<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>
Here is a summary of the responses I have received so far.
As you can see, there are some people who think I haven't been fair to Tony
Roma's.
<Even if a food item is listed as GF, it can be contaminated if common
cooking utensils or surfaces (grills, broilers, pans, etc.) are not
thoroughly cleaned. Same for the hands that prepare the food. It is
important to talk directly with the person PREPARING the food (not just the
server) and express you concerns about contamination. If they seem
flippant or uncaring about the contamination issue, go eat somewhere else.>
<How would you like it if someone happened to get sick after eating in
your restaurant and then, with no real proof, goes out and tells 3,000
people that you serve poison?
That's what you effectively did.
I have no personal interest in Tony Roma's. I do, however, have an
interest in having as many eating options as possible. When I travel, I
sometimes find that Tony Roma's is one of the very few options available
for a Celiac in a given area. It is not fair to the 3,000 people you
addressed to tell them that they have to be afraid of yet another of
their very limited options.
You have no proof that 1) you actually got sick from gluten in this
restaurant, or 2) that even if you did, it wasn't the result of some one-
time accident which will never be repeated again.
A very big problem with this list is people posting personal anecdotes and
saying or implying that their personal experience is meaningful to Celiacs
everywhere.>*
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*My comment: This person has a point here: I should have ask if others
had been sick too.
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<I have had the identical items you ate in Tony Roma's in Hawaii,
Vancouver, and New England. Never had a problem. The chain management
says that all this stuff is GF. So I have a lot of evidence that Tony
Roma's is safe. Your post doesn't suggest that there's a problem. You
come right out and say it. You don't ask if anyone else has had a
problem. You come right out and tell people they shouldn't eat there.
Again, how would you like it if someone did that about your restuarant?
Wouldn't you consider that to be mean?**
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**my comments: If someone had been sick at my restaurant, I wouldn't wait
one week before responding her or him. And I repeat, it would have been
better if I had asked if others had a problem.
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I also had a horrible time at Tony Roma's. I explained my needs to the
waitress, showed her the GF list, and she verified it with the cook.
However, that night, I vomited for hours upon hours. WORST reaction I've
ever had, so I'm assuming that whatever it was, it was pretty full of
gluten!!
I emailed the company, and they didn't respond for almost a month. When
they did respond, it was with their generic letter about their GF
products. No apology or explanation was included. I will never go there
again.
I'm sorry that you also had a bad experience. I don't know about you, but
it made me even more fearful to go out to eat. I'm sticking with Bahama
Breezes and Outback from now on!!>
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<I have eaten all of the items you listed at Tony Roma's many times and I
have never had a reaction. I am very sentitive, a few crumbs will make
me ill.
I am in Milwaukee, WI. I wonder if Fl does something different.>
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<I eat at Tony Roma's often in three different locations. I've never
gotten sick from eating there & I'm also very gluten sensitive. It could
have been something else that made you ill. Perhaps the whole meal was
too rich? Too much butter or sour cream on a baked potato? Perhaps you
over did it & over ate? Other things can make us ill besides gluten.>
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<I ate at the Mentor, Ohio, Tony Roma's and was fine. We need to be
careful how we accuse companies their food is not gluten free after they
make a statement that it is. Some companies won't answer about their
ingredients due to lawsuits now. Many of us have different
sensitivities to things, and it could even have been a food allergies to
to one of the foods, food poisoning, or something else you ate somewhere
else, etc. I just wanted you to know I had no problem with their food
and I am sure there have been many other, too. Best to you...>
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<I eat the same menu items at Tony Roma's and have never gotten ill. It is
possible that somehow something got contaminated in that particular
kitchen, but it would be a shame to remove a source of eating out
pleasurably, for an entire group of people, over one unfortunate incident.
I am sure that you have taken into consideration, everything else you ate
that day. It is too bad about the reaction, but I am sure it is the
exception to the rule. Thank you for the information. We all need to be
alert, and if it happens to other people at other Tony Roma locations, I
would discontinue eating at their restaurants.>
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< Thanks, Mireille. I hate it when this happens; it is so hard to track
down. I think it may have been the sauce, that would be my guess. I
just don't think restaurants totally understand this, dangerous isn't
it? Please let me know if they ever answer your email. Could be they
are actually taking the time to investigate, lets hope so. I am so
uncomfortable eating at restaurants, it is about the only place I will
react to food even if I order everything plain, no sauce, no salad
dressing. All I can think of is the contamination issue. I wonder if
maybe there was modified food starch in the cole slaw? Hope you are
feeling better now.
BTW, I am pretty sure you shared a mexican recipe from another website that
I tried and use all the time, so thanks for that one>
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<Dear Mireille Cote,
Sorry to hear you're sick. I emailed Tony Roma's at
[log in to unmask] when I was researching their foods for our
gluten free food database. The baby back ribs were NOT listed as gluten
free on the "official" list I was given. Perhaps they were what made you sick?
Best wishes,
Lani K. Thompson
www.clanthompson.com>
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<Aren't you the one who owns some restuarants? Are you trying to
eliminate the competition?
I have eaten at Tony Roma's all over the world, and never had a problem.
If you are indeed the restuarantuer then you know very well you can
always have a loser employee who accidently spills something in the
sauce (or maybe likes to experiment). That's not a reason to tar the
whole chain. It's also perfectly possible to pick up a bug from bad food
at any restaurant, which may or may not be their fault. Again, not a
reason to trash the chain.>***
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***My comments: the last thing I thought is to try to eliminalte the
chain!!! It is 1650 miles from my restaurants!
Again, all I thought of is for others not to be sick too.
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< I also got very sick from eating at Tony Romas. I bought a bottle of
their so called gf barbecue sauce and tried it at home, but got sick again.
I don't think they understand the gf diet. I got the information from Bob
and Ruth Levy, it was in one of their newsletters, not from Tony Romas
themselves. >
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As you can see, some say about the same message, but very politely and the
message passes so more easily. We are so more receptive when someone
speaks civilely (can we say this in English?).
Perhaps I have writen my msg in a clumsy manner, if so, my apologies.
Mireille
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