Restaurant LIED on Menu!

[LillFilly]

We went to Cheddar's for a birthday dinner. I ordered the Grown-Up Grilled Cheese, the boyfriend ordered the Braised Beef Roast.

Here is the wording straight from the menu:

Grown-Up Grilled Cheese 7.29
Slow roasted Provimi Beef, four slices of Cheddar and white
American cheeses on grilled potato bread.

Braised Fall-a-part Beef Roast 9.99
All natural, hormone-free beef from Provimi’s Copper Ridge Ranch, slow roasted for tenderness and flavor,
with roasted carrots, celery, onion, au jus over mashed potatoes.

Boyfriend was not happy with his beef; it was very pale and, though tender, looked and tasted more like pork than beef and was swimming in broth. He asked the server if this was the braised beef. She assured us it was and said she would send the kitchen manager to speak with us. The kitchen manager arrived and boyfriend explained that he wasn't happy with the dish and was it beef or pork. The kitchen manager then said that it was VEAL, and pointed-out that it was the SAME MEAT AS WAS IN MY SANDWICH!



I'm really against veal and have never had it in my life! As soon as she said it I dropped the half a sandwich I had left and turned green. She said she was sorry for upsetting me and boyfriend told her that he too, chooses not to eat veal and that if the menu had stated it was veal and not beef he would never have ordered the item and that it was wrong that the menu was so misleading. the manager apologized again but said they didn't write the menu themselves. She offered a desert to make-up for it. The meals we wouldn't finish weren't discounted or taken-off, but I didn't want to make a scene and we hadn't asked.

I still feel sick. Should I really be as upset as I feel? I'm thinking of writing a letter to corporate, because I don't think this was right.

[Ironclad Alibi]

I still feel sick. Should I really be as upset as I feel? I'm thinking of writing a letter to corporate, because I don't think this was right.

As you were tricked into eating something you would choose not to eat*, yes you are justified in being as upset as you feel. Do write a letter to corporate.

* Your reason for not wanting to eat it is immaterial, and not subject to question.

[Aethian]

I would write and call corporate.

[MoonCat]

Yes, write to corporate. I think putting it in writing is better than a phone call.

Veal is not marketed as "beef" anywhere else (that I know of) so this is misleading. From your description of the meal, it sounds rather unappetizing anyway, but the main point is, they are not giving you what the menu says.

[Sandiercy]

I understand completely where you are coming from but they did not in any way lie or try to mislead you with the menu. Veal is in fact beef and since beef is on the menu...

I have been to many places that will use either word for Veal. Your best bet next time is to specifically ask if the meat is veal.

[KiaKat]

I have *never* seen veal advertised as beef (and I've been to and worked in many different restaurants, of different styles and price points). While they may come from the same sort of animal, they are completely different meats, with different textures, flavours, and methods of preparation. One is not a substitute for another, under any circumstance.

To advertise one as the other is incredibly misleading. Please do contact corporate and tell them this. That's a horrible thing to do to someone, and for the staff to not clarify that it was, in fact, veal, is actually rather offensive. Never mind one's reasons, what matters is that they are not advertising the meat as what it is.

As a side note: Looking up Provimi... I'm not sure why anyone would advertise them as being a desirable source. They seem rather... averagely corporate.

[Stormraven]

I'm with the rest - I've never heard 'Veal' used interchangeably with 'Beef'. Yes, technically, they're the same, but I have never seen or heard of any restaurant treating them the same.

[Flying Grype]

I'm just... boggling at the idea that they would make that claim at all. Veal is more expensive than beef, and for those who eat it, more desirable than beef. Why disguise it as beef? With sheep, they'll call a piece of meat 'lamb' even if the animal it came from was a year old at slaughter, because apparently nobody wants to eat 'mutton'.

I have to wonder if the manager was talking out of his/her ass here and didn't actually know what the meat was. Maybe it's pork, and since some cultures don't eat pig maybe the manager thought they'd better lie about it being pork.

I got nothin'. Definitely write to corporate and get it straightened out.

[LillFilly]

I've written both corporate a letter and a local review, at least so people can be informed and asked about the beef dishes before they order. But then again, I wonder if the Server even knew what meat was used, or if she was in the dark like we were. Gah, still feel ill. Veal is not something I would ever choose to eat.

[Slayer]

Glad you wrote a letter. That's definitely not something they should have switched around. Especially when the product itself is such a sensitive issue.

I personally don't have any issues with veal, I rather enjoy it, but that's probably because I know where it comes from (butcher). Since I buy from them, I practically never order it in a restaurant.

[kpzra]

Just for future reference, Provimi is a brand that ONLY sells veal. They probably just assumed that people know that. It should have still been made clear on the menu but they didn't really trick anyone. It was just the fact that you didn't know it was a brand of veal.

[AmbrosiaWriter]

Just for future reference, Provimi is a brand that ONLY sells veal. They probably just assumed that people know that. It should have still been made clear on the menu but they didn't really trick anyone. It was just the fact that you didn't know it was a brand of veal.

By why label it as "beef"? Beef is - typically - a less desirable meat than veal, for those that chose to eat it. Calling it beef lowers the expected quality of what you're getting. There was no reason to not call it veal. I didn't even know that "Provimi" was, I thought it was a style of preparation for the beef, or just a specific quality (you know, like Wagyu beef.)

And since Lilfilly and hubster refuse to eat veal - for whatever reason - it's very understandable they would not know what Provimi is, as it would be for anyone that had no interest at all in eating veal.

I do think she and hubsters are both very justified in being upset about being mislead into eating something they would not normally eat. It's just lucky it wasn't an allergy or religious crisis issue. I hope they do change the wording on their menu to say "Provimi veal." Why be less specific?

One of the first rules of writing (all kinds of writing, journalism, creative, and technical writing): BE AS SPECIFIC AS POSSIBLE.

[kpzra]

I'm not saying it shouldn't have said veal instead of beef, but they didn't lie which is what I'm sure corporate will come back and say. If I see something like that on a menu that I don't know what it is I ask. I don't eat veal, or even beef really and I knew what it was as it's something I'd avoid. I'm also not saying they shouldn't be upset as they have every right to be.

[LillFilly]

Just for future reference, Provimi is a brand that ONLY sells veal.

I thought 'Provimi' was a local farm; sometimes menus will list items that it prepares locally. I looked them up though, and they also sell a variety of other meats online at their 'sizzle store'. Just don't know why they didn't just call it 'veal' and not 'Provimi beef.' But as it stands, beef is defined as coming from a cow over 2 years of age, and veal from a calf under 3 months old, and so is falsely labeled as it should have been 'Provimi VEAL'. Maybe I'm the sucky one for being ignorant. But to me this would be like ordering a fish soup "with fish provided by XYZ fisheries" and finding out that XYZ fisheries specializes in shark! It might still be a 'fish,' but it's still sneaky labeling.

[dougall]

Maybe the veal was going out of use by date so they used that instead.