Oh! The "joys" of eating out with food allergies

www.allergyeats.com

Since being diagnosed with food allergies my perspective on eating out has changed drastically.  Where I used to get excited about trying new places and would read reviews on  Urban Spoon and write reviews based on ambiance, service, food quality and taste, I now check Allergy Eats to see the kind of experience other food allergy sufferers have had and check the restaurant website (if they have one) to find allergy information (if it's listed) so I know ahead of time what I can and cannot eat.  All of  my reviews are now based on how they were able to accommodate my food allergies.


When I do go out to eat, I feel like a detective.  Asking so many questions and trying to find something I can eat or what modifications can be made so that it not only doesn't have my most severe allergy foods, but that is actually nutritious.  Tasting good would be a bonus!  There are many fast food and fast casual restaurants that have absolutely nothing on the menu I can eat except maybe a plain chicken breast (and that's iffy) and in some cases, french fries!  I can't tell you the last pizza I actually enjoyed.  Gluten Free crust with no cheese often equals tasteless pizza with toppings that continually fall off.  To tell you the truth, I don't really miss it, though.

I have had servers that were very helpful and went above and beyond to make sure I had great food I could eat without even a hint of attitude or disbelief (my best experiences so far were with Buffalo Wild Wings and Osaka).  I have also had the opposite.  Servers who look at me like I'm probably just on some fad diet or basically ignore everything I have said.  It really sucks the joy out of eating out!  If you work in a restaurant, I implore you to do a little research on food allergies and sensitivities and at the very least listen and have compassion!!  Now, I do take ownership of my allergies and feel it is my responsibility to effectively communicate to servers what my food allergies are.  But, I can't follow them into the kitchen and read all the labels and watch everything being prepared.

My husband and I are doing a lot of traveling this summer and I am very nervous about what I am going to eat.  I have already started doing some research, but it seems exhausting!  At least two of the trips are to large cities, so there is apt to be more places I can eat.  I also imagine there will be a Natural Grocers, Trader Joes or Whole Foods or the like that I could go and at least get some snacks that I know I can eat!

I imagine that as time goes on, the joy of eating out will slowly return as I get more used to communicating my food allergies and as the population becomes more informed about food allergies and sensitives.  What are your experiences eating out with food allergies?

-Melissa