Review of Aladdin's Eatery

This place sounded great from the reviews on the Internet, but finding vermicelli noodles in my rice, and the manager's unapologetic attitude about it, was a huge disappointment. But, weirdly, I have not reacted at all to this meal, even though I am super-sensitive to gluten, so I have to wonder if it was rice vermicelli that I found.

In more detail: The menu is awesome, with lots of items that are marked gluten-free. The food options are middle Eastern -- Baba Ganouj, hummus, stuffed grape leaves, etc. I told the waitress about my family's food sensitivities, and ordered rice that she thought would be safe for me to eat. The rice was good, and my hummus and baba ganouj were excellent. But about 2/3 of the way through my rice, I found a vermicelli noodle. I stopped eating the rice right away, and told the waitress. Usually in the past when a restaurant has made a mistake, they have sent out several people to apologize, and majorly lowered our bill. But I had to ask to have the price of the rice taken off the bill. On the way out, the manager asked how our meal was. I told him about getting glutened, and that I'm usually sick for four weeks afterward. Instead of sympathy, he seemed annoyed, and said that the menu says that the rice is mixed with vermicelli noodles, so I guess he felt it was my fault that I had ordered that. Sigh.

They had some gluten free cookies at the cash register, near a gorgeous display of gluten-containing cakes. My daughter looked through all the cookies for one she wanted to try. But they were all flavors like orange and lemon, while she wanted chocolate, so she didn't buy one.

Overall, a big disappointment. I wouldn't go back.

I am still baffled about why I didn't react to the noodles in the rice.