Author Archives: JillianLaffrey

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About JillianLaffrey

Listen - Harmonize - Execute. Communicator with a love of good food, typography, and song. Making a fuss in DC since 2010.

There’s an App for That

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“How the devil am I supposed to know what’s in a kimchee pancake?”
“Darling, there’s an app for that.”

I hope that, as it grows, Persnickety can become a valuable resource for individuals looking for safe and accommodating dining environments in DC. I’m so pleased, however, that as visibility of dietary restrictions has increased, many others are also prioritizing these issues, and creating valuable tools to improve people’s experiences. You might not have the time or energy to call ahead or engage in a long discussion with the chef, but there other ways of determining the relative safety of a particular restaurant or dish.

I wanted to note a few tools that have circulated recently, but my growing involvement in the community has opened my eyes to countless other efforts, and I urge you to explore the other resources that are out there!

Allergy Assassin. As this LifeHacker article describes, this app allows the user to build a personal profile using different food allergies/intolerances/restrictions. It then combs the web and multiple recipe databases to determine whether a particular dish commonly contains a specific food. Imagine a menu item that includes a “romesco sauce.” Before even talking with the wait-staff, I could use Allergy Assassin to scan the common ingredients in a romesco sauce. (Turns out that most romesco sauces have a tree-nut base – a very useful tidbit for nut allergics). This can be extraordinarily useful, but only as a first step. In a culinary world of chefs reimagining and reconstructing classic dishes (especially in DC!), this app might be a first point of attack, but certainly not a replacement for a frank discussion with the wait-staff or chef.

Allergy Eats. I absolutely love the concept of Allergy Eats, a website devoted to rating restaurants on the basis of food allergies. People can enter star ratings and written reviews of restaurants from all across the country that fostered a safe, flexible dining environment, or failed to do so. As this tool depends on its user contributions, Allergy Eats can only improve over time. I would encourage everyone to post ratings and reviews! Currently, most DC restaurants have few ratings, and it’s unclear whether this tool has enough functionality to be a true resource, at least at this time.

Do you have a tool you use? What kind of circumstances would dictate the use of particular apps or rating systems?

Bun-less Burgers

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After returning from an arduous morning of picking fresh, ripe strawberries and uprooting dusty purple beets from Larriland Farms out in Maryland, a group of friends and I decided it was high time for lunch. More specifically, it was time for a burger. To Open City we strolled. Now, for a little unnecessary, but amusing, scene-setting context:

It was Pride weekend in DC.

Accordingly, our waitresses were bedecked in flaming purple, yellow and orange Pride beads, and many wore some fantastically flamboyant hair accessories. Think feathers.

To our right sat a table of glum-looking Pro-Life supporters. Outfitted in aquamarine t-shirts emblazoned with messages like, “A person is a person no matter how small,” and “Your mom chose life,” they were looking more than a little uncomfortable.

Now back to the burger. A friend and I ordered the exact same thing – a cheeseburger with fries. Following the menu’s written request to “please inform us of any food allergies before ordering,” I ordered first, requesting that they note the corn and peanut allergies on the meal ticket. My (non-allergic) friend went next: “I’ll have exactly what she’s having.”

About 15 minutes later, our plates were set before us. Two identical plates. Two completely bun-less burgers. We looked at each other, smirking and issuing “ummmm” noises.

We hailed our waitress, who immediately understood the mistake. “We’ve been going through some allergy training,” she said, “and our when our chefs see the word ‘allergy’ on a ticket, they immediately take all the bread away in fear of wheat allergies.” She apologized profusely, and we all laughed at the well-meaning, but misguided chefs. A minute later, we were presented with two perfectly grilled buns, which we immediately slathered with ketchup and slapped on our naked burgers. Delicious.

Props to Open City for the acknowledgement of food allergies in their menu, and in their training practices for staff. They might just want to be a bit more discerning when reading the allergy notification on the ticket…

Open City                                                                                                                           2331 Calvert Street NW  Washington, DC 20008

Have you had any comedic mishaps at restaurants? How did the management handle it?

For your viewing pleasure, please enjoy this classic “Good Burger” sketch from All That.