Woman sues PF Changs over Gluten Free Menu Prices

photo credit: gsloan/Flickr

A woman decided to file a lawsuit against pan-Asian food chain, P.F. Changs, over the prices of the gluten free menu options. She claims that the prices violate her "Americans with Disabilities Act." She states that the additional dollar surcharge is discriminatory against those who suffer from Celiac disease.
Anna Marie Phillips hopes to bring a class-action lawsuit against the restaurant, "on behalf of diners with Celiac disease or gluten intolerance." The lawsuit states that more than 3,000 people in 39 states have been affected by the additional surcharge. She also filed an injunction against the restaurant in order to stop them from continuing to push the surcharge. Phillps also seeks restitution for all surcharges that have been paid, and she is also requesting compensatory damage.

Oh brother!

My Two Cents:
Folks, I as a Celiac, am not a happy camper with the prices we pay to dine out. However, I don't think it is serious enough to file a lawsuit against restaurants such as PF Changs.
First off, does Phillips KNOW how much it costs to prepare a gluten free option? The kitchen staff have to be as careful as possible when prepping (some even have to go to a seperate kitchen). Also, ingredients can be quite expensive. The restaurant has to cover the costs somehow. It is not like droves of people come in everyday asking for a gluten free option. It can be pricey to keep these items on the menu.

I, for one, am so grateful to have so many chain restaurants providing options for our community. I am more than okay with paying the extra surcharge for my food.
I completely understand Anna Marie Phillips' frustration, and I know newly diagnosed Celiacs may think the prices are a slap in the face, but you need to think about it from an economical point of view. You also have to think about it from a culinary point of view. It's not like chefs learned about GF cooking in culinary school. I think it's been only within the past few years where people are learning how to cook GF. 10, 20, 30 or more years ago, no one knew what Celiac or GF was, unless you had a relative with the disease.
As for economics, think about the prices we have to pay for our groceries. Now, think about what restaurants have to pay to purchase the same groceries for their menus. There you go.
Do these prices suck? Yes. Folks, we have to just deal with it. There aren't enough of us out there for restaurants to lower the prices. If restaurants had all of us (Celiacs and non-Celiacs) pay the same amount, a lot of them would go out of business. Restaurant staff have to make money too.
I hear about these lawsuits all the time. Even though I understand the frustration that these people are going through, my heart really does go out to the restaurant staff. They need to earn a living too.

Fellow Celiacs, think back 4 or 5 years ago. Think back even longer than that. How many restaurants offered options for our community? Almost NONE of them. Isn't it worth the extra surcharge to be able to go out to eat with our loved ones and have an amazing night? What more do you want out of society? Do you want to go back to 10 and 20 years ago when we didn't have as many options? I sure as hell don't! We need to stop complaining and just be happy with what we have. If we keep on complaining, restaurants are going to continue giving us a hard time. Some of these restaurants will probably end up saying, "F*** it. Get rid of the options altogether! Why should we cater to a bunch of brats?"
I don't know if Phillips is a newly-diagnosed Celiac, but these prices are something that you just get used to. If she doesn't like it, she can stay home and make her own meals.

PF Changs, just so you know, this Celiac is grateful that you offer gluten free options. I am more than okay to pay an extra dollar so I can dine out with my loved ones. I hope that this incident doesn't make you believe that all of us are like that. As someone who has grown up around Celiac disease and GF food all her life, I remember what it is like to be without these options. I know I'm going to get shot in the foot for saying what I'm about to say, but, there is no greater time than now to be a Celiac. With all the options we have available to us, we will no longer go without.

Anyways, what do you all think of this lawsuit?  Do you think she has a case? Or so you think she is bringing more bad press to our community?

Soon, you could own a scanning device that checks for gluten in food.

Wouldn't it be great if we never had to worry about being 'glutened' when dining out? It would be freaking fantastic, right?
With the wonders of technology, this could be a reality. The science and technology gods may be blessing us with a scanning device that could determine whether or not there is gluten in our food.

A company in San Francisco, California called 6SensorLabs, is in the process of developing a portable device that has the capability of detecting gluten in food.
The company is only one year old, and was founded by a woman who was diagnosed with a gluten allergy in college. She, and her co-founder wanted to create a device so others could have a stress free dining experience while out to eat.
As for the size, it will be half the size of an iPhone, but will also be thicker. It will contain a sensor that will quickly detect gluten in food.

The company is hoping to have this device available sometime next year. There is no word on how much it will cost. I'm pretty sure it will be expensive. Then again, there is no price on freedom to go out to eat with your hunny and your friends and family.

They are working on devices to detect other allergens in foods. Right now, they only have the device that detects gluten. 

I, for one, am excited about this device. While I do have a bunch of restaurants that I am comfortable eating at, I do have others that I want to go to, but am too afraid to even try out of fear that I may be 'glutened.' It certainly isn't easy having Celiac Disease. I am thankful for the restaurants that I am able to go to. This device will make it much easier to become more adventurous.
Plus, this girl has been dying to go to restaurants with some spicy foods. This girl wants some Thai or some Mexican food!

Hey, can any of you recommend any Thai and Mexican restaurants that are nice to the Celiac crowds?

Also, what do you guys think of this device? Would you buy one?

[photo credit: www.pinterest.com]

One of my most disappointing 'being glutened' experiences

Before my life-crushing Celiac disease diagnosis, one of my favorite restaurants to go to was Chili's. I loved going there to kick back, drink a few beers, and get the restaurant-made tortilla chips and salsa. I'd scarf those down while waiting for my meal to be made. I'd usually order a burger or steak or something along those lines.

Then I got that darn diagnosis. My first time at Chili's after my diagnosis, I was nervous. I decided to skip the beers, and get a margarita instead. I got my chips and salsa, because they are tortilla chips and I asked if they were GF and the staff said 'yes.' I told the staff that I had Celiac disease and needed to eat gluten free, so they gave me options that were GF. I ordered a meal that they recommended, and I felt safe with their recommendation. I talked with my friend and enjoyed stuffing my face with the chips and salsa.
The meal came, and we dined.
After the meal, I went home, and I was okay after a while. A few hours later, I was in the bathroom, and it seemed like I didn't leave for months. I was fatigued, I was moody, I was achy, and it was hard for me to work through it while doing my job every day.

I did try Chili's again last year, and I got 'glutened' again. I guess I'm like one of those kids who is told that the burner on the stove is hot, but I touch it anyway. I just wanted to see if Chili's was still a bad restaurant for me.

One of my "bad" restaurants is Olive Garden. Despite the fact that they do have a gluten free menu, and I ordered off of it, I still got sick.

I keep telling people that eating out is like playing Russian Roulette: Sometimes you get lucky, sometimes you get the shaft. You never know how you take to a restaurant unless you try. Each Celiac sufferer is different. We all react differently to different restaurants. Some people are okay at Olive Garden and Chili's. Others, such as myself, aren't.

If you are recently diagnosed to Celiac disease, and you aren't sure which restaurants have gluten free options, you can search each state here
If you live outside the United States, you can use the World Map

Even though I've had bad experiences, I have had some fairly wonderful ones too. Outback Steakhouse has been absolutely amazing in handling my requests. So has Red Robin, Mario's Pizza in Connecticut, Nardelli's in Connecticut, Margaritaville and Cheeseburger In Paradise in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. I may have forgotten one or two. Cheeseburger in Paradise was my favorite find. The manager of the restaurant had come out and talked to me and made sure I was taken care of.

Fellow Celiacs, some restaurants DO care about us. Not all of them are going to "roll their eyes" at us. Stay encouraged, everyone!