Carino’s Italian has launched a kids’ menu featuring only dishes with fewer than 500 calories.
The new items, developed by executive chef Chris Peitersen, are priced at $4.79 each at the Austin, Texas-based chain’s more than 70 corporate locations and 60 franchised units.
The new kids' items include:
• Pizza pasta — chopped spaghetti tossed with tomato sauce and topped with sliced grilled chicken, pepperoni and mozzarella
• Chicken and broccoli penne with Alfredo sauce
• Grilled mozzarella and turkey panini served with mandarin oranges. It also is available as a plain cheese panini.
• Pizza dippers — cheese pizza slices served with tomato sauce for dipping
• Grilled chicken with either spaghetti and tomato sauce or Italian vegetables
• Cheese-stuffed pasta with tomato sauce
Carino's also offers kids' pizza for $4.49 and a kids' pasta dish for $3.99. Sundaes for children are available for 99 cents.
The new menu comes a month after the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee urged restaurant to create more healthful kids’ menus in order to combat obesity.
Contact Bret Thorn at [email protected].