The ease of not needing to think

I've mentioned before how lucky Alex and I are. Excepting for tasting cilantro as soap, we don't have any good sensitivities or allergies. That means if we end up eating something we've chosen not to, we won't notice. That's not true of people with allergies or sensitivities.

We went to PF Changs yesterday for lunch. Since most asian foods contain soy sauce, they're typically a no-no for gluten-free folks. However, PF Changs has a gluten-free menu. It wasn't the most amazing food I've ever had, but it wasn't bad at all.

We went and made a point of ordering off the gluten-free menu. Our waiter saw and acknowledged that we were ordering gluten-free. When our food arrived, I asked for GF soy sauce, and the woman who brought our food looked at us and then at our waiter and asked, "Is it all supposed to be gluten free?" We responded that yes, it was, and they both profusely apologized and said they'd remake our food.

It came back, and was gluten-free and wasn't bad.

When we were paying, our waiter brought us fortune cookies. I raised my eyebrows and asked politely if the cookies, too, were gluten-free. The waiter, stunned, said no, they were not. Smiling, we gave them back (they were in packages, not loose). I explained about our project (he was worried about an allergic reaction) and he felt better. But you could see that he was thinking hard about he fact that he always brought cookies, even if people had specifically requested everything gluten-free.

For most people, the cookies wouldn't be a problem. And our waiter never really thought about what they were. Like I said, we're lucky that we don't have the allergies or sensitivities because nothing bad happens if we consume our "tainted" food. But this experience made me think, and I hope it made our waiter think too.