I personally have a seafood allergy, and I was wondering how many other ATOTers out there also have seafood, or other food allergies. Personally I carry an epi-pen with me at all times, and find I am frequently worried about cross contamination at restaurants. Is this fear justified? For others with allergies; do you always make a note to the chef about your allergy regardless of what you are ordering?
I have a dairy allergy. I'm also mildly allergic to a dozen other things (ex. high fructose corn syrup gives me an instant, pounding headache - in ketchup, bread, etc.). I was sick my whole life up until about 3 years ago when I found out it was dairy. Then the last few years have been finding the others - it was a real struggle because I had no idea why I felt like crap all the time, and those allergy test with the needles didn't show anything (because it was all internal reactions). Now I can get through an entire day without being fatigued or having a migraine or an asthma attack. It's awesome!
Eating out mostly isn't worth it. There are only a few places I can safely go. If I don't know what the ingredients are, I won't risk it - I'll be violently ill for 2 or 3 days if I even having something
cooked in butter, plus all of the associated muscle fatigue, headaches, breathing problems, and so on. There are a couple places I go regularly where the people accommodate me because I'm a regular, but I hate being the holdup at a lunch rush because I have special requirements.
If I'm going out to dinner, I'll usually call ahead and ask about allergies. Most restaurants are pretty good about doing stuff like dry grilling instead of using butter or whatever, and I've found the more expensive the restaurant, the better they are about cooking your food in a certain way. But the bottom line is you never really know, so you're always taking that risk.
A lot of restaurants are getting better about listing food allergies or at least accommodating them. A number of restaurants around here now advertise gluten-free menus, a couple do dairy-free, and Vegan places are always safe for me. Just gotta do your research and be willing to call ahead. I worked in the restaurant business for a number of years and production is all about go go go - most places are super busy and can't guarantee (even though they might say they do) that you won't get cross-contamination. A lot of chefs are under-paid and over-worked and won't really pay attention to things because they have other, easier meals to get out the door. So I have a select few places that I go to and very rarely try someplace new, haha.