When the very nice, very helpful server asked me that, after coming back from the kitchen to report on my gluten-free options, I bit back my first response of “Let’s just say I’ll be sick for about a week.” I also resisted my second response, “Technically, it’s an autoimmune disease, not an allergy.”
As much as I’d like to get into *that* discussion, a super-busy lunch hour wasn’t the right place or time. So I looked at her directly and said, “Very.”
The “how allergic?” question is surely the number one pet peeve of all celiac and gluten-intolerant people out there. It shows how little education is being spread to servers and other restaurant staff…and it shows how often these same servers and other staff are subjected to people who simply aren’t truly gluten free. Continue reading “How Allergic Are You?”