As someone who has always loved dining out and re-learned how to do it once living gluten-free, I’m always interested in supporting a new gluten-free menu. However, it seems that several large restaurant companies are now creating allergen menus. While that’s great news if you have true allergies, many of the new menus are not that helpful when it comes to gluten.
Some of the new menus only list the major allergens so we’re out of luck when trying to decipher what we can eat. Even when gluten is noted, it’s hard for me to get excited about a menu that offers me a baked potato and a salad without dressing on it. I simply don’t understand (and never will) why anyone would pay good money for a bland meal when they could eat more interesting and tasty food at home and save money in the process.
Of course, there are times when you can’t choose the restaurant like when you’re attending a family event and no one asks you to give suggestions about safe places that others might enjoy. High school or college graduation parties need to be hosted at a place the graduate likes to dine at. And funerals are the last place you can suggest that you want everyone to eat somewhere safe for you. For such events, we have to be nice and figure out the best plan of action. That might include eating beforehand or eating our own snacks at the event. Otherwise, I’m not spending good money to dine out at a place just because they have an allergen menu when there is nothing worth ordering on it.
We need to keep in mind that an allergen menu is not an indication that companies want allergic patrons to eat there. It’s a way for them to advise customers which items contain certain allergens and then it’s up to potential customers to decide if they want to risk dining there.
Some people who work at several locations or places that recently created allergen menus have no idea that said menus exist. We all know we have to advocate for ourselves when dining out and this is especially true when it comes to eating at places that don’t bother to do any allergen or food intolerance training for staff members or managers.
Even when examining restaurants with gluten-free menus, not all locations are created the same. Some do a fabulous job serving gluten-free patrons while others haven’t got a clue what gluten even is. I had read rave gluten-free reviews about a low-end burger joint that’s popular in the Midwest and Canada so I was tickled when opened up here a few years ago.
We went to eat there about a month after the location opened. After clearly explaining my needs and order, I was brought a burger that a bun had been pulled off of. The bread remnants were clearly visible and by the time my burger was re-made, my husband was long finished with his meal. To make matters worse, the manager offered me a coupon for my troubles. It was a coupon for fried, battered onion rings and nothing else. I explained that I could not have onion rings (and why) and she couldn’t do anything but apologize and walk away.
Patronizing places with gluten-free or allergen menus in no way ensures your needs with be taken care of properly. The location near you might know a lot or very little. As gluten-free patrons, it is our responsibility to determine which places get it and which ones we need to leave before ordering. Asking the right questions is key unless you’re at a gluten-free restaurant or are a regular customer at a place that has always served you safely.
*If you missed Kim Bouldin’s recent post about a horrible situation regarding gluten-free dining, you can read it here.
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