mexican menu. Want crunch? Order the chicken milanesa ($8.50) — the staff is happy to cut it into strips. Tacos come with either steak or chicken ($8), and even a basic quesadilla ($5) stands out thanks to the housemade tortillas. Hyde Park and Pilsen