Recently
we went on a vacation up towards Tobermory in Ontario and everyone
was telling us about the wonderful white fish that is used for the
fish and chips in Tobermory. As someone that enjoys good fish I was
looking forward to trying this out and we were told that the
restaurants understood the shellfish allergy so I should have a
problem.
Once
we arrived In Tobermory we found that there were at least four
different places that served fish and chips so that should mean an
easy time for us to have a meal of fish and chips. I should have
figured it was too good to be true because it didn’t take us too
long to start to figure out that my wanting fish which was fried was
going to be a challenge.
The
first restaurant we went into had white fish as the fish and chips so
that started to make me happy until I saw that shrimp and calamari
was also served that this restaurant. We sat down and looked at the
menu and when the server came over we asked if the fish was cooked in
the same oil as the shrimp and calamri and it was confirmed they were
so that meant that fried fish was out of the question for me. They
did let me know that they could pan fry the fish if I wanted but
again it wasn’t fish and chips. We left the restaurant and let them
know that we were leaving because of the issue of the fish and shrimp
being cooked in the same oil.
The
second restaurant was a small restaurant so I didn’t even sit down
when I saw that shrimp in a basket was another option on the menu.
We once again asked if it was fried in the same oil and were told
that they were. We left the restaurant after letting them know that
they had lost our business because of that.
The
third restaurant we decided to just look at the menu and quickly
discovered that shrimp was once again being offered as an option so
we didn’t even ask question but did say we were leaving because of
the shrimp being an option on the menu. It was getting extremely
frustrating because of course after hearing about white fish I really
wanted to have it as I don’t get to have deep fried fish very often
because of the shrimp and calarami being good in the same oil.
Now
it left one last restaurant as an option for lunch so we figured that
we were going to go and have something to eat there even if I
couldn’t have the fish. We arrived and looked at the menu and once
again found out that they server shrimp and calarami so that meant I
was once again going to have an issue. We asked the server if the
fish was fried in the same oil as the other items and she said she
didn’t think so but would confirm that for me. I started to feel a
little happier but of course didn’t want to get my hopes up because
I figure she was going to tell me that after checking with the
kitchen everything was fried in the same oil. Well, she came back to
our table and gave us some good and bad news. The good news was that
the fish was fried in a separate area but the french fries were in
the same oil as the shrimp. So that meant that I could have the fish
but not the french fries but I could have a salad with the fish so
that is what I decided to have. The fish was wonderful and it went
down way too quickly so now I know that there is at least one place
where I can have deep fried fish.
During
this trip we wanted to let restaurants know that they were losing
business because of serving fried shrimp and calarmi as well as the
fish and chips. I understand that we are only two customers but the
more of us that let restaurants know about the issue of cross
contamination and the issue of serving shrimp and calarmi also with
fried fish may help moving forward.
I am
very thankful that at least one restaurant in Tobermory was able to
help me have the deep fried white fish that I wanted. There may be
others there but I know of the four restaurants we checked only one
was able to really accommodate the shellfish allergy in a way that
was great for me. I hope to go back to Tobermory next summer and I
know that I will be checking out this restaurant and one other
restaurant that we saw after we had lunch.
Shellfish
allergies can be a real challenge for someone eating out and
especially when fish isn’t an issue. If a restaurant promotes
something that is very local maybe they should think about not
serving something that isn’t local so that more people can enjoy
the local specialty. I enjoyed my white fish and now to see if I can
have it again next time we are back in Tobermory. I am happy that
one restaurant fried their fish differently because it meant I got to
enjoy something local.