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| - I go to Happy Hour with my coworkers here and it's okay. The drinks are GREAT. Try the pineapple mojito - they'll ruin you for anything else. The problem for me comes with the food.
I'm GLUTEN-FREE due to a diagnosed wheat allergy, and there are VERY few things I can eat here. The service (and perhaps the kitchen) staff does not understand issues of cross-contamination with food allergens. My server there the first time went to ask the chef what I could eat (and I said "severe wheat allergy" several times) and came back telling me I could eat the chips among a few other things. I ate ONE chip and my mouth started itching. I called him back over and asked if they used a shared fryer for wheat/gluten-bearing and wheat/gluten-free products and he came back saying that they did fry the chips in the same oil as the wheat-filled churros That's allergen cross-contamination 101 and anyone in food service should think/know about it and communicate that to customers. Had I not known by hard experience to take a tiny bite and go slow no matter what my server said, I would have had to Epi-Pen myself. On the plus side, I bring my own chips now sometimes and once I explain, they're happy to bring me a bowl of salsa so I can snack with the rest of the group.
If Joyride would simply use a dedicated fryer for its chips, I'd be able to eat a lot more -- including the yummy-looking chips and salsa and their amazing-looking nachos. As is, there are two or three tacos I can supposedly eat. I stick with the Standard taco because it's never made me sick. The food is never bad, but it's not really even either - one time I had a fantastic one, full of fresh, sweet corn kernels. Other times the taco has been okay, with hardly any corn. Proportions of ingredients change, affecting the taste -- perhaps because of the availability of fresh ingredients?
All in all, I go because I like hanging out with my friends from work and the drinks are truly great. But I wouldn't choose to go back on my own. Joyride is owned by the same group that owns Postino's, which has some great gluten-free options. Wish they'd catch up a little.
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