Dining with Food Allergies (Chicago: restaurants, price, suburbs)

[TwistedxKiss]

I will be in Chicago this upcoming weekend from the 15th to the 19th, and I am allergic to milk. I am looking for recommendations of restaurants that will be willing/able to accomodate patrons with allergies.

My allergies are such that trace amounts of dairy are okay as long as it is very minimal. Meaning that I don't need a dedicated dairy free kitchen or anything, my food just can't be prepared with dairy and I need to not get a deer-in-headlights look from the staff when I inquire about this. A *good* restaurant will not be phased by this request and will have a manager or similar come out to discuss my options with me. A *bad* restaurant scenario would be if I ask about this and my server stares at me like that's the weirdest question she's ever heard. Eating out with food allergies usually goes one way or the other, and I am looking for restaurants in the first category.

Does anybody have any experience or advice? We will be staying in the loop area at the hyatt. We're not very adventurous when it comes to ethnic cuisines, and I'm not looking for anything super swanky or expensive.

[nikitakolata]

Originally Posted by TwistedxKiss

I will be in Chicago this upcoming weekend from the 15th to the 19th, and I am allergic to milk. I am looking for recommendations of restaurants that will be willing/able to accomodate patrons with allergies.

My allergies are such that trace amounts of dairy are okay as long as it is very minimal. Meaning that I don't need a dedicated dairy free kitchen or anything, my food just can't be prepared with dairy and I need to not get a deer-in-headlights look from the staff when I inquire about this. A *good* restaurant will not be phased by this request and will have a manager or similar come out to discuss my options with me. A *bad* restaurant scenario would be if I ask about this and my server stares at me like that's the weirdest question she's ever heard. Eating out with food allergies usually goes one way or the other, and I am looking for restaurants in the first category.

Does anybody have any experience or advice? We will be staying in the loop area at the hyatt. We're not very adventurous when it comes to ethnic cuisines, and I'm not looking for anything super swanky or expensive.

Unfortunately, I don't have experience with milk allergies, but that seems like it shouldn't be too tough to manage in, say, an Italian restaurant if you avoid creamy sauces.

The reason I'm replying at all is that I recently tried the gluten-free pizza at Lou Malnati's and I was really happy with it. The idea of a sausage crust grossed me out initially, but in reality it is really good. I love pizza and giving it up is one of the toughest parts of having Celiac. So, just in case anyone else looking is in that boat, that's one recommendation from me.

You may be interested in these links about milk-free dining though:

https://www.city-data.com/forum/chica...ee-dining.html

Gluten and Dairy Free Dining Options in Chicagoland and the Suburbs | Gladly Gluten Free

http://lisacooksallergenfree.com/PDF...eofchicago.pdf

[TwistedxKiss]

I found a website which has a search engine where you can search by location and allergy (including gluten) and find restaurants with reviews from other allergy sufferers, which you may be interested in as well-- allergyeats.com. They list Lou Malnati's and mention that they're willing to do a cheeseless pizza, so that place actually probably would be doable for me if they still have a crust that's dairy free.

There are a lot of places that could easily do dairy free options, or even already have dairy free options on their menu just because that's how they prepare that meal anyway-- like the non-creamy italian dishes you mention, but the word "allergy" scares them and they say they can't accommodate to avoid taking the risk so then I have no way of knowing whether or not it's safe. So I really just need to find places where they aren't afraid of the WORD so they can work with me to figure out what those easy dishes are! My boyfriend doesn't have allergies and isn't going to eat weird vegan food anyway, so I'm not even looking for speciality places necessarily. Just places with really good service who know what they put in their food.

Some hints that may be helpful in thinking of suggestions: I love beef and usually the only way that's not dairy free is if it's grilled in butter, so if you know a good burger or modestly priced steak place that doesn't grill in butter, that's an option. Also love anything italian that doesn't have cream, butter, or cheese-- a tall order, but those entrees exist.