Eating Out

"Hey guys let's all go to Olive Garden!" Can I just say that I love Olive Garden, and yet it is probably the scariest place on earth I could go right now. Between the pasta and the dairy, you might as well just give me a death sentence; or at least I'll wish I was dead. But seriously, eating out is not something that I am doing right now.

There are a few restaurants (not Oilive Garden) that offer gluten-free menus but then there is still the issue of cross-contamination in preparation. Several of the books I have read have said that it's not a big deal; all you have to do is go into the restaurant and explain the situation to the server and they will be happy to accommodate you. One book even suggested that you print out a card that explains your 'special' needs. These authors also suggested that you might need to check labels of some of the restaurant's ingredients. One person even said that she has had her server bring her a two gallon bucket of dressing to the table so she could read the ingredients. Plus the fact that after all that there is still a chance that your food will be contaminated.

I'm sorry but I am not about to do any of that. Plus I've worked in the food industry before, I know what goes on behind the scenes. Here's how it usually goes down...
Server: "No problem ma'am. We'll do our best."
In the kitchen... Server: "This crazy lady at table 42 has some 'special' instructions for the cooks. You need to..."
Cooks: "Awww.. come on... you've got to be kidding me! If she has so many issues why doesn't she just stay home and cook for herself!! What do we look like personal chefs!?! We don't have time to worry about all this; we've got other orders to fill!"
(This is when they decide to either spit in your food or ignore the 'special' instructions. Either way, I don't want to eat the food.)

There would also be a lot of colorful language which I left out; but they are right. In my opinion restaurants are there to serve what they offer, which is on the menu. They are not there to serve our every need and desire. If you want all your needs satisfied get your own chef, cook for yourself, or bring your own food when you go to restaurants. I have brought my own food to restaurants and haven't gotten kicked out yet, but usually I just cook for myself; although, I think my mom could qualify as a personal chef. :) The nutritionist I went to gave me a good tip for eating out. She said, "Stick with the extremes of restaurants. Go to either the really cheap ones like Taco Bell and Wendy's or the really expensive ones. The cheap ones really don't have a way to cross-contaminate your food because of the assembly line process they have going on. The expensive ones cater to more individual needs. The middle ground, like Chili's, Outback, and Macaroni Grill is where you can get into the most trouble. They have a strict menu and don't tend to cater to specific individual needs."

 Like I said before, I personally don't think that eating out is a good idea unless the restaurant has separate cooking areas for gluten and gluten-free items, and has practices against cross-contamination. There are a few restaurants where I live that have good practices that I might try once I feel better. You can easily do Google searches for your area to find if there is anything near you.