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

Thanks for sharing with us your experience at Outback. I enjoyed your =
letter for the touch of humor in it, the engaging way you wrote about =
your experience - and the calm acceptance of the responsibility we all =
have for our own diet. That last point is essential for each of us to =
learn, and then accept. I think your attitude will help other celiacs. =
It helped me!
_____________________________

Hi:  That sure was a very sad experience you had at Outback Steakhouse.  =
Why
don't you e-mail them - www.outback.com and let them know exactly what
happened.  I'm sure the headquarters would be especially concerned that =
you
were not offered a compensation of some sort, but if you don't let them
know, no one is going to say anything.  I was nicely compensated for =
some
special letters I wrote to them.  Please give it a try and see what =
happens,
nothing lost except a little of your time.  I go to the Outback once a =
week,
and so far, I have had no adverse effects, and I've eaten all over this
country, but I know mistakes do happen and you are so correct, we have =
to
ask, ask, ask, and even demand, demand, demand.  Hope you are feeling =
much
better - I am well aware of how you feel because I've have some
cross-contamination at one time or another, and as we all know, it's no =
fun.
_______________________________

I was at an outback and received my salad with what I thought was a =
crouton.=20
I called over the waiter, who said he would check, but he had order it =
without=20
a croutons. It ends up it was a piece of chicken that had fallen in my =
salad=20
from another. They were very nice and gave us our Thunder From Down =
Under for=20
free. I didn't throw a fit or anything. My husband had stated in his =
polite=20
midwest way that it is very important for my food to be gluten free. We =
were=20
visiting family in Tucson at the time.  I think it depends on the =
manager. You=20
got one who doesn't have manners. Your meal should have been on them.=20

I would write a letter to the national headquarters.=20
________________________________

So sorry to hear about your unfortunate experience with Outback.  They =
can
get it right a lot of times; also we have had very bad experiences with =
that
chain from time to time.  I am curious to know what made your meal not =
GF?
I am confused about whether the meat/chicken/shrimp spices are okay or =
not,
since reading the recent posts.

When I have a really bad situation with a restaurant like the one you
describe, I very nicely tell them that I do not expect to pay for my =
meal;
sometimes they will offer this; other times, you have to stand up for
yourself.  I certainly would have not paid for the situation which =
happened
to you.........sometimes they will even offer you a coupon to come back =
for
a "comp" meal if they are savvy enough, or if you ask for this.  I am =
not
trying to be cheap, only to make people accountable for their
actions..........best wishes for a better experience next time
__________________________________

What kind of meat did you have?  I thought the ones on the GF menu were
naturally GF without specifying special order
___________________________________

What happened to you could happen to anyone in any restaurant.  You =
didn't seem
to blame it on Outback but I'm not sure.  It's very unusual to get the =
wrong
plate, but waiters are human and it happens now and then.  When I go, =
the
server states what the meal is to make sure it's right, so I'm surprised =
they
didn't do that with you.  On the rare occasions that the Outback =
displeases me
or my fiance, we complain to the manager and get free drinks or free =
meal,
depending on the situation.  I got a free meal once because my steak =
wasn't
done properly and we waited a long time (new kitchen staff, people =
called in
sick).  What happened to you is definitely no reason not to eat there =
again,
they are the most celiac friendly chain restaurant.  Just order from the =
GF
menu and make sure you get the meal you ordered, not something to even =
worry
about.  I just think the manager should have given you a free meal, in =
fact I'm
shocked you didn't.  But you could see how much they cared about the =
mistake,
and that's a really good thing.
____________________________________

What I do when I order is say," No spices at all on my steak." My =
husband who is not a celiac doesn't want me to get messed up so he =
orders it the same way. If he feels it needs "something" extra, he adds =
the steak sauce that is on the table. This way, we both have no spices =
on the steaks and no mistakes. I also cut into the steak while the =
server is there so I can taste for myself if it plain. If it passes =
inspection, I keep it, if not, back it goes. I have not had any problems =
at Outback, Charlie Brown's steakhouse or Lone Star Steak house.
I am also allergic to milk so I make sure I say no cheese, no croutons, =
no toast under anything.

* Visit the Celiac Web Page at www.enabling.org/ia/celiac/index.html *