Restaurant ingredient lists on menu may be incomplete

Be vigilant if  you have a food allergy. Restaurant ingredient lists are much more comprehensive than the menu listings. I am typing this while sitting in a relatively popular chain restaurant. A new menu item sounded tantalizing. I asked the server if there are onions in it. The ingredient isn't listed in the description in the menu. The server declared it onion free so I ordered it.

Not so fast.

Another server came by a few minutes later. Sure enough. It is a hidden ingredient in the dish. She also let me know that the ingredients are premixed. There is no way to leave the onion out on their end.

This problem isn't limited to the restaurant that I'm patronizing at the moment. I have faced similar issues all too often. Asking the server to double check is the way to go. Incomplete information is a common problem with menus or nutritional information that may be posted online. Getting the server to ask the chef is the best way that I have found to get the right answers.

Food ingredients sometimes slip past the chefs. But next to hypervigilance, the chef is your best ally to keep you safe when eating out.