Karl Strauss Breweries

Review: On October 24, 2015, I and my brother and my client met at the Sorrento Mesa Karl Strauss Brewery for dinner. We first ordered appetizers with a pitcher of beer and when the appetizers were served, my brother asked the server if there were tree nuts in the appetizers and advised the server of my allergy to tree nuts. The server did not know, went and asked the chef, and returned to our table and advised that there were no nuts in the appetizers. 30 minutes later we ordered another round of beer and appetizers, and my client ordered lettuce wraps for us too. After eating half of the wrap, I put it down after discovering there were peanut looking chunks within and my brother asked if I was alright. I responded no, he asked the server if there were nuts in the wraps, he didn't know, went to ask the chef and returned to our table confirming there were cashews in the wraps. He asked if that was a problem, I confirmed it was, and my brother drove my immediately to the hospital were I was immediately admitted as I was progressing into anaphylactic shock, a life threatening condition. A few days later I emailed Karl Strauss and advised of the incident hoping their insurance would pick up the $3,000 hospital bill. Their insurance rep called to depose me on the phone and stated she would also depose the server and his manager on the phone as well. Two weeks later I got a letter from the insurance company stating the server was never advised of the allergy, essentially calling me a liar to protect his incompetence. I emailed the company's CFO stating my disappointment in their believing the server over me, my brother, and my client. The CFO emailed me back stating she would ask the insurance company to reconsider and that I definitely would hear from somebody from the Karl Strauss Brewing Company re this. That was a week or two ago and to date have not heard from anybody. I expect them to do what they say they are going to do after such a horrific experience caused by their incompetence.Desired Settlement: I would like to hear from somebody from the company along with the server and his manager to explain to me why he would have to ask the chef if there were nuts in the appetizers if he was never notified of my allergy. Professional food servers licensed to sell alcohol and food to the public should be aware of food allergies and take it seriously so as to not cause loss of life, or at least loss of an evening having to be immediately attended to at the nearest hospital.

Business

Response:

Dear [redacted]We are in receipt of your recent correspondence regarding a complaint from a guest with a food allergy. Karl Straus Brewing Company takes all complaints extremely seriously. We have been communicating directly with this guest since the incident occurred. We understand and are sensitive to the fact that some of our guests have food allergies and the seriousness that brings. We train all servers on allergy information for each menu item including our menu guides and menu tests as well as maintain a current list with all current allergen details. In this case the cashews (allergen) are actually listed on the menu as an ingredient and are visible on the dish. We are very happy this guest is doing well and hope he can resolve the issue with our insurance company very soon.Sincerely,[redacted]