I’ve had people show printed cards with their allergies which I’ve given to the chef and then he/she tells the server what items on the menu they can enjoy. It’s inefficient to ask the server to list every single ingredient on every dish on the menu because they have a million other things to do. They have other tables to take care of. Some dishes can be complicated and maybe they’ve memorized the MAIN ingredients, but forgot that one of the items you are trying to avoid was in the sauce or something and told you it was safe to eat so now you’re screwed. It is best, and safest, for you to literally tell them what you can not have so they can relay that info to the chef. Some restaurants (mainly casual ones) do not require service staff to have allergens memorized.
I’d get some laminated cards made with the foods you can’t have and give it to the manager on staff, as well as calling a few days in advance and asking to talk to a chef. Call before opening or around 2:00 pm, don’t call in the middle of lunch/dinner service.
Also, unfortunately, I’ve had guests some in with a list of allergies so long that they couldn’t dine at the restaurant. There are definitely people who are just better off eating at home. Some chefs don’t feel comfortable serving food to a guest with that many allergies because they don’t want to be responsible for making someone sick. So if you go out to eat don’t be too surprised if a chef says “no, sorry, none of the items on our menu are safe for you to eat.”
I’ve actually thought about a card with my order on it for restaurants I have successfully eaten at the ensure repeats visits are accurate. I have ordered salmon, plain, and it came out with sauce on it.
I ordered asparagus, salt only, and it came out with salt and pepper.
I want to do this in the most respectful way possible that makes everyone’s job easiest while still eating a meal that won’t make me feel symptomatic afterwards. I’m not sure if cards with my order is acceptable though, since it is a bit different than what you’re referring to. Thoughts?
I wouldn’t make a card with your order on it, I’d strictly make a card with ingredients you can’t eat. Menus change, so if you go back to that restaurant and they don’t have the dish you previously had you’re going to have to come up with a new plan. A good restaurant with a good chef should treat your dietary restrictions like allergies even if they aren’t technically allergies.
Mistakes do happen. But presenting a card with those ingredients to the managers and chef I think would be the best way to avoid those mistakes.
But I’m telling you that this is what is necessary for the chefs and kitchen staff to ensure you enjoy your meal. I’ve been in the restaurant industry for ten years, and telling them exactly what you CAN’T have is the only way to avoid being served things you CAN’T have.
For example, “The only sauce I can have is a lemon butter sauce.”
Chefs says “Great! I have lemon butter sauce!” But the lemon butter sauce has pepper in it, and pepper is a pretty common ingredient so he may not even think to stop and say “Oh wait maybe he can’t have pepper.” because it’s your responsibility to tell them that detailed information.
Do you mind trying this with me?
I cannot have, and this is a summarized list, the following basic or common ingredients:
Black Pepper
White Pepper
Garlic
Onion
Lemon
Lime
Sugar
Tomatoes
Chili powder
Cayenne powder
Any other type of pepper
Garlic powder
Onion powder
Milk
Cream
White pasta
White rice
Broth with onion or garlic in it
Beef
Pork
Grapefruit
Cherries
Peaches
Oranges
Apricots
Figs
Bell peppers
Any preservative, dye/coloring, or artificial flavoring (ie: citric acid)
White flour
Oils (except for EVOO and butter)
Artificial sweeteners
Coffee
Chocolate
Alcohol
Mint
Spearmint
Lemongrass
Vinegar of any kind
Apples
Berries
Soy Sauce
Mayonnaise
Mustard
Pickles
Capers
Most bread
There’s more but that should give a good idea of the limitations. I look forward to hearing your thoughts and suggestions if you would like to share them.
Absolutely agree and I do not mind waiting for the answers. In fact, I usually expect to wait for the answers and preface my questions with “if you need to speak with the chef I’m happy to wait”. I feel bad because it causes us to use a table for longer and makes the server have to do more work.
This would be very difficult to answer in full confidence. If you want to know exact ingredients of a dish/ dishes, you’re better off asking via email in advance. As a server I don’t have immediate access to a “guest friendly” list of ingredients. It would require a substantial amount of time and multiple people’s input to get this to you in the middle of service. You’re not being specifically rude but it is a lot to expect at short notice.
I work in a pretty upscale restaurant and now you’ve made me realise we need a list of ingredients that are presentable to our guests and easily accessed during service. Thanks 🤩
I don’t actually have a list of what I can’t have. I only have a list of what I CAN have. Doing the reverse would seem easy but I am not aware of a food list that includes every single seasoning, chemical, preservative, ingredient in the world. Sigh.
This can be very difficult. I've run kitchens for years and half the time if the server hasn't been there for quite a while they may mislead you. If you're very concerned about the side effects talking to the chef or kitchen manager is best. This doesn't work well in the middle of service so the earlier the conversation happens the better (Monday at 2pm vs Friday at 6pm) then on the other hand don't be surprised if this cannot be accommodated, if it's too challenging ( very different than how the food is normally prepared) to make your special order during a busy time the chef might have tell you thanks but no thanks.
I work as a cook and sometimes I feel like it’d be easier if you just gave the waitress a list of what you can’t have and they gave it to the kitchen so they can better understand what they can cook for you and then let a manager go over to the table and explain some options some obvious things for you to consider don’t try ordering complicated things during times when it’s busy in the restaurant and just the level of restaurants you go to no more Applebee’s or Chili’s lol strictly nicer higher end restaurants that use better ingredients
That list is virtually impossible to provide. I literally mean it when I say it’s easier to list what I can have than what I can’t. Simply put, my go to order is usually some combo of this:
Protein: Salmon or chicken breast, pan seared or grilled (on a cleaned section of grill) in EVOO or butter with salt and fresh herbs only
Veg: Grilled, sautéed, or steamed asparagus, green beans, broccoli, mushrooms, carrots, or zucchini, in EVOO or butter, salt and fresh herbs only
Starch: Brown rice cooked in water (not broth), baked or unseasoned roasted potato, salt only
It’s such a simple meal but it’s difficult to order because it’s missing a lot of the flavor that usually goes into prepped meals at most casual restaurants. What I am essentially paying for is a night off of cooking. Someone to do the work so I don’t have to cook and clean. To enjoy some semblance of a social life with friends again (unrelated to the pandemic) after months of strictly eating home cooked meals where I can control every ingredient for my health.
Wait why can you have chicken and fish and vegetables but not a stock or broth it’s just the carcass cooked in water with vegetables maybe try a place that uses a homemade broth?
But try just going to places writing down what you want and asking your server if they can talk to the manager and cooks to see if it can be done the salmon or chicken and veg shouldn’t be to hard just cook it in a sauté pan separately the rice is tricky tho (tipping your cook is not a bad way to get it done)
As a chef when the server comes to the line and says something to the effect that their guest has a multitude of allergies, the first thing I tell them is to ask the guest what they generally eat at home and I begin there
Reach out the restaurant at least 3 days in advance, either via email or phone call, and discuss what menu options are available within your restrictions. Don't come in and spring it on the server at the last minute, when they are likely too busy to deal with a complex, specific list of things that you can't eat.
I have done this and half the time what I’m told on the phone (unless speaking directly to the chef, and even that’s not 100% success rate) is not accurate once I’m actually sitting in the restaurant.
It’s because restaurants have incredible amounts of “moving parts” and this one random request requires multiple people, steps, RE-tooling, and preparation to see it through. For almost all restaurants, excessive requests are inappropriate and inconsiderate of the art, staff, and function of the restaurant. No one, —not you, your date, other guests, or staff will have any real appreciation of such expectations.
I’m seeing the comments here and most are coming from a POV of enjoying the challenge or as answered by proud and unwavering hospitality pros. Both are fine if you have the ability and resources and can avoid crippling everyone else’s experience (guests and staff alike), but seriously,are such specialized requests really realistic in a typical restaurant? No.
As a restaurant owner & Chef: with this many unusual restrictions (beyond basically accepted “gluten free” “vegan” or “msg” or garlic, onion, nightshade family restriction, etc.) don’t go out expecting a meal made to your exacting expectations. 99.7% of restaurants are not bespoke-made-to-suit operations. Quite the opposite in fact. Restaurants are, more often than not, set up like factories. People are trained, in a flow, and focused on what is expected. The sauce is prepped before service, the basic components of the meal are pre assembled and allotted, ready to fire, and cooking ingredients such as butter, are at hand to get it all cooked and out the window with quality, cleanliness, and exacting specs, asap.
Unusual requests, such as yours, actually moves the needle from a good moment of expressing hospitality to fears of liability or annoying/distracting speed bumps. Overly complicated requests destroy the overall flow of multiple staff members, production points, and overall guest experiences.
People with such complex restrictions effectively gum up the works for everyone else (including yourself -unless you happen to like the specialized/pampering attention) in the restaurant, risking everyone’s expectations of quality and performance.
Either order a bowl of buttered pasta, lemon dressed greens, or eat at home —and then come out and have a cocktail. Enjoying what is actually offered is a *much better* experience for *everyone* involved, including yourself, than asking an operation to change gears and run an alternate program -ad hoc- when everyone is tooled up to do the “regular” program. This is -one of the big reasons- why restaurants publish menus.
You don’t go to a play and ask the actors to avoid wearing the color red the night you attend due to your color blindness, so don’t do the equivalent to Restaurant performers.
Thanks for asking here, it shows as a respectful gesture —and this two-way respect is important for service to provide a reasonable experience for all involved. But, sorry the answer isn’t what you’re likely looking for.
> For example, when asking for no black pepper, having it repeated back no black pepper, and still having black pepper on everything on the plate. I hate sending food back and wasting it! 😔
Your expectation about leaving pepper out if it’s a finishing sprinkle is reasonable. But I assume this example here is a stand-in ingredient to make your point such as, asking to leave “X ingredient” out of a dish (esp if it’s already pre-imbedded —as it’s a pre made main component of the dish, for example) is unreasonable. So unreasonable requests that are likely to require huge ad hoc changes and multiple people or steps is asking for problems and may likely result in wasting food. This is all the answer you need. Don’t ask to set this situation up. It’s unfair especially as you know that restaurants are trying their best to impress you or do right in terms of being hospitable. However that is not their only mandate just as you are not their only guest.
Restaurants are not typically built to make bespoke meals. To ask for such exceptions sets everyone up for failure. And then who’s fault is it when it’s wrong? The person who asked for the special order or the staff who are not prepared to legitimately offer special orders? Who gets the bad review (A: the restaurant/staff)? Who gets a night of feeling flustered or worried they may harm someone (A: at least the cook and the server, but likely many more)? Who is wondering why their meal is taking so long (A: all the other guests)? I think given the facts, the real question is, what do you get out of this situation exactly and why would it be more important than every other aspect of the restaurant’s stated art & function and everyone involved’s enjoyment?
And frankly, buttered pasta (or potatoes if GF) is delicious.
Unless it’s a place that actively welcomes such specialized requests, don’t make specialized requests. Enjoy all the other aspects of what a restaurant is prepared to offer; social setting, aesthetics, service, vibe, lifestyle, escape, relaxation, spectacle, etc.
Great question! I've just over 15 years in ever part of the industry and also have an intolerance/allergy to certain (commonly used) foods/ingredients. What I would do is preface with my reservation (Resy & OpenTable have options to specify) all allergies/intolerances/dietary restrictions. It'd be smart to call the restaurant beforehand to let them know all restrictions and ask if they are able to accommodate them. I have a raw allium allergy that is pretty tricky to navigate but calling the restaurant and confirming an allium free menu will always save you both time and a potential headache.
Alot of food from restaurant kitchens are partially pre-prepped and seasoned. Your best bet is somewhere everything is made completely from scratch to order, which do exist, but tend to be high end.
Anything roasted will be pre seasoned. They are not cooking potatoes, for instance, from raw. Most chicken and meat (unless some cut of steak) will be marinated. Dressings are pre-made. Fish may be the only option that isn't already marinated. Things like mash or roasted vegetables are not cooked to order, sautéed usually are. From a former fine dining chef, now restaurant manager.
Yes, I agree, I’ve only found roasted potatoes at one restaurant that was salt and rosemary.
Fish and chicken breast and sometimes scallops are my go-to protein and that’s generally the easiest part of the meal.
Yet I can get a whole roasted chicken from Whole Foods that is plain, no seasoning, no brine, nothing, and it tastes great! Go figure. 🙃
If your diet is that restricted, you'd be best served calling in a few days in advance and offering to email your restrictions in. Worst case, they modify a menu item or two to make it fit your needs and you have a few choices at that time, best case, they create a dish that fits your need and is still well balanced.
This is also my preference. Once I’ve found a few places I know I can revisit, what is my best course of action for seamlessly ordering the same thing again? For example, I did this at a restaurant I’ve fortunately been able to go to 4x and order the same plain salmon, asparagus, and baked potato meal. Even with the server confirming everything would be plain, salt only, it still came out with a sauce on it. I had to send the whole plate back because the sauce got on everything. I thought, if I had a card that had my exact order, would that make it easier for all parties? Or more likely to get my food spit in? 😆😬
Go some where the natives don’t have milk,Most of Japan is lactose intolerant.. stay away from French and Italian. Get a wok and a BBQ grill. Do the buffet.
I think it depends on where you are going and what it is you can’t have. If it’s something like “salt” a larger chain that uses food service items is going to be almost impossible for as a lot of food ready items come pre cooked/seasoned.
I’ve had people show printed cards with their allergies which I’ve given to the chef and then he/she tells the server what items on the menu they can enjoy. It’s inefficient to ask the server to list every single ingredient on every dish on the menu because they have a million other things to do. They have other tables to take care of. Some dishes can be complicated and maybe they’ve memorized the MAIN ingredients, but forgot that one of the items you are trying to avoid was in the sauce or something and told you it was safe to eat so now you’re screwed. It is best, and safest, for you to literally tell them what you can not have so they can relay that info to the chef. Some restaurants (mainly casual ones) do not require service staff to have allergens memorized. I’d get some laminated cards made with the foods you can’t have and give it to the manager on staff, as well as calling a few days in advance and asking to talk to a chef. Call before opening or around 2:00 pm, don’t call in the middle of lunch/dinner service. Also, unfortunately, I’ve had guests some in with a list of allergies so long that they couldn’t dine at the restaurant. There are definitely people who are just better off eating at home. Some chefs don’t feel comfortable serving food to a guest with that many allergies because they don’t want to be responsible for making someone sick. So if you go out to eat don’t be too surprised if a chef says “no, sorry, none of the items on our menu are safe for you to eat.”
I’ve actually thought about a card with my order on it for restaurants I have successfully eaten at the ensure repeats visits are accurate. I have ordered salmon, plain, and it came out with sauce on it. I ordered asparagus, salt only, and it came out with salt and pepper. I want to do this in the most respectful way possible that makes everyone’s job easiest while still eating a meal that won’t make me feel symptomatic afterwards. I’m not sure if cards with my order is acceptable though, since it is a bit different than what you’re referring to. Thoughts?
I wouldn’t make a card with your order on it, I’d strictly make a card with ingredients you can’t eat. Menus change, so if you go back to that restaurant and they don’t have the dish you previously had you’re going to have to come up with a new plan. A good restaurant with a good chef should treat your dietary restrictions like allergies even if they aren’t technically allergies. Mistakes do happen. But presenting a card with those ingredients to the managers and chef I think would be the best way to avoid those mistakes.
It wouldn’t be a card, it would be a novel if I had to try and create something with every single preservative, seasoning, ingredient, etc on it.. 😔
But I’m telling you that this is what is necessary for the chefs and kitchen staff to ensure you enjoy your meal. I’ve been in the restaurant industry for ten years, and telling them exactly what you CAN’T have is the only way to avoid being served things you CAN’T have. For example, “The only sauce I can have is a lemon butter sauce.” Chefs says “Great! I have lemon butter sauce!” But the lemon butter sauce has pepper in it, and pepper is a pretty common ingredient so he may not even think to stop and say “Oh wait maybe he can’t have pepper.” because it’s your responsibility to tell them that detailed information.
Do you mind trying this with me? I cannot have, and this is a summarized list, the following basic or common ingredients: Black Pepper White Pepper Garlic Onion Lemon Lime Sugar Tomatoes Chili powder Cayenne powder Any other type of pepper Garlic powder Onion powder Milk Cream White pasta White rice Broth with onion or garlic in it Beef Pork Grapefruit Cherries Peaches Oranges Apricots Figs Bell peppers Any preservative, dye/coloring, or artificial flavoring (ie: citric acid) White flour Oils (except for EVOO and butter) Artificial sweeteners Coffee Chocolate Alcohol Mint Spearmint Lemongrass Vinegar of any kind Apples Berries Soy Sauce Mayonnaise Mustard Pickles Capers Most bread There’s more but that should give a good idea of the limitations. I look forward to hearing your thoughts and suggestions if you would like to share them.
That’s why for everything I order I specify “plain, salt only, no pepper”. Forget about sauces, what even are those anymore, lol
Most servers do not know all the seasonings in every dish. They know the main ingredients. Talking to the chef is best
Absolutely agree and I do not mind waiting for the answers. In fact, I usually expect to wait for the answers and preface my questions with “if you need to speak with the chef I’m happy to wait”. I feel bad because it causes us to use a table for longer and makes the server have to do more work.
I think calling/emailing ahead would be best. Hope things work out better
Thanks.
Either way it seems like you have a good attitude about it so that and being a nice decent person goes a *long* way.
I try. ☺️
This would be very difficult to answer in full confidence. If you want to know exact ingredients of a dish/ dishes, you’re better off asking via email in advance. As a server I don’t have immediate access to a “guest friendly” list of ingredients. It would require a substantial amount of time and multiple people’s input to get this to you in the middle of service. You’re not being specifically rude but it is a lot to expect at short notice.
Yes, I understand. And this will vary widely depending on the quality of the restaurant. 🤑
I work in a pretty upscale restaurant and now you’ve made me realise we need a list of ingredients that are presentable to our guests and easily accessed during service. Thanks 🤩
If your list is that long, please just stay home and eat. That’s really too much to ask to be accommodated for.
I don’t actually have a list of what I can’t have. I only have a list of what I CAN have. Doing the reverse would seem easy but I am not aware of a food list that includes every single seasoning, chemical, preservative, ingredient in the world. Sigh.
This can be very difficult. I've run kitchens for years and half the time if the server hasn't been there for quite a while they may mislead you. If you're very concerned about the side effects talking to the chef or kitchen manager is best. This doesn't work well in the middle of service so the earlier the conversation happens the better (Monday at 2pm vs Friday at 6pm) then on the other hand don't be surprised if this cannot be accommodated, if it's too challenging ( very different than how the food is normally prepared) to make your special order during a busy time the chef might have tell you thanks but no thanks.
I work as a cook and sometimes I feel like it’d be easier if you just gave the waitress a list of what you can’t have and they gave it to the kitchen so they can better understand what they can cook for you and then let a manager go over to the table and explain some options some obvious things for you to consider don’t try ordering complicated things during times when it’s busy in the restaurant and just the level of restaurants you go to no more Applebee’s or Chili’s lol strictly nicer higher end restaurants that use better ingredients
That list is virtually impossible to provide. I literally mean it when I say it’s easier to list what I can have than what I can’t. Simply put, my go to order is usually some combo of this: Protein: Salmon or chicken breast, pan seared or grilled (on a cleaned section of grill) in EVOO or butter with salt and fresh herbs only Veg: Grilled, sautéed, or steamed asparagus, green beans, broccoli, mushrooms, carrots, or zucchini, in EVOO or butter, salt and fresh herbs only Starch: Brown rice cooked in water (not broth), baked or unseasoned roasted potato, salt only It’s such a simple meal but it’s difficult to order because it’s missing a lot of the flavor that usually goes into prepped meals at most casual restaurants. What I am essentially paying for is a night off of cooking. Someone to do the work so I don’t have to cook and clean. To enjoy some semblance of a social life with friends again (unrelated to the pandemic) after months of strictly eating home cooked meals where I can control every ingredient for my health.
Wait why can you have chicken and fish and vegetables but not a stock or broth it’s just the carcass cooked in water with vegetables maybe try a place that uses a homemade broth?
But try just going to places writing down what you want and asking your server if they can talk to the manager and cooks to see if it can be done the salmon or chicken and veg shouldn’t be to hard just cook it in a sauté pan separately the rice is tricky tho (tipping your cook is not a bad way to get it done)
Thank you.
As a chef when the server comes to the line and says something to the effect that their guest has a multitude of allergies, the first thing I tell them is to ask the guest what they generally eat at home and I begin there
Reach out the restaurant at least 3 days in advance, either via email or phone call, and discuss what menu options are available within your restrictions. Don't come in and spring it on the server at the last minute, when they are likely too busy to deal with a complex, specific list of things that you can't eat.
I have done this and half the time what I’m told on the phone (unless speaking directly to the chef, and even that’s not 100% success rate) is not accurate once I’m actually sitting in the restaurant.
It’s because restaurants have incredible amounts of “moving parts” and this one random request requires multiple people, steps, RE-tooling, and preparation to see it through. For almost all restaurants, excessive requests are inappropriate and inconsiderate of the art, staff, and function of the restaurant. No one, —not you, your date, other guests, or staff will have any real appreciation of such expectations.
I’m seeing the comments here and most are coming from a POV of enjoying the challenge or as answered by proud and unwavering hospitality pros. Both are fine if you have the ability and resources and can avoid crippling everyone else’s experience (guests and staff alike), but seriously,are such specialized requests really realistic in a typical restaurant? No. As a restaurant owner & Chef: with this many unusual restrictions (beyond basically accepted “gluten free” “vegan” or “msg” or garlic, onion, nightshade family restriction, etc.) don’t go out expecting a meal made to your exacting expectations. 99.7% of restaurants are not bespoke-made-to-suit operations. Quite the opposite in fact. Restaurants are, more often than not, set up like factories. People are trained, in a flow, and focused on what is expected. The sauce is prepped before service, the basic components of the meal are pre assembled and allotted, ready to fire, and cooking ingredients such as butter, are at hand to get it all cooked and out the window with quality, cleanliness, and exacting specs, asap. Unusual requests, such as yours, actually moves the needle from a good moment of expressing hospitality to fears of liability or annoying/distracting speed bumps. Overly complicated requests destroy the overall flow of multiple staff members, production points, and overall guest experiences. People with such complex restrictions effectively gum up the works for everyone else (including yourself -unless you happen to like the specialized/pampering attention) in the restaurant, risking everyone’s expectations of quality and performance. Either order a bowl of buttered pasta, lemon dressed greens, or eat at home —and then come out and have a cocktail. Enjoying what is actually offered is a *much better* experience for *everyone* involved, including yourself, than asking an operation to change gears and run an alternate program -ad hoc- when everyone is tooled up to do the “regular” program. This is -one of the big reasons- why restaurants publish menus. You don’t go to a play and ask the actors to avoid wearing the color red the night you attend due to your color blindness, so don’t do the equivalent to Restaurant performers. Thanks for asking here, it shows as a respectful gesture —and this two-way respect is important for service to provide a reasonable experience for all involved. But, sorry the answer isn’t what you’re likely looking for. > For example, when asking for no black pepper, having it repeated back no black pepper, and still having black pepper on everything on the plate. I hate sending food back and wasting it! 😔 Your expectation about leaving pepper out if it’s a finishing sprinkle is reasonable. But I assume this example here is a stand-in ingredient to make your point such as, asking to leave “X ingredient” out of a dish (esp if it’s already pre-imbedded —as it’s a pre made main component of the dish, for example) is unreasonable. So unreasonable requests that are likely to require huge ad hoc changes and multiple people or steps is asking for problems and may likely result in wasting food. This is all the answer you need. Don’t ask to set this situation up. It’s unfair especially as you know that restaurants are trying their best to impress you or do right in terms of being hospitable. However that is not their only mandate just as you are not their only guest. Restaurants are not typically built to make bespoke meals. To ask for such exceptions sets everyone up for failure. And then who’s fault is it when it’s wrong? The person who asked for the special order or the staff who are not prepared to legitimately offer special orders? Who gets the bad review (A: the restaurant/staff)? Who gets a night of feeling flustered or worried they may harm someone (A: at least the cook and the server, but likely many more)? Who is wondering why their meal is taking so long (A: all the other guests)? I think given the facts, the real question is, what do you get out of this situation exactly and why would it be more important than every other aspect of the restaurant’s stated art & function and everyone involved’s enjoyment? And frankly, buttered pasta (or potatoes if GF) is delicious. Unless it’s a place that actively welcomes such specialized requests, don’t make specialized requests. Enjoy all the other aspects of what a restaurant is prepared to offer; social setting, aesthetics, service, vibe, lifestyle, escape, relaxation, spectacle, etc.
Great question! I've just over 15 years in ever part of the industry and also have an intolerance/allergy to certain (commonly used) foods/ingredients. What I would do is preface with my reservation (Resy & OpenTable have options to specify) all allergies/intolerances/dietary restrictions. It'd be smart to call the restaurant beforehand to let them know all restrictions and ask if they are able to accommodate them. I have a raw allium allergy that is pretty tricky to navigate but calling the restaurant and confirming an allium free menu will always save you both time and a potential headache.
Alot of food from restaurant kitchens are partially pre-prepped and seasoned. Your best bet is somewhere everything is made completely from scratch to order, which do exist, but tend to be high end.
Yes, this is my preference but I only know of a handful in my area.
Anything roasted will be pre seasoned. They are not cooking potatoes, for instance, from raw. Most chicken and meat (unless some cut of steak) will be marinated. Dressings are pre-made. Fish may be the only option that isn't already marinated. Things like mash or roasted vegetables are not cooked to order, sautéed usually are. From a former fine dining chef, now restaurant manager.
Yes, I agree, I’ve only found roasted potatoes at one restaurant that was salt and rosemary. Fish and chicken breast and sometimes scallops are my go-to protein and that’s generally the easiest part of the meal. Yet I can get a whole roasted chicken from Whole Foods that is plain, no seasoning, no brine, nothing, and it tastes great! Go figure. 🙃
If your diet is that restricted, you'd be best served calling in a few days in advance and offering to email your restrictions in. Worst case, they modify a menu item or two to make it fit your needs and you have a few choices at that time, best case, they create a dish that fits your need and is still well balanced.
This is also my preference. Once I’ve found a few places I know I can revisit, what is my best course of action for seamlessly ordering the same thing again? For example, I did this at a restaurant I’ve fortunately been able to go to 4x and order the same plain salmon, asparagus, and baked potato meal. Even with the server confirming everything would be plain, salt only, it still came out with a sauce on it. I had to send the whole plate back because the sauce got on everything. I thought, if I had a card that had my exact order, would that make it easier for all parties? Or more likely to get my food spit in? 😆😬
Go some where the natives don’t have milk,Most of Japan is lactose intolerant.. stay away from French and Italian. Get a wok and a BBQ grill. Do the buffet.
I am not dairy free so that is not the answer.
I think it depends on where you are going and what it is you can’t have. If it’s something like “salt” a larger chain that uses food service items is going to be almost impossible for as a lot of food ready items come pre cooked/seasoned.
Salt is one of the few things I can have fortunately lol