Restaurants, Dining Out, Personal Stories

What Basic Tips Do YOU Want To Share With Restaurants?

by on July 11th, 2013

Wouldn’t it be great if every restaurant in the world was totally allergy-friendly?  Can you imagine if every time you stepped into a new restaurant you felt like they could accommodate food-allergic diners as well as the “Gold Standard” Disney World does?

Well, that’s obviously not our reality.  Our community of food-allergic diners can’t just go into any restaurant, sit down, and order off the menu like other guests.  We have to seek out that subset of restaurants that are allergy-friendly – whether via AllergyEats, Facebook pages, online or offline support groups, word-of-mouth… whatever.

On the positive side, the trend is clearly our friend.  More and more restaurants are starting to understand the importance of catering to our food allergy community.  The number of restaurants going through some form of external training program, implementing internal training, and making the safety of food-allergic diners a priority is clearly on the rise.  By now, most of us have a few “go to” restaurants near us that we’re relatively comfortable can accommodate our special dietary requirements.

But even these restaurants can at times frustrate us.  While our #1 priority is of course safety, and we are generally thrilled to have restaurants we feel will properly accommodate us, it’s natural that we would still wish the accommodations went a little further.

What do I mean?  I’ll give you two examples.

I wish one of my family’s favorite “go to” restaurants would keep dairy-free rolls on-hand (usually, these are gluten-free as well).  It’s not that big a deal and certainly not a reason we wouldn’t go to this restaurant, but when they put rolls on the table, I do wish they had an option for my middle son who has a dairy allergy (besides the boring oyster crackers he usually gets as a replacement).  I don’t think a small supply of dairy-free and/or gluten-free rolls would take up much space in the kitchen, yet they could make many diners happy (I know at least one).  Many other restaurants carry them.  They aren’t hard to find.

And how about dessert?  Desserts are loaded with “trigger foods” for many with food allergies – nuts, egg, dairy, etc.  Sometimes I wish the restaurants we go to most often would keep prepackaged safe “treats” on hand (kids don’t need fancy desserts to be happy).  Disney World does this.  And again, the space needed would be small.  It seems like a relatively little detail – and in fact, it is – but being able to eat dessert at the restaurants we patronize would be a big “win” for food-allergic children like mine.  (Not to mention that the restaurants would benefit too as the rest of us would order their more expensive, high profit, desserts!)

You get the idea?

So I thought it would be interesting and helpful for restaurateurs if we put together a list of the “little things” we would love to see restaurants consider.  The list should NOT include things like “train your employees” or “put processes in place to prevent cross-contamination,” etc.  Those are the big issues that need to be tackled separately.  What I’m looking for here are the little “favors” that would make us love our favorite restaurants even more.

This is YOUR blog entry.  This is YOUR list of the “little things” you want restaurateurs to consider to make your dining out experiences even more enjoyable.  For it to be effective, we need as many opinions as possible.  They can be related to the front of the house (where we’re seated and served) or the back of the house (kitchen, supplies, etc.).  They can be related to food or procedures.  And definitely feel free to repeat ideas that were already stated!  This information will be even more useful for restaurateurs when we see which suggestions are the most popular.  And yes, we plan on sharing these tips broadly.

(I know a lot of you like to respond on Facebook – and I’m happy to have your responses anywhere! – but please consider sharing more of them here this time.)

So GO!  What “little tips” would you like to offer restaurateurs?  Please answer in the Reply box below.

And after you’re done with this, please remember to rate any restaurants you’ve dined at recently on our core AllergyEats website or app.  Every time you add a rating, AllergyEats becomes a more valuable tool for our entire food allergy and intolerance community!

Comments

    Author:
    Mackenzie
    Written:


    Restaurant employees should be willing to check the ingredients of their product to insure it does not contain the allergy.

    Author:
    Karen
    Written:


    Some “little tips” that I would like to offer to restaurateurs would be:

    1) Having one appetizer that would be free of gluten, dairy and nuts.
    2) Having some type of gluten and dairy free roll available that has not been made in a facility or on equipment that has dairy, or nuts (served warmed like the other rolls would be even more of a “win”)
    3) Having a simple dessert free of gluten, dairy and nuts

    Thank You!!

    Author:
    Irene
    Written:


    The things that have made me feel the most happy have been when a manager or wait staff comes over and says I understand you have food allergies, what are they so I can make sure we have it correct?

    When they have not only gone back to check the box but brought it to me to see myself the list of ingredients.

    A listing of spice and flavor mixtures used would be great but I know this is nearly impossible.

    Offering to alter a meal just for us.

    We have come to appreciate the allergen lists and menus a great deal

    Author:
    Melissa Greenstein
    Written:


    Gluten/egg free rolls or bread for the table

    Dairy free butter (like a soy margarine)

    allergen free desserts

    easy options like veggies and dip for kids who can’t eat the fries, or a fruit bowl

    chicken nuggets not coated in wheat

    having a designated fryer for just allergen free items….

    Author:
    Heidi
    Written:


    Having small non-food substitutes on hand for a meal item can make a big difference to a food allergic kid and his family’s overall dining experience. On a recent visit to one of our “regulars” my son was unexpectedly unable to eat the pre-dinner rolls. This was a big let down. Without a word, the observant waitess returned with some special stickers for him. Our son went from feeling left out to important with little expense to the restaraunt, and we had a more pleasant meal as a result.

    Author:
    TXEdie
    Written:


    Having special gluten-free foods readily available is customer friendly and cost effective. Small individual packages of G-F cookies, G-F breadsticks or croutons, frozen G-F bread, etc. can make the difference between a bare-bones dinner and one that looks more like the food the other diners are eating.

    During a trip to Italy, individually wrapped G-F breakfast rolls, dessert or side-dish items were frequently provided. These extras were always appreciated.

    Author:
    daisy
    Written:


    Staff and chefs education is paramount. Many celiacs are also lactose intolerant (and a lot of them don’t know it either!) Do you know how many times someone has told me an item is dairy free, only to find out it has cheese in it… or worse, butter? Or a main dish was cooked in butter, or on a shared grill…Many servers don’t consider what on earth butter is, or where it comes from. Someone actually said to me, “butter has dairy in it?” This occurs on EVERY outing to a restaurant I have had this year. And this goes double for hospitals! I had just had major surgery, and although it said ‘gluten intolerant’ on my wrist band, the first thing they offered me was Saltines. The chief dietician didn’t know that everything on the menu had either gluten, or dairy! And please folks, offer something other than a salad as the main course (salad without croutons or cheese is just lettuce, y know?) and fruit for dessert. That’s why I never go out to eat. I simply can’t trust that folks are educated regarding ingredient source. So, that’s where I’d start.

    Author:
    Jamison
    Written:


    Find a supplier for bread dough that you know is nut/peanut safe. Very frustrating that they have safe kids menu items but your kid can’t eat the rolls because the dough comes from somewhere else and it’s not labeled.

    Author:
    Cathy
    Written:


    1. I wish all waiters and waitresses would actually write your allergy concerns down on your order, so that you can be assured they will alert the kitchen, as opposed to just saying, “Oh, OK, I’ll let someone know.”

    2. All restaurants should use separate oil for seafood, so that people with seafood/shellfish allergies can still eat other fried foods, such as chicken, french fries or onion rings, etc. at their establishments.

    3. I also appreciate it when a manager or cook comes out to assure me they are making accommodations with my order.

    Author:
    Tammy Buck
    Written:


    The biggest thing for us is if the staff is educated or not or willing to be patient with us. Should be mandatory for training in staff!!!

    Author:
    Pauline
    Written:


    1. Keep labels of packaged products (including cooking oil, salad dressing, bread if you don’t make it on the premises) in a convenient place to bring out and show to customers upon request, and train all wait staff to respond to these requests.

    2. When you can make things on the premises & vouch for their ingredients, that can be a plus.

    3. If a dish has been nut-free in the past, and you change the recipe to include nuts or nut oils, make sure to make customers aware of the change. Better yet, give the dish a new name so repeat customers won’t assume it’s safe.

    4. Please keep in mind that not everyone with an allergy is equally sensitive, and also that living with an allergy means making constant spot decisions on trade-offs and acceptable vs. unacceptable risks. On one hand, this means that just because one diner was fine with the level of precaution you take with allergens doesn’t mean that someone who isn’t fine with it is hysterical or faking it: they may be much more sensitive than your average allergic person. On the other hand, if a customer decides that, given an ambiguous situation (such as, “we do our best to keep the nuts away from other things, but it’s not made in a totally nut-free kitchen”), they feel OK letting their child try the food, please don’t put a load of guilt on them for taking the risk. Not everyone is equally sensitive, and they are making their best judgment from extensive experience–just as a parent who lets their child play football despite the risk of injury makes their best judgment in an imperfect world. Parenting is hard enough without a crew of strangers second-guessing every decision.

    Author:
    Martha
    Written:


    1. Wait staff should have a knowledge of what is in the dishes on the menu (i.e.: are any of the soups gluten free? is there a coating on the french fries? is the salad dressing dairy free?) or at least be able to look up the ingredients.
    2. It would be lovely if restaurants had a separate listing or notation on the menu as to which dishes are gluten and dairy free (or other allergen free) or can easily be made allergen free.
    3. When adjusting a menu item for a customer to make it allergen free, making sure that it still is flavorful. (I have had way too many dishes where they simply leave off a creamy dressing and leave you with a piece of dry chicken or fish.)

    Author:
    MelissaS
    Written:


    I just went to a restaurant with my son today while on vacation. I have been to this restaurant many times over the last 30+ years. I asked i they had an allergy menu and the guy said “a gluten-free menu?” I just wish the staff (from hostess station to chef) was AWARE of what a food allergy really is. Gluten intolerance/allergy is NOT the only food danger out there!

    Author:
    Jeanne
    Written:


    Glad you asked!

    1. A dedicated GF fryer so that I could have fries or something else fried on the menu.

    2. I really appreciate and frequent more often restaurants that have symbolic protocol. A favorite of mine is the system of the GF (or other allergen-free) food being on a square plate, all other dishes are on a round plate.

    3. Similar to number 2, restaurant-packaged items being labelled in some way. I recently was at one of my favorite ‘safe’ restaurants. My daughter and I each bought a take-out wrap for lunch. When they brought us the 2 plastic clamshell containers, the wraps looked almost identical. I asked which was the GF one. The person behind the counter seemed a little miffed with me and pointed quickly to one and said, “That one.” I asked, “How can you know?” She said the wraps looked slightly different. And they did, once I looked at them. But I was surprised at this treatment, as I’d never experienced it before at that place, as well as the lack of simple protocol of putting some kind of sticker or colored tape on the GF one. Simple label for these kinds of things is something I appreciate!

    3. Understanding among the whole staff of an establishment that not all allergic people are created equal. I’ve so so often had waitstaff and kitchen staff tell me that many people have had this or that GF item and it didn’t bother them. This comment is often in response to my asking very carefully about ingredients and preparation protocol. GF is an especially tricky one right now, since there are actually people out there doing it as a kind of fad. So, of course, they won’t get sick from cross-contamination and they definitely won’t be asking all the questions I need to ask. I would appreciate restaurant staff taking me seriously and not suggesting that a food I feel is questionable should be OK for me to eat.

    4. Ingredients lists available for me to see. Was recently at a Dairy Queen and asked to see their ingredients list for chocolate ice cream (which is usually OK for me as long as there’s no cross-contamination and there’s no malt flavoring in the recipe). The girl said there was a list on the wall in the back that she could consult, so she did and came back and told me all was well. I need to see the ingredients myself. How do I know that this young lady knows how to read an ingredients list for presence of my allergens?

    Author:
    Jeanne
    Written:


    Oh, and #5 for me would be the waitstaff writing my allergens down on the order tablet, not just saying she’ll tell the chef.
    I also really appreciate the chef or other kitchen employee coming out and talking with me carefully about my needs, when possible.

    Author:
    Danielle
    Written:


    When I find a place I am comfortable with I always just get my main dish ( that makes me nervous enough!) but Nut/ sesame free bread….an appetizer option..and a dessert would be amazing … I also agree with the separate fryer and if waitstaff could write down the allergy …

    Author:
    Karen
    Written:


    Know what oil you use, when asked don’t say “vegetable oil” I assume it is soy, but sometimes people say for everything – there is soy, corn, olive, many types of cooking oil and they are not all vegetable oil. Just post it somewhere.

    Offer a bread free option – we don’t have gluten intolerance, but we have egg, nut and sesame, which most breads are made around. So make a lettuce wrap option for a sandwich.

    a nut free, egg free chocolate desert. We can’t even order a scoop of chocolate ice cream anymore.

    Author:
    Jan Meyer
    Written:


    1. What bothers us: Servers and managers who ask if the gluten free (and dairy free) request is just a preference or is it a real allergy. Not their business about medical issues. Yet time and again, we are asked. If there is a request, it should be taken seriously. Then let the person (patron) disclose if they are just trying to avoid carbs and gluten, but not a medical issue, if they so choose.

    2. I always have to ask if the mayo, oil, condiments are shared with foods that are not gluten free, so there isn’t a knife going into a bottle and then spreading on regular buns and then used on “GF” food. Some restaurants understand this, but others do not. We have leaned to avoid whole categories of restaurants, due to not wanting to guess if something is safe.

    2. Why do pizza restaurants think their pizza is gluten free, just because they use gluten free flour…. but they toss it in the same area as the other pizzas and use tools, platters or cutting areas that are cross contaminated. The same goes for Delis that say they have GF buns, but then use the same spreaders and condiments that are used on regular buns.

    3. Many servers (the primary customer contact) and small single owner restaurants do not understand that food that is cooked or prepared on the same grill, cutting board, or with the same tools, served on the same plate, cooked in the same pan as food that is not gluten free, or cross contaminated in other ways, is not safe.

    2. What bothers us: Allergy menus that list french fries and other foods that are not fried separately, but listed on the allergy or gluten free menu, because the food itself is gluten free… but the actual preparation, or way it is served, is not. The reason I’m told, often, is that “a lot of people don’t really need gluten free” and “we list it because the potatoes are plain and are gluten free” (even if the frying is not!). We still end up with fried, and not grilled food, despite being assured it will be prepared gluten free! I follow up, and am told they didn’t think we really needed it, because (someone else in the party) ordered food with gluten! Just incredible. This happens more than it should. I have had to start training my daughter to recognize food that isn’t grilled, as requested. and looks fried (perfectly even coloration is a dead give away).

    3. What bothers us: Asking about gluten free food preparation and having a blank look come across the face of the server… that was at a hotel recently in NY. Twice. First time, a manager came out and knew what I meant, got something prepared in a separate pan, no problem. Second time it happened, hours later, I walked out. The message wasn’t communicated, despite requests in advance. Training the very front line of people, talking to customers is ESSENTIAL, so we don’t have to stand there trying to teach them, with people are waiting behind us, annoyed.

    4. I agree with Martha, that food servers need to be trained about the menu, ingredients and food preparation.

    5. There are several restaurants that should join forces to establish employee and food service training standards in the industry: Those restaurants include: Burton’s Grill in MA (Stellar training of staff and the best in my opinion), in customizing dishes. They have customized aioli for my daughter and used water, instead of buttermilk, for their gluten free Calamari. Completely worth the trip for that. Not your Average Joes also is very good with accommodating food allergies and intolerances. For very high end food, that breaks a budget, we had an incredible experience a week ago at Mario Batalli’s Del Posto restaurant in NYC. Having Mario Batalli as an ambassador would really be great and make a difference! His restaurant clearly takes gluten free fine dining (and dairy free) seriously, Servers were very knowledgable and the food was divine… But not the average dinner out. Yet that kind of famous chef could be a big help to promoting how find food can be prepared for customers, and still taste great and help draw in new customers.

    Thanks for all you do Allergy Eats!

    Author:
    Lori
    Written:


    I am going to ask our two teens (both with food allergies) what their suggestions would be…and I’ll get back to you. Hope that you are able to round up many comments. Thanks for taking this on. I know that our kids are very uncomfortable being the center of attention and dislike when their allergies seem to take center stage at a restaurant. For example, multiple visits to the table from the manager makes them feel that all eyes are on them (which may or may not be true, but perception is everything to a teen) and drains the fun from dining out. While we greatly appreciate a conscientious staff, striking a balance is appreciated. As with many others, our Disney experiences have been fabulous…they have figured out how to provide a safe meal without much fanfare

    Author:
    Scotty
    Written:


    I would be so happy if restaurants could simply offer their fried/battered entrees without the batter….grilled or baked. So many places only offer one way. And I would agree with the suggestions of servers willing to go ask or check on ingredients. Without the eye rolls, please.

    Author:
    Carol
    Written:


    Train all staff on food allergies. Offer bread without sesame seeds. Have a grilled/baked option to avoid cross contamination. Have non latex gloves available for staff. Always have a nutritional guide available, no matter if they are a local small shop or a big chain. Did I mention, train all staff?

    Author:
    Frank Coluccio
    Written:


    My wife and I are allergic to milk, eggs, soy and wheat (she is celiac). There are a number of sub allergies for her as well. We have had success at Red Lobster, Bone Fish Grill and Ruby Tuesday’s (only have some of the salad bar there). We have to interview the waitress and ask for the chef. We discuss ingredients and ask about preparation. Red Lobster seems to be well educated on these issues and they have gone out of their way to accommodate us properly. They have an allergy alert that is sent to their kitchen as well. We have to use their canola oil instead of butter and stay away from any breaded products (miss the cheddar biscuits). Bone Fish allows us to substitute olive oil in place of butter and had been good to us. We end up eating at home and my wife prepares from scratch due to the massive number of establishments that are clueless and apathetic to special needs. It is crucial for allergy customers to ask to speak directly with the chef, if at all possible. He or she can have a direct bearing on the success of the meal and be in charge of the food prep personally. I would say that right now, there may be 5% of the total number of restaurants out there that can meet special needs properly. We hope that number changes. Sadly, the training and expense of the ingredients make it not worthwhile for more restaurants to participate. With better diagnosis that could change in the future.

    Author:
    Chelsea
    Written:


    Allergen menus. If every restaurant had a clear and detailed allergen menu on their site, and maybe even a print out they can bring to guests in the restaurant, it would make going out to eat far less stressful for me.

    I’m noticing a lot of places doing entire gluten-free menus lately or marking gluten-free items on the menu, or even radically changing their ingredients to provide more gluten free options…it would be nice to see some of the same attention given to other major allergens. It is so hard to eat dairy-free at so many restaurants. There are plenty of incidents where dairy is added to food and it really does not need to be (such as a veggie burger with cheese in the patty…if someone wants cheese they can order the burger topped with cheese! it doesn’t need to be baked into the patty too).

    And an additional point about allergen menus: I’ve frequently seen places that serve pizza, or sandwiches/salads that include cheese just mark the entire meal as “contains dairy.” Of course cheese pizza contains dairy…what dairy-allergic guests really want to know is, if ordered without cheese, is that pizza/sandwich/salad dairy-free? Good ways to handle this that I’ve seen some restaurants do are either making a note about substitutions (like “This item can be made dairy-free if ordered without cheese”) or just listing separate components (like pizza crust, sauces, dressings, bread) separately and noting the allergens present in each.

    Education of staff on definitions would help too. Asking “Is there dairy in this?” is always a bit of a nervewracking experience for me, because I find people don’t always know what “dairy” means. They might assume it includes eggs, which further limits my options unnecessarily. Or if I try saying “milk” they may only check for milk, not things made from milk like butter, sour cream, and cheese.

    And lastly: attitude. It’s already stressful enough for someone trying to eat out with dietary restrictions without adding being questioned or judged on top of it. Staff should NOT question someone’s food allergy in the hopes of trying to “catch” them on being difficult customers. It’s incredibly rude and frustrating. I’m a vegetarian, and I think sometimes when people hear that followed by “And allergic to dairy” they assume I’m making up an allergy to make a dietary preference sound more serious, because I’ve gotten the question “Are you *really* allergic? Or is this just a preference?” several times now. It makes me very worried that people aren’t always being honest with me about what’s in my food because they think I’m just being difficult. If I accidentally eat some meat, it’s not the end of the world, but if I accidentally eat some dairy because you didn’t believe that I really had an allergy, I’m going to have an asthma attack in your restaurant. Never make assumptions.

    This applies to making assumptions about severity of allergies too. I’ve had people assume “allergic to dairy” means lactose intolerant and if I have “just a little” it’s not going to be a big deal. Unless your customer specifically states otherwise, assume “I’m allergic to this food” means “I cannot consume even the smallest amounts of this food.” That’s the safest option.

    Author:
    Christina
    Written:


    I am an adult who is severely allergic to nuts, so these suggestions are more along those lines. I wish that:

    1) Restaurants would denote common allergens for each dish on the menu (either by use of an icon or bold lettering). They should at least be required to state any common allergens in the dish description (sometimes nuts are hidden in a sauce and this is extremely dangerous!).

    2) If the dish contains nuts, they should try to include it in the dish’s name on the menu (i.e. Cashew Chicken, etc.).

    3) If the same fryer is used to fry nuts (or other common allergens) as it is to fry other food, this information should be made clear on the menu. (I know this one was sort of a high hope.)

    4) I agree with several others about having an allergy-free dessert. This is one of the most frustrating parts about eating out. So many desserts contain nuts that it just isn’t worth the risk.

    Author:
    Christine
    Written:


    For dairy allergies, eat out for breakfast seems to be the most difficult meal to eat since everything is fried in butter or contains milk, butter, buttermilk. Having a scrambed egg that is not made in a pan coated with butter would be heavenly.

    Author:
    Alexandra
    Written:


    I know this is tricky, because restaurants don’t want to disclose their recipes, but listing all of the food items in a dish on the menu would be AMAZING (like sneaking bell peppers into a “Chicken and Cheese Quesadilla” or simply stating “with onions”– red? white? yellow? Maui? Work with me here.) I don’t have gluten issues and am only minorly lactose intolerant, so I can easily monitor when the amount of dairy is too much for me. Most of my allergies and intolerances are very tangible: bell peppers, shellfish, red onions, watermelon, bananas, seaweed… There are more (of course, right?) but if restaurants would only tell me what all foods were in a dish, we wouldn’t have to play the re-making the plate game. At this point if it’s not a dish I’ve ordered before I basically just go through the entire list of conceivably included dishes. PF Chang’s doesn’t even disclose that most of their sauces contain oysters!!

    Author:
    Laura
    Written:


    A kitchen that has a separate grill surface to grill chicken or fish so that it won’t come into contact with mammal meat (pork, beef, lamb) juices that could contaminate it. If a separate grill surface isn’t available, being willing to double wrap it in foil and assure a separate cooking utensil from the other allergen meats that affect alpha gal. When this doesn’t happen, I end up ordering a salad or something fried to stay away from the grill.

    Author:
    Larry
    Written:


    I see a lot of comments regarding gluten and I’m sure that they are just as severe. I’m sure I am also allergic to gluten along with a long list of other items so numerous that it would take up this entire blog. The deadly allergens are fish and nuts. Fish meaning all dorsal fin fish but not shellfish. Nuts being peaunuts walnuts pecans and hazelnuts. These cause anaphylactic shock level 4 and 5. All of the above suggestions are good. Waiters and waitresses that respond with phrases like “I don’t think so ” when asked if an item has a particular allergin in it tells me that they don’t know the answer and don’t understand the seriousness of the question. As the post above also stated there are different degrees of allergic reactions from mild discomfort to anaphylactic shock. My allergens, although severe in nature, are contact and ingestive allergies for the most part. There are people whom cannot even walk into an establishment that had open peanut shells around that could cause a reaction just from the dust. Cross contamination is another problem where sensitivities vary. For instance if I eat meat that was cooked on a grill where a piece of fish then I have a moderate reaction as opposed to a severe reaction from direct ingestion. Non the less it’s all extremely uncomfortable and frustrating. The thing is is that I have never had a cross contamination issue at home. Some restaurants are becoming much more sensitive to people’s allergies and how to prepare food for them that is not contaminated. The restaurants that are making great strides in this are mainly the chain restaurants. My experiences in local establishments have proven that they are not educated in this area not are they prepared to handle a special request in this area. Education equals the ability to assist a special request of these types. So my number 1 on the list is education of potential allergins for all cooks and food service workers. Once this process begins then each establishment can begin to understand how to deal with and assist with an individual’s allergic needs. For instance my fish allergy at one time was unusual as most people were allergic to shell fish and not fish. Mine is the opposit where fish is the culprit and not the shell fish. All restaurants tend to cook both in the same grease. Some smaller restaurants even cook the fries and anything else in the same vat of oil. A recent trip to a large but individual proprietor restaurant along the gulf coast that actually serves fresh seafood yielded an additional problem. The batter coating for the fish and shell fish was in a large prep area and both fish and shellfish were dipped in the same coating before being placed in the oil. Obviously that was a no go. In speaking to the manager after we were told they could accommodate my un contaminated grease requirement he informed me that it was impossible but that he could grill for me anything I wished. I asked if they have a specific grill for the fish and meats and he explained that since it was always hot that it shouldn’t matter. I passed on the food at that location. The thing with the hot grill is that it actually has to be heated up to a higher temp than it has been to burn off the residual contaminates and cleaned as well. His statement clearly proved to me that he had no idea of what cross contamination of an allergin was or how to deal with it. A chain called Pappadeaux on the other hand is just the opposite. I had the pleasure of asking this same question at their establishment earlier this year. When I began questioning them about cooking their shrimp in the same grease as the fish you could immediately tell that an alarm went off with the staff. They cooked my shrimp in clean new grease and the batter they used was clean as well. Some things are easy to accommodate in my opinion but until people are educated as to the what and why it will never get better. Those on this blog that have the extreme allergic reaction to certain foods can probably understand when I say ” everyone should experience these reactions at least once so they will understand the motivation behind our questions when we ask” this way we wouldn’t be having these types of conversations to help others understand as it would have already been resolved.

    Author:
    cs
    Written:


    I would love if restaurants offered one or two simple entrees on the menu that were listed as being completely free of all of the top 8 allergens.

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