Best Kids' Meal Toys

Day care has left you broke, but still you have your pride. You hate the fluorescent-lit, Formica-table fast-food experience. You don't want the kids to eat rubbery deep-fried poultry by-products. And please, no more of those offensive, licensed-character-du-jour Happy Meal toys. What you need is Mission Burritos on Alabama. Grab a table on the oak-shaded patio, and leave your adult dining companion to watch as the kids frolic in the grassy fenced yard. For the rugrats, order the kids' meal; it comes in an intelligently designed box that might look like a car or a raccoon; the prize will be something nifty, like a plastic frog or a fat piece of sidewalk chalk; and the food (say, a soft taco) will be reasonably attractive. For the grown-ups, order sangria. It makes child-rearing seem much easier.