The King's Taster Visits Terrain Garden Cafe in Westport, CT

 
Kitchen Oil: Soybean Oil
Spoon rating: 3
Recommended for: Gluten allergy, celiac disease, milk and egg allergies

With its chic ambiance and Farm to Table fare we had high hopes for this sunlit little cafe but like a plant without water it did not grow to meet our standards. After an initial review of Terrain's website it was obvious that the menus were not up to date, a potential tripping hazard in the road to eating safely for families with food allergies. In a cafe such as this one that uses seasonal ingredients, which change frequently, a three month lag in a menu posting is simply unacceptable. That said our call to the cafe to confirm the days menu was met by a courteous hostess who assured us that our allergies could be accommodated as she took the time to review the menu choices available for our brunch reservations.  
    Upon arriving at the cafe we were disappointed to find that one of the eight top allergens, soybean oil was being used in the kitchen. Even more disheartening the waitstaff and manager were completely oblivious as to what kind of oil was used in the kitchen. In a truly allergy friendly eating establishment the waitstaff, in particular the manager should know immediately and without consultation with the kitchen what kind of cooking oil is being used.
  Of special note peanut allergies beware this is not a peanut free environment! Some of the menu items at the time of our visit did contain peanut butter. They were willing to accommodate food allergy patrons by preparing the food in a separate pan and in the end they did customize our food to fit with our allergy needs but this would have all been for nought had we had either a soy allergy or a peanut allergy at the time of our visit. If you have a gluten allergy, celiac disease (ask them to hold on the free bread in a pot), milk or egg allergy their menu does offer some unique appetizing options that might fit your needs but do call ahead to confirm the days food selection. In the end we felt that this cafe has some of the building blocks to become a safe, delicious environment for families with food allergies but it is lacking a keen awareness of food allergies, which is evident in its oil choice, its usage of peanut products without providing warnings to its patrons, its out-of-date web-site, and its staffs lack of familiarity with menu ingredients and cooking oils.