Nuts

Several people have expressed concerns about nut allergies and I want to try and address/alleviate those concerns as best I can.

First and foremost, one of our children is deathly allergic to tree nuts. We've had 2-3 ambulance trips to Holy Cross hospital and have used an EpiPen on more than one occasion. For any parents who've had to live through these episodes, the experience is truly horrifying.

It should be noted that none of those episodes has ever been the result of eating or having been exposed to Chinese food from David Chu's or Chopstix.

Our business partner, Uri Herzog, has over 20 years of experience running his own kosher Chinese takeout in Teaneck, NJ. When we broached the nut issue with him, he gave a very convincing response that put our minds at ease.

No pot, dish, oven or deep fryer comes in contact with any nuts. No utensils are used for nuts and then reused for something else. They are COMPLETELY separated from all the other ingredients and are added to the bag in a separate sealed container for the required dishes. The nuts are NEVER a part of the cooking or food preparation process.

Any dish which requires nuts must be brought to that area for inclusion in the meal and NOT the other way around. Your concern is our concern.

MSG

We have gone out of our way to insure that not one single drop, grain, spec, iota etc. of monosodium glutamate (MSG) makes it into our facilities. I personally am HIGHLY allergic to MSG and will not serve my customers any food that I personally could not eat. Again, like the nut issue, there is no way that we can 100% guarantee that some kind of MSG derivative makes its way into an ingredient that we use because a manufacturer changed it's recipe and didn't tell us or something like that. But we will do everything within our power to be as vigilent as humanely possible. But rest assured, we take the MSG issue very, very seriously.

Gluten

The dishes from our menu listed below are either gluten free or have gluten free alternatives.

Fried Rice & More Vegetable Fried Rice Beef Fried Rice Chicken Fried Rice Combo Fried Rice	House Specials Holy Chow Mix Sergeant Tofu Mongolian Beef Mango Chicken Kung Fu Krunch Crispy Chicken Crispy Beef	Noodles Vegetable Mei Fun Chicken Mei Fun Beef Mei Fun Singapore Noodles	Steamed Dishes Steamed Vegetables Steamed Chicken w. your choice of vegetables Steamed Beef w. your choice of vegetables Steamed Mix w. your choice of vegetables
Chow Mein Vegetable Chow Mein Chicken Chow Mein Beef Chow Mein Chow Mix	Vegetarian Broccoli in Garlic Sauce Eggplant in Garlic Sauce Vegetable Delight Sauteed String Beans Tofu with Mixed Vegetables	Kids Menu French Fries Hot Dog
Beef Beef with Broccoli Beef with Garlic Sauce Beef with Mixed Vegetables Beef with Snow Peas Beef with String Beans Kung Pao Beef Pepper Steak Black Pepper Beef Szechuan Beef Hunan Beef	Chicken Sesame Chicken General Chow Chicken Chicken with Baby Corn Chicken with Broccoli Chicken with Cashews Chicken with Eggplant Chicken with Garlic Sauce Chicken with Mixed Vegetables Chicken with Mushrooms Chicken with Snow Peas Chicken with String Beans Kung Pao Chicken Moo Goo Gai Pan Black Pepper Chicken Szechuan Chicken Hunan Chicken	Lunch Specials Beef with Broccoli Beef with Garlic Sauce Beef with Mixed Vegetables Chicken with Broccoli Moo Goo Gai Pan Vegetable Mei Fun Beef Mei Fun Eggplant with Garlic Sauce Beef with Mixed Vegetables Vegetable Delight

As a general rule, all items listed in the "Steamed" section of our menu are gluten free as they are not cooked with any sauces which may contain gluten. Many of our other dishes do have gluten free options as well.

Vegan/Vegetarian

Almost any dish we serve should have some form of a vegetarian alternative. Vegan is a little trickier but there are several options that should satisfy your craving for fine Asian cuisine. With that being said, while we do have a nice variety of vegan/vegetarian options, the assumption should be that any food made in our kitchen has come in contact with meat or was cooked using appliances, pots, pans, ovens, woks utensils etc. So if you're wondering whether or not you can have ice cream right after wolfing down a plate of sesame chicken I'm afraid that's between you, your conscience and the "big guy".

Delivery

We will absolutely be offering delivery but there will be a minimum order amount which will vary depending on how far the destination point is. In addition to traditional delivery services, there are some very interesting ideas that we plan on experimenting with to make deliveries more convenient for both us and our customers:

1. Ridesharing:To cut down on costs, try and schedule deliveries with other people in your area.
2. Central Point Delivery: Given the close proximity of many local schools and houses of worship, we plan on having daily drop offs at several key locations during prayer times and dismissal. Get your order in by a certain time and you can pick it up when you pickup your kids from school or even have them bring it home with them on the bus. Details to follow.
3. Good Samaritan: Picking up an order and live near customers with waiting orders? Help them out and earn free food!
4. Crowdsourcing: In our experience, one of the most effective uses for Facebook is crowdsourcing errands and favors. Before heading over to our store, ask any of your friends on Facebook if they'd be interested in getting food too and organize a bulk pickup. This would probably work out really well for the DC, College Park and Northern Virginia folks.

I'm sure people will think of other creative ways to get their Holy Chow fix but please feel free to try one of these options and see which works best for you.

Note: Despite all our efforts, no one can be 100% sure that cross contamination from nuts, msg, gluten, eggs etc. will not occur. We are doing the best that we can but Holy Chow LLC does not guarantee that all of our dishes will be safe for everyone. Thank you for your support and understanding.