I have had two recent dining out experiences which made me want to advocate for a bit better education of the staff. The first was Blue Rock Pizza & Tap in High Point, NC and the second was Bravo Cucina Italiana in Greensboro, NC. One resulted in a blatant gluten ingestion and the other resulted in learning that a restaurant does take more precautions.
I took my daughter to Blue Rock at the recommendation from someone local who also has celiac and has had multiple great experiences there. We ordered a gluten free pizza, half cheese for my daughter and half Peggy-O for me. I made sure when placing the order to clarify gluten free and asked if there was just one size gluten free as is the case in most restaurants. When our pizza came, it tasted a little different than normal, but I chalked it up to the pesto sauce. My daughter wasn't a huge fan and only ate part of hers. When our bill came, I noticed there wasn't an upcharge on our receipt for gluten free, as noted on the menu and for those who eat gluten free, you know there is almost always an upcharge for gluten free. I asked my server to verify that the order was placed correctly as it also didn't say gluten free on the bill. As somebody who has waited tables, I know the system used to generate the ticket for the kitchen also generates the bill, which meant there most likely had been an error. She went in the kitchen to check and out came the manager. I knew the answer before the manager even spoke. The server in fact did not key in our order correctly. The manager was apologetic and polite about it. In full disclosure, I informed her that I am a blogger for gluten free dining and I would need to post an accurate report on our experience. She provided me the card for the general manager, but unfortunately, that didn't change the fact that both my daughter, the birthday girl, and I would later experience reactions to the gluten. I will spare you any details.
My take on this is I am appreciative of restaurants that want to address the portion of the population that can't eat gluten. The challenge is that because gluten free has for many become a trendy choice versus a health related issue has brought on more risk for those of us with health challenges to deal with glutening issues or cross contamination. Believe me, it would be so much easier and less stressful to go to a restaurant and order whatever sounded good off the menu, but I now know what cause me years of digestion challenges, so that isn't an option for me. There is a wonderful restaurant in Orlando, Florida I wrote about in a previous blog and they have this safe pizza thing down! They use a red pizza pan to identify the gluten issue, red utensils to avoid cross contamination and use a separate, smaller container of toppings, complete with glove change, and a big identifying mark on the ticket. The pizza is flagged from start to finish to ensure the safety of the diners. These are the little things that can be done to avoid any questions along the way, as the waitress "could've sworn" she placed the order as gluten free. If the pan was a different color, there wouldn't have been any question.
This past weekend, the pilot and I were able to enjoy some quality time together, including date night out. The schedule has been a little crazy lately with work, travel, and kiddo time for us that it's been tough. After a yummy lunch at Green Valley Grill, we went for some quick Italian and I pulled up Bravo Cucina Italiana as having some gluten free options. (For those on the keto reset with me, clearly I was off focus this weekend). I ordered the Shrimp Fra Diavolo. I checked with our server to make sure that they didn't do the Olive Garden thing and boil the gluten free pasta in the same water as the gluten pasta. His initial reaction was that they were boiled in the same water.
For anyone reading this that doesn't have to eat gluten free, first of all, thank you for reading this and second of all, this is that moment of uncomfortable silence that those with celiac hate. We know that we can't risk the cross contamination and yet, we hate to be the pain in the tail that has to ask our dining companion, significant other, etc if we can now get up and leave or if I cancel my order. This was instead one of those moments I am incredibly grateful for an amazing boyfriend who fortunately hasn't yet seen the full blow reaction to gluten, thank God, but is willing to speak up and look out for my health and best interest. He asked the server to check with management on protocol. A few minutes later, our server returned with news that he was just educated on Bravo's protocol ensuring our safety. They have a separate pot for gluten free in the back that is used. That was the moment of relief when I could exhale and be grateful that yes, we could stick with our original plans. Since it was a Saturday during Christmas shopping season and we happened to be in the middle of the busiest shopping center in town, this wouldn't have been too convenient to change dinner choices.
The lesson learned here is that again it would be great for the wait staff to be educated a bit better on food allergies. While the restaurant takes proper precautions, the staff should be aware since they are the face of the restaurant and Saturday nights are busy enough that management is often overseeing many other issues already. Thank you Bravo for ensuring a safe environment for date night.
I have a few more reviews to catch up on with great dining experiences in Triad NC, so stay tuned. If you have somewhere you have been and would like to do a guest blogger review for gluten free options, please contact me at mycoach@healthyhappymomzy.com Thank you for reading and if you find this helpful, please pass this along to others.
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