March 23, 2013 Sushi...

Sushi!!! or sushi (now with a side of explosive d). Worst Russian roulette game this week.

I had a chance to chill with a friend this week, and as a thank you for her helping me reorganize me kitchen, I took her out to a sushi dinner. 

As a person with celiac disease, finding a sushi place that understands what gluten is and not only accepting of it but is helpful but is nice about it mostly took some trial and error, but I finally found a place.

(This took some time because some places I called and talked to basically wouldn’t let me in the door, ‘No we don’t want you here, we put soy sauce on the booths and on the table tops and you can’t come in the door!!!’, or at least that’s the feeling I got from their, ’ We don’t have ANYTHING that doesn’t have gluten’ At least they were honest)

1) The first time I went to this place, my waitress was a ditz. Told her I couldn’t have gluten, and she had to check with the kitchen a bazillion times. It all turned out well with ordering, but the poor sushi chefs didn’t equate ‘no sauce’ with ‘no gluten’ so the sprinkled tempora flakes over all four rolls my sister and I got. We had to send them all back, so the waitress called over the manager and had to have him talk to us. I calmly told him that when I ordered I told the waitress that I can’t have ANY gluten and she had checked everything and we had ordered specifically so I wouldn’t get sick. We got new rolls. Didn’t get sick, just annoyed, but yummy :)

2) This time I asked to speak to the manager right when I walked in, and she took our order and it worked out very well, no screw ups. Our waitress was mad, but meh. I didn’t get sick, it was good, it was a good experience. 

3) Third time’s a charm right? I thought I had it down. Go in, ask for manager. Nope. Same manager, she brushed us onto waiter, who was arrogant as can be ‘i’m all knowing about every roll and will make it all work out gluten free for you’. Thankfully the sushi chefs had been alerted we were there and told him that one of the fish we ordered wasn’t gluten free like we ordered. He had to come back and tell us that, made us feel better about being talked down to like we were little kids. Not sick, bad experience, OK sushi.

4) Nothing to special this time, not bad or good, they just screwed up what I ordered. Guess that could happen to everyone right? Not sick, meh x2

5) Holy cow, sit down, talk to waiter. By this point at this restraunt, I feel like I can tell if someone is competent on their gluten skills. The test question to the poor server after the bomb of ‘I have celiac disease, which means I can’t have gluten’? ‘What sauces can’t I have?
His answer? ‘Uhm… Any but the soy sauce’
wrong answer buddy!
I asked to speak to the manager. He conferred with a guy dressed very nicely, which I assumed to be the manager, and then called another guy that was carrying a tray over to the greeter station (in my line of sight) and talked to that guy then had the second guy (from now on called tray boy) come to my table.

I would like to mention I’m not a mean person usually, just when it comes to messing with my food like this, if you don’t know, say that. I won’t be hurt. In fact, I’ll be healthy!

Tray boy comes over and asks what’s the problem and I ask what has gluten and doesn’t and I go through the whole thing and he has to run to the chefs. I am super thankful at this point I have been here so many times and know what is and is not gf at this place so I can order correctly.

It finally comes time to order and the original waiter comes over and takes our order, and I’m being specific. I order no sauce on every roll, and say steamed. He gives me attitude with everything. At least everything came out looking like it was the right order. 

I GOT SICK!!!!!

2 days later I’m still sick. Explosive d just won’t go away. My dog won’t go in the bathroom. My heating pad is cranked on high between the pain from my burst ovarian cyst and all these intestinal issues. 

I almost never eat out. If I do, it’s sushi and my safe places. I have so many allergies. What do I do? Never eat out? Easier said then done. 

Guess the fish get to swim away.