Food allergies?

[dpodblood]

Yeah soy (love/hate it) can be good sub for milk. Plus you are joining the millions (or more accurately billions) of Chinese who already drink it haha. Seriously, don't worry about the alternative disappearing anytime soon.

I know some people say "be proactive" yatta yatta, well most restaurant managers don't understand how serious allergies are. And agree, waiters/waitresses are almost always clueless unless you get a good one. This is obviously YMMV.

I think the idea is that the waitstaff passes the information onto the chef so that they can properly prepare the food. Any chef with the proper training should know just how severe allergies can be. Hives and itching may not be too bad, but being unable to breathe is completely another.

 

[Kaido]

I get my cooked stuff, bring it to my table. Take one bite - nope definitely peanuts. Fortunately for me, for a small ingestion (one bite) the worst is swollen lip and itchy throat first, before the serious shit. They refunded my money and gave me coupons - but I won't be stepping into that place again. None of my friends are allergic to anything so I had to wait for everyone else to finish...but I can guarantee you, most non-allergy people don't take this stuff seriously.

Yup. And since a lot of them are only getting minimum wage, what incentive do they have to care? It's not their company on the line - it's just a paycheck. And the people cooking the food are busy, so they can't really take the time out to do it right either. If I really like the food somewhere, I'll make it a point to say hi to the people who work there so they know me when I come in. The same crew works the lunch shift at the Subway near where I work and always know to do everything dairy-free when I come in - fresh knives, no cheese or ranch dressing, no cross-contamination. It's really nice, but it's a pain to do that the first few times because you have to explain your situation to them, it's different than the norm, there are other people waiting in line on their lunchbreaks too, etc.

I was forced to learn how to cook when I discovered my allergies. My wife has an Italian background so everything was cream & cheese. Basically I grill a lot :awe:

 

[BoomerD]

Fortunately, none of the family has serious food allergies, although my wife has become lactose intolerant and cilantro causes her to itch and have hives sometimes.

HOWEVER, there have been a couple of occasions in my life where I've had serious allergic reactions when eating fish. Mackerel has been one fish that gives me occasional problems, so I avoid it most of the time, but not always. Maybe only one or two species? Other times, the itching, hives, and swelling in the throat come out of nowhere...

 

[BurnItDwn]

No food allergies here.
Dated a woman who was allergic to shellfish who had a son who is allergic to peanuts. They both always had their epi-pens with them no matter where they went.

I think it's probably smart to ALWAYS have an epi-pen within arms reach, also, make sure you replace it as they do have an expiration date... don't want to take that chance.

 

[D1gger]

My son has serious food allergies to eggs, dairy and nuts and carries an Epi-Pen.

We always let the chef know, even when ordering something he has had before from a restaurant that he has been to. Better safe than sorry. Now that he is 17 and going out on his own a lot, we have tried to impress him with how important it is that he always be aware of what he is eating.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

If you have serious food allergies, the best remedy is to call ahead. Chefs do care but get annoyed when told last minute about allergies. It's not that we don't want to serve you, it's that we can't give you our best without a little advance notice. There are many recipes that don't work, "if you just leave out the ..."

If you're eating at chain restaurants, you're taking your chances. Most kids working the line at chain restaurants, simply don't care about the food or the customer.

 

[IronWing]

Seafood gets me projectile vomiting. Mild reaction to soybeans. That's about it for food allergies.

 

[Bignate603]

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 would always mention it if its a place that cooks seafood. Obviously, if its a burger joint that doesn't have anything that resembles seafood you probably don't need to worry.

A good restaurant will be very conscious of any possibility of cross contamination. If you make them aware they'll wipe down prep surfaces, make sure they fry in oil that hasn't bee used for seafood, etc.

 

[Ns1]

gf has a peanut allergy, it's a PITA

 

[ChristianV]

milk and eggs here

and I feel terribly sick when I smell fish and the likes... no idea if I'm allergic, never got as far to actually taste it

 

[preCRT]

I always carry an up to date Epi-pen. I'm also extremely terrified when eating out on restaurants, and am a pita when eating at friends/family's homes [I read every label of every product they used to prepare dinner or I don't eat the item. Better safe than dead].

I have had anaphylaxis from my food allergy and being seconds from getting intubated was scary shit. Restaurant chefs & staff are not reliable enough to gamble your life on, many times they lie. Many don't update ingredient info when they change supplier or a supplier has changed an ingredient and the chef didn't notice.