Re: PF Chang's Palo Alto - awful experience

[Guest guest]

Bronwyn, what a bummer. I have eaten at a few of the PF

Changs including the one in Palo Alto, and we haven’t had any obvious

gluten. If you can ever bring yourself to go again, you can keep

track of what is GF by the plates. They use a different color plate for

the GF items (I can’t remember what color). I also noted that the

food we had at Palo Alto was noticeably tastier than the food we had had at

other PF Changs, which made me a bit nervous (in the celiac lexicon,

different=bad). However, no one got sick. The server told me that

they get lots of GF requests there.

Of course, if they messed up in the kitchen, there is always

that vulnerability when celiacs eat out. Another possibility is chance

contamination from a pan or spillage in the kitchen. I think there was a

discussion a while back about contamination control at PF Changs and there was

some concern that not all chefs were well-trained in this aspect.

Hope you are feeling better, Bronwyn.

[Guest guest]

Thanks Pam - all the plates we were served were the same color as our friends eating the food with gluten. From: Sent: Thu Jun 11 13:41:48 2009Subject: [ ] RE: PF Chang's Palo Alto - awful experienceBronwyn, what a bummer. I have eaten at a few of the PFChangs including the one in Palo Alto, and we haven’t had any obviousgluten. If you can ever bring yourself to go again, you can keeptrack of what is GF by the plates. They use a different color plate forthe GF items (I can’t remember what color). I also noted that thefood we had at Palo Alto was noticeably tastier than the food we had had atother PF Changs, which made me a bit nervous (in the celiac lexicon,different=bad). However, no one got sick. The server told me thatthey get lots of GF requests there. Of course, if they messed up in the kitchen, there is alwaysthat vulnerability when celiacs eat out. Another possibility is chancecontamination from a pan or spillage in the kitchen. I think there was adiscussion a while back about contamination control at PF Changs and there wassome concern that not all chefs were well-trained in this aspect. Hope you are feeling better, Bronwyn.

[Guest guest]

Bronwyn, sounds like you should let PF Changs know about your

experience.  Obviously they have someone in the kitchen who does not know the

GF protocol.  Even if you never eat there again, you may save some other celiac

distress.  Has anyone else had a similar experience at PF Changs in Palo Alto?

_,___

[Guest guest]

Yes. I will. From: Sent: Thu Jun 11 13:57:34 2009Subject: [ ] RE: PF Chang's Palo Alto - awful experienceBronwyn, sounds like you should let PF Changs know about yourexperience.  Obviously they have someone in the kitchen who does not know theGF protocol.  Even if you never eat there again, you may save some other celiacdistress.  Has anyone else had a similar experience at PF Changs in Palo Alto?_,___

[Guest guest]

We get take-out from there often, and never had a problem. However,

we usually only order about 3-4 dishes, all GF, so it’s not as confusing, I

suppose. All of their GF dishes are very good, so even though we’re not all

celiac, we do it to make it as clear as possible to the kitchen and server that

GF is all we want.

D

From:

[mailto: ] On

Behalf Of Bronwyn Syiek

Sent: Thursday, June 11, 2009 1:58 PM

Subject: Re: [ ] RE: PF Chang's Palo Alto - awful experience

Yes.

I will.

From:

Sent: Thu Jun 11 13:57:34 2009

Subject: [ ] RE: PF Chang's Palo Alto - awful experience

Bronwyn, sounds like you should let PF

Changs know about your experience. Obviously they have someone in the

kitchen who does not know the GF protocol. Even if you never eat there

again, you may save some other celiac distress. Has anyone else had a

similar experience at PF Changs in Palo Alto?

_,___

[Guest guest]

i got sick the two times i went to pf changs palo alto several years ago--i wanted to give it a second try but it was just as bad as the first time, unfortunately. they mean well by offering a gf menu but clearly, both times, there seemed to be a lack of knowledge of the

ingredients and/or major cross contamination issues.

-----Original Message-----

From: Bronwyn Syiek <bronwyn@...>

Sent: Thu, 11 Jun 2009 1:58 pm

Subject: Re: [ ] RE: PF Chang's Palo Alto - awful experience

Yes. I will.

From:

Sent: Thu Jun 11 13:57:34 2009

Subject: [ ] RE: PF Chang's Palo Alto - awful experience

Bronwyn, sounds like you should let PF Changs know about your experience. Obviously they have someone in the kitchen who does not know the GF protocol. Even if you never eat there again, you may save some other celiac distress. Has anyone else had a similar experience at PF Changs in Palo Alto?

_,___

Dell Deals: Don't miss huge summer savings on popular laptops starting at $449.

[Guest guest]

I had a fabulous experience at the Palo Alto P.F. Changs. They were knowledgeable about their GF menu, and took extra care in watching over our table. I will definitely return. Having said that I personally am comfortable eating out as long as I speak with the manager and chef and take control of being my own advocate. So far after seven months, and eating out a few times a week, I have not been glutened from a restaurant. I am not ignorant, understand celiac and cross contamination, and simply try to be positive and trust people will work with me. Being positive and apologizing for the extra effort I ask for at a restaurant is key. So far this is a disease which as an adult is tolerable to live with and there is so much I can eat which I am thankful for!On Jun 11, 2009, at 4:49 PM, ChristyFerg@... wrote:i got sick the two times i went to pf changs palo alto several years ago--i wanted to give it a second try but it was just as bad as the first time, unfortunately. they mean well by offering a gf menu but clearly, both times, there seemed to be a lack of knowledge of the ingredients and/or major cross contamination issues. -----Original Message-----From: Bronwyn Syiek <bronwynquinstreet> Sent: Thu, 11 Jun 2009 1:58 pmSubject: Re: [ ] RE: PF Chang's Palo Alto - awful experienceYes. I will.From: Sent: Thu Jun 11 13:57:34 2009Subject: [ ] RE: PF Chang's Palo Alto - awful experience Bronwyn, sounds like you should let PF Changs know about your experience. Obviously they have someone in the kitchen who does not know the GF protocol. Even if you never eat there again, you may save some other celiac distress. Has anyone else had a similar experience at PF Changs in Palo Alto?_,___Dell Deals: Don't miss huge summer savings on popular laptops starting at $449.

[Guest guest]

My daughter and I have eaten at PF Changs and done take out DOZENS of times and she has never have been glutened... I hope you have a better experience...It has been great for us!

Pietro

----- Original Message -----

From: Robin Karp

Sent: Thursday, June 11, 2009 7:46 PM

Subject: Re: [ ] RE: PF Chang's Palo Alto - awful experience

I had a fabulous experience at the Palo Alto P.F. Changs. They were knowledgeable about their GF menu, and took extra care in watching over our table. I will definitely return.

Having said that I personally am comfortable eating out as long as I speak with the manager and chef and take control of being my own advocate. So far after seven months, and eating out a few times a week, I have not been glutened from a restaurant. I am not ignorant, understand celiac and cross contamination, and simply try to be positive and trust people will work with me. Being positive and apologizing for the extra effort I ask for at a restaurant is key. So far this is a disease which as an adult is tolerable to live with and there is so much I can eat which I am thankful for!

On Jun 11, 2009, at 4:49 PM, ChristyFergaol wrote:

i got sick the two times i went to pf changs palo alto several years ago--i wanted to give it a second try but it was just as bad as the first time, unfortunately. they mean well by offering a gf menu but clearly, both times, there seemed to be a lack of knowledge of the ingredients and/or major cross contamination issues. -----Original Message-----From: Bronwyn Syiek <bronwynquinstreet> Sent: Thu, 11 Jun 2009 1:58 pmSubject: Re: [ ] RE: PF Chang's Palo Alto - awful experience

Yes. I will.

From: Sent: Thu Jun 11 13:57:34 2009Subject: [ ] RE: PF Chang's Palo Alto - awful experience

Bronwyn, sounds like you should let PF Changs know about your experience. Obviously they have someone in the kitchen who does not know the GF protocol. Even if you never eat there again, you may save some other celiac distress. Has anyone else had a similar experience at PF Changs in Palo Alto?

_,___

Dell Deals: Don't miss huge summer savings on popular laptops starting at $449.

[Guest guest]

I have not been to the PF Changs here in the Bay area, but I did used to go often in Boston and Washington DC. The kitchen there can be really busy there so I am always nervous about them screwing up.

So, I always ask multiple times to confirm that its gluten-free. I'll be very clear with the order-taker, emphasize that I will get really sick if I eat gluten, and then quiz the person who delivers the food. And then usually double check with the original order-taker if for some reason it looks too "unusual" or "gluteny". I have not yet gotten sick there, but they did catch a mistake once before I ate it. I know it all sounds paranoid, but it works for me.

From: "ChristyFerg@..." <ChristyFerg@...> Sent: Thursday, June 11, 2009 4:49:16 PMSubject: Re: [ ] RE: PF Chang's Palo Alto - awful experience

i got sick the two times i went to pf changs palo alto several years ago--i wanted to give it a second try but it was just as bad as the first time, unfortunately. they mean well by offering a gf menu but clearly, both times, there seemed to be a lack of knowledge of the ingredients and/or major cross contamination issues. -----Original Message-----From: Bronwyn Syiek <bronwynquinstreet (DOT) com> Sent: Thu, 11 Jun 2009 1:58 pmSubject: Re: [ ] RE: PF Chang's Palo Alto - awful experience

Yes. I will.

From: Sent: Thu Jun 11 13:57:34 2009Subject: [ ] RE: PF Chang's Palo Alto - awful experience

Bronwyn, sounds like you should let PF Changs know about your experience. Obviously they have someone in the kitchen who does not know the GF protocol. Even if you never eat there again, you may save some other celiac distress. Has anyone else had a similar experience at PF Changs in Palo Alto?

_,___

Dell Deals: Don't miss huge summer savings on popular laptops starting at $449.

[Guest guest]

Yes, I'm the same. That's why I'm somewhat in shock at what happened to us. From: Sent: Thu Jun 11 23:11:04 2009Subject: Re: [ ] RE: PF Chang's Palo Alto - awful experienceI have not been to the PF Changs here in the Bay area, but I did used to go often in Boston and Washington DC. The kitchen there can be really busy there so I am always nervous about them screwing up. So, I always ask multiple times to confirm that its gluten-free. I'll be very clear with the order-taker, emphasize that I will get really sick if I eat gluten, and then quiz the person who delivers the food. And then usually double check with the original order-taker if for some reason it looks too "unusual" or "gluteny". I have not yet gotten sick there, but they did catch a mistake once before I ate it. I know it all sounds paranoid, but it works for me. From: "ChristyFerg@..." <ChristyFerg@...> Sent: Thursday, June 11, 2009 4:49:16 PMSubject: Re: [ ] RE: PF Chang's Palo Alto - awful experiencei got sick the two times i went to pf changs palo alto several years ago--i wanted to give it a second try but it was just as bad as the first time, unfortunately. they mean well by offering a gf menu but clearly, both times, there seemed to be a lack of knowledge of the ingredients and/or major cross contamination issues. -----Original Message-----From: Bronwyn Syiek <bronwynquinstreet (DOT) com> Sent: Thu, 11 Jun 2009 1:58 pmSubject: Re: [ ] RE: PF Chang's Palo Alto - awful experienceYes. I will. From: Sent: Thu Jun 11 13:57:34 2009Subject: [ ] RE: PF Chang's Palo Alto - awful experience Bronwyn, sounds like you should let PF Changs know about your experience. Obviously they have someone in the kitchen who does not know the GF protocol. Even if you never eat there again, you may save some other celiac distress. Has anyone else had a similar experience at PF Changs in Palo Alto?_,___Dell Deals: Don't miss huge summer savings on popular laptops starting at $449.

[Guest guest]

I've never ordered take out at PF Changs but have been glutened at the one in

Palo Alto (Stanford Shopping mall). One time the Singapore Street Noodles tasted

funny- they seemed to use a different seasoning blend with turmeric, but I

thought they had just changed the recipe. Nope. They shouldn't have changed it,

anyway. It did make me sick, although not to the point of vomiting. I've had

mixed results with PF Changs overall.

I've been eating at PF Changs recently at the Sunnyvale location. The last time

I went to the Palo Alto location the food wasn't prepared very well- it was

greasy and over-seasoned. Also, weirdly enough at the Sunnyvale location when I

order PF CHang's spicy chicken (with shrimp instead of chicken) they no longer

put it on a bed of nasty celery, while at Palo Alto they still do. Yuck. So, I

prefer the Sunnyvale location. They had some cross contamination issues earlier

but seem to have cleaned up their procedure.

I have never ordered takeout- I feel safer to be there at the location

physically asserting myself. When we order we always order everything

gluten-free to give them no chance to get confused. (hopefully)

I have found service generally mediocre at most locations. Servers don't seem

very well trained and are easily confused about whether dishes are gluten-free

or not when they come out of the kitchen.

-

[Guest guest]

i've had success at the Pleasanton location when the entire table orders gluten free. when there was two of us and one ordered from the regular menu I got sick.

From: seamaiden399 <seamaiden399@...> Sent: Friday, June 12, 2009 9:07:23 AMSubject: [ ] Re: PF Chang's Palo Alto - awful experience

I've never ordered take out at PF Changs but have been glutened at the one in Palo Alto (Stanford Shopping mall). One time the Singapore Street Noodles tasted funny- they seemed to use a different seasoning blend with turmeric, but I thought they had just changed the recipe. Nope. They shouldn't have changed it, anyway. It did make me sick, although not to the point of vomiting. I've had mixed results with PF Changs overall. I've been eating at PF Changs recently at the Sunnyvale location. The last time I went to the Palo Alto location the food wasn't prepared very well- it was greasy and over-seasoned. Also, weirdly enough at the Sunnyvale location when I order PF CHang's spicy chicken (with shrimp instead of chicken) they no longer put it on a bed of nasty celery, while at Palo Alto they still do. Yuck. So, I prefer the Sunnyvale location. They had some cross contamination issues earlier but seem to have cleaned up their procedure. I

have never ordered takeout- I feel safer to be there at the location physically asserting myself. When we order we always order everything gluten-free to give them no chance to get confused. (hopefully)I have found service generally mediocre at most locations. Servers don't seem very well trained and are easily confused about whether dishes are gluten-free or not when they come out of the kitchen. -

[Guest guest]

I got sick at the Sunnyvale location about 8 mos ago…glad to

hear they’ve cleaned up their procedure. I was also home in NJ over Christmas

and went to a PF changs and got sick there. It was a new location, so I should

have known better than to trust it. I’ve been wary of trying another location,

I guess I just have to drive home the point better, more than I normally do the

next time I decide to give it a try.

From:

[mailto: ] On

Behalf Of seamaiden399

Sent: Friday, June 12, 2009 9:07 AM

Subject: [ ] Re: PF Chang's Palo Alto - awful experience

I've never ordered take out at PF Changs but

have been glutened at the one in Palo Alto (Stanford Shopping mall). One time

the Singapore Street Noodles tasted funny- they seemed to use a different

seasoning blend with turmeric, but I thought they had just changed the recipe.

Nope. They shouldn't have changed it, anyway. It did make me sick, although not

to the point of vomiting. I've had mixed results with PF Changs overall.

I've been eating at PF Changs recently at the Sunnyvale location. The last time

I went to the Palo Alto location the food wasn't prepared very well- it was

greasy and over-seasoned. Also, weirdly enough at the Sunnyvale location when I

order PF CHang's spicy chicken (with shrimp instead of chicken) they no longer

put it on a bed of nasty celery, while at Palo Alto they still do. Yuck. So, I

prefer the Sunnyvale location. They had some cross contamination issues earlier

but seem to have cleaned up their procedure.

I have never ordered takeout- I feel safer to be there at the location

physically asserting myself. When we order we always order everything

gluten-free to give them no chance to get confused. (hopefully)

I have found service generally mediocre at most locations. Servers don't seem

very well trained and are easily confused about whether dishes are gluten-free

or not when they come out of the kitchen.

..

..

[Guest guest]

I went there once. I am also allergic to eggs,yeast and dairy. The only thing

marinated with egg is the salmon. If I didn't interogate our server about the

food I would have had a horrible reaction. Of course the only thing I could have

was the salmon. I won't go back.

June

>

> I went to PF Chang's in Palo Alto earlier this week. I went after

> reading great reviews about the care they took with food and after a

> good experience with takeout from Chang's in LA.

>

>

>

> Oh my goodness, it is the sickest I have been since going gluten free

> over three years ago. I tried to monitor the food they were bringing

> out - as half the table ordered from the GF menu and half from the

> normal menu. The waiter seemed to get it but when the dishes arrived

> the waiters' serving the food didn't seem to have a clue. I knew what I

> had ordered, so I assumed the dishes I had ordered would be gf as

> ordered. I guess I assumed horribly, horribly wrongly. We had a whole

> load of dishes, which I shared with my son. He did not eat all of them

> - and he did not get sick. Hence, I can narrow down the likely source

> of glutenated food.

>

>

>

> But anyway, it was awful, I haven't had a reaction like that for years

> and can only assume they messed up/ were not careful in the kitchen.

> I'll be scared to go back again.

>

[Guest guest]

I meant to say the only thing without egg was the salmon.

June

> >

> > I went to PF Chang's in Palo Alto earlier this week. I went after

> > reading great reviews about the care they took with food and after a

> > good experience with takeout from Chang's in LA.

> >

> >

> >

> > Oh my goodness, it is the sickest I have been since going gluten free

> > over three years ago. I tried to monitor the food they were bringing

> > out - as half the table ordered from the GF menu and half from the

> > normal menu. The waiter seemed to get it but when the dishes arrived

> > the waiters' serving the food didn't seem to have a clue. I knew what I

> > had ordered, so I assumed the dishes I had ordered would be gf as

> > ordered. I guess I assumed horribly, horribly wrongly. We had a whole

> > load of dishes, which I shared with my son. He did not eat all of them

> > - and he did not get sick. Hence, I can narrow down the likely source

> > of glutenated food.

> >

> >

> >

> > But anyway, it was awful, I haven't had a reaction like that for years

> > and can only assume they messed up/ were not careful in the kitchen.

> > I'll be scared to go back again.

> >

>

[Guest guest]

Hi Bronwyn,Sorry to hear you got sick! I've eaten at several Chang's but the two times I ate at the one in Palo Alto I got really sick. I stopped going there about 4 years ago. The second time I went I noticed there were odd-shaped noodles in my rice noodle dish. My husband took the carton of leftovers back to them the next day to question it and the manager made a CYA statement and gave him some gift certificates.

One of the women who worked with the celiac research program at Stanford did some work with their kitchen to get them up to speed and found that they were storing the noodles in bins in the refrigerator with the regular flour-based noodles on a shelf above the rice noodles. When the cooks would reach in to grab a handful of the wheat noodles some would fall into the rice noodle bin. She got the kitchen straightened out, but that was quite a while ago now so perhaps they've reverted.

Just thought you'd be interested to know. For what it's worth I've continued to eat at other Chang's and haven't had a problem since (but I also no longer order the gf rice noodle dish!)Suki

On Thu, Jun 11, 2009 at 11:20 AM, Bronwyn Syiek <bronwyn@...> wrote:

I went to PF Chang’s in Palo Alto earlier this week.  I went

after reading great reviews about the care they took with food and after a good

experience with takeout from Chang’s in LA.

 

Oh my goodness, it is the sickest I have been since going gluten

free over three years ago.  I tried to monitor the food they were bringing out –

as half the table ordered from the GF menu and half from the normal menu.  The

waiter seemed to get it but when the dishes arrived the waiters’ serving the

food didn’t seem to have a clue.  I knew what I had ordered, so I assumed the

dishes I had ordered would be gf as ordered.  I guess I assumed horribly,

horribly wrongly.  We had a whole load of dishes, which I shared with my son. 

He did not eat all of them – and he did not get sick.  Hence, I can narrow down

the likely source of glutenated food.

 

But anyway, it was awful, I haven’t had a reaction like that for

years and can only assume they messed up/ were not careful in the kitchen.  I’ll

be scared to go back again.

[Guest guest]

We always order the rice noodle dish... Singapore noodles (no chicken) and PF

Chang's Spicy Shrimp (with shrimp subbed for the chicken)- have only had trouble

with the rice noodle dish once when they used the wrong seasoning blend. I

haven't seen the wrong kind of noodles used, thank goodness- that would really

freak me out!

-

-

>

> Hi Bronwyn,

>

> Sorry to hear you got sick! I've eaten at several Chang's but the two times

> I ate at the one in Palo Alto I got really sick. I stopped going there about

> 4 years ago. The second time I went I noticed there were odd-shaped noodles

> in my rice noodle dish. My husband took the carton of leftovers back to them

> the next day to question it and the manager made a CYA statement and gave

> him some gift certificates.

>

>

> Just thought you'd be interested to know. For what it's worth I've continued

> to eat at other Chang's and haven't had a problem since (but I also no

> longer order the gf rice noodle dish!)

>

> Suki

>