Eating Out

Eating out is one the most organic ways to meet up with friends, family, or significant others. 

Visiting a new city? Check out the food scene. Bored at home? Try a new restaurant. Don't want to wash dishes? Eat out.

Eating out with allergies is tough though. There are always hoops you have to jump through to find something you're able to eat, and it's hard to be 100% confident you're able to eat something.

I like breaking it out into three categories: large fast food chains, small fast food joints, and restaurants.


These are the easiest to eat at with allergies in my opinion. The whole idea behind a fast food chain is consistent ingredients and dishes across all locations. Although some of these chains might not be the best from a health perspective, from an allergy perspective, they are a gold mine.

If you're eating out at a fast food spot, Googling "[Insert Fast Food Chain] Allergen Menu" or something of the sort typically brings up a website or PDF that lists out the menu of the chain, along with what major allergens are included in each food. Many chains list out the exact ingredients in everything as well. For example, McDonald's has an "Allergen Information" section for each menu item (burger example).

The tough part for fast food restaurants is that going into a location and asking a cashier or other employee for this information is really a hit or miss. So my advice is do your research in advance, figure out what you can eat, and go from there.


These smaller stores or food trucks are often the toughest (but sometimes the tastiest). Due to the smaller sizes, they rarely have nutrition information listed online.

The easiest way to see what you can eat is generally by asking the cashier or talking directly to the chef. Considering they pick out the ingredients directly, I've had better luck doing this at smaller fast food spots than larger ones. That said, I've noticed it's tough to be 100% confident about allergen info at these spots. They are are often trying to keep costs low and have to use a number of different ingredients that aren't always consistent, meaning more risk if you have a ton of allergies.

 

I'm defining a restaurant as a sit down place where a server takes your order. Considering these are often upscale, use very specific ingredients, and allow for substitutions, finding you can eat can be easier.

As annoying or embarrassing as it might be to talk to the waiter about your allergens, this is often the best solution. Tell them what you'd like to eat, what you can't eat, and politely ask them to check in with the chef. 9 out of 10 times, they'll find you something you love.


Conclusion

Eating out with allergies is annoying. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Whether it's going through menus and reviews on Yelp or talking to the employees at the restaurant, there's friction.

That said, it doesn't mean your allergies have to make you miss out. Do your research and live your best life ;)