About 10 years ago I had lunch at Taco Hell with some cow-orkers. Ordered Tacos. Get them, sit down to put sauce on them. There is no cheese in them. Go back to counter, tell supervisor the problem. (Bear in mind, customer line runs out the door, they are so busy) Idiot Food Preparer turns around and says, with the voice of pure astonishment; “You put Cheese in your Tacos???”. The Supervisor was stunned into silence. All she could manage was to tap on the food preparation chart. Then gather up the stack of Tacos the girl had been making and throw them in the trash…
A few years later. Different Taco Hell, Drive Through line. I hear the woman in the car ahead of me ask what is in a Taco. I am instantly reminded of #1 above, but at the same time I wonder what planet this woman has been living on.
Three years ago. Driving through the coastal mountains of southern Oregon. Pull into McDonalds, it being the only place around (that I saw). Expensive Cadillac pulls in next to me, older (60’s) well (over) dressed woman in it. She gets into line ahead of me. At the register, she is bewildered. Has obviously NEVER been in a McDonalds in her life. She asks what is in a Quarter Pounder with Cheese. Though most faces around her did not show it, the mirth shot through us all like a wave. The Manager’s deadpan answer was priceless. “It’s a big cheeseburger. Meat, Cheese and a Bun”. She didn’t get it.
You never know what extra condiments that a place is going to put on your food. Even if it’s something simple, I always ask what’s on food before I order it, even a taco. Certain places will put different things on even the most basic of foods, and especially if you have food allergies, it’s a good thing to know what they put on them.
Frankly, I think #2 and #3 were being smart asking about what was on their food before ordering.
I went to a local (independent) burger place one day and as I do I ordered the specialty of the house (without looking at the menu) and the burger guy said “are you sure, it has pineapple on it”, AAAAGGGGHHHH!!!, what kind of sick bastard puts pineapple on a burger?, I ended up with (an absolutely wonderful) BLT (with no pineapple), and I was a regular there for a long, long time.
All tacos come with “Grade E” meat; which means, assuming it actually is meat, that it is considered edible despite the fact you arent required to cook it.
My friend back in High School was allergic to a lot of things. Severely allergic to all kinds of nuts, lettuce, and celery. Whenever we would go out to eat, he would have to ask about about what was in it or if it was cooked with those things. Usually the waitress would roll her eyes like he was giving her a hard time but this kid could die if he took a big bite of celery! I imagine he has consumed a lot of spit in his lifetime, IYKWIM.
If you have allergies or you don’t like certain common foods, it is a smart idea to ask. Some tacos come with onions, some don’t. Lettuce? Cilantro? What kind of cheese? Some burgers have pickles, some don’t. Mustard? Ketchup? Secret sauce?
There was a thread on here a while back about someone who went to Outback and ordered a steak and very specifically said NO ONIONS. Got some mushrooms on the side. Guess what the mushrooms were covered in? Onions.
(At least, I think those were the details… the sentiment was the same, though.)
I’m not doubting you, but I have never heard of anyone being allergic to lettuce! Isn’t lettuce basically crunchy water? Are you sure your friend wasn’t yanking everybody’s chain?
I own a Mom & Pop convenience store, with a from-scratch deli. I have signage all over the place telling people what will come with their sandwich/burger if they order it “with everything!” When someone orders a Turkey sand w/everything, I rattle off what I will putting on their sandwich. Mayo, mustard, cheese of their choice, onions, pepperoncini, jalapenos, olives, pickles, horseradish, tomatoes, lettuce and vinegarette.
I happily do so each and every order to make sure that someone doesn’t consume something that will cause an allergic reaction. I have a small deli, so I can spend more time on each customer than a fast food joint can. But I don’t find it strange at all that customers would ask specifically what will be on their food. People do have food allergies, after all. And they have the right to enjoy their food, as well.
Ordering food from a restaurant, even fast food, should never be a “You pays your money, and you takes your chances!” proposition.
I went to a friendlies with my wife one hot summer day. We were coming from a car show and decided to clot our arteries with an ice cream. My wife ordered hers, then the waitress asked, “what would you like , sir?” I ordered a banana split. About Ten or so minutes later she arrived at the table with our treats, mine being smothered in things wonderfully tasteful yet will no doubt trim a month or so off my life… I dig in, no banana’s. I ask flag the waitress down as she passes by and mention this to her, she says " Did you want banana’s , sir"?
Do you have a cite for that? Especially since, the USDA doesn’t have any grade called “Grade E”. Beef is graded as “USDA Prime, Choice, Select, Standard, Commercial, Utility, Cutter, and Canner” and chicken has only A, B and C grades. I don’t think Taco Bell uses anything other than chicken or beef. And yes, it would have to be meat, because the items are advertised as “chicken burrito” and “beef soft taco” and so on.
