Jared L.
Yelp
Cutting to the chase, the 1-Star is because Longfellow's is no longer friendly or accessible for customers with serious food allergies.
We used to stop at Longfellow's every Friday night all winter long. We had a very nice waitress who remembered us each week, and she was always happy to check on ingredients for for our daughter who has a severe nut allergy. She would also confidently assure us that the chef would take precautions.
We don't pass by Longfellow's as often as we used to. This weekend was the first time this season, and our kids really wanted to stop. This time was a completely different experience:
We called ahead because we intended to order some food to take with us on the road. When we alerted the person taking our order that our daughter has allergies to peanuts, tree nuts and eggs, the woman on the line told us she was not sure whether they could accommodate us. She said that she would " hate for something to happen to our child." We had never had difficulty ordering there in the past, so we pressed her to look into whether the items my daughter was ordering contained any of the allergens and could be prepared separately from other menu items that may contain these allergens. (Standard practice at most establishments)
She was audibly impatient with me but put me on hold to check. While I waited, I got disconnected. I attempted to call back several times, but was apparently not getting service. Since we knew we would pass by, I decided to go ahead inside on our way by and wait for the food to be prepared. When I entered and told her that I had just spoken to someone, she immediately snapped that she had been trying to help when I "had hung up on her". I assured her that I had not but that I must have been getting poor service. I apologized.
I explained my daughter's allergies again and simply asked that the ingredients be checked and that I be assured that the ordered items could be kept separate from anything else with nuts. She nodded and looked busy doing a million things. I could see she was stressed. We waited for several minutes patiently until my daughter suggested to me that the woman might have entered the order hoping we'd just accept her nodding as assurance. I asked the woman whether she had in fact gone ahead and entered the order and she said she had. At which point, I apologized for the trouble, but explained that my daughter's allergies are severe and that we would definitely need to know the ingredients and have assurance that they could be prepared safely for her before placing the order.
Next, the woman audibly scoffed. She walked to the kitchen without eye contact, returned with the package used in one menu item in question which I explained I'd be happy to peruse because she seemed to be getting annoyed by our special needs. The ingredients were fine. When we asked about the other menu item we were hoping to order, again she scoffed. Another nearby server went back to the kitchen and returned a moment later and said "We just don't know." At this point, I turned to them both and said, "I sorry to have troubled you, but I think we're going to pass." Then we left.
We have visited many restaurants with servers and staff having varying degrees of education surrounding allergies. But this was truly the first time we faced what appeared to be open hostility. I did notice they seemed busy. I imagine special requests can seem frivolous to someone who is unfamiliar with allergies and who is busy serving more regular customers. I left with one thought, "It is clear that this restaurant no longer welcomes people with allergies."
Message received.
-
