Getting Easier to Eat at Restaurants with Food Allergies!

"We've come a long way, baby!" was my thought recently when we settled in to a lunch at a nearby Red Robin. As soon as we said "food allergy", we were given an electronic tablet with their fully customizable Allergen Menu. 

Awesome!

I couldn't help thinking back to another lunch with my food allergic child 12 years earlier. A lunch we walked out of before our food was served. This was after the waitress came back to our table and burst into tears, saying the kitchen staff was making fun of food allergies and hinting that they may "do something" to the meal we ordered. 

Seriously, this really happened.

Now, restaurants are on the hook for taking food allergies seriously. Legislation in several states, such

as Virginia, Rhode Island and Massachusetts require food allergy training for restaurant employees. While there is not a national mandate for restaurants, work continues on the local and state levels to make restaurants accountable when notified of food allergies. Right now, it's still often a hit-or-miss prospect when eating out.

That's why I am so happy to see that  AllergyEats, has released its 2015 list of Most Allergy-Friendly Restaurant Chains nationwide.  These chains have the highest ratings on the AllergyEats’ website and smartphone app, which is based on feedback from the food allergy community about how restaurants accommodated food-allergic diners. 

And the winners are:

Most allergy-friendly large chains (50 or more restaurants):

• Chipotle Mexican Grill (4.41 rating)
• P.F. Chang’s China Bistro (4.39 rating)
• Red Robin Gourmet Burgers (4.39 rating)
• Outback Steakhouse (4.32 rating)
• Mellow Mushroom (4.29 rating)

 

Most allergy-friendly small chains (fewer than 50 restaurants):

• Maggiano’s Little Italy (4.74 rating)
• Burtons Grill (4.69 rating)
• Legal Sea Foods (4.64 rating)
• Joe’s American Bar & Grill (4.63 rating)
• Not Your Average Joe’s (4.63 rating)

I'm thrilled to see some of our favorites on here. Overall, though, we've found that with proper planning- talking to manager/chef in advance, bringing a chef card to the restaurant and clearly explaining what is needed for a safe meal- many restaurants today are quite accommodating and well-educated. 

Where have you eaten recently?

For more information, or to rate or search restaurants, please visit www.AllergyEats.com. 

Please note that I am not endorsing any particular restaurant and I encourage those with food allergies to talk to their doctor about the risks of dining in restaurants.

Teen Makes Eating out With Food Allergies a Little "EZier"

Eating out with Food Allergies

I first wrote about 16-year-old Emily in July 2009. At the time, the industrious 13-year-old had launched EZgreetings and was donating a portion of her proceeds to food allergy research. 


Emily is at it again with a new site in her EZnetwork. This one is designed to help people with food allergies navigate restaurant menus. EZeatings provides links to over 50 (and counting) restaurant menus. Whether at home or on the road, finding ingredient information from major chain restaurants just got a whole lot easier.


Check out Emily's new site, and use the "Expand EZeatings" tab to recommend more restaurant menus, or to find a letter you can use to ask favorite restaurants to provide important ingredient and allergen information. 


You can also "EZily" find EZeatings in the resource section of Food Allergy Assistant. When eating out, always be sure to make the restaurant staff aware of your allergens and confirm ingredients and preparation techniques with the manager or chef. EZeatings, combined with direct communication, will go along way in making restaurant dining more palatable for people with food allergies. 

Menu Changes Could be Dangerous to Those With Food Allergies

For our family, a trip to McDonald's is a safe treat as the hamburgers, fries and chicken nuggets are free of dairy, egg and peanut. However, changes in menus could catch those with food allergies unaware. Paul Antico, founder of AllergyEats, shares that Wendy's recently started buttering the buns of certain hot sandwiches.

According to this USA Today article, "Wendy's researchers knew customers wanted warmer and crunchier buns, so they decided that buttering them and putting them through a toaster was the way to go."

Good to know.

Antico says, "people with food allergies should always inform restaurant employees about their food allergies and ask about ingredient lists, dedicated fryers and possible cross contact - even if they've comfortably eaten at that establishment in the past." 

Great advice.

To stay on top of menu changes, consider the free Allergy Eats app for iPhone or Android. Adventures in Fast Food has a list of every fast food chain I can think of, with a link to each website and each menu.
So the lessons here are to be safe, stay informed and speak up about food allergies when eating out. Menus get updated, restaurant training and practices change, so never assume that something from your favorite restaurant is safe even if you've eaten it 1000 times.

By the way, I love Allergic Girl's latest post about dining out. Great lessons!