Chili's

 

We went out to dinner this week at Chili's.  My husband had seen advertisements for their new fresh mex menu and wanted to check it out.  He was especially interested in the fresh mex bowls.  Before we went,  we looked up their online allergen menu.

To find the menu, go to their website at www.chilis.com.  On the left hand side of the page, click on MENU.  Then scroll down to the bottom left until you see Download Fact Sheets.  Click on the option for Chilis Allergen (pdf).  Lucky for us, egg allergies is the first page.    If you have multiple allergies, you will have to make sure what you want to order is on each list.

So, my husband ordered the chicken chipotle fresh mex bowl without the corn salsa and without the tortilla strips.  He had them add some guacamole.  I am so glad they had this information online because we eat tortilla chips and all kinds of salsa which normally do not have any egg and wouldn't have thought to ask for those items to be taken off.  We figured out that the tortilla strips must be fried in the same oil as other foods with egg in them.  I had the corn salsa on my salad and I think it may have had a very light coating of some kind of dressing containing egg in it.  We also had the skillet queso appetizer and my  husband had his with flour tortillas.  I wish they had more options for my husband on their menu, but he very much enjoyed his dinner and we were able to order stress free.  

Other restaurants with online allergen menus can be found here.

Applebee's

 
 
I had lunch with a friend this past week at Applebee's.  I was pleasantly surprised by their new lunch menu.  They have several combination options with fairly reasonable prices.  They also had some good healthier options for the kiddos.

Applebee's also has a pretty good online menu for food allergens.  I know they update it pretty regularly because they have taken off some items my husband had previously had due to ingredient changes.

To find the menu, go to their website at www.applebees.com, scroll to the bottom portion of the page and click on Allergen Info.  Then you must select the file for your specific allergy.  If you have multiple allergies, you will have to make sure what you want to order is on each list. 

Other restaurants with online allergen menus can be found here.

Red Lobster

I haven't complete forgotten about my list of restaurants with online allergen menus . . .  Eventually, I will get a pretty good list going.

A reader recommended Red Lobster.  I just looked up their allergen menu online and it is a good detailed menu and they do have a pretty good list of items for someone with egg allergies.  They also list various cooking options to help reduce allergen risk.  I am definitely adding this restaurant to my list and I am thinking our family may need to dine their soon! 

To find their menu, go to their website at www.redlobster.com.  Click on the tab labeled Seafood & Health.  Then click on the tab Allergy info.  There is a link on that page that takes you to the most up to date menu.

We find it so helpful to be able to plan my husband's meal before we arrive to the restaurant.  What is your favorite restaurant with an online allergen menu? 

Chick-fil-A

 

Back to making my allergy-friendly dining out list.  I hope to add at least one restaurant a month.  Chick-fil-A does an excellent job of including lists of food allergens for their menu online here.  They also include a separate list for gluten-free options and a list of diabetic exchange!  On their website, click on Food, then Health/Allergen Information and then Allergen, Gluten & Diabetic Exchange.

While Chick-fil-A does have something for everyone, I do wish they had a few more allergy-friendly menu items.  Most of their menu items contain dairy and several contain egg.  But I do appreciate that you can look up the menu online and plan ahead for your visit.  For kids, the grilled nuggets are allergen-free!  My husband (allergic to eggs) usually enjoys the Chargrilled Chicken Club Sandwich.  They also have several allergy friendly sides:  waffle fries, fruit cup and buddy fruits.

Chipotle Mexican Grill

On my Facebook post, someone recommended Chipotle Mexican Grill for posting their allergen information online.  We really enjoy eating at Chipotle, so I am happy to add it to my list!  

On their website, click on Menu then Special Diet Information.  Of the top eight most common allergens, they only have four listed as potential ingredients.  That is pretty amazing!  They only have one menu item that even contains egg.  I have never even seen or heard of that menu item at the location we go to.  I am thinking we need to eat here more often!

Do you have a favorite restaurant that publishes their allergen information online?

Uno Chicago Grill

Up to this point, I have pretty much only posted recipes.  But after a particularly good dining out experience, I decided maybe I should share a good allergy friendly restaurant.  In the comments, feel free to share your favorites, too.

Recently, we were traveling and as you know traveling with food allergies can be a little bit of a challenge.  I always try to scope out restaurants near by to find some good options before we arrive.  On our most recent trip, there was an Uno Chicago Grill not far from our hotel.  I was excited to see their allergen listings online.  To view the allergens and ingredient listing, go to the nutrition tab and click on each individual menu option.  They even have gluten-free pizza options for our friends who can't eat gluten.  (But their gluten-free pizza does contain egg.)

We had a great meal and it was so nice to not have to guess about which menu items did or did not have egg.  My husband had a delicious starter salad of Field Greens with Goat Cheese.  Then my husband and I shared the Numero Uno Deep Dish Pizza.  We were even able to order dessert, which is such a treat!  As you know, dessert is almost always difficult for most food allergies.  My husband loved the All American Hot Apple Crumble.  Our kids were perfectly happy with the pizzas and sundaes on the kid's menu, which were by the way large enough for an adult!  Sadly, we don't have an Uno Chicago Grill close to us but I wish we did!

I want to start a list of allergy-friendly restaurant chains that publish their ingredients/allergens online allowing families with food allergies to dine out with a little less stress!  See the list I have started here.  Please help me add to it!