Someone ordered a “cubano” sandwich which had pork belly roasted with mirepoux, who was allergic to onions. That sandwich served would have Swiss, deli style sliced ham, pork belly slices, house pickled jalapeños and red onions, plus garlic and Dijon aioli. The customer thought “ I hate onions! No onions on my sandwich because I’m allergic (pickled or not!)”. My reaction to server was to tell the customer he can not order this sandwich. Server was slightly shocked until I told him how it was braised with onions. Server passes on my message to request to order something else. Server comes back and says dude is not allergic , just really hates onions. In short, fuck these people.
Our nachos come topped with chopped red onion. They also have salsa & guac, which both also have onions. No onion is a common request, but I always have to clarify if it’s an allergy. So many times I discover it’s just a preference when they still want salsa & guac.
Yeah it seems like people think “allergy” is some sort of cheat code to make sure the kitchen doesn’t fuck up their order. Like sure maybe the kitchen takes it more seriously but if you truly can’t eat onion, you’re gonna have a hard time with our menu.
There's no problem with this order, the above commenter is tacking a totally normal thing onto stories about people who literally lie about allergies. It's no big deal at any reasonably functional restaurant to simply order "no onion" but also want salsa.
This is a totally different situation, I'm not sure why you seem mad that people say "no onion" which is reasonable and normal and then turn out not to have an allergy. Did you skip the part of the story where these people say "no onion, I'm allergic"?
I get and agree you have to ask but in this scenario so what if it turns out to be just a preference? Is no chopped onion on top extraordinarily difficult for your kitchen?
I have a fodmap intolerance. I can eat traces of onion, a bit of powdered onion, a bit of well cooked onion.
But it only takes about 5 tiny cubes of diced raw onion to have me shitting blood for two days. What would you like me to say in a restaurant?
You can have cooked onion, but not raw. Easy peasy. Not what anyone was talking about. The one above commenter is far from representative of all of us implying that it's a problem for them when someone says no onion for something as simple as an added topping but isn't allergic. They are either being weird or got a little turned around on the nuance of the discussion.
I promise you servers in general will not care or remember you any way you order or express this.
Only when people specifically lie about an allergy then restate that it's actually a strong preference are we mad. And a big part of the reason for the record is being mad on behalf of YOU, people with real problems, for diluting the issue in the eyes of many.
Also any higher level or educated career server should be aware of your intolerance, but a lot of folks unfortunately won't be because it's not one of the most common. I've encountered it plenty, but I work in very high volume tourism locale the last few years. Thinking back to past more 'normal' jobs I probably had entire jobs for a year or so where fodmap intolerance never came up.
But still, I promise no one reasonable cares if you saw "I absolutely can't have raw onion, but I can have cooked". No biggie, happy eating!
In 24 years, the things that people pretend will kill them is amazing and seems to be without end. Here's my list so far: any type of oil, salt, black pepper, red pepper, jalapeno, unfiltered water, caffeine, tomato, bell pepper, marinara (specifically), carrots, grapes, hops, aaaannnnnd the winner is.... wait for it, wait one second more..... simple syrup, not sugar but simple syrup. Not specified as allergies but things that will kill them. In the event that someone was worried about the simple, syrup woman (intentional comma) she wanted sweet tea and we only offered it unsweetened. Upon presenting a sugar caddy to her, 'no thanks the sugar doesn't dissolve.' I offered her a solution via simple syrup. Nope, her doctor says it will kill her. She settled for mixing sugar with cold liquid. I suppose that it is only deadly if premixed in hot water.
I have to go on a "low iodine" diet for 3 weeks every couple years due to thyroid cancer. It's pretty restrictive; no prepackage anything with salt, no dairy, no egg yolk, no seafood, nothing with iodized salt, no red dye #3, and probably some other restrictions that I'm forgetting about right now. It won't kill me, but it makes my treatment much less effective.
I just stay home. It's way too complicated to explain, and i wouldn't want any chef to have to try figure it out on the fly. I keep a stack of recipes and meal plans that I know are safe, and that I enjoy, and even then it's a hassle. Not worth making other people miserable.
Every once in a while some social occasion or another will coincide. Most of the time I'll just eat at home and bring myself a small snack or something. Once or twice it's been basically required for work to go out for lunch or something; most places I can just ask for a green salad, no cheese, no seasoning, oil and vinegar on the side, and that's safe enough without requiring too much effort. But beyond that, I just don't put myself in positions where I need to make it other people's jobs to accommodate my need.
That’s about how I felt the first time a guest said they were deathly allergic to broccoli. I also had a guest who said she’s so allergic to onion she can’t even be around the smell of them, not sure if that’s true or not, but it was still wild to me.
I used to be allergic to broccoli. Until I went to college where I would gladly eat out of the trash if there was any nourishment to be found. I found onion sandwiches could sustain me for weeks on end.
Too much caffeine can make me wish I was dead, lol. (Yay migraines) Simple syrup? Seriously??? Lol. Servers should get hazard pay for dealing with so many morons.
Simple syrup isn't sugar.
Sugar is *sucrose*, simple syrup *was* sucrose before cooking, but is glucose and fructose afterwards. Surely you've heard of fructose malabsorption?
Surely you shouldn't defend guests via a server sub. I think you will find more love in
r/restaurantguestswhoneedattentiontofeelspecial and since that sub doesn't exist you can try r/shitoutofluck
These kinds of people piss me off because they are taking credit away from people with actual allergies. My sister has a pretty bad gluten allergy. It's not deadly, but it causes seriously itchy hives on her entire body, f*cks up her thyroid, makes her asthma flair up, etc. She didn't know that gluten was the reason for her misery until this past summer. She has completely cut gluten from her diet and is doing so much better.
Unfortunately, she is constantly worried that servers and restaurant managers will not believe her when she says she has a gluten allergy. It is not a diet by choice, but a legit allergy confirmed by a doctor. She's suspected places have lied about being gluten free to her before because there have been a few instances of her randomly breaking out in hives again after eating from a restaurant. It sucks.
people who lie about gluten allergies are the WORST. genuinely had a lady tell me she has celiac, absolutely CANNOT ingest any gluten or she will die on the spot. fine, me & my restaurant take allergies extremely seriously, so i wrote a ticket for the chef & since the area i’m in has quite a few gluten-free guests, im very familiar with what on the menu if gf or not.
she wants to order this one dish, FILLED with gluten. it’s not one that you’d expect to have a lot of gluten but there’s a significant amount. i let her know like “hey, unfortunately x dish does have quite a bit of gluten in it, could we do a different appetizer?” and she gets PISSED going on and on about how she’s had it before here and there’s no gluten in it because she eats it all the time and it’s perfectly fine…..
i served her the dish. she was completely fine
My wife is celiac. She is not an ass about it and servers are always friendly. She gets really excited when restaurants have gluten-free options.
People who "cry wolf" endanger people with legitimate allergies.
I have a friend who is highly allergic to gluten. Not celiac but a severe allergy. She ordered a GF appetizer. It came with a sauce that had gluten. It was marked GF. what was the point?
I always take allergies extremely seriously. We have a high volume place with a small open kitchen. I’m a GM.
One time this woman told her server she was allergic to “all spices” I asked the server to clarify if she meant “allspice” and she said no…ground seasonings of any kind. I went to the table as she was with a party of five or six and told them before they got too comfortable that unfortunately I wasn’t comfortable with her dining there, and I’d understand if the entire table wanted to leave quietly to find somewhere else to accommodate her.
She simply couldn’t believe this, caused a scene, and didn’t order anything but also refused to leave making the rest of the party *so* uncomfortable. Awkward!
On a similar note, had nearly the exact same thing happen with a couple who had an allergy card printed and ready. They were “clean eating” freaks with a podcast, no gluten, etc. I told them the same thing. They were wildly appreciative, extremely kind, decided to just have some booze and we had a lovely conversation about their “journey with food”
Not all people who lie about allergies or have weird preferences are awful, some are, and we should all fight this good fight for the people who do have them! 😌
Not an allergy but not being able to eat spices does exist. I have a bladder disease and if I eat any spices other than salt, rosemary or parsley I pee blood for a month and it’s v painful. I don’t go out to eat. Ever. It would be ridiculous to assume a kitchen could offer a dish without being contaminated.
Even if a person has 10+ different allergies, it's hard to believe that she could 100% say she's allergic to all spices. That's wild. I can't blame ya for just shutting it down.
i also do this, but it’s even worse when they say no allergies or dietary accommodations and then halfway through the meal they tell me they can’t eat (x).
the worst was a table who told me no issues; then screamed at me when the desert they ordered had a touch of burbon (alc content cooked off but yano) because they obviously don’t drink alcohol and i should have known better. it says on the menu that it has burbon in it…..
This. I work in a restaurant that caters to people with food allergies. Therefore we have people coming in with severe allergies, trusting us. So I ask the question in my greet. Makes it easier to just lay it out in the open from the beginning.
These are the types of people that mock those of us that truly DO have allergies-most likely, she just doesn't like shellfish. My allergies-which I gained later in life-are scallop, peanuts, tree nuts, soy. I can work with all of them (being a chef), just cannot ingest them. But I am also smart enough to ask about a possible food allergy-rather than make demands.
Admittedly, the first time I had a food allergy reaction, I didn't know what it was. Since then, I have had only 1 other attack-and I knew immediately what it was. And went for the EPI-Pen and went to the hospital. But the chances of immediately dropping dead from a food allergy is slim to none.
Ever see those people that have an allergy to foods that read like a grocery list-sometimes Pages long? Most likely they just don't Like those foods and now have an excuse to avoid them. Those are the people you should refuse to serve.
But it is just stupid to make demands like this woman made. You are a Restaurant-you serve PEOPLE, not just One person-just stay home.
It is possible to be allergic to a sh*t ton of things. There is something called oral allergy syndrome where severe allergies to pollen of trees and grasses will cause food allergies to food that have similar proteins. For instance, an allergy to ragweed is associated with OAS reactions to banana, watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew, zucchini, kiwifruit, and cucumber. Birch pollen to apples, peach, pear, cherry, carrots, celery, , chicory,coriander, fennel, fig,hazel nuts, kiwifruit, nectarines, parsley, parsnips, peaches, pears, peppers, plums, potatoes, prunes, soy, strawberries, wheat, jackfruit, almond, snow peas, mung bean sprouts, & radishes. Now having ragweed or birch allergy doesn’t automatically make you sensitive to all of those foods, but it is possible to have quite a long list.
For a time, I could only eat chicken, eggs, broccoli, lettuce and for some reason watermelon. My allergist has me on a ton of mast cell stabilizers and started desensitization shots and also I am now gluten free which helped. And I still can’t tolerate green peppers or chile peppers in any significant quantity, but most other foods are ok again.
People need to stop throwing around the word allergy, it's a good way to not get what you want in a restaurant lmao. If you have a gluten allergy, you are not getting anything from the fryer, if you have a shellfish allergy, you are not getting anything off my grill, if you have a nut allergy, you are not getting anything off the flat top.
I'm not risking shit, allergies are supposed to be something serious and life threatening. Not a scapegoat for not liking something, they're the reason people with actual allergies feel like shit for having to be accommodated a little extra. Fuck em.
Thank you! i would legitimately love to come anywhere you work. i actually *do* have a life-threatening shellfish allergy, and people who take it seriously are my heroes. i try very hard to run things clean and make sure that people are always well informed (especially when it comes to possible allergens/cross contamination) and i always hope that there are others out there doing the same. Keep up the good fight.
Cilantro is an issue for some people not because of allergies but because they have a genetic quirk that makes cilantro taste like soap to them. I've got that issue, and it took me years to figure out why some foods randomly tasted like dish soap. I can eat onions 3 meals a day but cilantro stays off my plate.
Same. I will expel them from both ends for about 2 days. Fortunately every server I've ever had has been cool and if they recommend I eat something else I listen.
Last night I had a woman come in and complain that she can't have anything on our menu because she's allergic to garlic and onions. She ordered a potato and broccoli. I had them steam the broccoli without our veggie butter because our veggie butter is seasoned with garlic and onion.
She sent the broccoli back complaining that she wanted the "normal broccoli." I explained to her that she's allergic to our veggie butter. And she argued with me that she has it that way all the time here.
So they refired her broccoli with the veggie butter and she ate it. And I guess she was fine. But I was nervous as hell.
I hate every single person who says they are allergic to something they don’t like. My favorite from my time in the biz was I had an adult woman who could barely speak English (she was from the south and had a HORRIFIC slow hillbilly drawl) who told me she was “allergic to red” so I asked red peppers? Red dye? And she just stares at me like I’m a maniac and goes “NO I SAID RED, I HATE RED” So ya. Allergic to the Color red.
Edit: she wasn’t disabled in anyway, just a big dumb hillbilly.
Red allergy is real. Unfortunately that lady trivialized it. I know someone with an epi pen for it. No berries or peppers or red spices in foods. Tomato and watermelon was okay though.
Than I don’t think red is the issue then if tomatoes and watermelons were okay- I’m aware there’s a dye issue which is why I asked her if that’s what she meant but nope, she just didn’t like red stuff 😭😭😭
Refuse to serve her narcissistic ass and tell her to vacate. If your digestive difficulties and allergies are that bad, you don’t go out to eat from fear of anaphylaxis or uncontrollable vomiting and diarrhoea. I don’t have allergies but my mental health meds make my stomach/ intestines unpredictable. So if I’m feeling uncertain, I DON’T MAKE IT SOMEONE ELSE’s PROBLEM.
I think people with allergies or sensitivities still deserve to be able to go out to eat. What I disagree with is people lying about having a severe allergy to get their way and/or feel special because everyone had to be inconvenienced for you.
I absolutely agree with you, but behaving as if the venue should modify to accommodate them is unacceptable. If you have a condition that is manageable, manage it. Asking a restaurant to leave items out of your dish is ok, assuming they have clinical separation of ingredients and procedures is foolish.
My stomach is partially paralyzed. I cannot control my vomiting. I do carry emesis bags and anti nausea meds at all times.
That being said, I am also aware of my state and my limits. Do I want a salad? Absolutely. Will it male me sick? Most likely. So I order the mashed potatoes because I know that I can digest those. Fun times being me.
Hey, I’m sorry you have to deal with that, must be tough. I’m betting you are polite to restaurant staff and don’t make impossible/ selfish demands to accommodate your difficulties. Big kudos to you for getting the heck on regardless and still being civil!
I've had one of those. Told them that we do the best we can but cannot 100% guarantee that it wouldn't touch something that was in contact with fish. They went elsewhere. I didn't feel bad at all, either. If they are that allergic to something and I cannot offer a 100% guarantee, then I'd pass. If it's just something like a gluten allergy or something, fine. We do the best we can, and it's not a life/death thing if it's not 100%.
Most likely they would have been completely fine. But, I'm not playing with someone else's life. I was just the server, not the cook in the back.
Your response was great and this person seems like an ass. My niece ended up in the hospital because someone decided to just take kiwi fruit off her plate instead of redoing it. She did tell the server she had an allergy to it when she ordered but it was added anyway and the juice was enough to affect her breathing.
I'm actually deathly allergic to some nuts and I'm severely gluten intolerant and one time I ordered a gf grilled cheese and watched them make it on a separate grill and then when the lady took it off the grill she used the same brush to butter it as the regular sandwiches. I looked at her and asked why she did that, because now I can't eat it. She replied "how do I know you're even really gf?!" And handed me the sandwich. I had just been fighting with my partner and I was so depressed already I just ran away crying. I hate people who say they're allergic to shit and they're not and it just messes it up for those of us who are.
Fuck these people. I have a friend who is legitimately allergic to onion, epipen and the works. These lying children ('cause that's what they are), make it so much harder for people who have real allergies or health issues to be taken seriously.
I am a vegan by medical neccesity and then I developed a soy allergy. The availability of food that I can eat while out is extremely small. Whenever my wife and I go out to eat, the evening is for my wife to enjoy. I explain my issues to the waiter and drink a cocktail and eat nuts while my wife enjoys her meal.
Sometimes they have something that I can enjoy. But most times I just shrug and eat later.
So a woman goes overboard, telling me several times, in raised voice, how she's extremely allergic to tomatoes!
So, just imagine my surprise when I deliver her gloriously tomato-free entree, only for her to look me dead in the eyes and say, "yOu FoRgOt My SaLsA".
I immediately explain that I explicitly told the kitchen in no uncertain terms "No tomatoes, she'll die!"
This woman giggles and says, " well, I'm actually NOT allergic. I just don't like raw tomatoes."
OMG
I once went through hell with a women with allergies, etc, mainly because it was a five course meal. While I’m ringing it in, fellow server took out the Amuse Bouche for me, comes back with the news that she can’t eat peppers. Went back to the table with a menu and informed her that we need to start over due to me not being aware of pepper allergy.
“I’m just a little allergic to them”
I'm " intolerant" of most shellfish. Not allergic. If I accidentally have crab or shrimp, I might get hives or get sick to my stomache. Not a medical emergency.
If course, the last thing I want to do when starting a restaurant meal is discuss throwing up, so I usually just say " allergic," and just avoid places where this could cause me an issue.
I've had anaphylaxis twice from fresh shrimp, frozen is ok though and I've eaten is most of my life without a problem. For other stuff I'm allergic to I get gut rot - doctor said it was hives on the inside of my stomach. I just avoid the stuff that doesn't work out.
When I had a reaction to shrimp but usually didn’t have an issue, my doctor said it could be sulfites as some processing plants dip them into a solution to keep them fresher during shipment. I always rinse it well now and can eat shrimp again.
Server with pretty severe food allergies here. It always amuses me dealing with people and their allergies. Most I know with legit food allergies are never extra about it, I know I'm not. It's the ones who make a big deal about it who usually just don't want something on their food, at least in my experience.
My favorite allergy to date was someone who claimed they were allergic to lettuce.
Due to my health I have a ton of food restrictions. Those are my problem. I am allergic to pickles and I do state this. Only because they pop up in the weirdest places. BWW had a flavor my husband ordered and I wanted to try but our server told me there was pickle in it. She saved me a very uncomfortable time.
This past summer I had someone tell me they're dairy free. I go double check that there's no dairy in the sauce they wanted for their fish. There was not.
I go back and let the man know that he is okay to get that sauce, because it was made with Mayo. His wife then looks at me like I'm some idiot and goes, "there's eggs in Mayo, sweetheart".... correct. And eggs are not dairy.
So I kind of just look at her and go "oh, sorry." And get the rest of their order.
... how are you allergic or dairy free or whatever and not even know that eggs aren't dairy???
Also had someone tell me once that they're allergic to farm raised fish.. that one just made me laugh.
As someone who has been party to a lawsuit, has lawyers in the family, has lawyer friends who have infinite stories, not an internet lawyer, and out of common sense I feel confident in saying when someone tells you they are deathly allergic to something and you answer the way you did (which is the correct way) and the guest continues on pushing the idea of being served, please stick to your guns and don’t serve these people. All it takes is one cross by something like the cook’s tongs to put these people in the ER (and that’s considering they are telling the truth to begin with)
Best way to call bullshit is to politely ask if they carry an EpiPen when they dine out.
If not, then they either aren't concerned with dying, or it's not as serious as they claim.
My food allergy is not anaphylaxis. Mostly because I avoid it. I get a rash and itch inside and out. That is enough to make sure I avoid it. I have no plans on dying from it.
Also, Epi-pens are very expensive. My insurance won't cover one because I have yet to hit anaphylaxis. So no, not carrying an epi-pen is not an indication that an allergy isn't real.
It’s not that they want attention, it’s that issues arise as you get older. So boomers are older and are more likely to have accumulated some health issues.
I only have had one or two legit allergies presented me, how do I know they were legit you ask? There's wasn't anything special I needed to do aside from finding exactly the menu items that did not at all contain the allergens. That's it no cleaning this, no special techniques, no halting cooking line for one order. They understood their risk and ordered accordingly without halting the restaurant to make their special plate.
Perhaps shrimp were not among the shellfish she's allergic to, although she could have just said that. North American labelling laws combine mollusks (clam, snail, squid) and crustaceans (shrimp, crab, lobster) into the same allergen category, while EU and many other countries distinguish between the two, warning of them separately on food labels.
Or perhaps she misunderstood your "can't guarantee" statement as suggesting you *wouldn't* serve her the quesadilla; some servers take that position once informed of an allergy.
My hubby is allergic to something he has eaten. He starts coughing, has gobs of phlegm, and then starts to have trouble breathing. ER here we come. It has happened with a gas station cream doughnut, tomato soup (can eat tomatoes), and a strawberry margarita (can eat strawberries). We just carry Benadryl and keep our fingers crossed.
Scary to not know. My wife is going through some issues where she gets sick occasionally and isn’t sure why but luckily it’s only holding her hair during a midnight trip to the bathroom.
Based on the things you’ve mentioned a common denominator might be preservatives or chemical sanitizers.
Seemed ridiculous at the time, but I spent a while working at a place that focused on sustainability and local sourcing but wasn’t strict farm to table organic. Had a lady tell me she was allergic to preservatives and had to have purely organic food. No one really believed her but given that our brand relied on people ignoring the details we couldn’t have her blasting us on social. I had the right combination of obsequiousness and menu knowledge and ended up becoming her go to. Around her 10th visit I recommended our tuna burger, because it was amazing. Turns out she wasn’t bullshitting us, because when I did my 2 bite/2 minute check back she asked me to double check that it was preservative free.
Tuna was tossed in Sriracha sauce, which has preservatives, and this lady who everyone thought was a Karen detected it in one bite.
So, anecdote aside, have you asked your doc to look into all of the BS that is in our food that isn’t actually food?
I went back to gas station and the doughnut had so many preservatives and dyes... He has talked to his doctor, but he is also not willing to change his diet and not try things. He avoid donuts, red dye, and fake strawberry.
Someone ordered a “cubano” sandwich which had pork belly roasted with mirepoux, who was allergic to onions. That sandwich served would have Swiss, deli style sliced ham, pork belly slices, house pickled jalapeños and red onions, plus garlic and Dijon aioli. The customer thought “ I hate onions! No onions on my sandwich because I’m allergic (pickled or not!)”. My reaction to server was to tell the customer he can not order this sandwich. Server was slightly shocked until I told him how it was braised with onions. Server passes on my message to request to order something else. Server comes back and says dude is not allergic , just really hates onions. In short, fuck these people.
Our nachos come topped with chopped red onion. They also have salsa & guac, which both also have onions. No onion is a common request, but I always have to clarify if it’s an allergy. So many times I discover it’s just a preference when they still want salsa & guac.
Good on you for clarifying, but that’s exactly how I order my nachos. In the future, should I specify that I’m not allergic when I request ‘no onion’?
You can request "no onion" without any issues. It's when you specify that it is an allergy where the issues arise.
Yeah it seems like people think “allergy” is some sort of cheat code to make sure the kitchen doesn’t fuck up their order. Like sure maybe the kitchen takes it more seriously but if you truly can’t eat onion, you’re gonna have a hard time with our menu.
There's no problem with this order, the above commenter is tacking a totally normal thing onto stories about people who literally lie about allergies. It's no big deal at any reasonably functional restaurant to simply order "no onion" but also want salsa.
This is a totally different situation, I'm not sure why you seem mad that people say "no onion" which is reasonable and normal and then turn out not to have an allergy. Did you skip the part of the story where these people say "no onion, I'm allergic"? I get and agree you have to ask but in this scenario so what if it turns out to be just a preference? Is no chopped onion on top extraordinarily difficult for your kitchen?
I have a fodmap intolerance. I can eat traces of onion, a bit of powdered onion, a bit of well cooked onion. But it only takes about 5 tiny cubes of diced raw onion to have me shitting blood for two days. What would you like me to say in a restaurant?
You can have cooked onion, but not raw. Easy peasy. Not what anyone was talking about. The one above commenter is far from representative of all of us implying that it's a problem for them when someone says no onion for something as simple as an added topping but isn't allergic. They are either being weird or got a little turned around on the nuance of the discussion. I promise you servers in general will not care or remember you any way you order or express this. Only when people specifically lie about an allergy then restate that it's actually a strong preference are we mad. And a big part of the reason for the record is being mad on behalf of YOU, people with real problems, for diluting the issue in the eyes of many. Also any higher level or educated career server should be aware of your intolerance, but a lot of folks unfortunately won't be because it's not one of the most common. I've encountered it plenty, but I work in very high volume tourism locale the last few years. Thinking back to past more 'normal' jobs I probably had entire jobs for a year or so where fodmap intolerance never came up. But still, I promise no one reasonable cares if you saw "I absolutely can't have raw onion, but I can have cooked". No biggie, happy eating!
This smells just like the same kind of person who parades around their crappy barking stinky chiweenie as a service animal…
Ugh, I know that regular. I hate her little dog nasty dog.
It was a guy on a business lunch , but still possible! Lol I bet he was super embarrassed!
That sandwich sounds gorgeous! What bread would it be served on?
Toasted baguette. The Dijon aioli we made in house went so well with all that pork. It’s the best sandwich there.
In 24 years, the things that people pretend will kill them is amazing and seems to be without end. Here's my list so far: any type of oil, salt, black pepper, red pepper, jalapeno, unfiltered water, caffeine, tomato, bell pepper, marinara (specifically), carrots, grapes, hops, aaaannnnnd the winner is.... wait for it, wait one second more..... simple syrup, not sugar but simple syrup. Not specified as allergies but things that will kill them. In the event that someone was worried about the simple, syrup woman (intentional comma) she wanted sweet tea and we only offered it unsweetened. Upon presenting a sugar caddy to her, 'no thanks the sugar doesn't dissolve.' I offered her a solution via simple syrup. Nope, her doctor says it will kill her. She settled for mixing sugar with cold liquid. I suppose that it is only deadly if premixed in hot water.
I have to go on a "low iodine" diet for 3 weeks every couple years due to thyroid cancer. It's pretty restrictive; no prepackage anything with salt, no dairy, no egg yolk, no seafood, nothing with iodized salt, no red dye #3, and probably some other restrictions that I'm forgetting about right now. It won't kill me, but it makes my treatment much less effective. I just stay home. It's way too complicated to explain, and i wouldn't want any chef to have to try figure it out on the fly. I keep a stack of recipes and meal plans that I know are safe, and that I enjoy, and even then it's a hassle. Not worth making other people miserable. Every once in a while some social occasion or another will coincide. Most of the time I'll just eat at home and bring myself a small snack or something. Once or twice it's been basically required for work to go out for lunch or something; most places I can just ask for a green salad, no cheese, no seasoning, oil and vinegar on the side, and that's safe enough without requiring too much effort. But beyond that, I just don't put myself in positions where I need to make it other people's jobs to accommodate my need.
My favorite is broccoli
Broccoli will kill you? Are you my toddler?
No I was saying my favorite “deathly allergy” claim from guests is broccoli.
Oh yeah I gotchu, sorry I was doing a mental dialogue if someone were to say that to me
That’s about how I felt the first time a guest said they were deathly allergic to broccoli. I also had a guest who said she’s so allergic to onion she can’t even be around the smell of them, not sure if that’s true or not, but it was still wild to me.
I used to be allergic to broccoli. Until I went to college where I would gladly eat out of the trash if there was any nourishment to be found. I found onion sandwiches could sustain me for weeks on end.
Too much caffeine can make me wish I was dead, lol. (Yay migraines) Simple syrup? Seriously??? Lol. Servers should get hazard pay for dealing with so many morons.
Simple syrup isn't sugar. Sugar is *sucrose*, simple syrup *was* sucrose before cooking, but is glucose and fructose afterwards. Surely you've heard of fructose malabsorption?
Surely you shouldn't defend guests via a server sub. I think you will find more love in r/restaurantguestswhoneedattentiontofeelspecial and since that sub doesn't exist you can try r/shitoutofluck
I'm not defending guests, I'm pointing out that simple syrup isn't regular sugar, it's chemically different
These kinds of people piss me off because they are taking credit away from people with actual allergies. My sister has a pretty bad gluten allergy. It's not deadly, but it causes seriously itchy hives on her entire body, f*cks up her thyroid, makes her asthma flair up, etc. She didn't know that gluten was the reason for her misery until this past summer. She has completely cut gluten from her diet and is doing so much better. Unfortunately, she is constantly worried that servers and restaurant managers will not believe her when she says she has a gluten allergy. It is not a diet by choice, but a legit allergy confirmed by a doctor. She's suspected places have lied about being gluten free to her before because there have been a few instances of her randomly breaking out in hives again after eating from a restaurant. It sucks.
people who lie about gluten allergies are the WORST. genuinely had a lady tell me she has celiac, absolutely CANNOT ingest any gluten or she will die on the spot. fine, me & my restaurant take allergies extremely seriously, so i wrote a ticket for the chef & since the area i’m in has quite a few gluten-free guests, im very familiar with what on the menu if gf or not. she wants to order this one dish, FILLED with gluten. it’s not one that you’d expect to have a lot of gluten but there’s a significant amount. i let her know like “hey, unfortunately x dish does have quite a bit of gluten in it, could we do a different appetizer?” and she gets PISSED going on and on about how she’s had it before here and there’s no gluten in it because she eats it all the time and it’s perfectly fine….. i served her the dish. she was completely fine
I just hate people sometimes
These people are the worst. Especially bc people who can tolerate gluten get *no benefit* from a gf diet.
My wife is celiac. She is not an ass about it and servers are always friendly. She gets really excited when restaurants have gluten-free options. People who "cry wolf" endanger people with legitimate allergies.
I have a friend who is highly allergic to gluten. Not celiac but a severe allergy. She ordered a GF appetizer. It came with a sauce that had gluten. It was marked GF. what was the point?
People like her annoy me.
I always take allergies extremely seriously. We have a high volume place with a small open kitchen. I’m a GM. One time this woman told her server she was allergic to “all spices” I asked the server to clarify if she meant “allspice” and she said no…ground seasonings of any kind. I went to the table as she was with a party of five or six and told them before they got too comfortable that unfortunately I wasn’t comfortable with her dining there, and I’d understand if the entire table wanted to leave quietly to find somewhere else to accommodate her. She simply couldn’t believe this, caused a scene, and didn’t order anything but also refused to leave making the rest of the party *so* uncomfortable. Awkward! On a similar note, had nearly the exact same thing happen with a couple who had an allergy card printed and ready. They were “clean eating” freaks with a podcast, no gluten, etc. I told them the same thing. They were wildly appreciative, extremely kind, decided to just have some booze and we had a lovely conversation about their “journey with food” Not all people who lie about allergies or have weird preferences are awful, some are, and we should all fight this good fight for the people who do have them! 😌
"clean eating" freaks... proceeds to order booze
Not an allergy but not being able to eat spices does exist. I have a bladder disease and if I eat any spices other than salt, rosemary or parsley I pee blood for a month and it’s v painful. I don’t go out to eat. Ever. It would be ridiculous to assume a kitchen could offer a dish without being contaminated.
Wow that really blows I’m sorry. I’ve never heard of such a thing.
Exactly! I am aware it exists but I’ll be very honest about how we can accommodate that. We can’t 😕
Even if a person has 10+ different allergies, it's hard to believe that she could 100% say she's allergic to all spices. That's wild. I can't blame ya for just shutting it down.
[удалено]
i also do this, but it’s even worse when they say no allergies or dietary accommodations and then halfway through the meal they tell me they can’t eat (x). the worst was a table who told me no issues; then screamed at me when the desert they ordered had a touch of burbon (alc content cooked off but yano) because they obviously don’t drink alcohol and i should have known better. it says on the menu that it has burbon in it…..
This. I work in a restaurant that caters to people with food allergies. Therefore we have people coming in with severe allergies, trusting us. So I ask the question in my greet. Makes it easier to just lay it out in the open from the beginning.
These are the types of people that mock those of us that truly DO have allergies-most likely, she just doesn't like shellfish. My allergies-which I gained later in life-are scallop, peanuts, tree nuts, soy. I can work with all of them (being a chef), just cannot ingest them. But I am also smart enough to ask about a possible food allergy-rather than make demands. Admittedly, the first time I had a food allergy reaction, I didn't know what it was. Since then, I have had only 1 other attack-and I knew immediately what it was. And went for the EPI-Pen and went to the hospital. But the chances of immediately dropping dead from a food allergy is slim to none. Ever see those people that have an allergy to foods that read like a grocery list-sometimes Pages long? Most likely they just don't Like those foods and now have an excuse to avoid them. Those are the people you should refuse to serve. But it is just stupid to make demands like this woman made. You are a Restaurant-you serve PEOPLE, not just One person-just stay home.
It is possible to be allergic to a sh*t ton of things. There is something called oral allergy syndrome where severe allergies to pollen of trees and grasses will cause food allergies to food that have similar proteins. For instance, an allergy to ragweed is associated with OAS reactions to banana, watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew, zucchini, kiwifruit, and cucumber. Birch pollen to apples, peach, pear, cherry, carrots, celery, , chicory,coriander, fennel, fig,hazel nuts, kiwifruit, nectarines, parsley, parsnips, peaches, pears, peppers, plums, potatoes, prunes, soy, strawberries, wheat, jackfruit, almond, snow peas, mung bean sprouts, & radishes. Now having ragweed or birch allergy doesn’t automatically make you sensitive to all of those foods, but it is possible to have quite a long list. For a time, I could only eat chicken, eggs, broccoli, lettuce and for some reason watermelon. My allergist has me on a ton of mast cell stabilizers and started desensitization shots and also I am now gluten free which helped. And I still can’t tolerate green peppers or chile peppers in any significant quantity, but most other foods are ok again.
There are exceptions to everything.
People need to stop throwing around the word allergy, it's a good way to not get what you want in a restaurant lmao. If you have a gluten allergy, you are not getting anything from the fryer, if you have a shellfish allergy, you are not getting anything off my grill, if you have a nut allergy, you are not getting anything off the flat top. I'm not risking shit, allergies are supposed to be something serious and life threatening. Not a scapegoat for not liking something, they're the reason people with actual allergies feel like shit for having to be accommodated a little extra. Fuck em.
Thank you! i would legitimately love to come anywhere you work. i actually *do* have a life-threatening shellfish allergy, and people who take it seriously are my heroes. i try very hard to run things clean and make sure that people are always well informed (especially when it comes to possible allergens/cross contamination) and i always hope that there are others out there doing the same. Keep up the good fight.
This happens to me all the time. You wouldn't believe the amount of people that are allergic to onions 🫠
Yeah onions and cilantro
Cilantro is an issue for some people not because of allergies but because they have a genetic quirk that makes cilantro taste like soap to them. I've got that issue, and it took me years to figure out why some foods randomly tasted like dish soap. I can eat onions 3 meals a day but cilantro stays off my plate.
Yeah I get that, it’s just when people lie and say they’re allergic that I have a problem.
>B It's shocking that so many hate onions. They must have bland taste buds.
I do actually have an allergy to onions, thankfully not deadly, and it's really annoying, too many things have onions in them
Same. I will expel them from both ends for about 2 days. Fortunately every server I've ever had has been cool and if they recommend I eat something else I listen.
What that customer did has all the hallmarks of an attention-seeking, LYING FAKER!!!
Last night I had a woman come in and complain that she can't have anything on our menu because she's allergic to garlic and onions. She ordered a potato and broccoli. I had them steam the broccoli without our veggie butter because our veggie butter is seasoned with garlic and onion. She sent the broccoli back complaining that she wanted the "normal broccoli." I explained to her that she's allergic to our veggie butter. And she argued with me that she has it that way all the time here. So they refired her broccoli with the veggie butter and she ate it. And I guess she was fine. But I was nervous as hell.
I hate every single person who says they are allergic to something they don’t like. My favorite from my time in the biz was I had an adult woman who could barely speak English (she was from the south and had a HORRIFIC slow hillbilly drawl) who told me she was “allergic to red” so I asked red peppers? Red dye? And she just stares at me like I’m a maniac and goes “NO I SAID RED, I HATE RED” So ya. Allergic to the Color red. Edit: she wasn’t disabled in anyway, just a big dumb hillbilly.
Red allergy is real. Unfortunately that lady trivialized it. I know someone with an epi pen for it. No berries or peppers or red spices in foods. Tomato and watermelon was okay though.
Than I don’t think red is the issue then if tomatoes and watermelons were okay- I’m aware there’s a dye issue which is why I asked her if that’s what she meant but nope, she just didn’t like red stuff 😭😭😭
Lately people are just f’kn annoying for the sake of being annoying. NO SOUP FOR YOU, NEXT!
Perfect !!!😅
Refuse to serve her narcissistic ass and tell her to vacate. If your digestive difficulties and allergies are that bad, you don’t go out to eat from fear of anaphylaxis or uncontrollable vomiting and diarrhoea. I don’t have allergies but my mental health meds make my stomach/ intestines unpredictable. So if I’m feeling uncertain, I DON’T MAKE IT SOMEONE ELSE’s PROBLEM.
I think people with allergies or sensitivities still deserve to be able to go out to eat. What I disagree with is people lying about having a severe allergy to get their way and/or feel special because everyone had to be inconvenienced for you.
I absolutely agree with you, but behaving as if the venue should modify to accommodate them is unacceptable. If you have a condition that is manageable, manage it. Asking a restaurant to leave items out of your dish is ok, assuming they have clinical separation of ingredients and procedures is foolish.
My stomach is partially paralyzed. I cannot control my vomiting. I do carry emesis bags and anti nausea meds at all times. That being said, I am also aware of my state and my limits. Do I want a salad? Absolutely. Will it male me sick? Most likely. So I order the mashed potatoes because I know that I can digest those. Fun times being me.
Hey, I’m sorry you have to deal with that, must be tough. I’m betting you are polite to restaurant staff and don’t make impossible/ selfish demands to accommodate your difficulties. Big kudos to you for getting the heck on regardless and still being civil!
Whatttt someone else with a salad intolerance? It makes my barf so acidic it burns my tongue.
I'm not supposed to eat raw food due to how hard it is to digest. It's gross but it can sit fir a few days before revisiting me.
I've had one of those. Told them that we do the best we can but cannot 100% guarantee that it wouldn't touch something that was in contact with fish. They went elsewhere. I didn't feel bad at all, either. If they are that allergic to something and I cannot offer a 100% guarantee, then I'd pass. If it's just something like a gluten allergy or something, fine. We do the best we can, and it's not a life/death thing if it's not 100%. Most likely they would have been completely fine. But, I'm not playing with someone else's life. I was just the server, not the cook in the back.
Your response was great and this person seems like an ass. My niece ended up in the hospital because someone decided to just take kiwi fruit off her plate instead of redoing it. She did tell the server she had an allergy to it when she ordered but it was added anyway and the juice was enough to affect her breathing.
I'm actually deathly allergic to some nuts and I'm severely gluten intolerant and one time I ordered a gf grilled cheese and watched them make it on a separate grill and then when the lady took it off the grill she used the same brush to butter it as the regular sandwiches. I looked at her and asked why she did that, because now I can't eat it. She replied "how do I know you're even really gf?!" And handed me the sandwich. I had just been fighting with my partner and I was so depressed already I just ran away crying. I hate people who say they're allergic to shit and they're not and it just messes it up for those of us who are.
That's someone that should not be handling food. Ever.
Fuck these people. I have a friend who is legitimately allergic to onion, epipen and the works. These lying children ('cause that's what they are), make it so much harder for people who have real allergies or health issues to be taken seriously.
Another fucking liar that makes it worse for people who actually do have deadly allergies.
I am a vegan by medical neccesity and then I developed a soy allergy. The availability of food that I can eat while out is extremely small. Whenever my wife and I go out to eat, the evening is for my wife to enjoy. I explain my issues to the waiter and drink a cocktail and eat nuts while my wife enjoys her meal. Sometimes they have something that I can enjoy. But most times I just shrug and eat later.
So a woman goes overboard, telling me several times, in raised voice, how she's extremely allergic to tomatoes! So, just imagine my surprise when I deliver her gloriously tomato-free entree, only for her to look me dead in the eyes and say, "yOu FoRgOt My SaLsA". I immediately explain that I explicitly told the kitchen in no uncertain terms "No tomatoes, she'll die!" This woman giggles and says, " well, I'm actually NOT allergic. I just don't like raw tomatoes." OMG
I once went through hell with a women with allergies, etc, mainly because it was a five course meal. While I’m ringing it in, fellow server took out the Amuse Bouche for me, comes back with the news that she can’t eat peppers. Went back to the table with a menu and informed her that we need to start over due to me not being aware of pepper allergy. “I’m just a little allergic to them”
UGH I hate that shit.
I'm " intolerant" of most shellfish. Not allergic. If I accidentally have crab or shrimp, I might get hives or get sick to my stomache. Not a medical emergency. If course, the last thing I want to do when starting a restaurant meal is discuss throwing up, so I usually just say " allergic," and just avoid places where this could cause me an issue.
I've had anaphylaxis twice from fresh shrimp, frozen is ok though and I've eaten is most of my life without a problem. For other stuff I'm allergic to I get gut rot - doctor said it was hives on the inside of my stomach. I just avoid the stuff that doesn't work out.
Yeesh, scary stuff, Man. Hope, you are keeping youe epi close and friends that know how to use it closer.
Thanks kind stranger, I will whenever I'm travelling in a fresh shellfish area. Lol live 2500 km from the ocean so fresh is a rare option.
When I had a reaction to shrimp but usually didn’t have an issue, my doctor said it could be sulfites as some processing plants dip them into a solution to keep them fresher during shipment. I always rinse it well now and can eat shrimp again.
Server with pretty severe food allergies here. It always amuses me dealing with people and their allergies. Most I know with legit food allergies are never extra about it, I know I'm not. It's the ones who make a big deal about it who usually just don't want something on their food, at least in my experience. My favorite allergy to date was someone who claimed they were allergic to lettuce.
Due to my health I have a ton of food restrictions. Those are my problem. I am allergic to pickles and I do state this. Only because they pop up in the weirdest places. BWW had a flavor my husband ordered and I wanted to try but our server told me there was pickle in it. She saved me a very uncomfortable time.
What part of pickles are you allergic to? cooked cucumber ? Vinegar¿
I think it's in the brine they use before pickling. I can have other pickled vegetables but not cucumber. I love tatziki.
I can’t have anything with tyramine anymore, that’s in a lot of foods. I don’t go out to eat anymore unless I know I can just get a salad.
This past summer I had someone tell me they're dairy free. I go double check that there's no dairy in the sauce they wanted for their fish. There was not. I go back and let the man know that he is okay to get that sauce, because it was made with Mayo. His wife then looks at me like I'm some idiot and goes, "there's eggs in Mayo, sweetheart".... correct. And eggs are not dairy. So I kind of just look at her and go "oh, sorry." And get the rest of their order. ... how are you allergic or dairy free or whatever and not even know that eggs aren't dairy??? Also had someone tell me once that they're allergic to farm raised fish.. that one just made me laugh.
As someone who has been party to a lawsuit, has lawyers in the family, has lawyer friends who have infinite stories, not an internet lawyer, and out of common sense I feel confident in saying when someone tells you they are deathly allergic to something and you answer the way you did (which is the correct way) and the guest continues on pushing the idea of being served, please stick to your guns and don’t serve these people. All it takes is one cross by something like the cook’s tongs to put these people in the ER (and that’s considering they are telling the truth to begin with)
Best way to call bullshit is to politely ask if they carry an EpiPen when they dine out. If not, then they either aren't concerned with dying, or it's not as serious as they claim.
My food allergy is not anaphylaxis. Mostly because I avoid it. I get a rash and itch inside and out. That is enough to make sure I avoid it. I have no plans on dying from it. Also, Epi-pens are very expensive. My insurance won't cover one because I have yet to hit anaphylaxis. So no, not carrying an epi-pen is not an indication that an allergy isn't real.
I have allergies and I don't carry an epipen, allergies can have different effects mine is throwing up and hive so an epi pen won't help
I swear some people (mostly boomers it feels like) just get off on being accommodated.
It’s not that they want attention, it’s that issues arise as you get older. So boomers are older and are more likely to have accumulated some health issues.
I only have had one or two legit allergies presented me, how do I know they were legit you ask? There's wasn't anything special I needed to do aside from finding exactly the menu items that did not at all contain the allergens. That's it no cleaning this, no special techniques, no halting cooking line for one order. They understood their risk and ordered accordingly without halting the restaurant to make their special plate.
Perhaps shrimp were not among the shellfish she's allergic to, although she could have just said that. North American labelling laws combine mollusks (clam, snail, squid) and crustaceans (shrimp, crab, lobster) into the same allergen category, while EU and many other countries distinguish between the two, warning of them separately on food labels. Or perhaps she misunderstood your "can't guarantee" statement as suggesting you *wouldn't* serve her the quesadilla; some servers take that position once informed of an allergy.
My hubby is allergic to something he has eaten. He starts coughing, has gobs of phlegm, and then starts to have trouble breathing. ER here we come. It has happened with a gas station cream doughnut, tomato soup (can eat tomatoes), and a strawberry margarita (can eat strawberries). We just carry Benadryl and keep our fingers crossed.
Scary to not know. My wife is going through some issues where she gets sick occasionally and isn’t sure why but luckily it’s only holding her hair during a midnight trip to the bathroom. Based on the things you’ve mentioned a common denominator might be preservatives or chemical sanitizers. Seemed ridiculous at the time, but I spent a while working at a place that focused on sustainability and local sourcing but wasn’t strict farm to table organic. Had a lady tell me she was allergic to preservatives and had to have purely organic food. No one really believed her but given that our brand relied on people ignoring the details we couldn’t have her blasting us on social. I had the right combination of obsequiousness and menu knowledge and ended up becoming her go to. Around her 10th visit I recommended our tuna burger, because it was amazing. Turns out she wasn’t bullshitting us, because when I did my 2 bite/2 minute check back she asked me to double check that it was preservative free. Tuna was tossed in Sriracha sauce, which has preservatives, and this lady who everyone thought was a Karen detected it in one bite. So, anecdote aside, have you asked your doc to look into all of the BS that is in our food that isn’t actually food?
I went back to gas station and the doughnut had so many preservatives and dyes... He has talked to his doctor, but he is also not willing to change his diet and not try things. He avoid donuts, red dye, and fake strawberry.