Just Dealing with it....

Traveling when you have allergies is always a challenge.  One never knows when you walk into a restaurant what you are going to encounter.  I chose a standard chain that I have a particular favorite dish. 

Mind you it is 28 degrees the wind is blowing hard, it is snowing lightly.  I do not have my winter boots with me in fact I am wearing my worse pair of dress shoes.  (No, I don't wear high heels thank goodness.)  The walk was four very LONG blocks close to half a mile. 

Everyone who knows me knows that I'm allergic to bell peppers (red, yellow and green).  A difficult part is that I love them.  But the last thing I need at any point is to get sick especially when I'm on the road.  When I got to the restaurant my "favorite" dish had been taken off the menu. (Strike one.) 

They had a new line of specials.  Three out of six showed bell peppers in the pictures.  The one looked very good.  So I took the chance.  I asked the waitress, "Can you check to see if the vegetables come in a pre-mixed package?  I'm allergic to bell peppers and I can't have the vegetables if they have been together in the same bag."  She came back a few minutes later and they are a premix batch.  So I chose another option that had fried rice, steamed broccoli, and three kinds of shrimp. 

When it came to the table, one of the dipping sauces had red peppers in it.  I handed it back to the waitress.  As my hand crossed over the nicely plated food, I saw red peppers scattered throughout the rice.  My heart sank.  The waitress was young and from what I learned with how she had handled things, I think she was in training.  I lifted the plate and calmly said, "I hate to do this but I need to send this back.  I'm allergic to peppers and I can see bell peppers throughout the rice.  So the rice and the shrimp on top of it is no longer edible for me."

She apologized and took the plate back.  She only told the cooks that I returned it because there were pepper on it.  Luckily someone got the manager involved and he came out to visit with me.  I explained that I had informed her that I was allergic to bell peppers and any mixed into my food made that non-edible for me.

 They only had the pre-seasoned fried rice.  So I was served a very empty plate with three kinds of shrimp and steamed broccoli. It was served to me by the manager.  I asked if there was any white rice available.  He offered a bowl of soup or a salad in place of the rice.  Can you guess what is going to happen next?

...Did you guess?  All three soups came pre-mixed with bell peppers.  Someone, PLEASE teach those chefs how to season their food without using bell peppers.  (I am still smiling.)