Anyone who has ever worked in food service - particularly in the "front of the house" in a restaurant knows you're to push appetizers and desserts to every customer. Selections in those two categories of the menu tend to offer the highest margins. So selling apps and desserts increases the tips for servers and the restaurant increases their take for the shift as well.
Have you ever looked - really looked carefully - at a gluten-free menu? If the answer is yes, then you know the two menu categories that either have little or no gluten-free options are the appetizers and the desserts. This completely baffles me. If places don't want to offer a gluten-free menu to people who are trendy - or to those that have medical conditions that require a gluten-free diet - fine. But why go to the trouble of figuring out gluten-free options for salads and main courses while skipping the two most profitable categories on the menu? It makes absolutely no sense!
When I find an interesting appetizer on a menu that I can order, it's very hard to pass up the chance to try it. Even if I'm not in the mood for an app and an entree, I'll likely order both and take most of my main meal home. I want to let restaurants know that I very much appreciate being able to order an appetizer so they'll keep offering those items!
Nothing drives me up the wall when dining out more than not being offered dessert. Even if they only have ice cream which I've never ordered when dining out and probably never will - I would like to know if I can have a sweet treat to complete my meal or not. We were recently at a pizza place that has a ricotta cheesecake for dessert. It's always been gluten-free since it's crustless and I insisted we order it just because I could have it. It arrived and I took maybe two bites and let my husband have the rest. I don't like any cheesecake except the Godiva option at Cheesecake Factory, but I could not pass up dessert when our server was so excited to let me know I could have it.
Every restaurant is not going to offer gluten-free pizza, bread, pasta or pancakes. And some places that offer those things now won't when patron requests for them decrease. But for the places that do offer gluten-free menus, you have to wonder why so many of them haven't figured out they can make much more money on us if they figured out an app that everyone loved that happens to be gluten-free. And how about putting some key lime pie filling in a ramekin (it's common to have leftover filling in non-chain places) and see if your gluten-free guests want to buy it. I can tell you right now, I'd be the first to do so and if it's any good, I'd take another to-go!
And don't even get me started on gluten-free menus that list just the names of dishes - no description - no price - no nothing....it's ridonculous!
Have you ever looked - really looked carefully - at a gluten-free menu? If the answer is yes, then you know the two menu categories that either have little or no gluten-free options are the appetizers and the desserts. This completely baffles me. If places don't want to offer a gluten-free menu to people who are trendy - or to those that have medical conditions that require a gluten-free diet - fine. But why go to the trouble of figuring out gluten-free options for salads and main courses while skipping the two most profitable categories on the menu? It makes absolutely no sense!
When I find an interesting appetizer on a menu that I can order, it's very hard to pass up the chance to try it. Even if I'm not in the mood for an app and an entree, I'll likely order both and take most of my main meal home. I want to let restaurants know that I very much appreciate being able to order an appetizer so they'll keep offering those items!
Nothing drives me up the wall when dining out more than not being offered dessert. Even if they only have ice cream which I've never ordered when dining out and probably never will - I would like to know if I can have a sweet treat to complete my meal or not. We were recently at a pizza place that has a ricotta cheesecake for dessert. It's always been gluten-free since it's crustless and I insisted we order it just because I could have it. It arrived and I took maybe two bites and let my husband have the rest. I don't like any cheesecake except the Godiva option at Cheesecake Factory, but I could not pass up dessert when our server was so excited to let me know I could have it.
Every restaurant is not going to offer gluten-free pizza, bread, pasta or pancakes. And some places that offer those things now won't when patron requests for them decrease. But for the places that do offer gluten-free menus, you have to wonder why so many of them haven't figured out they can make much more money on us if they figured out an app that everyone loved that happens to be gluten-free. And how about putting some key lime pie filling in a ramekin (it's common to have leftover filling in non-chain places) and see if your gluten-free guests want to buy it. I can tell you right now, I'd be the first to do so and if it's any good, I'd take another to-go!
And don't even get me started on gluten-free menus that list just the names of dishes - no description - no price - no nothing....it's ridonculous!
