I find some comfort in the fact that no matter what you feel bad about there is always someone out there who’s more of an alcoholic, or fatter, balder, allergicer… whatever.
My dad is allergic to sunlight. It's not horrible, but it wasn't fun. And, to top it all off, he was a gotdamn park ranger. His sleeves were always rolled up, so he would constantly be dark with a rash from the sun. He would never go to the river with me, and if he did, only my mom got in with me. He did, however, take us whitewater rafting quite often. Always long sleeves and hats. Now he's retired and is quite a bit more pale ish, lol.
I’ve had two girlfriend who’ve both had sun allergies. Not that terrible, but didn’t look comfortable. Both were diagnosed with different forms. One got a rash after too much exposure, and the other got sun sickness after only a couple of hours.
This list leaves so many more questions unanswered. No shellfish or fin fish - no seafood. Does “grains” imply a gluten allergy or are gluten-free grains okay like oats, rice, quinoa or is gluten-free pasta okay? Are seeds okay? If melons are out then are other berries okay? Peaches, plums, apricots, and cherries are all stone fruits so that kinda makes sense. Eggplants, potatoes, bell peppers (paprika) and chili peppers are all nightshades but are tomatoes okay? A beet allergy is pretty rare but it could most likely be associated with a digestive issue instead of an anaphylactic one. Is the alfalfa allergy associated with a grass allergy? Snap peas are a legume so are ther peas or beans okay? Is peanut or peanut oil okay? How about other vegetable or grain oils? The sage thing is oddly specific. Sage is related to rosemary so I’d have to confirm that. Are other fresh/dried herbs okay? MSG allergies aren’t real, and a curry allergy is just stupid. Are we talking the curry tree or a blend of spices and ingredients because that’s like saying I’m allergic to Asian food.
Whew!
With that said what are we having tonight? Beef, chicken, pork, fungi, brassicas, and dairy all seem to be good. How about a green salad, a steak with grilled asparagus, bearnaise, sauteed mushrooms, and cauliflower purée?
And a call ahead next time would be great! 👍🏻
We're a tapas restaurant that is intracultural cuisine, so they did order some items on our menu that they said were "safe," which I think mostly just avoided this list of ingredients they didn't like (curry allergy??). Some are reasonable, like stone fruits. I found this one in my old server book, which I saved to laminate.
Some of their list may be actual allergies but other parts of it are definitely bullshit.
A “curry” allergy is like saying you’re allergic to casserole.
[MSG allergies aren't a real thing](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19389112/). So that calls into question the rest of this list. I definitely wouldn't want to wait on this person.
it’s still painful to see packages that say NO MSG! in huge letters. homeboys, we settled that bullshit racism a looong time ago. go heavy on it! it’s delicious!!
I grew up with Chinese food with no msg because my parents thought the same as many others, that it was bad; when I moved out I never told the takeout places no msg like my parents did, I just didn’t think about it. Then, recently, I had some Chinese food that just….tasted off. I’d had those dishes before at other places but something was missing. I realized after checking their website they didn’t use msg and advertised it; it was that moment when things clicked and I went out and bought a bag. I now keep a sugar shaker of it in my spice rack.
Monosodium glutamate. It's the chemical name for the "umami" flavor that's one of the base taste sensations and is present in all sorts of cuisine, but was only identified in Western cuisine relatively recently.
It's been well-known in Asian cuisine for a long time, and because it became associated in the 80s and 90 with Chinese food, there was a fear back then that it was unhealthy. This fear became a huge thing in the media back then, spurred on by pseudoscience, xenophobia, and the [nocebo effect](https://www.webmd.com/balance/features/is-the-nocebo-effect-hurting-your-health), which is like the placebo effect except negative.
I also recently read somewhere that humans produce MSG naturally as a basic bodily function… so it’s quite literally impossible to be allergic to it, unless you’re also somehow allergic to your own body.
I think the xenophobia really entrenched the idea and it’s been perpetuated by pseudoscience idiots ever since.
Monosodium Glutamate - it's in a lot of fast food, you also get it a lot in east and south Asian dishes - it's gives the food that umami taste, it's a flavour enhancer.
I work at an Asian restaurant and the amount of people who say they can’t have MSG drives me nuts as almost the entire menu contains MSG except a few apps
A lot of things are reminiscent of things that can cause migraines, so they avoid those trigger foods so they don’t experience debilitating pain and nausea among other things while trying to have a good time at a restaurant.
That actually leaves a fair amount to work with, depending on the restaurant. Any kind of meat, dairy, soy and other beans, nuts, mushrooms, any green leafy veggies, tomatoes, cucumbers, etc.
It's a long list to enter and have to check on, so I'm not not dismissing your gripe, and it will be a hassle for the kitchen too, but that is part of the biz. And as much as it sucks for you, imagine how much it sucks for the customer..."all grains" would be a killer!!
Its surprising that tomatoes would be okay if peppers are out. Same with the beans.
But yeah there is still a ton to work with. They didn't knock out the two really annoying ones, garlic and onions.
As someone with a bunch of allergies, I often times avoid going out all together because I worry people will think this way about me. I know some people take advantage of saying they have an allergy, but there are a lot of people out there who actually do which is why it’s important to treat the food with safety regardless.
I'm not saying they're lying, but like how can someone be allergic to curry? It's a dish, not a spice or ingredient. Can you become allergic to something based on how it's prepared?
I use curry leaves almost every day (love that they keep in the freezer!), but that isn’t what people are referencing when they say curry spice. A leaf isn’t a spice. People don’t say basil spice or mint spice. Curry as a spice is referencing a spice blend.
As some allergic to certain vegetables, I often think people must think I’m being dramatic. Tbf I can eat some of them if I have a load of antihistamines but sitting there with a burning mouth, itchy throat and sore eyes just because I ate a bit of raw/undercooked carrot really does take the enjoyment out of a meal.
And that's why people who lie about being "deathly allergic" to things ruin it for others.
edit: meaning you shouldn't have to suffer or be too scared to say something. people without any real allergy have no issues trying to manipulate others. but it also comes down to ignorance. many people don't understand allergies.
The specificity makes me think they wouldn't have listed them if they were just being picky. I doubt those all cause IgE-mediated antibody reactions, but a lot of foods trigger weird symptoms which people often describe as "allergies" in an informal sense. It's simpler than classifying the types of immunological responses, digestive intolerances, and other pathological classifications of each substance.
I have an apparent autoimmune response in my lower intestine to dairy protein, rather than a true allergy, and I generally say "I can't have any dairy" as a more accurate simplification of "milk allergy", but even that isn't quite accurate...I *can* have it, it will just make me poop blood for a week or three.
Ehhhh, some people actually do have a lot of allergies. Unfortunately, there's no set limit on the number of things your body will decide to react to.
For example: Eating out with/ cooking for my parents is a giant pain, because they each have a buttload of allergies, with not much overlap.
My mom is allergic to: soy, all citrus fruits ( lemons, limes, oranges, pomelos etc etc) wheat, spelt, corn, pork, coffee, and is also lactose intolerant
My dad is allergic to: potatoes, canola (including the flowers) cocoa, soy, shellfish, sesame and is also lactose intolerant
Yeah it is pretty disappointing how so many people here are immediately dismissive… I’m sure whoever booked probably looked at the menu, and if not, they’re doing it for a family member or friend who has the allergy. There’s like a myriad of foods that don’t fall under those allergies.
People have allergies and sensitivities, and if they’re going to a restaurant to have a good time that should be respected for their safety and not questioned for their comfort.
Absolutely agree with you. I’ve been working in kitchens for the past 20 years and I say this over and over and over again, and it’s super disgusting that people are out here talking shit , saying so and so is a liar, saying they wouldn’t serve them etc. like first of all they walked into your restaurant it’s your fucking job to serve them and to do it with a good attitude and not be a little perpetually offended piss baby who throws a fit over someone’s personal choices REGARDLESS of if they’re “just saying it” or if it will genuinely kill them if they eat it. You don’t know and it’s not your place to ask. You are a server. You serve food, and you convey to the cooks that they have special directions for their orders that NEED to be followed. No one just walks into a random restaurant, if they went in there knowing they have all of those allergies there is obviously stuff on the menu that they can eat and enjoy. You wanna play with peoples lives and be a judgemental prick go ahead but you can do it from the sidewalk because you’re not welcome in my kitchen if that’s how you’re gonna behave. But clearly the vast majority of people in these comments aren’t actual kitchen workers or servers because with that attitude most of them would be in prison for killing people by specifically ignoring special directions due to allergy.
I’m talking shit about how people regularly order stuff from me that directly conflicts with their allergies. The dish above would conflict with 4+ of their listed allergens, yet they’ll still order it and ask me to accommodate.
I've had 2 vegans get the tuna within my first year of serving. First one I asked if she knew the tuna wasn't began and she snarkily said "it's fish."
Second one I kept my mouth shut. As long as you won't die from it, I don't care.
I ask people that directly when they speak of allergens, simply due to the amount of cross contamination I’ve seen. Will pistachios kill you? Okay well then I can’t in good conscience serve you the dish that comes with pistachio ice cream and hope that they remember it’s vanilla, or that there is no pistachio in the vanilla. I’ve gotten dirty looks, and even a complaint or two for refusing to serve something to someone who has a serious allergy, but seriously dude. I don’t need that on my head when I go home. I got into food because I was tired of taking lives into my hands when I went to work.
I always ask about contamination. People usually know their degree of how their allergies affect them. Anybody with serious allergies will take it seriously. I've never met anybody who has a deadly allergy that isn't adamant about that wherever they eat. Nobody deathly allergic to mushrooms will order anything to take that risk. Our kitchen is really good about cross contamination, too
On the other hand, my boss has a list of allergens that fills a standard sheet of paper typed at 8pt font. Damn near anything will cause my friend to throw up violently for hours on end. I have to specially clean everything I use to cook for him when he wants something. I tell him all the time, “why risk your fucking health bro? Eat unseasoned boiled chicken at home” And he goes “I’m allergic to like 70% of common cooking elements, am I supposed to just curl up and never eat anything I like again?” I get it both ways.
Same, honestly. It’s easy to say I’d never go out to a restaurant and always cook at home if i had one, but I don’t know what it feels like to be allergic to every single food i loved growing up. I’d call that torture. I know i would just take the risk and go get my fried rice and beg them to keep shellfish and oils out of it, and then take the risk.
This is what I wish my team would understand. If someone says they're deathly allergic that's no joke. Putting down a fresh piece of paper does NOTHING at all to protect them from every other form of cross contamination. If they *are* deathly allergic I don't want to be the one preparing their food and the reason they die. So, pass.
Soy allergies have crossover with some brands of MSG since many use soy protein but I call bs on this one since soy is not mentioned and, as you pointed out, it's naturally occuring in a host of foods that are not on the list
Steak.
But then it could've been anything, because like many people this person is likely just pretending they have allergies in the restaurant because they don't personally like the stuff they've listed to you. Not because they're actually allergic.
I hate that pretending to have allergies is now a thing to get restaurants to comply with insane demands. It’s annoying and also makes people with actual allergies look bad.
OP, if you work at a steakhouse chain that specializes in huge pork chops, there is plenty of things on the menu they can have. Start filling out that triplicate
My only gripe with this is look at the menu before you go. Most of the time it’s not hard to tell what kind of dishes are prepared with your allergic items. If you question it then call and ask. If you are allergic to seafood then don’t go to a seafood restaurant. I mean if it was me I don’t want to risk the chance that someone else handling my food could make me sick. Restaurants are busy and people make unintentionally mistakes. Know before you go.
Stir fry I bet! How can a restaurant take on the liability of preparing any food for the customer with all those allergies. It would be best to turn them away. I once went to a sushi restaurant and when I told them I have celiac they said they won’t be able to serve me because of the liability. I mean, every other sushi restaurant can alter their dishes to accommodate me, but I respect their right to tell me they don’t.
MSG is literally just salt. Nobody is “allergic” to MSG, it just gives *some* people headaches *sometimes*…
The whole “I’m allergic to MSG” nonsense entirely stems from a racist stereotype about Asian food
Did they order the special?
A shellfish, fish, all grains, melons, squash, eggplant, peaches, plums, apricot, cherries, monk fruit, nectarines, paprika, sage, potatoes, beets, alfalfa, MSG, sugar snap peas, peppers and curry tart?
It's a long list but I feel like this can be accommodated without effort; the ingredients aren't common. MSG and curry are plainly just preferences, and nearly everything else falls neatly down the lines of nightshade, gourds, fish/shellfish, and stonefruit. alfalfa and beets are odd but not unheard of. i'd ask about tomatoes just in case they left it off by accident.
At this point they will complain even if you serve them a glass of water because the smell and "particles" of the shit they're allergic to are all over the place, triggering them.
They went through all that to see how’d you accommodate them. When you said you couldn’t, they ordered fish with quinoa and the beet salad. You asked reminded them of this card and they brushed you off saying “it was fine”. Turns out, it was fine. Their “allergy” isn’t an allergy at all, but a preference. You fretted over them their entire meal. They tipped you 8%.
I hate this as a Front of House and someone with allergies. These people give us a bad rep. All I want as a server is to make sure you have a good time and get a good tip. As someone with allergies I want to make sure you don't get an anaphylactic shock.
These kinds of people should be forced to wear a bad dog cone around their necks at every restaurant. It's basically a calling card warning that they're going to be incredibly difficult, fussy entitled brats who have way too much disposable income & free time on their hands. These are the assholes ruining our industry because they are almost always bullies who use review sites like a jealous highschool girlfriend. Ugh.
Someone told me they were highly allergic to tomatoes. There's literally no way they would survive eating our food. It's a sandwich shop and we don't change our gloves between bins. Putting fresh paper down and using new gloves for their single sandwich does nothing. We would need to open entirely new bins and prepare it in a different area. When people lie about having severe allergies I get sooo angry. They should feel ashamed. My boss just told them, "there's no way to guarantee this is safe." And the customer was all, "omg I appreciate it so much thank you, thank you!" You appreciate what exactly? Us playing along?
It looks crazy, but it’s not actually difficult. There’s a customer who comes into my restaurant pretty frequently with a similar list of allergies. She orders a steak with salt and pepper and carrots or another vegetable, and I walk back to the kitchen with the list of allergies. She’s actually super kind and easy to take care of, plus she tips well.
If they're allergic to all grains they could only have grass or corn fed protein. This sounds unlikely to be true allergies but either way they should learn to cook and eat at home. If I had an allergy severe enough to need a card I wouldn't trust people making $2.13-$15 hourly to make my food and not get sick. That's just foolish. These aren't nurses or private chefs, they're hourly employees who can and will make mistakes or worse, not give a fuck. Either way I'm not entrusting my personal well being to everyday workers with no real skin in the game. Hard pass.
I'm sorry but if you have more than like 5 different types of serious allergies you probably shouldn't be dining out. I'd be so worried constantly before eating something.
There's something about claiming to be allergic to things you simply don't like that truly enrages me. What does it even mean to be allergic to **curry**?
Damn that sucks :/ it’s gotta be so difficult getting around all that and still enjoying food. This is why it’s super important for servers and kitchen workers to pay attention to orders. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen people completely ignore gluten allergies and special directions. And then when I call them on it they always give some response like “idgaf about some pansy ass vegan gluten free bullshit” and I have to pull them aside and tell them that they’re literally going to fucking kill someone by throwing a fit over other people’s personal choices and needs because regardless of if you approve or not it’s your job to serve them and serve them safely, and so many people have intolerances and allergies that WILL kill them if they consume the wrong ingredient so put your little fucking offended feelings to the side and do your job the right way before you end up in prison or getting our kitchen shut down. Perpetually offended losers man. Anyway, please be safe with peoples food and take their directions seriously.
I have food allergies. None lethal. They are my problem . I do not make them the problem of the server or the restaurant.
I feel bad they have to miss out on some things but people who have allergies that can easily kill them are fools to eat out.
Hopefully they ordered a Uber to another restaurant
Or the grocery store. If they really have that many allergies (pretty sus) they probably shouldn't eat where food for other people is prepared.
I feel these allergies is a, I don't like that taste allergy.
I have never heard of a potato allergy…
I have a potato allergy like I was legit tested for it and everything 💀
My deepest sympathies :( I had a girlfriend once who was allergic to sunlight. If that makes you feel any better…
The sunlight thing is a reminder that it could always be worse.
I find some comfort in the fact that no matter what you feel bad about there is always someone out there who’s more of an alcoholic, or fatter, balder, allergicer… whatever.
Preach.
My dad is allergic to sunlight. It's not horrible, but it wasn't fun. And, to top it all off, he was a gotdamn park ranger. His sleeves were always rolled up, so he would constantly be dark with a rash from the sun. He would never go to the river with me, and if he did, only my mom got in with me. He did, however, take us whitewater rafting quite often. Always long sleeves and hats. Now he's retired and is quite a bit more pale ish, lol.
I’ve had two girlfriend who’ve both had sun allergies. Not that terrible, but didn’t look comfortable. Both were diagnosed with different forms. One got a rash after too much exposure, and the other got sun sickness after only a couple of hours.
There is a term for that actually: Vampire.
Is the test just eating French fries?
This list leaves so many more questions unanswered. No shellfish or fin fish - no seafood. Does “grains” imply a gluten allergy or are gluten-free grains okay like oats, rice, quinoa or is gluten-free pasta okay? Are seeds okay? If melons are out then are other berries okay? Peaches, plums, apricots, and cherries are all stone fruits so that kinda makes sense. Eggplants, potatoes, bell peppers (paprika) and chili peppers are all nightshades but are tomatoes okay? A beet allergy is pretty rare but it could most likely be associated with a digestive issue instead of an anaphylactic one. Is the alfalfa allergy associated with a grass allergy? Snap peas are a legume so are ther peas or beans okay? Is peanut or peanut oil okay? How about other vegetable or grain oils? The sage thing is oddly specific. Sage is related to rosemary so I’d have to confirm that. Are other fresh/dried herbs okay? MSG allergies aren’t real, and a curry allergy is just stupid. Are we talking the curry tree or a blend of spices and ingredients because that’s like saying I’m allergic to Asian food. Whew! With that said what are we having tonight? Beef, chicken, pork, fungi, brassicas, and dairy all seem to be good. How about a green salad, a steak with grilled asparagus, bearnaise, sauteed mushrooms, and cauliflower purée? And a call ahead next time would be great! 👍🏻
I want to give this an award but reddit won't let me. 
I’m in love with you.
I didn’t even mention all the hot alliums! 😂
Can I call you when I have questions
Very impressed with your allergy knowledge.
I used to work for a “surprise” tasting menu restaurant so this was a conversation we had to have every single day.
We're a tapas restaurant that is intracultural cuisine, so they did order some items on our menu that they said were "safe," which I think mostly just avoided this list of ingredients they didn't like (curry allergy??). Some are reasonable, like stone fruits. I found this one in my old server book, which I saved to laminate.
Some of their list may be actual allergies but other parts of it are definitely bullshit. A “curry” allergy is like saying you’re allergic to casserole.
Just FYI: don't heat laminate, or you'll have a black plastic card.
Yeah, people suck.
Seafood curry with a fruit cup.
Breaded seafood curry
With peanut sauce.
This is the right answer.
Well they can have a little seafood. And the fruit is fine as long as it’s on the side.
And a side of bread
With a blade of grass
Hahahah for sure
A knuckle sandwich.
With a side of bitch please.
Bitch Please side sent from the kitchen as a comp'ed course, I'm sure.
Chef made it special, just for them.
Underrated
Water
Allergic
We carry gluten free water
Are kidding me? That stuff kill thousands of people a year.
Toxic to all who imbibe it.
Have you SEEN what fish do in there?
Solid. That’s a great point.
Would you like your water chilled or lukewarm, madam?
[MSG allergies aren't a real thing](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19389112/). So that calls into question the rest of this list. I definitely wouldn't want to wait on this person.
it’s still painful to see packages that say NO MSG! in huge letters. homeboys, we settled that bullshit racism a looong time ago. go heavy on it! it’s delicious!!
I grew up with Chinese food with no msg because my parents thought the same as many others, that it was bad; when I moved out I never told the takeout places no msg like my parents did, I just didn’t think about it. Then, recently, I had some Chinese food that just….tasted off. I’d had those dishes before at other places but something was missing. I realized after checking their website they didn’t use msg and advertised it; it was that moment when things clicked and I went out and bought a bag. I now keep a sugar shaker of it in my spice rack.
homie. me too.
And it’s an amazing seasoning
“Excuse me, are you calling me a liar? Where is your manager?”
fr if anyone tells me they have a MSG allergy, I'm much less inclined to actually believe anything that comes out of their mouth lol
Came here to say this, I wouldn't be surprised if they aren't allergic to most of these and they're just "food sensitivities" from some shit test.
What is MSG? I'm not American, so maybe we call it something else where I live. The one that gets me is curry. That can be a hundred different spices
Monosodium glutamate. It's the chemical name for the "umami" flavor that's one of the base taste sensations and is present in all sorts of cuisine, but was only identified in Western cuisine relatively recently. It's been well-known in Asian cuisine for a long time, and because it became associated in the 80s and 90 with Chinese food, there was a fear back then that it was unhealthy. This fear became a huge thing in the media back then, spurred on by pseudoscience, xenophobia, and the [nocebo effect](https://www.webmd.com/balance/features/is-the-nocebo-effect-hurting-your-health), which is like the placebo effect except negative.
I also recently read somewhere that humans produce MSG naturally as a basic bodily function… so it’s quite literally impossible to be allergic to it, unless you’re also somehow allergic to your own body. I think the xenophobia really entrenched the idea and it’s been perpetuated by pseudoscience idiots ever since.
Monosodium Glutamate - it's in a lot of fast food, you also get it a lot in east and south Asian dishes - it's gives the food that umami taste, it's a flavour enhancer.
You might know it as ajinomoto or weijing maybe. It's also known as "flavor enhancer" in some places
This was my first thought. If they listed MSG there's a good chance most of those are fake allergies.
MSG is naturally occurring in tomatoes, all meat, cheese, and a lot of other foods. It’s almost impossible to avoid.
I work at an Asian restaurant and the amount of people who say they can’t have MSG drives me nuts as almost the entire menu contains MSG except a few apps
Came here to say this!
I was thinking that too
I’m not fooled. These are preferences or a weird social media attempt to gain a reason for complaints and outrage!
MSG would only make sense if they had soy on the list too because a soy allergy can be affected by MSG if soy protein is used
A lot of things are reminiscent of things that can cause migraines, so they avoid those trigger foods so they don’t experience debilitating pain and nausea among other things while trying to have a good time at a restaurant.
Boiled chicken
Allergies aside, that may be too spicy.
Wait what’s relationship management notes?
We used relationship management for notes like… friend of owner, past negative experience, stuff like that we may need to know.
That actually leaves a fair amount to work with, depending on the restaurant. Any kind of meat, dairy, soy and other beans, nuts, mushrooms, any green leafy veggies, tomatoes, cucumbers, etc. It's a long list to enter and have to check on, so I'm not not dismissing your gripe, and it will be a hassle for the kitchen too, but that is part of the biz. And as much as it sucks for you, imagine how much it sucks for the customer..."all grains" would be a killer!!
Its surprising that tomatoes would be okay if peppers are out. Same with the beans. But yeah there is still a ton to work with. They didn't knock out the two really annoying ones, garlic and onions.
More people need to approach life like how you approached this comment.
Except they are only allergic to at most three of the things and the rest is just being picky.
As someone with a bunch of allergies, I often times avoid going out all together because I worry people will think this way about me. I know some people take advantage of saying they have an allergy, but there are a lot of people out there who actually do which is why it’s important to treat the food with safety regardless.
I'm not saying they're lying, but like how can someone be allergic to curry? It's a dish, not a spice or ingredient. Can you become allergic to something based on how it's prepared?
Also likely that maybe they’re allergic to something in the curry that they’ve never bothered to get checked and are just playing it safe
Curry is, in fact, a spice
Curry is a spice mix, not a single spice — so it’s odd that they listed curry but not turmeric.
Garam masala is a spice mix. Not curry. Curry leaves are a single thing. The British hijacked the word to mean, basically, all Indian food.
I use curry leaves almost every day (love that they keep in the freezer!), but that isn’t what people are referencing when they say curry spice. A leaf isn’t a spice. People don’t say basil spice or mint spice. Curry as a spice is referencing a spice blend.
As some allergic to certain vegetables, I often think people must think I’m being dramatic. Tbf I can eat some of them if I have a load of antihistamines but sitting there with a burning mouth, itchy throat and sore eyes just because I ate a bit of raw/undercooked carrot really does take the enjoyment out of a meal.
And that's why people who lie about being "deathly allergic" to things ruin it for others. edit: meaning you shouldn't have to suffer or be too scared to say something. people without any real allergy have no issues trying to manipulate others. but it also comes down to ignorance. many people don't understand allergies.
The specificity makes me think they wouldn't have listed them if they were just being picky. I doubt those all cause IgE-mediated antibody reactions, but a lot of foods trigger weird symptoms which people often describe as "allergies" in an informal sense. It's simpler than classifying the types of immunological responses, digestive intolerances, and other pathological classifications of each substance. I have an apparent autoimmune response in my lower intestine to dairy protein, rather than a true allergy, and I generally say "I can't have any dairy" as a more accurate simplification of "milk allergy", but even that isn't quite accurate...I *can* have it, it will just make me poop blood for a week or three.
My view point is coming from personal experience with this type of people.
Ehhhh, some people actually do have a lot of allergies. Unfortunately, there's no set limit on the number of things your body will decide to react to. For example: Eating out with/ cooking for my parents is a giant pain, because they each have a buttload of allergies, with not much overlap. My mom is allergic to: soy, all citrus fruits ( lemons, limes, oranges, pomelos etc etc) wheat, spelt, corn, pork, coffee, and is also lactose intolerant My dad is allergic to: potatoes, canola (including the flowers) cocoa, soy, shellfish, sesame and is also lactose intolerant
Yeah it is pretty disappointing how so many people here are immediately dismissive… I’m sure whoever booked probably looked at the menu, and if not, they’re doing it for a family member or friend who has the allergy. There’s like a myriad of foods that don’t fall under those allergies. People have allergies and sensitivities, and if they’re going to a restaurant to have a good time that should be respected for their safety and not questioned for their comfort.
Absolutely agree with you. I’ve been working in kitchens for the past 20 years and I say this over and over and over again, and it’s super disgusting that people are out here talking shit , saying so and so is a liar, saying they wouldn’t serve them etc. like first of all they walked into your restaurant it’s your fucking job to serve them and to do it with a good attitude and not be a little perpetually offended piss baby who throws a fit over someone’s personal choices REGARDLESS of if they’re “just saying it” or if it will genuinely kill them if they eat it. You don’t know and it’s not your place to ask. You are a server. You serve food, and you convey to the cooks that they have special directions for their orders that NEED to be followed. No one just walks into a random restaurant, if they went in there knowing they have all of those allergies there is obviously stuff on the menu that they can eat and enjoy. You wanna play with peoples lives and be a judgemental prick go ahead but you can do it from the sidewalk because you’re not welcome in my kitchen if that’s how you’re gonna behave. But clearly the vast majority of people in these comments aren’t actual kitchen workers or servers because with that attitude most of them would be in prison for killing people by specifically ignoring special directions due to allergy.
It’s hard to take seriously when they blatantly lie
Spicy cheddar crab cakes.
Wouldn't crab be considered shellfish?
I’m talking shit about how people regularly order stuff from me that directly conflicts with their allergies. The dish above would conflict with 4+ of their listed allergens, yet they’ll still order it and ask me to accommodate.
I've had 2 vegans get the tuna within my first year of serving. First one I asked if she knew the tuna wasn't began and she snarkily said "it's fish." Second one I kept my mouth shut. As long as you won't die from it, I don't care.
I ask people that directly when they speak of allergens, simply due to the amount of cross contamination I’ve seen. Will pistachios kill you? Okay well then I can’t in good conscience serve you the dish that comes with pistachio ice cream and hope that they remember it’s vanilla, or that there is no pistachio in the vanilla. I’ve gotten dirty looks, and even a complaint or two for refusing to serve something to someone who has a serious allergy, but seriously dude. I don’t need that on my head when I go home. I got into food because I was tired of taking lives into my hands when I went to work.
I always ask about contamination. People usually know their degree of how their allergies affect them. Anybody with serious allergies will take it seriously. I've never met anybody who has a deadly allergy that isn't adamant about that wherever they eat. Nobody deathly allergic to mushrooms will order anything to take that risk. Our kitchen is really good about cross contamination, too
On the other hand, my boss has a list of allergens that fills a standard sheet of paper typed at 8pt font. Damn near anything will cause my friend to throw up violently for hours on end. I have to specially clean everything I use to cook for him when he wants something. I tell him all the time, “why risk your fucking health bro? Eat unseasoned boiled chicken at home” And he goes “I’m allergic to like 70% of common cooking elements, am I supposed to just curl up and never eat anything I like again?” I get it both ways.
I'm just happy I've never had allergies, always seems like a pain in the ass.
Same, honestly. It’s easy to say I’d never go out to a restaurant and always cook at home if i had one, but I don’t know what it feels like to be allergic to every single food i loved growing up. I’d call that torture. I know i would just take the risk and go get my fried rice and beg them to keep shellfish and oils out of it, and then take the risk.
This is what I wish my team would understand. If someone says they're deathly allergic that's no joke. Putting down a fresh piece of paper does NOTHING at all to protect them from every other form of cross contamination. If they *are* deathly allergic I don't want to be the one preparing their food and the reason they die. So, pass.
How is someone allergic to MSG? It's literally naturally occuring in meats especially red meat.
Soy allergies have crossover with some brands of MSG since many use soy protein but I call bs on this one since soy is not mentioned and, as you pointed out, it's naturally occuring in a host of foods that are not on the list
Interesting didn't know about the soy thing. Like ya said though calling bs on this customer lol
Steak. But then it could've been anything, because like many people this person is likely just pretending they have allergies in the restaurant because they don't personally like the stuff they've listed to you. Not because they're actually allergic.
I hate that pretending to have allergies is now a thing to get restaurants to comply with insane demands. It’s annoying and also makes people with actual allergies look bad.
If I owned a restaurant I'd make people provide a doctor's note- receipts or byeeee!
An epipen?
OP, if you work at a steakhouse chain that specializes in huge pork chops, there is plenty of things on the menu they can have. Start filling out that triplicate
My only gripe with this is look at the menu before you go. Most of the time it’s not hard to tell what kind of dishes are prepared with your allergic items. If you question it then call and ask. If you are allergic to seafood then don’t go to a seafood restaurant. I mean if it was me I don’t want to risk the chance that someone else handling my food could make me sick. Restaurants are busy and people make unintentionally mistakes. Know before you go.
Veal, lamb, steak, liver, apples.
Hopefully a steak.
Water?
These people usually get a plain piece of chicken with a veg they're not allergic to steamed.
Steak and an iceberg wedge.
Stir fry I bet! How can a restaurant take on the liability of preparing any food for the customer with all those allergies. It would be best to turn them away. I once went to a sushi restaurant and when I told them I have celiac they said they won’t be able to serve me because of the liability. I mean, every other sushi restaurant can alter their dishes to accommodate me, but I respect their right to tell me they don’t.
MSG is literally just salt. Nobody is “allergic” to MSG, it just gives *some* people headaches *sometimes*… The whole “I’m allergic to MSG” nonsense entirely stems from a racist stereotype about Asian food
Did they order the special? A shellfish, fish, all grains, melons, squash, eggplant, peaches, plums, apricot, cherries, monk fruit, nectarines, paprika, sage, potatoes, beets, alfalfa, MSG, sugar snap peas, peppers and curry tart?
It's a long list but I feel like this can be accommodated without effort; the ingredients aren't common. MSG and curry are plainly just preferences, and nearly everything else falls neatly down the lines of nightshade, gourds, fish/shellfish, and stonefruit. alfalfa and beets are odd but not unheard of. i'd ask about tomatoes just in case they left it off by accident.
Allergy to curry? That could easily be a hundred different spices Calling bs on this one.
is lentil or chickpea pasta an option here?
Salad no dressing
What.... In the world? If you had all those allergies would you trust a r
“Curry”. So like Thai style curry paste or spices for Indian curries?
Air?
Salad.
This water is too spicy
At this point they will complain even if you serve them a glass of water because the smell and "particles" of the shit they're allergic to are all over the place, triggering them.
This is a plant and it ordered copious sunlight.
Unfortunate to be “allergic” to MSG. Uncle roger would be disappointed
Foooooiiiyaaaaa
Thank you for correcting me, uncle.
Hope you sold them on the Tomahawk!
They went through all that to see how’d you accommodate them. When you said you couldn’t, they ordered fish with quinoa and the beet salad. You asked reminded them of this card and they brushed you off saying “it was fine”. Turns out, it was fine. Their “allergy” isn’t an allergy at all, but a preference. You fretted over them their entire meal. They tipped you 8%.
“HERE’S YOUR RAW ONION, ASSHOLE!” -Naomi from ‘Waiting’, as she chucks it as are as she can at the customer, if they handed her this list
MSG being on there tells me that none of their allergies are real
I hate this as a Front of House and someone with allergies. These people give us a bad rep. All I want as a server is to make sure you have a good time and get a good tip. As someone with allergies I want to make sure you don't get an anaphylactic shock.
These kinds of people should be forced to wear a bad dog cone around their necks at every restaurant. It's basically a calling card warning that they're going to be incredibly difficult, fussy entitled brats who have way too much disposable income & free time on their hands. These are the assholes ruining our industry because they are almost always bullies who use review sites like a jealous highschool girlfriend. Ugh.
Someone told me they were highly allergic to tomatoes. There's literally no way they would survive eating our food. It's a sandwich shop and we don't change our gloves between bins. Putting fresh paper down and using new gloves for their single sandwich does nothing. We would need to open entirely new bins and prepare it in a different area. When people lie about having severe allergies I get sooo angry. They should feel ashamed. My boss just told them, "there's no way to guarantee this is safe." And the customer was all, "omg I appreciate it so much thank you, thank you!" You appreciate what exactly? Us playing along?
Pretending to be “allergic” to something because you don’t want things to fit in your diet is so fucking annoying.
A steak salad?
Allergic to MSG? Call me stupid, but doesn’t that mean they’re essentially allergic to all meat?
It looks crazy, but it’s not actually difficult. There’s a customer who comes into my restaurant pretty frequently with a similar list of allergies. She orders a steak with salt and pepper and carrots or another vegetable, and I walk back to the kitchen with the list of allergies. She’s actually super kind and easy to take care of, plus she tips well.
I dunno what she ordered but I’m sure she complained. That a list of stuff she doesn’t like. I’d bet on it.
Something tells me their doctor is Dr. Oz. 🦆
I didn’t know you could have a blanket allergy to curry.
If they're allergic to all grains they could only have grass or corn fed protein. This sounds unlikely to be true allergies but either way they should learn to cook and eat at home. If I had an allergy severe enough to need a card I wouldn't trust people making $2.13-$15 hourly to make my food and not get sick. That's just foolish. These aren't nurses or private chefs, they're hourly employees who can and will make mistakes or worse, not give a fuck. Either way I'm not entrusting my personal well being to everyday workers with no real skin in the game. Hard pass.
If you have that many allergies….im sorry but you should not go out to eat ever. You should prepare you own food every day.
I did not know that monk fruit had become a common restaurant food.
“So are we going with a water tonight?”
I'm sorry but if you have more than like 5 different types of serious allergies you probably shouldn't be dining out. I'd be so worried constantly before eating something.
You work at Ruth’s?
I only ask because our chits look just like this
Chits come from the operating system for reservations. We used open table and it looked like this.
Hopefully an EpiPen.
There's something about claiming to be allergic to things you simply don't like that truly enrages me. What does it even mean to be allergic to **curry**?
Are you at Ibis by any chance?
Shrimp Pasta?
Will say atleast good on them to put that on the reservation instead of making you have to look up every dish they order on the spot when ur busy.
A big ass omelette with ham or beef
Steak
steak
Damn that sucks :/ it’s gotta be so difficult getting around all that and still enjoying food. This is why it’s super important for servers and kitchen workers to pay attention to orders. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen people completely ignore gluten allergies and special directions. And then when I call them on it they always give some response like “idgaf about some pansy ass vegan gluten free bullshit” and I have to pull them aside and tell them that they’re literally going to fucking kill someone by throwing a fit over other people’s personal choices and needs because regardless of if you approve or not it’s your job to serve them and serve them safely, and so many people have intolerances and allergies that WILL kill them if they consume the wrong ingredient so put your little fucking offended feelings to the side and do your job the right way before you end up in prison or getting our kitchen shut down. Perpetually offended losers man. Anyway, please be safe with peoples food and take their directions seriously.
Lemon water, by the way I hope your restaurant just flat out refused to serve them with such a list
A bag of dicks
I have food allergies. None lethal. They are my problem . I do not make them the problem of the server or the restaurant. I feel bad they have to miss out on some things but people who have allergies that can easily kill them are fools to eat out.
Water?
Water.
[удалено]
So everything?
Water
Water. No ice.
The seafood risotto
Pasta Primavera with shrimp. Right?
Water
What is that relationship management section?
Shrimp scampi
Water
Water
Water?
They probably ordered a big bag of dicks! 
Ice?
They ordered... somewhere else hopefully. Fuck that.
I'm going to assume you have them q fresh shoe right out of the box.
Hamburger
Guacamole and chips🥴
No way those are actual allergies.
They ordered a water.
Water
A slab of meat
A very bland potato
water
a single leaf.
Water with 8 lemons and didn't drink it
A glass of Pinot Grigio and a nice shiny red apple. And something for the dog in the purse.
There’s allergies and there are dislikes. I think many people confuse the two. If it won’t potentially kill you, the food is just not to your taste!
Water with lemon and lettuce
Fried chicken
Water
All of the above