A la carte...my carte
I like to eat out but what's on the menu often doesn't suit me for diet, dietary, allergy reasons. And if I'm with a group, I don't want to leave.
So I've found that I can ask to have something cooked the way I want it, and usually I can have that done. I've only had one restaurant that refused, and that's b/c everything they had was "pre-"done.
So, white wine instead of butter for baking fish, chicken grilled not fried, dressing on the side of salad, veggie substitutes, etc., etc.
What's the most unusual "my carte" item you've requested that's been honored by the restaurant?
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10 Comments:
I'm not a fan of Red Lobster but will go with family once in a while. When the promotion is going on, I do the endless shrimp deal and instead of more shrimp, I ask for more broccoli. It's like crack. It's the thing I eat there. Some go for the biscuits (which taste salty to me.) I go for the broccoli. The servers think I'm crazy but those at the table are used to my requests for extra broccoli.
CooksForOne at 3:51PM on 07/24/09
When I was a cafe cook, I had a vegetarian customer who would order either an omelet filled with sauteed kale, mushrooms, red pepper and Swiss or a veggie burger Reuben. We ended up putting both on the regular menu.
betteirene at 5:06PM on 07/24/09
in a chinese restaurant, where we were friends with the owner, asked for the tofu dish normally served with ground meat to not have the meat.
in a local sandwich shop they didnt have a veggie sandwich listed but they make your sandwich to order so i explained what i wanted. turns out im not the only one as it was soon on their menu.
blizcheetah at 5:32PM on 07/24/09
@betteirene. What an interesting way to have an omelet (maybe minus the Swiss b/c of cholesterol, though sounds delicious). I am going to ask for both of those one of these days.
Ruffles1 at 6:34PM on 07/24/09
Ok, folks, please please please try to keep your off-menu ordering to a minimum. You are making the cooks angry.
sailordave at 10:35PM on 07/24/09
I go to this sushi place and they make vegetable rolls and vegetarian sushi pizza just for me... vegetable rolls are on the menu, but I order them with cream cheese. But the vegetarian sushi pizza is a Madelyn's special... I said to them that if they ever put it on the menu, I should always get a discount.
MadelynRodriguez at 11:51PM on 07/24/09
i am noticing that most of the answers on this thread are people requesting more vegetarian choices... hint, hint to those in the restaurant industry. ;)
MadelynRodriguez at 11:54PM on 07/24/09
Oh, sailordave, don't you know it! The cafe owner's mother was a server who made us crazy. She'd always turn in orders for things like half a club sandwich, can you take the beans out of the chili (no joke) and can you substitute avocado for lettuce.
When I was a waitress at a truckstop, my favorite customer was a local driver who'd order a cheeseburger "medium raw" (that was back when it was "legal") or a "female hot fudge sundae" (no nuts). But he'd mostly order a grilled cheese on rye, and he'd always tell me to tell the cook to not put anything else on the plate--no pickle, no chips, no parsley, no nuthin' but the sandwich. We just had to mess with him, of course. We'd garnish the side of the plate with mustard sad faces and such.
betteirene at 11:55PM on 07/24/09
If I have special request for the chef, I usually call to make the reservation and ask for their fax number and requet to speak to the chef. Then, I fax over my request or specifications in advance, and follow up with a phone call during quite hours to chat with the chef.
Usually I request simple things like fresh berries with a tiny dollop of unsweetened whipped cream as a dessert item, which is easy to prep in advance and have ready for me. If I am on a diet, it is usually no sugar, no flour, etc., for my health, so I either scan the menu for options I can eat, or that need only slight adjustment, or I tell the chef my restrictions and let them make recommendations on my behalf.
Most chefs are happy to oblige, if your requests are thoughtful and reasonable. Of course, I have only tried this in fine dining establishments, but I have always received a positive response via this method.
Paula Maack at 11:49PM on 07/25/09
A long long time ago before people knew about gluten allergies we had a customer who would bring her own bread to the restaurant. She'd bring extra in case I burned it in the toaster. She didn't want to miss out on eating breakfast out with friends so she did this. The first time I thought it was weird, but she became a regular and we didn't mind catering to her at all.
gingercookiewithlime at 10:55PM on 07/26/09