Obviously the horse is quite dead, but I must throw in that I deliberately asked about nut products in the sandwich and was told that it contained nut products and should be avoided. I think personal responsibility is the only think that should be advocated here – if everyone takes responsibility for their own needs, we all end up better off.

I feel bad about the tone of this blog post. Look at the title – “A bad reaction”. I dislike how it implies setting the responsibility of the proprietor of this small and under appreciated addition to the Whyte culinary scene.

This restaurant is great. Everyone go try it soon.

Packaged foods are manufacture in controlled facilities with well defined and controlled ingredients. Forcing restaurants to do the same would be too much of burden. Unless you go out of your way, almost anything you buy has the generic ‘May Contain Nuts’ warning, and so most restaurants will do the same.

Yes, some restaurants will take the extra step and better control their ingredients and cater to customers with special needs. But force the restaurants to disclose allergen content, and they’ll likely just choose the generic warning route to cover their ass.

No I don’t have allergies, but I have friends who do (animal and food). And I often witness them clarify if someones house has pets or if a food contains nuts.

And nut allergies may be one of the more common allergies (btw, celiac prevalence is about the same), but it’s still <1% of the population. Having to incur additional costs to accommodate such a small group would likely have most restaurants go with a generic warning.

In the end, I’m just not a fan of legislation when it’s not needed. I know your review didn’t mention anything like that, but I just wanted to make mention as it was where the comments were heading.

Jon- I want to be clear I don’t want the restaurant to “go down” because of this review. Having met the family behind Sabzy, I know they have put everything into their business, and I know how important it is for the restaurant to be a success.

I don’t disagree it is part of the consumer’s responsibility to ask questions, but I think it is a restaurant’s job to make choosing a dish as seamless as possible, which to me means providing some more information about the contents of dishes, particularly when it relates to a very common North American allergen.

Don’t know what pesto is? Fine. But why aren’t you asking if it contains nuts? Not the restaurant’s fault there in my opinion. Now say for example, you order a salad with a familiar dressing only to find after the fact that their special version contained nuts. Then maybe your arguement against the restaurant has a leg to stand on.

But really, is it the restaurant’s responsibility to disclose all this information without first being asked? Just because 0.4-0.6% of the population (per Jason’s comment) have nut allergies, doesn’t mean the entire restaurant industry has to accomodate them. What about those who are lactose intolerant? Gluten allergy? The list can go on and on. Like Rfl said, we should stop pointing fingers for our mistakes. I’m sorry Sharon’s sister had an allergic reaction, but I bet she’ll be asking servers in the future when she sees something on the menu that she does not recognize.

The line of thinking that everyone else must take care of us is what starts ridiculous and frivolous lawsuits. I for one don’t want to see good restaurants go down because a small minority are careless when ordering.

Finally – yes I do have an allergy: Penicillin. And you can bet your ass that it’s the first thing that pops out of my mouth everytime I talk to a doctor. I also keep a note stating my allergy with my ID in case of emergencies.

As Mack said, “Nuts have got to be one of the most common allergies in North America. It’s good practice to be pro-active about it.” And I couldn’t agree more. As someone with an allergy that appeared later in life, I can’t have any nuts or peanuts. I’m normally very careful about ordering new things, and asking. However, I’ve had pesto before with no reaction. Perhaps it’s the way this place made it? As someone who isn’t the most food-savvy, I couldn’t tell you what’s in a pesto. (Something green, some kind of oil, and white stuff)

Jason may: “question whether we should start labeling the world to accomodate them.” And I can understand why someone without an allergy may feel that way. I’m usually fairly easy-going with my allergy, but I don’t have it quite as bad as some people who can’t deal with being at the same table as someone with nuts on their plate. I’m not asking you to label the world… but please note: eating something they believed to be safe could KILL them.

I’m not in any way blaming the establishment completely… it is up to the person with an allergy to check… but you can’t blame her for not thinking there would be nuts in a sandwich. (That wasn’t peanut butter or served on pecan bread.) I just think it’s the responsible thing for establishments to label on the side of menu items: how spicy the dish is, gluten-free items, and whether it contains nuts.

That little extra ink on the menu could save a life.

But what I would like to know is how the mint flavour suits a grilled chicken sandwich that appears to have parsley or basil sprinkled on top. To me, those flavours are not well matched and a sprig of parsley or basil would be more fitting. Thyme would be really nice too.