New Trend in Dining Out: Liquored Up Babies

Apr 13, 2011 | Filed Under: In the News | Tags: Totally Sober

Just days after a 15-month-old boy in Detroit got tanked on tequila at an Applebee’s– where he was served a freakin’ margarita in his sippy cup instead of apple juice — a Florida mom is claiming her toddler got tipsy after being served alcohol at the Olive Garden.

Wow.  These kids must have amazing fake I.D.s.

Jill Van Heest said she and her two-year-old son, Nikolai, were diving into their bottomless bread sticks and salad when the boy started acting strangely after downing most of his orange juice. Behavior that likely involved loudly slurring “I LOVE YOU, MOM!” and dirty dancing with the walls (which Mr. Candy may or may not have been known to do in his time).

Turns out, the boy had been sipping on a sangria cocktail — a mix of OJ, pineapple juice and white wine.  On the bright side, it wasn’t Candy’s Special Sangria, which includes less pineapple, more tequila.  And even more tequila.

The mom’s story:

“We’re eating our meals when the waiter came over and said there’s been a mistake, I need to get you a new one and took the glass and kind of scurried away,” Van Heest told Orlando’s WOFL television.

Van Heest said she got suspicious that the boy’s sippy cup was spiked when he started getting rowdy.

“He was visibly drunk,” she told the station. “His eyes were dilated, they were red. He was now getting loud.”

Little Nikolai was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he received an I.V. to flush out his system. He was released a few hours later.

A spokesman for the Olive Garden said the restaurant was sorry about the incident.

“This was an extremely regrettable accident caused by the failure of an employee to follow our strict operating procedures,” an Olive Garden spokesman said. “We offer our sincerest apologies to the family of the child, and to all of our guests.”

A sincere apology for getting babies drunk — and trying to cover it up.  Gee, how generous!  And here I thought Mr. Candy had been shortchanged when he discovered he’d bitten into a green worm in his potato soup — and the Times Square Olive Garden manager offered him free dessert to make up for the mistake.  Sorry about that unexpected mouthful of larva.  But here’s some tiramisu!

P.S.  I am totally taste-testing all of Skye’s drinks from now on.  No tequila for her until she’s at least six years old.