... or maybe $#!t list is more like it...
Let's face it... there's some places that claim to have gluten free options but their waitstaff and preparation leave much to be desired. Education is very simple and I'm happy to help, but some of them just don't see how vitally important it is to provide a safe meal to us.
~Kati
- Uncle Julio's Mexican From Scratch - Brookfield Square Mall
Part of my issue was that I did not state the words "I AM GLUTEN FREE" but I had asked all kinds of questions before ordering - is this marinated with anything? Do they flour the meat? Do you have corn tortillas? I ordered steak tacos and rice. At a Mexican restaurant. So I thought I should be safe. When the food came out to the table, I wasn't sure if the tortillas looked like corn. So I dug into the rice while I waited for the waitress to come back. When I asked, she said "oops no those are flour" to which I replied "I really need to change everything out. I need corn. I'm gluten free." She got a slight look of horror on her face when she saw that I had already started in on my rice... "Oh no, none of this is gluten free!" My heart dropped, as did my stomach. She ended up bringing me some fish tacos on corn tortillas (apparently there is soy sauce and beer in a lot of their menu items so honestly it's one of the WORST Mexican options for Celiacs!) and not charging me for the first meal. But within 20 minutes, my heart started pounding, my stomach was turning, and I almost fell to the ground as I tried to get up and run from our (luckily outdoor) table to the railing at the edge of the patio because my stomach needed to reject what I had already eaten... Nothing more appetizing to the people dining around you than someone retching a few feet away. My reactions over the years went from taking about 2-3 hours to now almost instantaneous - I'm just that much more sensitive, having been 100% gluten free for over a decade. So let this be a lesson to ALWAYS STATE THE MOST OBVIOUS AND ASK LOTS MORE QUESTIONS!
~Kati