Finding Unintentional Humor in this Gfree World

More and more I find myself not wanting to eat out.  It's scary.  I have to ask a million questions and then trust that they are going to be just as honest in the kitchen as they are at my table standing in front of me.

I want to be nice.  I swear I do, but today was just not the day.  I was down near the beach and decided to pull out my handy dandy App called Find me Gfree.  Now let me begin with the fact that these Apps are hit and miss.  Sometimes you are better off just googling 'gluten free in...' and then stick in the city you're in.  But I do like the fact that others provide reviews within the App and typically it's spot on.

It was getting late and I was really hungry for food and not a snack from the oh-so-convenient Sprouts store.  I typically use the App and then call the place to ask a few questions before actually driving to the location.  I am not wasting my gas for unsafe celiac restaurants.

Here's the App I used, and here is the best option for my location.  The place was called Bistro West and it had three good lengthy reviews.

Hmmm, seems cool.  Let me give them a call. It went down hill from there. (I'm still laughing as I type this.)

Them:  Hi, Bistro West, how can I help you?
Me:  Hi there.  Can you tell me if you still offer a gluten free menu?
Them:  Umm...long pause...yes we do.  Would you like me to read it?
Me: No thanks.  I saw it online and wanted to make sure it was still current and also check to see if you are stringent regarding cross-contamination.  Do you have a dedicated portion of your kitchen for gluten free prep?
Them:  Um...yeah...we have our own garden and use our own vegetables.

WHAT THE WHAT-WHAT??

Are you cooking in this garden?!  I sat there dumbstruck and tried not to laugh.  I had the call on speaker and my daughters are trying not to laugh.  I couldn't even take the time to educate her.  Not today.  I just said thanks and good-bye.

So back to my comment about wanting to be nice.  I would MUCH rather blog about a great experience at a restaurant than a bad one.  But this garden crap was so mind blowing that I had to blog about it.  Sorry Bistro West.  But seriously-- if you are going to have a gfree menu online and within several Apps, puuuleeeze educate your staff. Especially your hostess.  She's on the front-line of customer service.

So off to Sprouts I went.  Luckily, there was one just two minutes away where I grabbed some hummus before my 45 minute drive home.

For what it's worth Bistro West girl, I think it's great you have a garden.  But what are you doing about cross-contamination?  LOL...at least I can find humor in this, right?