All Over Albany

Ah, ha ha ha ha! Cute!

Now what I'd really like to see would be a little chihuahua named Peanut, holding a peanut.

... said Albany Jane on Jun 10, 2009 at 4:51 PM | link

I can't remember any kid in elementary school having a peanut allergy. In fact, I've never met anyone with a peanut allergy. WTF did this come from? Is the human race slowly becoming susceptible to biological warfare via the peanut? Will historians 300 years from now look back on this era and wonder "woa! These people actually ATE peanuts!!!!" I'm a little worried about the future of a race when things like peanuts signal our potential demise.

... said daleyplanit on Jun 10, 2009 at 4:53 PM | link

George Washington Carver is rolling over in his grave.

PS. I don't know of a chihuahua named Peanut.. but I do know a Pomeranian named Peanut a couple of houses down.. I'm sure he'd be amenable to peanut themed photo op.

... said Dawn on Jun 10, 2009 at 5:58 PM | link

There's peanuts, pears and popcorn, pickles, peppers, peas
Pineapples and peaches, and potatoes if you please
There's pizza pie and pancakes, and pudding is a treat
P, P, P, P, P is my favorite letter, because of all the things to eat

... said Barold on Jun 10, 2009 at 7:46 PM | link

I get this mental image of one really angry something named Peanut, not necessarily baskets of random legumes.

... said Sarah on Jun 11, 2009 at 12:43 AM | link

@daleyplanit
In my med. certification class, we had gotten on the discussion of allergies and just where this explosion of peanut allergies has come from. I'm only 31 so it wasn't lightyears ago that I was in elementary school, etc. Never heard of peanut allergies back then...and that's when parents were able to bring in homemade snacks for the class and no one got sick or died from it. My instructor for this class is 100% Italian and told us how her MIL (also 100%) suddenly became allergic to tomatoes out of the blue one day. It lasted for 2 years before she could eat them or their products again. Could you imagine?!? Still a mystery...but I agree that is seems awfully weird that things that were not an issue 20 years ago are (seem) more prevalent today.

... said Jaime on Jun 11, 2009 at 8:42 AM | link

It's good to have a sign warning folks that there are peanuts everywhere. My 13 year-old son is extremely allergic (as in might die due to anaphylactic shock) to peanuts among many other things. He does not have to ingest them to have a life-threatening reaction, he only has to have some sort of contact with them. So if I entered Wolff's, I would get contaminated and basically have to clean my shoes, clothes, hands, etc before entering my house. Personally, I don’t want to take the chance of contaminating myself and putting my son’s life at risk.

Quite frankly, his life is risked almost every day at his middle school. Despite our best efforts to educate the school, almost weekly they expose him to deadly allergens. In fact, twice in one week, school staff tried to make him TOUCH food that he could die from. Let me repeat that- school staff wanted him to TOUCH something that would kill him. This isn’t about my son learning to deal with his food allergies, it is about him learning to deal with adults trying to kill him.

My son carries an epi-pen at all times and reads all food labels before he ingests anything. Despite his and our vigilance in keeping him alive and healthy, there have been many incidents where he has had life-threatening allergic reactions due to cross-contamination of food products. Either wait staff had incorrectly identified food ingredients or cross-contamination had happened at some point before the food was served.

I'm not whining and I’m not expecting Matt to change things. What I do expect from a restaurateur is a better attitude and outlook to food-allergies. If his attitude is “allergies really aren’t my problem” I would disagree. Food allergies ARE his problem since he should be educating staff and preventing cross-contamination in his commercial kitchens and establishments.

... said Karen on Jun 11, 2009 at 8:56 AM | link

Asthma is a big one today too, along with all the other allergies. I think we live in an overly sanitized world where everyone is afraid of germs. Anti-bacterial soap, lotions, wipes etc are anathema to a well-developed immune system. Parents, let your children eat dirt, it may actually be good for them (assuming you let them outside into such filthy environments)...

... said -Richard on Jun 11, 2009 at 9:23 AM | link

I've got to say before people accuse me of doing so - my post was to make fun of the allergy NOT the people with the allergy. It's suddenly come from left field and running rampant. I'd consider a deadly affliction that affects 1.2 out or 100 people rampant. George Washington Carver never imagined he'd be the father of a such a deadly crop. The guy just wanted people to love his nuts. (take THAT shamwow guy)

That said, I can see why Matt's comments seem insensitive. I have mixed feelings the more I look at this. The Americans with Disabilities Act addresses many obstacles that persons with mental and physical handicaps frequently face. Should allergies be any different? How should they be treated in the workplace or schools? We cannot live in a sterilized world. The saying "if you can'd eat my food, stay out' seems appropriate at first for one restaurant, but the concern that Karen brings up is cross-contamination. If peanut dust can kill or maim an allergy sufferer, what's a vendor to do when the potential killer is blowing in the wind?

... said daleyplanit on Jun 11, 2009 at 10:31 AM | link

Actually the ADA can cover food allergies. In a school setting, a 504 plan (http://www.wrightslaw.com/blog/?p=58) can help. Schools are different than restaurants because a child cannot make the decision to not attend school. They have a right to an appropriate education and shouldn't be discriminated against. Unfortunately, even a 504 plan doesn't help if the school is committed to providing a safe environment.

My issue is with Matt's attitude that food allergies aren't his concern. As a restaurant owner, he should be concerned about cross contamination and education of staff. Matt should also take into consideration liability issues if he serves a patron something that has been cross-contamination as it could result in a deadly reaction. Also in contained in Matt's original post is his disbelief that someone can be allergic to lettuce. He is basically saying he doesn't believe his customers food allergies. (My son happens to be allergic to lettuce, among many other things).

I've worked in several restaurants during college, and the attitude of the servers tends to mimic that of management. If management doesn't care or believe the patron about their food allergies, why would the servers?

... said karen on Jun 11, 2009 at 2:28 PM | link

Karen, what sicko school does you son attend that the staff works so diligently to make the students TOUCH various food items?

PS- I'm the sister of a highly peanut and seafood allergic individual. Somehow he's managed to survive to adulthood, and he doesn't spend his free time picketing The Real Seafood Company trying to get them to change their incredibly insensitive menu.

... said kerosena on Jun 11, 2009 at 3:36 PM | link

BTW, cute signage, Matt!

... said kerosena on Jun 11, 2009 at 3:37 PM | link

Cross contamination is not an issue at Wolff's.

There's nothing let to contaminate. The place is 100% saturated with peanuts... on the tables, on the floor, on the bar, on my clothes. To wit, ubiquitous.

Before taking Matt to task over a hypothetical visit, have you ever been to Wolff's? There is absolutely no mitigating the presence of peanuts there, no matter what, and it's been pretty consistently advertised since before the place opened that there would be peanuts everywhere. I think the forewarning has been prudent and sufficient. No one is accidentally leaving some shells out where a prudent person would not expect them. The beer-n-schnitzel crowd has been warned in advance. This is an issue of implicit vs. explicit risk. There is nothing implicit about coming into contact with peanuts at Wolff's. I recognize the seriousness of food allergies but it seems like a "pile on Matt" party because he was a bit flippant and his joint is an easy target. It'd be different if the menu had one or two "stealth legumes" on it and the staff had to be mindful of contamination, but this just ain't the case, and it comes of as faintly ridiculous to target him as opposed to entities that are introducing an implicit risk into the environment, like the bizarre school environment that was mentioned. This seems like the old joke, "I lost a quarter over in that corner but I'm looking at for it here because the light is better."

... said Sandor on Jun 11, 2009 at 4:05 PM | link

On a semi-related side note, I went to Wolff's with a friend of mine who doesn't eat pork. He was rather unhappy when he ordered the meatloaf special and it turned out to be a slab of spam. He and I aren't very familiar with German food so we were both a little surprised when we made this discovery. I wasn't mad at the establishment or anything and will continue to go there, but when I very nicely informed the cook that they should warn patrons that the meatloaf is not "traditional" meatloaf and contains pork, he mumbled something about all meatloaf containing pork anyway (what?). They did not seem sympathetic at all, and my friend lost $12 and ended up eating peanuts. I know it's not the restaurant's fault that he chooses not to eat pork, but they could have at least pretended to give a rat's ass about their patron's' lifestyle choice.

... said Summer on Jun 11, 2009 at 4:07 PM | link

If in the best interest of liability each restaurant puts a sign in the window:

"The food here may contain nuts. Eat at your own risk"

What then?

... said daleyplanit on Jun 11, 2009 at 4:20 PM | link

@Summer Proper meatloaf is made with a combination of ground beef, pork and veal. That is always how it has been made in my family and others, how I have seen it made on cooking shows and how I've had it in restaurants.

... said Emma on Jun 11, 2009 at 4:44 PM | link

Deal

and yes meatloaf mix is ground beef, pork and veal
cause before you just had a fancy hamburger

... said MattW on Jun 11, 2009 at 5:40 PM | link

I didn't know about Wolff's plethora of peanuts until I was supposed to go there and meat some work colleagues. I chose not to go there because I didn't want to get peanut dust/oils on me and put my son at risk. There is nothing wrong with peanuts being on the floor. Matt can choose to have peanuts on the floor, and I can choose to not enter. I was just very taken back by Matt's attitude towards food allergies.

Kerosena, I'm happy to divulge the school who want my son to touch foods to which he is deathly allergic- Voorheesville Middle/High School. It's like putting a loaded gun in my kid's mouth and asking him to pull the trigger.

... said Karen on Jun 11, 2009 at 6:14 PM | link

...Wolfe's is supposed to be styled after an authentic German beergarden. That means peanuts and pork. If you go online, or even read their menu on the door, you can clearly see peanuts and pork. The menu even goes so far as to tell you that this is German style meatloaf and yeap, there's pork.

That said, their waitstaff was really nice to my Celiac friends, helping them specially order food to avoid cross-contamination. One of my Celiac friends is less concerned, the other is highly so because he gets very bad reactions. The server helped him and was very nice. As a vegetarian, they were super nice to me as well. Even let me switch to french fries because I was concerned about the spatzle. I've been multiple times and its never been a problem.

I'm actually kinda glad Matt's taken this stance on food allergies at the beer garden. Were this, let's say Dale Miller's place, I'd be upset since cross-contamination is an issue. I'm an asthmatic; I don't go into smoke bars. Why? Because the outcome is certain. Do I make the cigar bars ask everyone to snuff their butts out? Heck no.

... said Ellie on Jun 11, 2009 at 6:40 PM | link

We just read the sign on the wall, not the paper menu, so we were not aware that there was a pork disclaimer. I was already aware that they use pork instead of veal for the schnitzel and was fine with that, just the meatloaf caught us by surprise.

My family never used pork or veal in their meatloaf recipe, and neither did his. We always went the "ground beef, eggs and breadcrumbs" route. Perhaps that's not "proper" meatloaf, but whatever. It's what we got.

... said Summer on Jun 12, 2009 at 4:25 PM | link

OK that picture is fake isn't it, someone did that in photoshop. tell me if i'm wrong. but yeah I never heard of anybody getting a peanut allergy when I was a kid, and then all off a sudden, from out of nowhere this thing becomes almost normal. sonmething fishy there...

... said Alex on Sep 27, 2009 at 3:41 PM | link

Karen.. aren't we overreacting just a tad? Really? I'm deathly allergic to bees and I carry my epi-pen but I'm not going around slaughtering Matt's name all over because I don't agree with him- so now you know what businesses he owns and you won't go in because of his sadistic ways of telling you that your food allergies aren't his problem- and they aren't- please find a job or join the local book club and cram your opinions down someone else's throat. ps: Matt you're pretty much the man.

... said Anna on Oct 17, 2009 at 6:01 PM | link

Meatloaf, sausage, paté, candy bar, cake, bread, salad, felafel, dumpling, egg roll ... these are broad terms that merely suggest ingredients and make no promise about what's excluded -- or how thoroughly. Duh.

> I know it's not the restaurant's fault that he chooses
> not to eat pork, but they could have at least pretended
> to give a rat's ass about their patron's' lifestyle choice.

That's fair enough, as long as you'd truly be satisfied with pretending.

"Waitress? Hi. I have some dietary restrictions. I'm thinking of ordering the hasenpfeffer, but can you guarantee it's never been in contact with any X, Y or Z?"

"I'm sorry, I can't. I think it's made with Z, actually."

"Okay, thanks. Is there anything that you can guarantee has never touched any X, Y or Z?"

"The green salad?"

"Okay, thanks, I figured that. Anything, umm, more interesting?"

"Not if you need a guarantee. Oh, wait. I don't think the beer has any of that."

Waiters can make nice but, in the end, hosts have the prerogative of choosing their guests. Think about that word: "guest." As a host, there will always be some guests that you can do without -- in your home, or at your restaurant. It's how the world turns.

LQ

... said Lou Quillio on Oct 17, 2009 at 9:19 PM | link

And another thing:

> If his attitude is "allergies really aren’t my problem" I would
> disagree. Food allergies ARE his problem since he should
> be educating staff and preventing cross-contamination in
> his commercial kitchens and establishments.

There's a term for this kind of argument: begging the question. In this case, "you should be doing something because ... because you should." Sorta, ya know, not persuasive. Might as well go with "Because I say so."

Further, "cross-contamination"? Allergens are only "contaminants" for the allergic. Are BLTs contaminated with bacon? Are pizzas contaminated with cheese? Come on.

Further, the comment I'm quoting above is something like a copy-paste from a comment by "KHL" on Baumgartner's (linked) post, and I'll bet a copy-paste from whatever goes on at allergieskill.com, KHL's stated website, which seems to be down right now.

There's a term for this behavior, too: being a "gnome." Classic example: The "Not a Democracy" Gnomes. Sing your one note, duck, move, sing it again elsewhere, move, etc. Again, unpersuasive.

LQ

... said Lou Quillio on Oct 17, 2009 at 10:44 PM | link

I think the sign is a tad insensitive; but I would rather it be there than not. However, that being said, I have seen other restaurants and food places within malls with allergy warnings that do not make fun of the allergy or people with the allergy (the two cannot be separated). Restaurants do have a responsiblity to all their patrons, not just a few--that would be discrimination. Because of the sign warning of the presences of peanuts, I would be aware not to go in to his establishment because of a peanut allergy in the family. However, if someone with, say, celiac disease or a milk or egg allergy graces his premises and informs staff/chef of the ailments--the restaurant is then aware and can be held liable if the proper procedures are not followed and said allergen is present in the individual's meal. Also the restaurant can not refuse service based on a customer's food allergies because under ADA that would be discrimination. There is training available for restaurants in how to handle preparing meals for those with food allergies.

... said cpbrook on Oct 24, 2009 at 2:42 PM | link

> However, if someone with, say, celiac disease or a milk or
> egg allergy graces his premises and informs staff/chef of
> the ailments--the restaurant is then aware and can be held
> liable if the proper procedures are not followed and said
> allergen is present in the individual's meal.

Only at the Reality-Distortion Café. All other restaurants (and homes) offer certain dishes prepared a certain way in a certain environment. That's all. You're welcome to go elsewhere, same as before you walked in, same as when you when woke up this morning.

> Also the restaurant can not refuse service based on a customer's
> food allergies because under ADA that would be discrimination.

Hogwash.

"I can only eat X, and I don't see it on the menu. I'm formally ordering you to prepare and serve it to me, pursuant to the provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the additional instructions on this set of laminated cards."

It's not a matter of "refusing service," it's a matter of "we don't sell what you need." In what world can I be required to sell something I don't?

Get it?

LQ

... said Lou Quillio on Oct 24, 2009 at 5:34 PM | link