Iris Eason, 3, scopes out India House restaurant from a higher vantage point as she waits for her meal. (Pioneer Press: Ben Garvin)

My husband and I like to cook Indian. We relish the spicy lentils, dals and curries. Our kids won't eat curry but like the buttery rice and poofy poori bread we serve on the side. To make our India-feast nights truly festive (instead of carb fests and/or whine fests), we also cook up simple vegetables and mini-burgers to please our girls' Plain Jane palates.

Last week, we decided to try eating Indian outside the safety of our home. We met another family for dinner at India House on St. Paul's Grand Avenue. Although the run-down space could use a remodel, we found the all-male wait staff super accommodating.

At first, we felt conspicuous in the cavernous space. Couples and small parties with much older children dined quietly in the booths along the windows while our raucous party of seven sat at one of the large tables in the middle of the room. But the servers doted on the three girls — ages 3, 4 and 8 — at our table. Soon, we stopped shushing them and settled in for a fun, satisfying meal.

Before our family arrived, a waiter had already charmed our friends by asking their 4-year-old what she liked to eat. Shortly after we were seated, the server brought her a tailor-made meal — a bowl of plain basmati rice and a single chicken drumstick.

"It's not spicy at all!" she exclaimed loudly, happily digging in.

The rest of us were still deciding on appetizers and drinks. The menu is extensive, making it unwieldy for first-timers

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— especially first-timers with squirrelly, hungry kids in tow.

There are no kids' menus or crayons on the tables here, and service, while attentive, is not snappy. Luckily, our friends were armed with paper, pens and puzzles to keep little hands and brains busy while we adults scoured the menu.

We finally decided to dine family style and settled on garlic naan, a couple of appetizers and a few entrees. Sharing turned out to be a good strategy — although we wound up ordering too much food. Our bill totaled $100. Next time, we'll use the online menu (at indiahousesaintpaul.com) or pick up a takeout menu and decide before we go.

We started with mango lassis — rich yogurt drinks we thought the kids would like. Turned out, the grown-ups liked them better.

The warm, garlicky naan was a hit with everyone, except our 3-year-old. She wasn't in the mood for adventure. She took a few bites of an appetizer called paneer pakora, a mild white cheese fried in chickpea batter, which we presented as "cheese curds." After that, it was rice-only for her.

The rest of us ate well. We shared the India House Special — a mix of chicken dishes and

Zoe Cheng Pinto, 4, thought the rice was nice at the Grand Avenue restaurant. (Pioneer Press: Ben Garvin)
shrimp served on a hot plate. We also sampled onion pakora (basically, Indian onion strings), fish kashmiri (a curry with tomatoes, onions and peas), aloo gobi (a potato and cauliflower dish), paneer josh (cheese cooked in yogurt sauce and spices) and tandoori chicken.

Everyone found something to like. Our friends raved about the meat and fish. I took most of the potatoes and cauliflower. My husband was all about the paneer. The older girls devoured chicken, naan and rice as well as the broccoli florets and carrot slices that garnished some plates. The 8-year-old even pointed out the spice made the bread extra good.

That comment alone made our outing a success — one small step closer to getting her to try a curry.

Kids' Cuisine is a one-time take on how restaurants handle kid customers. It's written by a rotation of Pioneer Press staffers with children — the real experts for this column. Heidi Raschke can be reached at 651-228-5284.

INDIA HOUSE

Address: 758 Grand Ave., St. Paul

Phone: 651-293-9124

Prices: Entrees range from $7.99 to $19.99