Don't go to the FIVE GUYS restaurant!

[LeAnnie]

Hi...I'm new on this board. I have a 4yo dd with peanut and tree nut allergies and I just found out my 7 month old is allergic to cow milk and egg.:gloomy:

Anyway, I have a story about this restaurant, which is I know on the East Coast, perhaps elsewhere. It's a burger joint where they serve peanuts in the shell in the waiting area. We went there recently and there were peanut shells and fragments everywhere-the floor, the eating surfaces. It was a mom of peanut allergic child's nightmare! So I contacted the corporate management to ask about their cleaning procedures and to make them aware of the public health issue. They suggested I not eat there again with my family. That was the last straw! I'm pretty sure that suggestion would violate the Americans with Disabilities Act which covers people with food allergies. I'm pretty ticked off. I may contact the public health department here to see if they would inspect the restaurant.

SO, don't eat there if your children are nut allergic!

[paquerette]

We have one near us, and there are signs on the door that warn about the peanuts, basically that you shouldn't even go in if you're allergic. Also, everything is cooked in peanut oil, so cleaning the area wouldn't help you any. I think it's along the same lines as not going to Cracker Barrel if you're vegetarian. I think even the tea has lard in it, there. ;)

You might also want to avoid some of the big steakhouse chains. One of them, can't remeber if it's Texas Roadhouse or Smokey Bones also has the peanuts on the tables and shells on the floor thing.

[bobandjess99]

I have to agree..if you are allergic, just don't go there.....It's not worth risking your family over...
There are so many other restaurants you can go to...the couple that have peanuts being served and shells being thrown on the floor certainly aren't worth getting upset over. It's not like you can't get food somewhere else.....

Luckily, we don't have *many* allergies here, and none (that we know of!) that are currently life-threatening, but the ones we do have are annoying. We have a nut allergy, chocolate, BEES, cat hair, mold, grass and pollen(I'm pretty much allergic to the outside, lol), pretty much all soaps/lotions for dd, and a couple more that dh has...I don't keep track, he's an adult, he knows what he can't eat/touch, LOL!

And i know that Logan's roadhouse has the peanut thing going on.....

[Missy]

Actually, I have to give Five Guys a lot of credit. They do have signs everywhere, including as you walk in the door, not only warning about the peanut oil but reminding customers not to carry the peanuts out of the restaurant because of children with severe allergies. And the peanut oil is set out as part of the "decor" so it's pretty obvious.

I would be more upset at other places, like chik-fil-a, who use peanut oil but don't provide those warnings.

Missy

[BusyMommy]

I think it's along the same lines as not going to Cracker Barrel if you're vegetarian. I think even the tea has lard in it, there. ;)



Ah, you guys have all the cool/freaky restaurants!!!!

[menudo]

I was thinking Chick-Fil-A too...I have to see if they stopped using peanut oil. There used to be signs. I always worry for allergic epople.

no allergies here and I love peanut oil :shy myslef. I used to go to Curly's Firies (In Wildwood, NJ) and the fries were good b/c they were in peanut oil. They no longer use it and I have wondered if it was due to allergy and the oil blowing onto the boardwalk nmakign it dangerous for allergic people-that would make sense to me.

[Missy]

Oh, whoops--I do remember Chik-fil-a having a small red sign affixed to the wall near the registers, but *nothing* on the scale of Five Guys. Five Guys makes it pretty clear even before you walk in the door. But then, I haven't been in a Chik-fil-a in over ten years, I think. I went into a Five Guys once, without my son, out of curiousity because I had heard that they really try to communicate the concerns.

[menudo]

FYI!!!!!!

From www.chick-fil-a.com :

Our pressure cooked items-such as the signature Chick-fil-A filet, Nuggets, and Chick-n-Strips-are hand breaded daily in our restaurants and cooked in 100% non-hydrogenated peanut oil. This helps to contribute to their low trans fat and saturated fat numbers.

[LeAnnie]

Well, the Five Guys I went to did not have adequate warnings posted. The peanut oil concern is a misunderstanding because peanut oil does not contain the actual peanut allergen. It's just oil, so it is considered safe for people with peanut allergy. I've found that a lot of people arent' aware of that. They would be wiser to post warnings about the peanut shells than about the oil since the oil does not cause reactions.

[Mynn]

:gloomy:

[Meiri]

If the peanut oil is cold-pressed, then it very much can be an allergy issue.

I don't know how gimmicks work in terms of the Americans With Disabilities Act, especially since there generally are other options for places to eat.

They might have a problem if an employee developes an allergy though?

[fromscatteredtribe]

I think it's along the same lines as not going to Cracker Barrel if you're vegetarian. I think even the tea has lard in it, there. ;) .
actually our whole family and much of the extended family are vegetarian and LOVE cracker barrel when traveling across country.

they are VERY clear about ingredients in their food. the biscuits are vegetarian. the cornbread calls for lard but our local restaurant does not add it because the manager is a vegetarian Hindu.

the vegetables are VERY clearly marked vegetarian or not. the mashed potatoes, corn, fried okra, cole slaw, mac and cheese, glazed baby carrots and several other items are vegetarian. the greens and items that are not are marked right on the menu and the servers are very knowledgable or will ask. the dozen or so i have asked at different locations are terribly nice about it.

people think it is funny that we enjoy it as vegetarians, but they are cheap (1.99 kids meals that come WITH hot cocoa and whip cream) and veggie platters that remind me of thanksgiving without all the cream of mushroom soup BUT WITH real butter ...mmmm.

they also don't mind the noise of two women and five kids who have been in the car for fifteen hours and are ready to walk around the store and scarf their food and stay a LONG time.

regarding the peanuts :( how difficult, but not surprising. in chicago there were several restaurants like this where the novelty was walking on the crushed peanut shells ....yuk!

[Missy]

It is a very dangerous misconception to assume that peanut oil, in any form, is safe. In a severely allergic individual, any kind of peanut oil could cause a reaction. Those warnings are as important as the very visible warnings that were posted about the peanuts and their shells. Perhaps if an isolated store does not have the signs that I have both seen and heard about (hence my visit to see it myself, at my local restaurant--others from many different locals, who know about our allergies, had mentioned how well Five Guys handles it), it would be better to question the management as to why that particular location doesn't post the multiple warnings, as that seems to be company policy.

Missy

[Gale Force]

LeAnnie,

If they did have some sort of cleaning procedure, would you eat there?

Amanda

[benharperfan]

OT but another vegetarian Cracker Barrel lover here!

[menudo]

they are VERY clear about ingredients in their food. the biscuits are vegetarian. the cornbread calls for lard but our local restaurant does not add it because the manager is a vegetarian Hindu.

the vegetables are VERY clearly marked vegetarian or not. the mashed potatoes, corn, fried okra, cole slaw, mac and cheese, glazed baby carrots and several other items are vegetarian. the greens and items that are not are marked right on the menu and the servers are very knowledgable or will ask. the dozen or so i have asked at different locations are terribly nice about it.

:lol Not here! My Mom took me there 2x-once a few weeks back. I asked ckearly if lard/meat/etc. was in different vegetables. Got a clear no. Only to get what? BACON! In my veggies. Nothing on the menu was marked and I think one of my other choices had lard...yuck.

BTW, the Chick-Fil-A site also has a statement saying their peanut oil rarely is an allergen for peanut allrgic people.

[fromscatteredtribe]

the menu markings were across the country as we traveled. down in tiny print under the listing of teh vegetables....this, this, this and this are not vegetarian as the contain this, and hashbrown casserole has chicken stock, greens are made the old-fashioned way that kind of thing, but a lot was left over.

sorry they fooled you.

my sister was told the hashbrown casserole was fine at several locations over the years and two years ago we found out they use chicken broth :(

[jenck]

We have one near us, and there are signs on the door that warn about the peanuts, basically that you shouldn't even go in if you're allergic. Also, everything is cooked in peanut oil, so cleaning the area wouldn't help you any. I think it's along the same lines as not going to Cracker Barrel if you're vegetarian. I think even the tea has lard in it, there. ;)

You might also want to avoid some of the big steakhouse chains. One of them, can't remeber if it's Texas Roadhouse or Smokey Bones also has the peanuts on the tables and shells on the floor thing.

It must be Texas Roadhouse. I've been to Smokey Bones; never seen peanuts everywhere.