CLUELESS ABOUT FOOD ALLERGIES / INTOLERANCES, PLUS A PRIVACY-FREE MEN'S ROOM
Our party of three went to Lucky Platter this Sunday morning for breakfast. I have gluten and dairy intolerance, something hardly unheard of in chi-chi, trendy, vegan-obsessed Evanston. As I usually do with restaurants, including this one to which I've been going for decades off and on, I checked out their menu ahead of time to be sure that there was something I could order that at least *seemed* not to have gluten or dairy in it. I enthusiastically chose the "steel-cut oatmeal" and looked forward to it. When I asked the waitress, however, whether there was any dairy in the oatmeal, she said that "yes, they always cook it with some milk". I therefore asked her if they could cook mine without milk, and I was told that no, that was not possible. Strike one.
At that point, I had to choose another dish. I landed on the potatoes, and asked about their ingredients as well. I was informed that the potatoes also have dairy blended in, in the form of "cheddar flakes". I asked whether their kitchen had the capacity / skill to make potatoes without "cheddar flakes", and I was again told that no, it was not possible. I was assured that there wasn't "too much" cheddar in the potatoes, and being out of any other option at that point (it is a gluten- and dairy-saturated menu), I had to settle for the potatoes if I wanted to eat anything other than a fruit cup or meat (I had an order of bacon). Strike two.
I asked to speak to the manager in order to voice my hope that they would soon enter the 21st Century and have at least a few options for the gluten and dairy intolerant. I was told that the manager would come to our table in a few minutes. After a full hour, and after a second request to see the manager, he still had not dropped by our table. Finally, our waitress leveled with me and told me that he was too busy to stop at our table. Strike three.
Then came my need to use the men's room as we were leaving. This is a one-person bathroom with a toilet that has no stall enclosure around it, so a locked door is a must. However, not only did the door NOT lock, it did not even close into the door frame, being so warped that it could not be closed! In other words, at its most fully closable position, the door was cracked open an inch or so, through which anyone could see anything from outside. I complained about this to one of the staff and I got a curt "we know" as he rushed past.
I was coming to the Lucky Platter even before it was the Lucky Platter, back when the same location housed an Indian-like restaurant in the 80's. Even then, they had vegan and food intolerance-friendly menu offerings. Lucky Platter needs to become aware that it is in Evanston and not in Council Bluffs, Iowa, and start to act as if it is a 21st Century urban restaurant, something that has yet to happen. Even Dave's Italian Kitchen in Evanston, a retro Italian food stalwart, has some gluten-free and dairy-free options. For me this was a poor experience, and I hope not to return any time soon to bother them with my pesky dietary needs. read more