Dining Out with Food Allergies: Communication is Key!

We just returned from a short summer vacay and I wanted to share a restaurant story.

I know that dining out is one of the most stressful things for people with severe food allergies because you just never know what's in the food.

We visited a wonderful lakefront restaurant on our trip, one we had been to many times before. It was a very hot day and my daughter wanted a Greek salad. (She's big into salads lately).

We communicated our daughter's allergy when we made our order and asked the waitress to check on the item. It was listed as having "Greek dressing" which in our home never contains any peanut oil or pine nuts, but we still wanted to know.

Our waitress returned and said she had spoken with the chef, which we had asked her to do. She said they didn't make the dressing, it was brought in and one of the chefs thought it might contain peanut oil or some kind of tree nut; they weren't 100%certain. They recommended we use oil and vinegar, that they would bring to our table and my daughter could put this on her salad herself.

My first thought was to be extremely thankful for this waitress. My second thought was--who would think that peanut oil is in Greek dressing?? Once again, this incident confirmed my belief that you always have to check with the chef and never assume that something is "safe" for your allergy.

I'm happy to say that the dinner was delish and we enjoyed a nice, stress-free meal after that. We thanked the waitress profusely and tipped her well--it's nice to give a good tip when they help you out. Kind of like food allergy PR as well as a thank you to the waitperson.

As you visit restaurants, never be afraid to speak up and as your child gets older, have them speak up as well. You have no way of knowing how the food is prepared unless you ask.

Here's another recent post I wrote about dining out.

Food Allergies, Travel and Dining Out

After my last post about airplanes, a lot of you are wondering how we got along on our trip with regard to restaurant dining. Yes, the airplane does seem tame in comparison to dining away from home on an extended trip--that's when the "fun" really starts.

I have several things that I do to screen a restaurant, particularly if we have never been there before. I have a 3-pronged approach to restaurants and communication is the key.

1. Look up the menu online or in person. Some menus now say that they "welcome allergic diners" but even if they do, carefully review the menu items. Does the menu have a lot of risky foods? Do they state that they use peanut oil or other nut oils frequently? Is it a huge menu with lots of dishes (and thus, lots or chance for cross-contact or mix ups)? If this is the case, I move on to the next place. There is too much cross-contact risk for me to feel comfortable.

To me, a simple menu is much better. I call that a "clean" menu. That's what we strive for when dining out and it seems to work. Once you find a menu that looks OK then you need to...

2. Call the restaurant. Ask to speak to the manager and ask specific questions and evaluate the answers. We always ask what oils are used, for example, and how they handle an allergic diner's order. Is it separated from potential allergens with clean pans, utensils, etc? Is the manager comfortable with your questions or does he/she seem worried or unsettled? You're trying to find out their comfort level with food allergies and diners. Also keep in mind that language barriers and certain cultures may not be as understanding of your needs. That's why we avoid cuisines such as Asian or Indian restaurants where there is just too much risk of nut allergen contamination. You must be clear and you must be ready to walk away. A meal isn't worth the risk. Find somewhere else.

3. Reinforce your needs once inside the restaurant. Locate the manager or chef and speak to them about your order; sometimes the server has no idea what ingredients are in a particular food, so don't rely on them alone. Also, order a simple meal without sauces for your allergic diner. Grilled foods are a great choice. Avoid meals with tons of components--sometimes it's hard to figure out what is in those. If you want it spelled out for the chef, you can download a free chef card template from FAAN. If, once inside the restaurant, something seems off or they change their tune, please go elsewhere. It's never worth it--and will you really enjoy the meal if you're worried about allergic reactions?

This sounds like a lot of work but generally it is a pleasant experience. We've had very good experiences with chefs in general. Any chef worth his or her salt will want you to enjoy your meal and will want to provide you with a safe dining experience. If you get a bad vibe, leave.

Our recent trip to Florida did not involve a ton of restaurant dining since we stayed with family members. When we did venture out to eat, we called in advance. Luckily, we found the most awesome Greek restaurant, The Greek Islands, in Ft. Lauderdale where the chef/owner answered the phone and was also the cook. He knew his stuff and served us up some wonderful meals. Also, Greek cuisine, traditionally, only uses tree nuts in the desserts (which we skip anyhow) and it is not known for its use of peanut oil--they like olive oil or other vegetable oil. (However, always check with a Greek restaurant--can't speak for all of them.)

Here is a link to another post I wrote about travel and dining out.

I also like this link for dining out tips from FAAN.

Another wonderful resource on dining out with food allergies is found in Sloane Miller's recently released food allergy book: Allergic Girl: Living Well with Food Allergies.