As anybody with children knows, dining out with kids is an entirely different experience from dining out with friends. If the restaurant offers crayons  , puzzles or toys of some sort, it takes a lot of the stress out of dining out with kids. Here, in no particular order, are our pick of top restaurants for kids. The Olive Garden The Olive Garden is a family favorite, especially because of the kids menu, crayons, and activity books. My daughter believes this famous Italian food chain has the "best pizza ever" on its kids menu. The kids also get to _ the famous Olive Garden bread --- a favorite for kids of all ages. The Silver Diner The Silver Diner, which has locations in New Jersey, Maryland and Virginia, gets a nod for featuring one of the most fun kids meal containers --- a heavy-duty paper car --- as well as old-fashioned, table-side jukebox selectors  .The menu wins too, both for its breadth   of choices, and for the number of them that are healthy. Legal Sea Foods The kids menu for popular seafood chain Legal Sea Foods is extensive   and features the most choices from the sea of any kids menu we've seen. The original Boston Harborside restaurant has a small children's menu, but its other locations all have 12 kid's choices, including a pricy   One Pound Lobster (or 1/2 pound), Wood-Grilled Fish of the Day, and Popcorn Shrimp selections. Ground Round This restaurant chain was a favorite of children growing up in the 1970s and early 1980s, as it served popcorn and peanuts before the meal instead of bread, and let kids throw the peanut shells on the floor. There were also cartoons and silent movies shown during dinner. Ground Round has changed with the times, but they still have delectable   offerings for kids. What makes the Silver Diner different from the other restaurants for kids ?
Its great pizza and variety of activity books. Its fun kids meal containers and jukebox selectors. The popcorn and peanuts served before the meal. The way its menus change with the times.