Calling Before You Head to the Restaurant...

Have you ever called a restaurant in advance? You want to find out if you are able to eat at the restaurant prior to going, correct? You ask to speak to a manager. You ask all of the right questions. The responses seem great and you are excited about going!  Then it happens... the odd comments. Your hopes crushed. You shake your head and realize that they don't have a clue how to service FA patrons. You decide to stick to the house salad and fresh lemon wedges to play it safe.

I am traveling out of state next week. Friends want to take me to a particular restaurant. They know I have special dietary needs, and found this great restaurant that has a number of vegetarian meals as well as gluten free menu items. I know they mean well. However, vegetarian restaurants often concern me since they tend to use a lot of dairy and/or eggs in their kitchen.

I called, asked to speak to the manager… after being questioned about who I was and what I wanted (common to get rid of potential sales calls), the manager eventually answered in a very cheerful manner.

Manager: Hi. This is So and So. How can I help you?

Me: I’ll be traveling next week, and friends want to take me to your restaurant. I have a number of allergies and was wondering if the kitchen was able to accommodate. Three of my allergies are milk, eggs and wheat. I know you use dairy and eggs in many of your dishes. Is any of your food able to be made without cross contamination?

Manager: Yes. We cook for people with food allergies all of the time. This is not a problem. For example, the chicken is baked (there are maybe 5 to 7 dishes that contain meat or fish).

Me: The chef will know to use different utensils, gloves, etc?

Manager: yes. But we cook lasagna in the same kitchen as the chicken.

Me: That isn’t a problem unless the lasagna is placed above the chicken in the oven with potential cheese falling onto chicken

Manager: ***nothing said***

Me: Is the lasagna cooked above the chicken?

Manager: All you have to do is tell your server you have a severe allergy to whatever it is and they will make sure your food is cooked safely. Tell them if it is cheese, butter, etc.

Me: **becoming more suspicious by the moment** Are you saying that I need to tell the chef that I’m allergic to milk, cheese, butter, yogurt, cream, etc… I can’t say I’m allergic to milk and that be sufficient?

Manager: It is best to tell them everything. We had a guest say they were allergic to cheese. We made their toast and it had butter on it. They weren’t aware they needed to leave the butter off.

Me: I’ll stick to the house salad with some lemon wedges

Manager: You don’t need to do that. We have…. **all I hear is blah blah blah**

Me: Thank you for your time and answering my questions. Have a good night

If I have to explain every ingredient in their kitchen that I cannot have, not just the actual original ingredient before it is transformed then that is a kitchen that doesn’t understand how to handle food allergies. Frankly it makes me have other concerns as well. How do you not know that butter comes from milk??

Sigh…  I’m grateful that the manager gave examples and further explanations. Made it easier for me to realize that are not equipped to handle cooking for FA patrons.

It isn’t’ a surprise that I’m not excited about eating out anymore.