<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>> >Interesting responses....most said "right on" but I did get some whiny >responses saying, in effect, that they don't get "any respect" in >restaurants. Well, in plain English, if you aren't getting >respect....IT'S YOUR FAULT. You aren't coming across as someone who >needs to be taken seriously. It's time to get some back bone and stand >up for your rights. Perhaps some assertiveness training would be a good >thing. Because of the tone and inaccuracy of the above post, I am also going to respond to the group. It appears from this summary that the poster believes everybody on this forum is either a whiner or easily eats safely everywhere all the time because they assert themselves. She couldn't be more wrong. First let me say that I do indeed eat out a variety of places and I have plenty of backbone. Suzanne already said some of what I wanted to say. A busy restaurant kitchen is controlled (and sometimes not so controlled) chaos. Anybody who thinks they will get a 100 percent safe meal at ANY restaurant every time they go just because they are assertive and have "backbone," is, quite simply, delusional. Are you back there to make sure they didn't accidentally drop that piece of bread on your food and the take it off? Are you back there as they prepare your meal making sure they're changing gloves, wiping off the prep surface, using a clean utensil? Of course not. Do you think just because you gave them a restaurant card and a lecture they will suddenly understand all the issues it took you months to learn? Not hardly. This is not whining. This is reality. The poster indicated that with some assertiveness we can eat anywhere. In her summary she forgot to mention the class of restaurants that I wrote to her about. My daughter, who does not have CD, works for a small local chain that ships virtually everything preseasoned, marinated, or mixed to each location. The workers essentially heat it up. The manager at each site has absolutely no idea at all what's in the food or how it's been prepared. You can assert yourself all night long but they still don't know what's in the food and can't tell you diddly-squat about whether it's GF. The corporate office doesn't want to go into it and basically tells people with CD to eat elsewhere. We all know of large national chains that operate the same way. I defy anybody to eat safely at these places. We could maybe have a salad with our own dressing or a baked potato, but I don't go out to eat salads or baked potatoes. I can do that at home for a heck of a lot less money. I also pointed out to the poster that some of the "whiners" are people who are very new at this who are looking for some help. I probably "whined" some early on and I most certainly was scared to death to go out and eat. These folks will stop "whining" once they get more comfortable. (In case you can't tell, I don't consider this whining). Finally, other people who ask about restaurant recommendations or suggestions are experienced folks who do want to eat out but know the reality that anytime we eat out anywhere, we take a chance. Some of the people also get VERY ill from the smallest amount of contamination. So to improve the odds at least a little, they ask others for places where they've had a good experience. This is smart and the rational thing to do. End of rant. richard *Support summarization of posts, reply to the SENDER not the Celiac List *