Restaurant LIED on Menu!

[Pagan]

It comes down to not explaining properly on the menu what the diner is getting.

Like putting Rocky Mountain Oysters on a menu and not pointing out they're not oysters or not explaining what menudo is made out of.

[dendawg]

...or not explaining what menudo is made out of.

You mean it's not made out of young Latino boys?

What??

[wolfie]

RAT?!? I'm outraged! You promised me dog or higher! /mayorquimby

I'm sorry, sir - would you prefer "roof rabbit"?

Saw a reference to that in the "Worldwar" series by Harry Turtledove. As to what "Roof Rabbit" is, think "diesel engine painted yellow".

[Lace Neil Singer]

I say complain. I once complained to a restaurant after they gave me a chicken and leek pie that had mushrooms in it and it wasn't mentioned in the menu listing. I hate mushrooms and wouldn't have ordered it if I'd known they'd be included. Some people would say, "Just pick them out", but why should I? Anyway, I got an apology and a free meal, and later on when I visited the restaurant, they'd changed the item to say that it included mushrooms.

[Dreamstalker]

I also say complain. I've always seen beef and veal separate (on the store shelf and on menus). It was mislabeled; you had reason to expect beef and got something else.

Or ordering sweetbreads thinking you're getting a sweet roll or cake and finding out that it means "organ meats" like thymus.

That's what I thought the very first time I ever had sweetbreads, but when it arrived not looking quite like I thought I didn't freak out about it, just quietly asked my mom (for the record, when I ordered it she didn't try to discourage me; she thought I should be exposed to as many different foods as I wanted when young).

[PepperElf]

It comes down to not explaining properly on the menu what the diner is getting.

Like putting Rocky Mountain Oysters on a menu and not pointing out they're not oysters or not explaining what menudo is made out of.

This, really.

I wouldn't say it's as far as replacing chicken with beef cos those are entirely different animals. But yeah... using parts that someone might not normally eat if they knew what it was... yep.


and Menudo. Isn't that made out of underage Puerto Rican boy bands?

Or giving someone Haggis or Chitterlings and telling them it's sheep or pork, and leaving out the fact that it contains intestines. Or menudo soup.

That's what I thought the very first time I ever had sweetbreads, but when it arrived not looking quite like I thought I didn't freak out about it, just quietly asked my mom (for the record, when I ordered it she didn't try to discourage me; she thought I should be exposed to as many different foods as I wanted when young).

heh. I made a mistake once when I ordered some kind of fish at a local Filipino restaurant. I hadn't realized that it came with the head included. still, I ordered it so I ate it without complaining

[dalesys]

I'm sorry, sir - would you prefer "roof rabbit"?

Roof rabbit *is* urban squirrel... Just second hand. We could say on a second paws.

[wolfie]

Roof rabbit *is* urban squirrel... Just second hand. We could say on a second paws.

Never heard of "urban squirrel" before. As for my comment about diesel engines, according to the scene in that series, "roof rabbit" is cat meat. If "urban squirrel" means something else, could you tell me what it is?

It's a good practice to ask about anything you're not sure of (although the description in the OP gave no indication that the "beef" was not from an ADULT cow). A couple weeks ago at Popeye's, I saw that they had "green beans and gravy" as a side. I asked if they were pre-mixed, or if they added the gravy when dishing out the side (since gravy was available as an add-on, that would have been a logical way of doing things). When I found out they were pre-mixed, I got coleslaw as my side - if they'd been separate, I would have got the green beans WITHOUT gravy.

[dalesys]

Urban squirrel = rat
Roof rabbit = cat
Cats eat rats... so, RR is US, soda speak.

[Dighti]

I was just at Cheddar's for my B-day dinner too! I also had the grown up grilled cheese and it was definitely Provimi roast beef, not veal. (I've had both before) I suspect the manager had NO idea what meat was being served there because I don't see veal on their menu at all. As noted earlier, veal is more expensive than Provimi and you don't usually slice veal like that. It just doesn't make sense. So I really doubt that either of you ate veal.

[42_42_42]

Speaking from a culinary perspective, it makes no sense to cook veal in that sort of preparation, especially braising, which is a cooking technique developed specifically to make tougher cuts of meat tender and yummy. Braised veal just sounds like it would be flavorless mush, and I like properly cooked veal.

[shopgirl15]

Contact corporate. I would have likely gone SC if I had been in your position...

[Merriweather]

I agree with all those saying the restaurant was in the wrong, and to contact corporate. I would also go as far as to add my reviews on any websites, especially local ones, not to rant & rave, but to calmly warn others that the beef may in fact be veal.

Legally, the menu may not have actually lied - I've no idea if there are actual FDA regulations about the use of the words "veal" or "beef". But even if they are technically both beef, with veal just a subset, when you call an item by anything other than what is the most common and widely used name, then it is misleading. And if that item is also controversial, and referred to with a technically correct but not controversial name, then I would have a hard time believing the misleading was not intentional.

Of course, there is always the chance that the manager & server had no real idea what they were serving, and it wasn't actually veal after all. In which case, they were still in the wrong, because customers have a right to know what they are eating, and have their questions answered correctly.

[LillFilly]

I've posted on the local 'yelp' review site, called corporate and sent an email. No response yet. Sigh. Maybe it's not worth waiting for one.

[PepperElf]

I've no idea if there are actual FDA regulations about the use of the words "veal" or "beef"

I haven't found anything specific yet but... I did notice an FDA link and a USDA link that kept referring to "beef" and "veal" separately.

Although I also found a phone number for the USDA meat & poultry hotline. Perhaps they can shed some light on the matter and verify whether or not veal can be marketed as just "beef"?

1-888-MPHotline
(1-888-674-6854)

i found the number here: http://www.fsis.usda.gov/PDF/Veal_fr...m_to_Table.pdf