Diet Part 5: Restaurants

When we started eliminating things from Josiah's diet, eating out became a NIGHTMARE. At first we just avoided all restaurants. We would sometimes eat at the buffet at Whole Foods. But this got to be old. Sometimes it's just nice to sit down, order, and be served. And we wondered what we would do when family came in town and wanted to go out to eat. Or when we go out of town how would we feed Josiah without the trip being a disaster? Then a friend told me about another friend (who is on a similar diet for health reasons) who had found some restaurants she could go to. I emailed her to ask for tips. I cannot express how thankful I am to be able to take Josiah out to eat. It can be a minefield, but we are learning to avoid the mines.

Here are the steps I take before we go out to eat.

1)A few days before going out to eat, decide which restaurant we are going to.
2)Look online for their menu.
3)Find one or two items I know Josiah would like to order. (Sometimes I ask him to pick.)
4) On the day before we go, call the restaurant at a non-busy time.
5)Ask to speak with a manager or chef.
6)Explain that my son has food sensitivities and we would like to eat at their restaurant, but we need to know the ingredients of one or two of their items. (They will sometimes ask what he is allergic to. I respond that he's not allergic and that the list of things he is sensitive to is way too long, plus they wouldn't know if their food has these things without looking.)
7)I then mention the specific dish and ask them to tell me the ingredients.
8)If they mention any ingredient that is pre-made (ex. ketchup, mayo, bbq sauce, soy sauce, salad dressing, etc) I get them to go get that bottle and read me the ingredients. If anything that comes with the dish is fried (ex. french fries) I get them to check what they fry it in. (I've had one restaurant tell me that on their container of cooking grease it said that it was manufactured on the same equipment as other things with MSG!)
9)I make sure to ask about the ingredients of any side dishes that may come with the meal. (Ex. The mashed potatoes that came with one meal had cream and butter in them. I had them go look at the ingredients for these two items. Sure enough, they had things in them Josiah couldn't have.) Also, don't forget the ingredients of the bread that may also come with the meal.
10)I thank the manager or chef for taking their time to help me out.

Most restaurants have been great about helping me. Usually local restaurants which make their meals fresh daily are ok. Chain restaurants which serve boxed frozen items which are shipped to them are not going to be ok. We have found some chain restaurants that have gluten-free items. If they are conscious about that then usually we can find a dish that Josiah can eat.

Here is a list of restaurants that we have found we can eat at.

Trios - All their food is made fresh.
Mellow Mushroom - We usually get a white pizza with spinach and mushrooms.
P.F. Changs - We get the Crispy Honey Shrimp made with the gluten-free soy sauce. (This totally confuses the waiter because of course the battered shrimp aren't gluten-free. But the normal soy sauce has sodium benzoate and the gluten-free has no preservatives.) They also have some gluten-free dishes.
Frodo's Pizza - only fresh toppings (Anything premade/canned will most likely have preservatives. Ex. pepperoni, ham, sausage, pineapple, etc.)
Papa John's Pizza - same as Frodo's
Smoke on the Water - They made Josiah a special veggie side dish not on their menu because he couldn't have any of their side dishes!
Bonefish Grill - Children's Fried Shrimp is hand-battered, not the boxed, frozen kind! They also have several gluten-free dishes.

As a side note - Just because I list these restaurants that Josiah can eat at does not mean he can eat anything at these restaurants. We have found specific dishes which he can eat and those are the only ones he orders. (Thankfully, with kids they always want the same thing from the same place anyway, it seems.)

When we go out of town I use the above strategy for finding a restaurant Josiah can eat at.

Overall, this has worked really well for us to be able to go out to eat with family and for special occasions.