<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>

Hi - I recently ate at The
Cheesecake Factory and had the
Grilled Chicken Medallions.  This 
entree is described as grilled 
chicken with a balsamic vinegar
marinade.  It comes with mashed 
potatoes.  The server and manager
assured me that the marinade was truly
just balsamic vinegar and nothing else,
and that the mashed potatoes were just
potatoes, milk, and butter.  

When I tasted my meal I was a little suspect, 
tho, because the marinade also seemed
to have flavors of mustard/sweet and 
sour, and the potatoes tasted far too
rich to be just milk and butter.  (My
symptoms of celiac are more subtle than 
many of you, so unless I am eating a lot
of gluten I don't notice huge effects. 
I was just diagnosed within the last year
after assuming my "sensitive stomach" my
whole life was due to other allergies.  It 
wasn't until I had jumped on the "whole 
grain" bandwagon that I started having 
noticeable other symptoms such as bloating,
horrible pain, acid reflux, total lack of
energy etc. which brought me to the doc to
determine what was wrong.)  I digress - my 
point is that even if I accidentally ingest small amounts
of gluten I do not expect to have noticeable
symptoms (at least not from an isolated incident), 
so I can't use that as a barometer
of accidental gluten ingestion.

So, I decided to email the Cheesecake Factory
and ask about that particular dish.  I've included
the email exchanges below, but it seems that
the restaurant's stance is that they want you 
to just trust your server when asking about 
ingredients.  I find this very frustrating-
servers are busy people who really don't have 
a clue what this means to us and how much we 
really need to scrutinize ingredients.  Furthermore, 
the person responding to my email states 
specifically that the mashed potatoes have more
ingredients than just potatoes, milk, and butter.  
This is exactly opposite what the server and
manager onsite at the restaurant told me.  
Who am I supposed to believe?

Have any of you had experiences similar to this
one at the Cheesecake Factory?  For the most
part I don't eat out at all anymore because
of this type of thing, but sometimes it can't
be avoided.

-----------------
> From: [log in to unmask]

> Thank you for your interest in The Cheesecake Factory. Although we 
prepare dishes that 
> we do not add wheat, oats, rye or barley, our concern is that some of our 
sub-ingredients 
> may contain trace amounts of gluten, particularly imported ingredients. 
In addition, we 
> do not have separate cooking equipment to prepare flour and no-flour 
based items. 
> 
> Because we understand that sensitivities can vary, our managers will be 
happy to help 
> you select dishes that we do not add wheat, oats, rye or barley. Our 
servers and managers 
> are extremely knowledgeable about all the ingredients in our dishes. 
Under the strictest 
> guidelines, we recommend non-marinated vegetables, chicken, steak, shrimp 
or fish pan 
> cooked as opposed to grilled. 
> 
> We sincerely appreciate you taking the time to write us and hope that you 
will be able to 
> join us for a wonderful meal.

-------------------------------------------------------
Thank you for taking the time to reply back to my comments.  I understand 
your concerns about sub-ingredients perhaps containing trace amounts of 
gluten and the cross-contamination issues.  These concerns are in fact my 
own, which is why I wrote initially.  I have found it is easier to find out 
the details of menu items ahead of time when visiting restaurants rather 
than relying on the servers/managers to take the time necessary to answer 
all of the questions I need to ask since they are very busy people.
 
Is it possible for you to at least tell me the ingredients in the Grilled 
Chicken Medallions? I would also like to know how the mashed potatoes are 
prepared:  Are they truly just potatoes and milk/butter, or are there other 
ingredients such as chicken broth/bouilion or sour cream?
 
Thank you for your time and effort.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
> From: [log in to unmask]

>Thank you for your quick response.  Typically we do not recommend anything 
>marinated because we do use a lot of ingredients in the dishes.  I was 
>told that the balsamic vinegar is not malt vinegar.  Also we do use more 
>ingredients in the mashed potatoes than just the potatoes, milk and 
>butter.  I apologize that I am not able to fully answer your questions.  I 
>understand that it can be difficult to ask our servers and managers for 
>their help, but they truly are there to provide you with the information 
>that you need before ordering.   Thank you again for taking the time to 
>write to us and I hope that we have the privilege of serving you very soon.

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