Red Lobster's Popcorn Chicken

Reading my friend Jamie's blog made me think of an incident last week that I want to share. Most of you know that Connor hates trying new foods. We have tried begging, bribing, you name it--to very little avail. Well, last week we went to Red Lobster. Connor was incredibly grumpy to begin with (he had fallen asleep in the car, even though it wasn't that late). So, Matt and I were just trying to salvage the dining out experience. Well, Connor wanted chicken strips, so we ordered the kids' meal version. When the waitress brought our meals out, she gave Connor the popcorn shrimp kids' meal. Matt and I just looked at each other. Connor was finally starting to get in a better mood and was hungry. Do we tell the waitress that Connor's order is wrong and have him wait while they cook the chicken, or do we go with it? Well, the first thing Connor wanted to know was why the chicken was so small. Matt jumped in and told him that it was "special chicken" and tasted the same as regular chicken, but was small, kind of like how there are regular nuggies and dinosaur nuggies. We waited with baited breath. Connor picked one up, popped it into his mouth, ate the entire thing, and grabbed another. And then another. He ate more popcorn shrimp than he normally does chicken! He liked it! He likes shrimp--okay, maybe that's a stretch, but he likes heavily breaded shrimp. So, now Matt and I are wondering how we pass off pizza and other things as some type of special chicken, just to get Connor to try it. And no, Connor won't try pizza. My kid is strange.