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When I was nine years old, sometimes I'd walk to the restaurant where my mother was waitressing and have dinner. This was a white-tablecloth German restaurant, and about half the time I went there, I ordered lobster tail.

Of course, I wasn't completely alone, since my mother was my waitress, but I went there and back alone, and was pretty much by myself when I was eating since she was waiting tables.

Then again, I didn't pay, and I certainly didn't leave a tip.

I don't know, I think that's kind of fantastic. All social commentary aside, that's one brave twelve-year-old!! I'm 21 and I still don't like to eat by myself in restaurants. Haha, this kid even has a leg up on my dream career -- food critic (although I guess I'm ahead in the education department, lol). Who knows -- we just may be witnessing the birth of the next generation's Frank Bruni!

I say they can eat out alone as soon as they're old enough to hold a fork.

this is also the time that I feel they should get a job.

Going beyond the question of the appropriate age for eating out alone, did anyone else find it a bit, shall we say, remarkable that there just happened to be a NY Times reporter and a NY Times photographer at Salumeria Rosi when this boy happened by? Along with the fragrant prosciutto and tripe stew, I smell a well orchestrated PR stunt.

PS: I stopped by the place around 1pm Monday (the day this appeared) and they already had the article framed and perched on the counter.

@dbcurrie: Your situation makes more sense. Your mom was working and that was how she managed to keep an eye and you and provide food. I bet that was a wonderful experience for you. Plus she had probably had the other employees keep their eyes on you.
@Dee..that's a perspective I hadn't considered...However, I think that it was opening night in general at Salumeria Rosi and there were other celebs in the house.

Overall I guess part of me thinks it is great to have an independent 12 year old with a great interest in food but the other part of me sees a young boy who should still be dining with his parents.

When I was around 10, I started eating at pizzerias with my friends. Then around age 12, we went to a sit down restaurant for the first time. We had no idea how to split the bill, how much to tip, had to ask for pen and paper, caused a ruckus arguing and exasperated the waitress. It was pretty funny. For me anyway. Not for the waitress I'm sure.

I will let my ten year old go with his older brother (14) to the local McD's, BK, or to the grocery store (Wegmans) to grap a snack or bite to eat once in a while. The first couple of times I let them go (last May), I checked up on them from a distance just to make sure things were okay. They knew the ground rules (stay together, no bickering, use your manners) and things were okay. I would not let my ten year old do this on his own. There's a latch-key-kid site that provides some info on staying at home alone that I think could apply to dining alone at a young age:
http://www.latchkey-kids.com/latchkey-kids-age-limits.htm

That's really interesting. I was a latchkey kid at the age of 9. By 12, I was watching my 6 year old sister while the two of us were home alone. I never had the allowance as a kid to afford to go out to eat on my own, not to mention I had no way to travel. Had there been a place to eat nearby and I had the money, I would very much have enjoyed sitting down to a late afternoon meal by myself at age 12. My family rarely went out to eat, so it would have been a nice treat.

I first went to a restaurant by myself at the age of 8. I'm 32 now and I don't think it did any lasting damage. ;) We lived in a small town and my little brother was in the hospital in the city 20 minutes away. I can't remember the exact circumstances but I needed dinner and my parents were trading shifts at the hospital, so I was given some cash, instructed to walk to the diner, and wait for one of my parents to pick me up. I think they sent me with a note for the waitress. I felt *so* grown up, and so excited to be able to sit at the counter. Whenever we went as a family we chose a booth. I had a grilled cheese sandwich and fries with gravy. Since then I've always loved eating in restaurants on my own.

I love hearing these memories of dining out alone. I had no idea it was prevalent.

The first time I ate out alone I think I was 12 or 13. I was with my little sister and her friend at the mall, and we went to Johnny Rocket's. We spend hours figuring out the tip, and you know those straw things where you pull them up and take out a straw? My sister's friend pulled it up entirely and spilled straws all over the table. We laughed. I pity our waitress. Still, I think we were relatively respectful.

I actually went to my first movie alone when I was much younger, 10 or 11. My friend and I saw "Indian in the Cupboard" and accidentally spilled a family-size box of nerds all over the back row floor. Hm, on second thought, I think 13-14 is a better age to start eating/going out alone...

@heartofglass. When and where did you grow up? I grew up in the 70's and I ate out with groups of friends starting at age 12 but never all alone. I don't think that it would ever have occurred to me to have done so because I grew up in the suburbs of nyc and needed to be driven wherever we ate.

I grew up in suburban NJ--kids used to ride all over, for a slice or an ice cream cone or a burger. After all, if kids can travel on bikes or on foot, why not 'eat out?' Better than sitting home next to the fridge with a video game, I say!

About 11 years old, after a movie downtown Seattle in the 70's. This place that is long gone called Sandwich Palace man they made the most wicked tuna sub ever, I miss that place.

@tmj529: It's really difficult to pin this down to a specific age. I stick by my original opinion (old enough to behave appropriately and calculate tip). Figuring that the child can behave itself properly by this point, I'd say about 9 (as far as I can remember, that was when I mastered working with decimal point enough to be routinely accurate).

If the kid was eating out in a situation that the bill was being taken care of by an adult, then the math skills would be less of an issue, and it would come down to manners.