Makers & Finders Coffee

NYU doctor Kanokporn Tangsuan died at a Disney Springs restaurant after confirming that her food could be made dairy and nut-free in October 2023. The coroner's report found that she had traces of both dairy and nuts in her system.

People rely on menus and staff to know what they're talking about.

My husband took me here for lunch because they have a marked gluten-free menu and I have Celiac disease - meaning that I have to eat gluten-free. If I eat even a crumb of gluten, my body produces antibodies that attack my intestines that can lead to cancer. This is an autoimmune disease, not an allergy, so my symptoms won't include shortness of breath, even though I am actively being harmed.

I spoke to 2 staff members about my Celiac disease and learnt most of the items marked gluten-free are not actually gluten-free. I asked the staff to please remove the gluten-free labels from these items as people ordering online or for others are putting their trust in the truth of their gluten-free claims. They could kill someone.

Everything from the arepas, to the potatoes, to the tortilla chips to the maduros goes into a fryer that is used to cook gluten-containg foods. One waitress told me that if it says it's gluten-free on the menu, then it's gluten-free. She seemed surprised when I told her it's not if it's cooked in a shared fryer. The staff needs trained on the concept of cross contamination before an unsuspecting customer dies.

If I have a shellfish allergy, would a restaurant use the same water used to boil lobster to cook my marked, shellfish-free meal?

If I had a peanut allergy, would a restaurant fry my food in the same oil that they just cooked a peanut-crusted fish in, while marking my food "peanut-free" on the menu?

If I had alpha-gal syndrome, would they use the same oil that they fried beef in to cook my vegetables in and then mark my meal "vegan?"

All 3 answers should be no, because you could end up killing someone.

If I cook wheat flour coated items in oil, it contaminates the oil, and thus any gluten-free food now contains gluten once cooked in that contaminated fryer.

With Celiac disease and life-threatening wheat allergies, businesses slap the gluten-free label on foods that aren't prepared gluten-free and most contain wheat. You are going to kill someone.

I ended up having a modified steak salad, which was very good, to use up a certificate my husband had. That said, there's only like 4 items that are actually gluten-free as marked, which is DANGEROUS.

My gluten-free FB group members told me they've contacted the owners back in 2022 and got no response even when told they got sick.

If someone with a life threatening wheat allergy dies, bookmark my review because the owners have been notified by more than one person that their signage is wrong.

You don't have to offer gluten-free options but you do have to be truthful in advertising if you're going to jeopardize people's lives.

March 2024

How confident are you that this establishment takes safety precautions against cross-contact?

— Not at all

Is there a gluten-free menu?

— Gluten-free items are marked on the main menu

How much of the menu is available gluten-free?

— Not Much/None

How would you rate the taste and quality of the gluten-free food you tried?

— Poor