Jennifer Grizzard Ekzarkhov
TLDR: This place is unsafe if you have food allergies or health issues that are affected by food. When we pointed out what had happened, they were apathetic. Only our waitress seemed sorry, but not enough to adjust the bill without being asked.
I had a meal here with a friend during DragonCon. I ordered two items plainly marked as âGFâ on the sushi menu. One, specifically the Rainbow Roll, said it contained crab meat. Excellent, I thought. Only after I started eating did I realize it contained crab sticks. Firstly, crab sticks are not crab. They are usually made of whitefish, eggs, wheat, and spices/flavorings. A particular brand now makes gluten-free crab sticks, but those contain potato starch, which I also canât eat.
I asked two servers to clarify with the chef. The second eventually returned and said she was very sorry, but that roll wasnât gluten-free. I took the last bite of the roll that I knew was gluten-free and started to mentally prepare myself for the physical pain and discomfort that would ensue. After my friend finished her meal, we asked for our bill, and when we got it, both rolls I had ordered were still on the bill. They had completely disregarded the fact that they had just poisoned me with gluten. If your restaurant mislabels food that will make someone sick, at the very least you shouldnât charge them for that item. If you want to practice good customer service, their meal should be on the house, accompanied by a GIANT apology from management.
I was flabbergasted, and at that point, I said I didnât want to pay for my meal. The server returned shortly with the items removed, and I said Iâd like to speak with management to explain the importance of getting this right. At the very least, they should immediately start telling people that the Rainbow Roll is not gluten-free. The manager returned, apparently thinking we were trying to get out of paying for our whole meal. He yelled at us. He also said they had been serving this roll as gluten-free for 20 years with no problem. 20 YEARS. We tried to explain why we wanted to talk to him, but he was so agitated that my friend had to force him to take the billfold with her credit card. We never got to have our one-on-one teachable moment with him, so unfortunately, he gets to have it here where everyone can read it.
People are gluten-free for many reasonsâsome out of preference, but most of us have severe health issues. People with Celiac Disease are more likely to develop colon cancer the more gluten they consume over their lifetime, knowingly or not, even if it doesnât make them physically ill at the time. CANCER. I have chronic pain. I will spend the next week or two in extra, all-day pain and discomfort because of those two bites of crab stick.
Thereâs a social contract between restaurants and their diners. They broke the contract. Do not eat here.
Celiac friendly
