Orem's Diner - Wilton, CT

Orem's Diner - Wilton, CT

Kitchen Oil Used: Frying - Canola, Grill - Butter/margarine blend, Other Cooking - Canola Oil
Rating - Two Spoons

     The King's Taster has been on the lookout for a diner that is both aware and willing to accommodate patrons with food allergies, sadly this diner does not fit the bill. When our waitstaff was asked what oil the kitchen used they responded confidently and without blinking that the kitchen used olive oil for both grilling and frying. We immediately suspected that this was a blatant falsehood partly because of the waitstaff's annoyed attitude at our inquiry and partly because very, very rarely does any restaurant, especially a diner, use olive oil, which is more costly, for frying. A call to the hostess, who was much more cordial and concerned about our request, later in the day confirmed our suspicion. The actual oils used in the kitchen are canola oil for frying and cooking, and the grill uses a margarine and butter blend. In other words you can order the french fries but not the scrambled eggs if you have a soy allergy. It goes to show you that it pays to do your homework when eating out with food allergies and when in doubt The King's Taster recommends asking to personally review the ingredients on a food item yourself.
     There were absolutely no menu items labeled gluten free and the waitstaff confirmed that the kitchen staff would not be willing/able to use a separate pan and utensils when preparing food. In our opinion this is a shame because they have a very extensive selection of egg based foods that are themselves gluten free but may be prepared on and with surfaces contaminated by gluten. So if you have a true gluten allergy, depending on your specific tolerance level, you may be willing to tolerate eating a food item prepared on a surface that has touched a product containing gluten and therefore enjoy the broad spectrum of egg based dishes at this restaurant, however, if you have celiac's disease don't bother coming here because they will not accommodate your need for separate cooking equipment.
     Lastly there was absolutely no notations on the menu that reached out to clientele with food allergies. Since there seemed to be both a lack of awareness at the severity of allergies and an ambivalence towards accommodating a patron's allergy needs we would never recommend this restaurant for patrons with peanut allergies. That said our quest for a five spoon diner will have to continue on and with a heavy heart we give Orem's Diner a two spoon rating.