In this month’s Mountain Spy, we address a growing dietary trend—gluten-free. Though a seemingly simply question, the responses vary tremendously. In the end, as always, a personable employee is always the best solution. THE QUESTION: DO YOU HAVE GLUTEN-FREE DINING OPTIONS AT YOUR RESORT?MOUNTAIN 1, VT First Contact: Male. SAM: Stated question. Staff: Hmm. Let me go ahead and connect you to the F&B offices. Just one moment. Transferred… Answering phone: Female. SAM: Restated question. Staff: Yes. I would say X generally has the largest variety, but every outlet has at least one or a few gluten-free options daily. SAM: Great. So it sounds like all your on-mountain dining has options? Staff: Yes. Every outlet will have at least one or two. X will have, as far as cafés go, will have a much larger variety. And the manager is actually gluten free, so he is readily available to show you their options as well if you have any specific questions. SAM: Even better, thank you! Staff: And then the restaurants, because they’re making everything to order, have a bit more leeway and can definitely accommodate your needs. SAM: Awesome, thank you. Staff: Of course, you have a great day! RATING: 8 COMMENT: PATIENT, PERSONABLE, AND A FEW EXTRA TIPS THAT EARN THE HIGH POINTS. MOUNTAIN 2, CA First Contact: Automated machine. Chose guest services. Answering phone: Female. SAM: Stated question. Staff: Umm, yes? Ha Ha, sorry, yes! SAM: Ha Ha, no worries! Staff: Are you talking mostly about the cafeterias as you’re coming off the hill? SAM: Yup, exactly. Staff: Um, yes, I know they do. I know the fries are not. I have a gluten-free child. And the fries are not, you know how they batter them a little bit? Definitely salads and most of the dressings are. Do you have a second and I can put you through to F&B? SAM: Of course, thanks! Transferred… Answering phone: Back to original person. Staff: She’s not actually at her desk right now, but I can put you through to her voicemail, and you can leave her a number to get back to you. SAM: Oh no problem, it’s OK. I don’t need anything too specific, I just wanted to make sure there were some options available. Staff: Yes. There are. Is it sort of an allergy issue, or ... ? SAM: No, we just made a change to our family diet, so I wanted to check in about it. Staff: OK. Sure. Some of the meat items we cook here in house, so we know exactly what goes into them, and hot dogs and those things come in packages so we can read the labels, but there’s definitely some items that are gluten free and some are not. And every venue has a salad, which I know is sort of like the gluten-free fall back, but there’s salad everywhere! SAM: No problem! Nothing wrong with salads! Staff: And there’s also the X venue up here. It’s not a cafeteria, but they do vegan stuff there as well. Gluten free as well, of course. They’re kind of shoulder season, but if you’re talking over Christmas they’ll definitely be open and they have some really crazy, creative vegan options if you’re interested. RATING: 9 COMMENT: TOP-NOTCH PERFORMANCE. UNSURE AT FIRST, BUT STAYED PATIENT AND GAVE ME SOLID, BASIC INFORMATION. WITH A SUPER FRIENDLY PERSONALITY TO BOOT. MOUNTAIN 3, VT First Contact: Female SAM: Stated question. Staff: For in the winter? SAM: Yup! Staff: So we are in the process of renovating the base lodge, and we got a new chef, so we do not have our menus yet. Silence… SAM: OK. Sooo… Staff: Well, we’re planning to open Thanksgiving weekend, so I would call back around that time, you know. Silence… SAM: OK. Do you think there are plans to include gluten-free options in the new menu? Staff: I know we use to have, like, gluten-free chicken fingers and um, you know, like healthy options. We had, like, gluten-free bread, you know, you could request that. We used to. So, you know, I assume it’s going to happen again, but I don’t know. SAM: Alright. I guess I’ll call back. RATING: 2 COMMENT: YOU KNOW, IT SOUNDS LIKE SHE DOESN’T KNOW TOO MUCH. NEXT TIME, TRANSFER ME TO SOMEONE MORE INFORMED, SISTER. MOUNTAIN 4, WI First Contact: Female. SAM: Stated question. Staff: Umm, I do believe so. I can transfer you over to the restaurant and bar and they can help you out with that. Transferred… Answering phone: Female. SAM: Restated question. Staff: Um, we do. We have gluten-free buns. So you can get, like, any of the burgers or whatever with the gluten-free buns. We also have steaks and grilled chicken, we have, like, a lot of vegetable options. Silence… SAM: OK, thanks. And that’s at the base lodge? Staff: Yup. That’s at the X lodge right here at the resort. SAM: Sounds good, thanks. RATING: 5 COMMENT: LIKE, A LITTLE MORE INFO WOULD HAVE BUMPED THE SCORE. Mountain 5, NH First Contact: Female. SAM: Stated question. Staff: Let me put you through to the top of the mountain dining. Answering phone: Male. SAM: Restated question. Staff: Ah, we have a couple of gluten free-soups, salads. Most of what we do is sandwiches, so that’s bread, ya know. Our house potato chips are fried in a fryer that has nothing else fried in it, so those are gluten free. So mostly salads. Um, I have two soups, butternut squash and tomato herb soup, and then all our salads as long as there are no croutons in them. SAM: Of course. Well thanks so much. Staff: Um, just so you know, we close at four today. If you were planning on coming today [in the fall], you would have to be on the lift in the next quarter-hour or so. SAM: Oh no worries, we don’t be coming today. I was just wondering when we do come in the future. Staff: Yup. And we’re also only open until next Sunday. SAM: Hmm, OK. What about the base? Staff: I’m not sure. They’re a different operation entirely. You would have to call the base and ask them. SAM: Will do, good to know. Thanks. RATING: 7 COMMENT: SALADS. GOT IT. BUT A FRIENDLY ATTITUDE AND HELPFUL TIPS WILL ALWAYS GET BIG POINTS. MOUNTAIN 6, UT First Contact: Female. SAM: Stated question. Staff: Yes. They do. Uh huh. Silence… SAM: All right, yay. I come there with my family a lot throughout the winter, and we recently made some changes to our diet, so I wanted to be sure we had a few options. Staff: Yes. I’m sure we do have something that would be gluten free. Silence… SAM: OK then, thanks. RATING: 1 COMMENT: FOR THE SHEER MAGNITUDE OF DINING OPTIONS THIS RESORT HAS, YOU WOULD THINK I’D GET A SLIGHTLY MORE ILLUMINATING ANSWER. MOUNTAIN 7, MI First Contact: Automated machine. Chose guest services. Answering phone: Female. SAM: Stated question. Staff: Ahhh, I am not sure about that. I can transfer you over to Mike and he can answer that for you. Transferred… Answering phone: Mike. SAM: Restated question. Staff: Sure. Absolutely. We have several gluten-free options. The best person to answer is my executive chef, but he’s not in at the moment, but in every outlet there are gluten-free options. SAM: Great. So I can find something for the family? Staff: Of course. Sure. Because a lot of the stuff you can make is produced without gluten to begin with, and our teams in each of our dining outlets know what those are. We have a gluten-free pizza dough at our X outlet. SAM: Great. Staff: Now, it’s not as good as the normal dough, right!? But it is gluten free. Ha Ha! You know, we try to make it as good, but you never quite can, right? SAM: No, it’s never quite as good, is it? Well, that’s nice to know we have options at all your restaurants. Staff: Yes. And our staff in each outlet know what the gluten-free options are, and my executive chef is very well versed in what the gluten-free options are throughout the property as well, if you had any specific questions. When are you planning to come? SAM: This winter. We usually come up a few times. Staff: Yup, of course. And there are already items that are naturally gluten free on our menus, so you’ll have plenty to choose from. SAM: Great. Thank you. Staff: No problem. And let me give you my direct line. Just ask for me when you come in. My name is Mike Doumanian, and I’m the director of food and beverage. So if there are any questions you have, I would be happy to help out and point you in the right direction. [Given direct line] SAM: Thank you! Staff: Any time. And where are you guys out of? [Yikes! Always a tough question!] SAM: We’re actually not from the area, but have friends that are close to you, and we visit them a few times each winter and head up there all together. It’s always so much fun. Thanks so much again. Staff: You’re welcome, have a wonderful day. RATING: 10 COMMENT: YAHTZEE! THAT’S HOW IT’S DONE, FOLKS. IDENTITY REVEALED: BOYNE MOUNTAIN Mountain 8, ME First Contact: Female. SAM: Stated question. Staff: What were you looking for? SAM: Restated question. Staff: Gluten free? Umm, in the cafeteria, which is not open right now, but in the winter time they do have gluten-free options. On-mountain tonight the X restaurant can accommodate your needs, and Y restaurant has options on their menu daily. SAM: OK, great. So I’ve got options. Staff: For sure. When were you looking for? SAM: This winter mainly. Staff: Oh, OK, yea. You’ll have options. It’s pretty common now. You’ll be all set. RATING: 7 COMMENT: SHORT AND SWEET AND TO THE POINT. NO HARM IN THAT. Mountain 9, MD First Contact: Automated machine. Chose guest services. Answering phone: Female. SAM: Stated question. Staff: We do, um, have gluten-free options in both the food court and the ski school. Silence… SAM: OK then, well that was my general question. Staff: Ha Ha Heee, OK then! Well thanks for calling! Is there anything else I can help you with? SAM: That was it, thanks. Staff: Well, you have a great day! RATING: 4 COMMENT: LOTS OF PERSONALITY, NOT ENOUGH INFORMATION. Mountain 10, NM First Contact: Automated machine. Chose operator. Answering phone: Female SAM: Stated question. Staff: Um, yes. Silence… SAM: OK then. I just wanted to make sure my family has some options. Silence… Staff: Yup. They have things at the X, Y, and Z restaurants. Is that it? SAM: Guess so. Thanks. RATING: 2 COMMENT: WELL THAT CONVERSATION LASTED ABOUT 30 SECONDS. Mountain 11, Canada First Contact: Automated machine. Chose operator. Answering phone: Male. SAM: Stated question. Staff: Um, let me see, that’s a very good question. The only cafeteria we manage, as the resort itself, if you want to go gluten free, you would find that in wraps or salads. The resort does not manage most of the other restaurants here, so unfortunately I can’t answer for them. SAM: No problem. I understand. I just wanted to make sure there was some kind of option at the lodge. Staff: Sure. I mean it’s becoming more and more, but it’s not quite a priority yet. SAM: No problem. As long as there is a little something to choose from. Staff: Absolutely. Some options. Not a priority. But definitely a few options for sure. SAM: Thanks! RATING: 6 COMMENT: BASIC INFO WITH A NICE ATTITUDE. A TOUCH MORE INFORMATION ON THOSE OTHER RESTAURANTS COULD HAVE BEEN A BONUS. Mountain 12, VT First Contact: Automated machine. Chose operator. Answering phone: Female SAM: Stated question. Staff: Of course! We certainty have options for you and your family. I’m not sure of the specifics for exactly what is offered, but I do know for certain that there are gluten-free options. SAM: OK. As long as you have something available, that’s nice to know. Staff: Oh, yes. Sorry I can’t be more helpful with specifics, but I do know all of our on-mountain dinning venues will be able to offer you something. SAM: OK then, thanks so much. RATING: 7 COMMENT: LACKING IN DETAILS, BUT HER ATTITUDE GAVE ME CONFIDENCE. Click Here To Order
