Cactus Club Cafe - Don't Do It !!!!

NorthernElf

Gotta write this because I thought I was "safe". I am currently in Calgary, Alberta for my son's hockey tournament. The other night we went out to Joey Tomatoes for supper and they had a separate gltuen free menu - it was great - I ordered a salad with seared tuna and really enjoyed it. Yesterday we went to Cactus club - same thing, separate gluten free menu, this time a salad with chicken and I was so SICK !! It was a spinach salad with fried mushrooms and a bit of bacon, egg, etc. Anyway, the staff obviously does NOT know about gluten. This salad was my lunch and I was sick & running to the bathroom for the rest of the day, including during one of my son's games. Evil or Very Mad

I don't know what else I could have done - if you have a gluten free menu, inform your staff what that means ! I'm thinking the bacon was not GF or the mushrooms were fried in a non-GF pan or the dressing was bad or the chicken...I dunno. We're on holiday for the rest of this week but I'm sticking to NON restaurant food, thank you very much.

aklap · Joined: 02 Oct 2004 Posts: 8503 Location: WI, USA

OH NO Elf!! Sorry to hear that. Sad

Have you talked to the restaurant? You might be able to prevent others suffering the same fate.

Hope you feel better soon!
_________________
Al

“We cannot all do great things, but we can do small things with great love.” Mother Teresa

celiacmaine-iac · Joined: 19 Dec 2007 Posts: 668 Location: Maine

Spinach salads often have a flour-based dressing, esp. if it's a warm dressing. Wonder if they have a GF and NGF dressing, and someone mixed things up?
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Steph

NorthernElf · Posted: Thu May 22, 2008 9:02 pm Post subject: Here's the Reply I received...

Dear Customer,

Re: Cactus Cafe Barlow Trail Ltd.

Thank you for taking the time to send us your comments regarding your visit to Cactus Club Cafe. We appreciate the feedback and the opportunity to respond to your concerns.

I am very sorry to hear about your unfortunate experience while visiting Cactus Club Cafe. One of our foremost goals is to provide our guests with a well-prepared, good quality meal and I am sorry that your experience with our restaurant was not a positive one. I can appreciate the extra attention and inconvenience you experience while dining out. In response to your concerns, I have notified both the Head Chef and General Manager for our Barlow Trail location. They will review our training procedures regarding the importance of allergy awareness, and follow up with their entire staff.

In the meantime, I would like to invite you back to Cactus Club Cafe as our guest in the hope that we can regain your loyalty. If you are open to this invitation, could you please forward me your mailing address?

Thanks again for writing – your feedback is important to us. We hope you will give us another chance to provide you with the quality experience you deserve. I look forward to receiving your response.

So...I dunno...since I don't live there (and am now home) I won't be going back anyway. Not sure I would trust them. Of course, my email addy was attached to the email anyway.... Question

ostrich · Joined: 30 Mar 2006 Posts: 4140 Location: Nebraska

IMHO I would email them back and tell them you really appreciate that the managers were informed. Say you were only there on vacation, but that you'll keep this information in mind when you come upon another of their restaurants.
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Ostrich :>--O==={

I lie below, you float above
In the pretty white ships that I am dreaming of

Seo219 · Joined: 13 Jul 2008 Posts: 1 Location: Alberta

Ironic that I happened to come across this post the day of my friends birthday party. I was contemplating going but opted not to after reading your review of that location.

I just cant risk it.
So I offered to take my friend out another time Smile

aklap · Joined: 02 Oct 2004 Posts: 8503 Location: WI, USA

Hi Seo,

Welcome to the board!

You made the right choice. Would've you been OK with just going to hang out with your friend and only ordering your favorite beverage and not eating? It sounds like your friend is very understanding about your dining out issues.
_________________
Al

“We cannot all do great things, but we can do small things with great love.” Mother Teresa