Maggiano's

[hathor]

Just to give everyone a head's up. Even places that folks say are celiac-friendly can screw up.

Last night we went to Maggiano's. We talked to the chef. I said I wanted gluten-free pasta & a sauce of just veggies, with no dairy. My husband said he wanted the same sauce, but the pasta could have gluten. The chef wrote it down. He brought our pastas to the table. I was hungry and so immediately dug in. Then I thought, "This tastes like regular pasta. And I don't remember anyone making a gluten-free farfalle." I look at hubby's food; he has farfalle that looks exactly like mine. Oh oh.

I called the waiter over, asking if he could confirm with the chef that what I got was gluten-free. A couple minutes later the waiter comes back and takes my pasta away. The chef comes & apologizes. The manager comes & apologizes. They give us the meal for free, even say they will alert their insurance company to take care of any complications.

Perhaps I should have been understanding. But damn. I know how I react to a tiny amount of gluten. And here I had a number of forkfuls of regular pasta. Their apologies aren't going to make up for how I'm going to feel for who knows how long.

[tiffjake]

Just to give everyone a head's up. Even places that folks say are celiac-friendly can screw up.

Last night we went to Maggiano's. We talked to the chef. I said I wanted gluten-free pasta & a sauce of just veggies, with no dairy. My husband said he wanted the same sauce, but the pasta could have gluten. The chef wrote it down. He brought our pastas to the table. I was hungry and so immediately dug in. Then I thought, "This tastes like regular pasta. And I don't remember anyone making a gluten-free farfalle." I look at hubby's food; he has farfalle that looks exactly like mine. Oh oh.

I called the waiter over, asking if he could confirm with the chef that what I got was gluten-free. A couple minutes later the waiter comes back and takes my pasta away. The chef comes & apologizes. The manager comes & apologizes. They give us the meal for free, even say they will alert their insurance company to take care of any complications.

Perhaps I should have been understanding. But damn. I know how I react to a tiny amount of gluten. And here I had a number of forkfuls of regular pasta. Their apologies aren't going to make up for how I'm going to feel for who knows how long.

Man, that sucks! I had that happen...somewhere, I can't remember where now, I think it was Outback, where they just came back and scooped up the plate and were like "Don't Eat That!" after I already had been. How are you feeling? Are you ok?

[tom]

Oh hathor, that's horrible!!

While I've heard of many great experiences there, yours is NOT the first Maggiano's complete screw-up I've heard of.

I really don't know if I'll be able to trust them.

One question - what city/location Maggiano's was that?

[hathor]

Thanks, guys. I was needing some sympathy from folks who understand.

If there is one bright spot, it is that I KNEW I had been glutened. I immediately went home & did what I could to offset the symptoms that I knew would be coming. So I ended up not feeling as bad as I have when I've discovered accidental glutening from my later symptoms. (My symptoms start quite a bit later.) I'm surprised I'm still capable of drafting comments in understandable English. Or at least I think I am

And I haven't walked into a door jamb instead of through the door for over a day now The brain fog is what I find the worse thing to deal with.

Tom, what Maggiano's messups have you heard about? I hate to swear off them completely because they are all over. For instance, later this week I have to travel to Charlotte, NC. The best bet for a place to eat I could find is ... Maggiano's. Or maybe not.

This happened at the Maggiano's in Washington DC.

[gfgypsyqueen]

I would hate to swear off of a restaurant unless it is an extremely chronic problem. Maybe for your trip call ahead and talk to management? Do the interview the chef game? Kind a fun... anyways some chefs get it but the staff is still clueless. Some chefs aren't that understanding of allergies at all...still just people. Maybe for your trip find of what foods they have that are naturally gluten-free and stick to those...steak and potato...not sure what they serve...fish and veggies...

Overall, I have found that some restaurants are better than others about allergies, some staff care and some don't, but still, a place that has a gluten-free menu is always safer for me. no gluten-free menu is usually a crap shot ad on a trip...I would not be happy...

[tom]

Tom, what Maggiano's messups have you heard about?

These 2 are from the San Jose CA Maggiano's.

Just something to be cautious about. I went to dinner at Maggianos in Santana Row a few days ago and was really excited that the chef came out to talk to me about my gluten-free diet and how they have a dedicated food preparation area for gluten-free food. When my food came out, I checked with the runner that it was the gluten-free corn pasta (never had it before, so didn't know what it looked like). He assured me it was. However, at the end of our meal, the waiter came out and told me that their had been a mix up in the kitchen and I had just eaten the whole wheat pasta!

I've learned a very valuable lesson and can't stress enough that if the chef comes out to talk to you when you order your meal, you should insist on that chef bringing your meal out for you. The manager was very good about taking responsibility and telling me any medical costs would be covered, but it was definitely an avoidable mistake.

And

I have been to that Maggianos about 5 times and I only have really enjoyed it and felt safe there once out of those 5 times.

[hathor]

I would hate to swear off of a restaurant unless it is an extremely chronic problem. Maybe for your trip call ahead and talk to management? Do the interview the chef game? Kind a fun... anyways some chefs get it but the staff is still clueless. Some chefs aren't that understanding of allergies at all...still just people. Maybe for your trip find of what foods they have that are naturally gluten-free and stick to those...steak and potato...not sure what they serve...fish and veggies...

Overall, I have found that some restaurants are better than others about allergies, some staff care and some don't, but still, a place that has a gluten-free menu is always safer for me. no gluten-free menu is usually a crap shot ad on a trip...I would not be happy...

Maggiano's says right on the menu they have gluten-free pasta. I talked directly to the chef to order and he wrote it down. He certainly understood the significance. He just made the wrong pasta despite all that. Once the mistake was brought to their attention (that is, I asked the waiter to doublecheck if I had been given regular pasta), they swooped my pasta away and made the right one. The chef IS the one who brought the pasta to our table.

The only reason we went to Maggiano's is so I could have pasta. There isn't anything else vegetarian on the menu other than sides (which probably all have dairy )

I don't know if it is worth it to me to go back. All the regular sauces have dairy. I asked for something without and essentially ended up with plain pasta and steamed veggies. Didn't even put any tomatoes, garlic or red pepper flakes in there, even though I had suggested those ahead of time. I think the "no dairy" discussion simply drove the "no gluten" discussion out of his head.

I think I'm going to pack some gluten-free bars for my trip, and my own seasonings that I can put on plain, steamed veggies. For salads, I rarely trust the dressings if a place has any with gluten. Plus the dressings seem to contain other things I can't have or don't want. I ask for plain balsamic or wine vinegar on the side.

Folks on another forum suggested that all I need to do is "double check." However, if the chef forgets what I want in the time it takes to walk back to the kitchen, even though it is written down, I don't know if his recollection will be any better some minutes later after the pasta has cooked, he has worked on other meals, and so on. He might only have caught the mistake because their gluten-free pasta doesn't come in the shape I was served.

[buffettbride]

Our Maggiano's (Downtown Denver) has been great both times we've been. DD orders the corn rotini with alfredo sauce, steak strips, and broccoli. The chef comes and takes her order and cooks it personally each time.

And I agree--an apology isn't enough. Not that I know what I'd expect, but they don't have to deal with the fallout that is gluten when it happens.

I hope you have a better experience next time.

[hathor]

Yeah, it isn't as if they could give me more than what they did. I just didn't feel inclined to say, "Oh well, everybody makes mistakes ... don't worry about it!"

What is it with restaurants? On my trip last night, I went to a restaurant and I mentioned no gluten and that we were vegetarians. I think the gluten was handled right. But they brought two items with hunks of bacon in them (roasted potatoes & succotash).

I know people have different definitions of "vegetarian." I hadn't heard of one where you can have bacon, though Unfortunately, we didn't have time to get the proper items made because they had taken so long with our order to begin with. We almost missed our flight as it was.

[VegasCeliacBuckeye]

Last night, Mouse came up from AZ and met my girlfriend and I for dinner at Maggianos.

Everything went well!

Mouse and I ordered off the "Family Style Menu". Chef Anthony came over and personally took our order. He told us to order whatever we liked and he would make it gluten free himself. So we took him up on the offer! We got to have two choices for 5 courses for $34.99 each!

First Course - We had Caprese Tomato and Steamed Mussels (had a white wine, lemon and chicken stock broth with herbs)

Second Course - Hoouse Salad with Oil and Vinegar (I had bleu cheese)

Third Course - Pasta Course! We had the Rigatoni D sauce with rice fettuccini and Joey Z pomodoro with rice fettuccini. Very YUMMY! Mouse realy liked the Rigatoni D (so did I)

Fourth Course - Roasted CHicken with olive oil, garlic and rosemary and Grilled Salmon with spinach and lemon dill butter sauce.

Fifth Course - Creme Brulee to share!

We had a blast!