Frustration then Happiness

Today was a mixture of frustration and then happiness. Dealing with restaurants can sometimes be very frustrating but other times it can help lead to a smile.

I am again going to explain a two restaurant evening that we had.

Restaurant 1

We went to a local pub which I have been eating ate for a while and normally have been able to eat without too much of a problem. The last time we were there I had a problem with the chicken wings but I was going to give the restaurant a second chance and I did tonight.

This is the last time we will be at this pub due to the server that we had and the response that we got from the kitchen. I ordered my wings and asked that the server let the kitchen know that I had a shellfish allergy. Normally that hasn't been a problem and they took precautions to ensure I could eat. Tonight the server came back and her response was "They can't guarantee that they would be safe". My choices were to figure out something else to eat or have nothing. After hearing a comment like that I wasn't going to eat because I felt that the kitchen staff was not going to watch and handle my food with care. Maybe they couldn't guarnatee that the wings were safe but the server never gave me any choices which was very frustrating. In most cases if I haven't been able to have some type of food most restaurants or pubs have been welling to suggest something else that I could have, tonight there was no willingness to help with alternatives.

I have now walked away from this pub for a long while, frustrated and may never know if it was the kitchen that couldn't deal with my shellfish allergy or if was just the server that couldn't deal with it. For now I cannot risk that establishment and will not go back until I know that real changes have been made.

Restaurant 2

After leaving the first restaurant and me not eating we headed off to a restaurant that shows that they really care and is able to deal with my various allergies and doesn't seem to have a problem with challenges.

We were seated with a server that we know and I was able to order my Fajitas without any problem and enjoyed my dinner. The manager was also there that knows us and I know that the kitchen is very careful to ensure that the possible exposure to my allergens is pretty limited. I know that there is no guarantee that I would not have an allergic reaction while eating out but at least it limits the possibility.


I never ask for a 100% guarantee that there will be no exposure to my allergens while my meal is being prepared but what I am asking is that some precautions are taken. My feeling is that with dealing with severe allergies there is no 100% guarantee to avoidance to my allergens, you just try and limit the exposure.

Yes my evening started out with a frustration but am happy that after changing restaurants I was able to smile and feel that I got at least some guarantee to limited exposure. Maybe it wasn't 100% but it was a lot better than 0% which was what I felt I would have got at the first pub.