Friday night Nathan and I went to see the Christmas tree lighting in South Park. It was cold and we were hungry and we really didn't feel like waiting for them to flip the switch so that we could say, "Ooh" with the rest of the crowd, so we went to McCormick & Schmicks for some oysters. We sat down at the bar and one of the bartenders immediately greeted us and I asked for a wine list. We said that we were in the mood for a red wine. I commented that I like my reds to jump out of the glass and slap me in the face, while Nathan likes his to be a bit mellower. Nathan said, not necessarily and I replied, "well you almost always prefer Merlots…but then again, you do like a good Zinfandel." So, obviously we didn't know what we wanted right away. We looked at the list and the bartender suggested BV Cabernet (Beaulieu Vineyards)and I said I'm not really a fan of theirs. So he waited, and waited…he actually made me feel rushed to make a decision. So, we threw an order out to him and then decided we might as well order a bottle…then, I realized we should taste it…I'm glad we did. The first wine I selected wasn't what we liked and it was pricier than what we ended up with. We tasted a couple of wines, I really liked Elements but Nathan liked Ménage à Trois better and it was lighter, which would go better with the oysters we were about to order.
The oysters came and they were good, small Chesapeake oysters but good nonetheless. We decided to split a wedge salad and handed my food allergy card over to the bartender. We explained that the blue cheese dressing might contain mustard flour or Dijon and if so, we would just prefer balsamic vinegar with blue cheese crumbles. He said, "vinaigrette?" I said, "if it's safe, sure." The bartender told us the kitchen could separate the salad and still give Nathan the blue cheese dressing. Nathan said, "they don't have to work that hard at it, we'll share it." The bartender assured him it wasn't a problem and he'd have them split it up so Nathan could still have the blue cheese dressing.
A little while passed and apparently, that bartender went off duty for the night, which left the other bartender on his own. Bartender 2 was doing fine by himself and when a little time had passed and our salad hadn't arrived, we asked him to check on it and he went back to get it. Bartender 2 placed our salads in front of us and they both had blue cheese dressing. We stopped him and told him I was allergic to the dressing, and mine should have had balsamic vinegar on it, so he took it back and brought me another salad that had a vinaigrette on it. He said it was in the window, he had merely grabbed the wrong one. I assumed that bartender 1 had checked to see that the vinaigrette was safe when he had checked and learned that the blue cheese was not.
Now, this is where we think we had a breakdown in communication. Nathan and I should have double checked to make sure that bartender 2 understood that the vinaigrette had to meet the criteria of my allergy card. Since bartender 1 was gone for the night, we couldn't ask him if he had checked the vinaigrette, so we should have had bartender 2 go double check it. We should have but we didn't. I paid for the mistake.
Oddly enough, the reaction didn't take place immediately. This is only the third time that this has happened to me where hours after eating I have had a reaction to the food I've eaten. We went home, watched TV for a while and went to bed. I woke up at 2 AM in the throes of an anaphylactic reaction. My wind pipe felt as if it were the diameter of a pen. I had broken out in hives all over my body, my eyes and mouth had swollen, and I was having asthma attacks.
I'm so tired of food being my enemy. My life hasn't always been this way. These allergies only came on about five years ago. Now, I can't eat like normal people and it's frustrating. I can't just go out and dip a chip into some salsa or queso and socialize eating free finger food at an event. I don't mean to whine or sound like, "woe is me" but this is a bitch of a condition and I envy those around me who are standing around balancing a miniature plate in one hand with a cocktail napkin and cocktail in the other. I can't pump up full of Benadryl, because I'd be in a coma.
So, next time you throw a cocktail party or an event…please have some plain cheese quesadillas with mild salsa and sour cream for me. I'd be ever so grateful!
