Tawanda W.
Yelp
I've been coming to The Steakhouse for years, especially for special occasions, not only for the food but to hear Annie Allman perform her magic jazz guitar sets. My visit came to a screeching halt the other night. As usual, the restaurant was serving just one choice of "vegetable" that night, which was snow peas, technically not a vegetable but a legume. I am allergic to nuts and legumes. Because mushrooms were listed as a steak topping choice on the menu, I asked if I could substitute the mushrooms for the vegetable. The waitress said, "No, we don't do that." "Even though it's on the menu?" I asked. "I've never heard of anyone being allergic to vegetables," she replied, escalating my allergy to a broad category, a common technique when one is debating and trying to make the opposing side look ridiculous. I didn't realize I was in a debate: I just came to celebrate my 70th birthday and be grateful that I could while I am undergoing chemotherapy for cancer. "Actually, snow peas are not a vegetable, but a legume," I replied, ignoring her efforts to be oppositional. "I'm allergic to nuts and legumes." "We can't accommodate people just because they don't like the vegetable," she said. "We can give you extra potatoes. We like to keep things simple." " Simple for you, but not for the customer. It's not that I don't like it: I'm allergic," I said. Understand that my dining partner was perfectly willing to pay extra for the substitution, but making an exception to the rule seemed to be the issue for the server. My friend then said, "May I speak to the owner or manager?" The server said, "I AM the owner!" raising her voice. I didn't believe her, but said nothing. I later thought she might have been telling the truth because if she WAS a server and not the owner, she probably would have been fired long before. When my friend and I hesitated for just a few seconds, the server then said, "So, are you staying, or are you leaving?" We left, but not before giving Miss Alman a generous tip and explaining why we were leaving on the way out. We shall NEVER return. As any good customer service instructor (I am one) will tell you, satisfied customers tend to say nothing, but dissatisfied customers tell at least 100 people. I think I can exceed that average. Thanks for reading through this. Enter The Steakhouse at your own risk.