chiver78
Administrator
Current Events Admin
Joined: Dec 20, 2010 13:04:45 GMT -5
Posts: 39,493
|
Post by chiver78 on Feb 24, 2015 7:40:41 GMT -5
I hate this. And I feel like it's the people who are just picky that wear out the servers so when someone with a food allergy asks the server they can't be bothered to go ask the cook or something who knows. I'd like to slap all the people who claim allergies when they are really just a picky PIA. I would think that if you have allergies, you should KNOW merely by looking at the menu at what you can and can't eat. My son has Celiacs. And yes he doesn't eat gluten. However, there are different kinds of allergies. With peanut allergy there are people who can go into anaphylactic shock and die. With gluten, my son isn't going to go into shock if he ingests some gluten. Neither are most people with food allergies. Of course we avoid it. But, it is up to US to know what is gluten free and what isn't. Obviously if something is breaded, there is gluten. You can't expect servers to know the particulars about everyone's medical condition and diet.
I call BS on this. let me give you an example, using my own allergy - I can't eat things that were fried in the same fryer as seafood. would you expect that a breadstick would be fried? I learned that one the hard way. TGI Friday's happens to not segregate their seafood items, and also flash-fries the breadsticks that they serve with salads. they also fry a few other things that one wouldn't expect to be fried. I won't even get into all the items that have hidden dairy ingredients. just watching my sis over the past couple years has been eye-opening. I'm sure Angel could tell some horror stories for that same reason. so no, you can't always just assume.
|
|
Shooby
Senior Associate
Joined: Jan 17, 2013 0:32:36 GMT -5
Posts: 14,782
Mini-Profile Name Color: 1cf04f
|
Post by Shooby on Feb 24, 2015 7:48:15 GMT -5
I didn't say "assume". I said that you can't expect servers to understand all the particulars about everyone's diet.
|
|
Shooby
Senior Associate
Joined: Jan 17, 2013 0:32:36 GMT -5
Posts: 14,782
Mini-Profile Name Color: 1cf04f
|
Post by Shooby on Feb 24, 2015 7:49:36 GMT -5
Gluten FREE is a misnomer. Nobody is gluten FREE. People with gluten intolerance are still ingesting gluten along the way. It's everywhere from lunch meats to slim jims to doritos to a million other things. At best you can do gluten Reduced.
|
|
chiver78
Administrator
Current Events Admin
Joined: Dec 20, 2010 13:04:45 GMT -5
Posts: 39,493
|
Post by chiver78 on Feb 24, 2015 7:59:29 GMT -5
I didn't say "assume". I said that you can't expect servers to understand all the particulars about everyone's diet. correct, you actually said KNOW - to which I say no, you can't always. and nobody's asking servers to know what customers can and can't eat.....just to know what is coming out of the kitchen and to be able to answer questions about how food is prepared.
|
|
Shooby
Senior Associate
Joined: Jan 17, 2013 0:32:36 GMT -5
Posts: 14,782
Mini-Profile Name Color: 1cf04f
|
Post by Shooby on Feb 24, 2015 8:10:49 GMT -5
Some servers don't even understand what is coming out of the kitchen.
|
|
Wisconsin Beth
Distinguished Associate
No, we don't walk away. But when we're holding on to something precious, we run.
Joined: Dec 20, 2010 11:59:36 GMT -5
Posts: 30,626
|
Post by Wisconsin Beth on Feb 24, 2015 8:15:29 GMT -5
My friend who can't eat peppers of any sort has had to learn to ask about paprika separately from asking about peppers, because people will insist that paprika isn't a pepper (it is).
She once went to a restaurant, asked about peppers. The wait person supposedly asked the chef, and she was assured, no, there were no peppers in the dish. It had paprika. She got very ill, very quickly. On one of her trips back to the table from the bathroom, she asked the server to leave the bill on the table so that she could put out cash, but that she would not reliably be at the table. (She was traveling for work and eating alone.) After yet another trip to the bathroom, she came to the table to look for her bill, and the manager was there, accusing her of trying to get out of paying her bill.
I hope she upchucked on his shoes.
|
|
NomoreDramaQ1015
Community Leader
Joined: Dec 20, 2010 14:26:32 GMT -5
Posts: 48,100
Member is Online
|
Post by NomoreDramaQ1015 on Feb 24, 2015 9:54:44 GMT -5
TGI Friday's happens to not segregate their seafood items, and also flash-fries the breadsticks that they serve with salads. they also fry a few other things that one wouldn't expect to be fried.
I'm surprised they didn't know this. I worked at the Islamorada and they had a sign in back reminding servers that the same fryer was used for everything and a list of the dishes that had fried items.
We were told to warn anybody who mentioned allergies that we weren't capable of preventing cross contamination so here are the items to avoid.
|
|
Deleted
Joined: Oct 11, 2024 16:47:20 GMT -5
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Feb 24, 2015 9:58:02 GMT -5
Gluten FREE is a misnomer. Nobody is gluten FREE. People with gluten intolerance are still ingesting gluten along the way. It's everywhere from lunch meats to slim jims to doritos to a million other things. At best you can do gluten Reduced. Lmao. You think I eat that stuff? I eat one kind of lunch meat on the two roast beef sandwiches I have a year... Applegate... Just beef and sea salt. I eat two kinds of potato chips... Potatos sea salt and Saff or Sun oil. No other oils. Mostly I eat fresh veggies, sustainably raised meats, raw nuts.... I don't eat gluten. If it has a label I know exactly what's in it. If I'm at a restaurant i eat at one that knows about gluten or eat the safest thing on the menu.
|
|
Deleted
Joined: Oct 11, 2024 16:47:20 GMT -5
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Feb 24, 2015 10:00:18 GMT -5
You have a kid with diagnosed Celiac and you don't know how to be gluten free?
|
|
chiver78
Administrator
Current Events Admin
Joined: Dec 20, 2010 13:04:45 GMT -5
Posts: 39,493
|
Post by chiver78 on Feb 24, 2015 10:02:38 GMT -5
oh they knew. *I* didn't. after taking a dose of Benadryl, I asked what I could have possibly eaten that might have been cross-contaminated and the server immediately zeroed in on the breadstick. I had ordered a side salad, that's it.
lesson learned. I don't eat anything at all when my hockey team goes out after games. who fries breadsticks? ugh.
|
|
Deleted
Joined: Oct 11, 2024 16:47:20 GMT -5
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Feb 24, 2015 10:04:42 GMT -5
I love dedicated fryers!
|
|
Wisconsin Beth
Distinguished Associate
No, we don't walk away. But when we're holding on to something precious, we run.
Joined: Dec 20, 2010 11:59:36 GMT -5
Posts: 30,626
|
Post by Wisconsin Beth on Feb 24, 2015 10:06:02 GMT -5
|
|
Shooby
Senior Associate
Joined: Jan 17, 2013 0:32:36 GMT -5
Posts: 14,782
Mini-Profile Name Color: 1cf04f
|
Post by Shooby on Feb 24, 2015 13:14:39 GMT -5
I would think that if you have allergies, you should KNOW merely by looking at the menu at what you can and can't eat. My son has Celiacs. And yes he doesn't eat gluten. However, there are different kinds of allergies. With peanut allergy there are people who can go into anaphylactic shock and die. With gluten, my son isn't going to go into shock if he ingests some gluten. Neither are most people with food allergies. Of course we avoid it. But, it is up to US to know what is gluten free and what isn't. Obviously if something is breaded, there is gluten. You can't expect servers to know the particulars about everyone's medical condition and diet.
I call BS on this. let me give you an example, using my own allergy - I can't eat things that were fried in the same fryer as seafood. would you expect that a breadstick would be fried? I learned that one the hard way. TGI Friday's happens to not segregate their seafood items, and also flash-fries the breadsticks that they serve with salads. they also fry a few other things that one wouldn't expect to be fried. I won't even get into all the items that have hidden dairy ingredients. just watching my sis over the past couple years has been eye-opening. I'm sure Angel could tell some horror stories for that same reason. so no, you can't always just assume. What are you eating that is fried? Fried food is coated with breadcrumbs or flour.
|
|
Shooby
Senior Associate
Joined: Jan 17, 2013 0:32:36 GMT -5
Posts: 14,782
Mini-Profile Name Color: 1cf04f
|
Post by Shooby on Feb 24, 2015 13:16:07 GMT -5
You have a kid with diagnosed Celiac and you don't know how to be gluten free? You talking to me? I said there is hidden gluten in a lot of things. I know what it hides in. But, I am not going to pretend that my kid doesn't ingest gluten along the way at someone's house or school or wherever.
|
|
chiver78
Administrator
Current Events Admin
Joined: Dec 20, 2010 13:04:45 GMT -5
Posts: 39,493
|
Post by chiver78 on Feb 24, 2015 13:19:06 GMT -5
I call BS on this. let me give you an example, using my own allergy - I can't eat things that were fried in the same fryer as seafood. would you expect that a breadstick would be fried? I learned that one the hard way. TGI Friday's happens to not segregate their seafood items, and also flash-fries the breadsticks that they serve with salads. they also fry a few other things that one wouldn't expect to be fried. I won't even get into all the items that have hidden dairy ingredients. just watching my sis over the past couple years has been eye-opening. I'm sure Angel could tell some horror stories for that same reason. so no, you can't always just assume. What are you eating that is fried? Fried food is coated with breadcrumbs or flour. re-read my post. you missed it. I ordered a salad, which came with a breadstick.
|
|
shanendoah
Senior Associate
Joined: Dec 18, 2010 19:44:48 GMT -5
Posts: 10,096
Mini-Profile Name Color: 0c3563
|
Post by shanendoah on Feb 24, 2015 13:53:59 GMT -5
In my one friend's case, most people don't know that Paprika is a pepper, so she would ask if there were peppers in a dish, be assured there were not, only to find out that the spice/seasoning mix used paprika and boom, she was sick. She now asks about paprika specifically, after asking about peppers. Often, a server will not know what goes into the "spices". Sometimes they ask the chef, sometimes they don't. My friend in general learns to avoid "house seasoning". Believe it or not, some of the easiest places for her to eat are Thai and Indian restaurants, who don't use paprika as a standard seasoning, and are used to being asked to make things without peppers.
I have another friend (really, it's sad how many friends I have with food issues) who has Celiacs. She is hugely sensitive to cross-contamination, as in, her fiance must brush his teeth after eating gluten, before kissing her, or she will get sick. She is also a nutritionist, and has learned which questions to ask, and what restaurants she can safely go to, which gluten free certifying agencies to trust. PF Changs is actually a good one, and she knows to ask for the special plates that never touch gluten, are even washed in a separate dish washer from those that have gluten on them. She will ask about prep space and ventilation. (And in our experience, the places that are certified gluten free are more than happy to answer her questions. If a server can't, they seem to know which manager on staff can, and that person is at our table within a few minutes.) We don't ever expect to cook for her, because we can't guarantee no cross contamination. She is fine with this. She generally brings her own food, in her own containers, with her own silverware. (And we're fine with that.)
|
|
NomoreDramaQ1015
Community Leader
Joined: Dec 20, 2010 14:26:32 GMT -5
Posts: 48,100
Member is Online
|
Post by NomoreDramaQ1015 on Feb 24, 2015 13:59:19 GMT -5
We had Cajun shrimp pasta on our menu. The spice mix was made in HUGE batches in back. Apparently they ran out of one of the spices and somebody took it upon themselves to substitute the same amount of cayenne pepper and didn't tell anyone.
Suddenly we had customers turning red in the face and sending plates back. We had no clue what was going on so the manager tasted a plate that came back. It nearly blew his head off!
I am honestly surprised we didn't kill someone.
Us servers apologized profusely to anyone who ordered it and they received a refund. The cook who did it got torn a new one as well he should have. We pulled it off the menu for the day and the spice batch was thrown away.
|
|
wvugurl26
Distinguished Associate
Joined: Dec 19, 2010 15:25:30 GMT -5
Posts: 21,890
|
Post by wvugurl26 on Feb 24, 2015 14:06:23 GMT -5
You can't always tell from looking at a menu. For example not all menus say if the seafood is fresh or frozen. The frozen is likely to be preserved with sulfite. I can't have it. The soup list at Panera does not list ingredients. In most cases I can narrow it down and ask one or two questions. Lots of places like to hide soy so I can't always tell by looking at the menu.
|
|
Abby Normal
Senior Member
Joined: Dec 22, 2010 12:31:49 GMT -5
Posts: 3,501
|
Post by Abby Normal on Feb 24, 2015 14:29:04 GMT -5
I have another friend (really, it's sad how many friends I have with food issues) who has Celiacs. She is hugely sensitive to cross-contamination, as in, her fiance must brush his teeth after eating gluten, before kissing her, or she will get sick. She is also a nutritionist, and has learned which questions to ask, and what restaurants she can safely go to, which gluten free certifying agencies to trust. PF Changs is actually a good one, and she knows to ask for the special plates that never touch gluten, are even washed in a separate dish washer from those that have gluten on them. She will ask about prep space and ventilation. (And in our experience, the places that are certified gluten free are more than happy to answer her questions. If a server can't, they seem to know which manager on staff can, and that person is at our table within a few minutes.) We don't ever expect to cook for her, because we can't guarantee no cross contamination. She is fine with this. She generally brings her own food, in her own containers, with her own silverware. (And we're fine with that.)I have a friend who reacts like that. If her kids eat a cookie and give her a kiss she'll react. She doesn't eat out. She preps all her own food and if she goes to someone's house she'll bring her own food and utensils. She said it was basically a full time job at first, and it took her years to get the hang of it. There is gluten hiding in so many foods, it's really quite surprising.
|
|
lexxy703
Senior Associate
Joined: Aug 26, 2011 13:52:17 GMT -5
Posts: 13,771
|
Post by lexxy703 on Feb 24, 2015 14:36:16 GMT -5
You can't always tell from looking at a menu. For example not all menus say if the seafood is fresh or frozen. The frozen is likely to be preserved with sulfite. I can't have it. The soup list at Panera does not list ingredients. In most cases I can narrow it down and ask one or two questions. Lots of places like to hide soy so I can't always tell by looking at the menu. I think you can safely assume most seafood in the area was previously frozen. Maybe not the small Maryland crabs but most everything else I'd bet.
|
|
shanendoah
Senior Associate
Joined: Dec 18, 2010 19:44:48 GMT -5
Posts: 10,096
Mini-Profile Name Color: 0c3563
|
Post by shanendoah on Feb 24, 2015 14:42:13 GMT -5
Abby Normal - did you know that Soy Sauce has gluten in it? It really is ridiculous.
|
|
Icelandic Woman
Senior Member
Joined: Feb 4, 2011 22:37:53 GMT -5
Posts: 4,888
Location: Colorado
Favorite Drink: Strawberry Lemonade
|
Post by Icelandic Woman on Feb 24, 2015 15:43:01 GMT -5
Wow after reading some of this I consider myself very lucky to not have any allergies (well maybe a slight one to garlic). I am however a very picky eater but on the very few occasions I go out to eat I pretty much stick to the same restaurants so not a lot of questions needed. If I do go somewhere new I will ask a few questions, especially about mushrooms hate them, but usually can pretty easily find something I can eat without too much bother.
|
|
wvugurl26
Distinguished Associate
Joined: Dec 19, 2010 15:25:30 GMT -5
Posts: 21,890
|
Post by wvugurl26 on Feb 24, 2015 16:17:52 GMT -5
You can't always tell from looking at a menu. For example not all menus say if the seafood is fresh or frozen. The frozen is likely to be preserved with sulfite. I can't have it. The soup list at Panera does not list ingredients. In most cases I can narrow it down and ask one or two questions. Lots of places like to hide soy so I can't always tell by looking at the menu. I think you can safely assume most seafood in the area was previously frozen. Maybe not the small Maryland crabs but most everything else I'd bet. Yeah at most restaurants that is likely the case. If I'm in Ocean City though or somewhere like Florida it could be different. I can get fresh stuff at grocery stores though.
|
|
Peace Of Mind
Senior Associate
[font color="#8f2520"]~ Drinks Well With Others ~[/font]
Joined: Dec 17, 2010 16:53:02 GMT -5
Posts: 15,554
Location: Paradise
|
Post by Peace Of Mind on Feb 24, 2015 16:20:02 GMT -5
Anyone else know someone that needs to ask 9/10 questions about menu options to their server before ordering? DW, my mom and one of my best friends all do this and it gets annoying, I'm more of a shoot from the hip and order what looks good and these guys make me wait. DW always gets pissed to because most of the time I end up with the better meal. My usual questions are "Out of these 3 items which do you recommend?". DH is mostly that way about beer. He asks "What kind of beer do you have?" Server rattles off beers a mile a minute. DH: "Ummm, can you say that again but slower?" <<takes 10 minutes to decide and then asks more questions>> We met friends for dinner recently that we go out with a lot and he applauded when my DH actually knew what he wanted without us waiting. It was because we had to wait for 45 minutes to be seated and DH grabbed a menu to look at. But he doesn't really pick apart how it's made or ask tons of questions about the food. He just can't make a decision if his life depended on it.
|
|
Abby Normal
Senior Member
Joined: Dec 22, 2010 12:31:49 GMT -5
Posts: 3,501
|
Post by Abby Normal on Feb 24, 2015 16:48:44 GMT -5
Abby Normal - did you know that Soy Sauce has gluten in it? It really is ridiculous. So do some broths. It really is ridiculous.
|
|
andi9899
Distinguished Associate
Joined: Dec 6, 2011 10:22:29 GMT -5
Posts: 31,330
|
Post by andi9899 on Feb 24, 2015 23:04:16 GMT -5
So glad the girls and I don't have any allergies of any kind right now. I'm lactose intolerant, but it's not going to kill me. It may kill those around me, but it's cool. Plus, I have pills to help that I take before I eat lactose.
|
|
ՏՇԾԵԵʅՏɧ_LԹՏՏʅҼ
Community Leader
♡ ♡ BᏋՆᎥᏋᏉᏋ ♡ ♡
Joined: Dec 17, 2010 16:12:51 GMT -5
Posts: 43,130
Location: Inside POM's Head
Favorite Drink: Chilled White Zin
|
Post by ՏՇԾԵԵʅՏɧ_LԹՏՏʅҼ on Feb 24, 2015 23:37:11 GMT -5
No you can't KNOW from looking at the menu. Nor can your server know what spices or ingredients the chef/line cook might be placing in an entree from looking at the menu.
|
|
ՏՇԾԵԵʅՏɧ_LԹՏՏʅҼ
Community Leader
♡ ♡ BᏋՆᎥᏋᏉᏋ ♡ ♡
Joined: Dec 17, 2010 16:12:51 GMT -5
Posts: 43,130
Location: Inside POM's Head
Favorite Drink: Chilled White Zin
|
Post by ՏՇԾԵԵʅՏɧ_LԹՏՏʅҼ on Feb 25, 2015 0:17:25 GMT -5
Fried eggs are coated with breadcrumbs or flour? Or french fries? Or a burger? Or pork chop/chicken breast etc - or bacon? What about pan-fried potatoes - or sauteed veggies? No breadcrumbs or flour.
|
|
Wisconsin Beth
Distinguished Associate
No, we don't walk away. But when we're holding on to something precious, we run.
Joined: Dec 20, 2010 11:59:36 GMT -5
Posts: 30,626
|
Post by Wisconsin Beth on Feb 25, 2015 7:54:11 GMT -5
Abby Normal - did you know that Soy Sauce has gluten in it? It really is ridiculous. So do some broths. It really is ridiculous. Gluten is used as a thickening agent. There's lots of other things you can use but it does take a bit of time/experience to adjust to how they thicken.
|
|