Best restaurants for food allergies

[mom23tiggers]

I had a WONDERFUL lunch at LTT in November. The chef was different from our trip the previous year. She was an Asian lady in her late 40's.

That's interesting. The last time we went, the chef who came out to the table looked annoyed and said he couldn't make much of anything including dairy free mashed potatoes (the kids got plain potatoes smashed in some water). I was unhappy given our past great experience at LTT (and I'd sent in our form) but let it go until he sent out rolls with butter. That scared me, so I pulled the server aside and explained. She turned a little green when she realized what she'd put on the table, so she went in the back for a different chef who was a woman in her late 40's and probably from Southeast Asia. She did her best to try to fix things and reassure us, but I suspect most of the cooking for my kids had already been started by the other chef who clearly considered us an inconvenience.

Clearly things vary not only by restaurant but by what chef you get that day! I did send a letter to Disney complaining about the experience - and praising the chef at Tusker House who served my kids a phenomenal lunch. Other people haven't done as well there.

If only we could book restaurants based on the chefs schedules!!!

 

[Pinkee77]

This is a great thread. I am glad to know about Pizzafari. My DD10 is ana to milk and peanut.

We are locals with APs. In the last month we have been to LTT three times - my DD and I both like the Vegetarian pot pie and it's safe for her without any special order. Each time, the chef wasn't overly excited about having to come to our table.

We had a stellar experience at Whispering Canyon with Chef Eddie. He prepared something special that wasn't on the menu.

Chef Willemere (sp?) at Prime Time was exceptionally nice. She was able to have the fried chicken - I was told they don't use peanut oil and it was cooked in a dedicated fryer. Also, they made her a root beer float with Tofutti ice cream which she loved!

 

[mom23tiggers]

Chef Willemere (sp?) at Prime Time was exceptionally nice. She was able to have the fried chicken - I was told they don't use peanut oil and it was cooked in a dedicated fryer. Also, they made her a root beer float with Tofutti ice cream which she loved!

I'm delighted to hear that. Prime Time wasn't on my list, but I think we'll go there at least for lunch on my sons' birthday. Combined they're dairy/peanut/nut/sesame - which means the fried chicken should be fine!

Me - I'm a pain because I'm a gluten-free person who can't do rice either, but I'm also the least picky of my family. If it was just a plate of french fries, I'd be happy because I didn't cook them!

 

[clanmcculloch]

I'm delighted to hear that. Prime Time wasn't on my list, but I think we'll go there at least for lunch on my sons' birthday. Combined they're dairy/peanut/nut/sesame - which means the fried chicken should be fine!

Me - I'm a pain because I'm a gluten-free person who can't do rice either, but I'm also the least picky of my family. If it was just a plate of french fries, I'd be happy because I didn't cook them!

One of my kids can't have milk, peanuts, brazil nuts, hazelnuts of sesame and LOVED the fried chicken at 50s PTC (it was also gluten, egg and soy free so safe for both of my kids). YUMMY!!!! Don't forget to order a milk shake!!

I do believe that there is rice flour in the gluten free flour though. Do you just avoid rice or is cross contamination an issue? If you don't worry about cross comtamination then I bet the chef could toss some uncoated chicken in the deep fryer. You know, I bet he might even be able to pan fry some chicken for you without dusting it with any kind of coating. Ooooh, that would be wonderful!! I'm sure the chefs will come up with something on the menu that's safe for you even if it's not chicken (I'm in love with their chicken in case you didn't notice).

 

[Pinkee77]

I'm delighted to hear that. Prime Time wasn't on my list, but I think we'll go there at least for lunch on my sons' birthday. Combined they're dairy/peanut/nut/sesame - which means the fried chicken should be fine!

Me - I'm a pain because I'm a gluten-free person who can't do rice either, but I'm also the least picky of my family. If it was just a plate of french fries, I'd be happy because I didn't cook them!

lol! I hear you about having somone else cook! We rarely eat out anywhere because of food allergies. Disney is a nice break for me.

 

[clanmcculloch]

I just wanted to let everybody know that I just received an email from Chef Rafael at LTT to go over what kinds of options there would be for my kids with their weird and complicated lists of allergies. There wasn't a lot but there are a few options that they'll like. Unfortunately none are on the kids' menu and really I think they'll be charged as the most expensive items on the lunch menu (we're paying OOP this trip and the closest things to these foods are the most expensive lunches) but hey, at least there will BE options that they'll like. Phew!! Thank goodness my kids are carnivores.

Chef Rafael did really seem to understand my concerns and definitely understood about allergies. I had listed a bit of a grey area around their citrus allergy and he had very specific questions about that one because of the turkey containing a tiny amount in the pre-injected broth. He definitely "gets" it.

While it would be nice if there was a kids' meal (DD10 really prefers kids' meals most days), at least I know there will be tasty food that will be to their liking.

 

[HeatherL]

I like this thread. My ds is allergic to eggs, dairy and all nuts. We have ADR for Liberty Tree for lunch one day, but now I'm re-thinking it. It sounds like it depends on the chef you get. Hmmm-I'll have to take another look. We have ADR for Chef Mickey's for dinner our first night. I'm looking forward to them making ds dairy free mashed potatoes to eat with the roast beef. And I'm hopeful that they can give him soy ice cream so he can have dessert like everyone else (I plan to call ahead before we go to make sure). I'm also REALLY excited about the allergy friendly bakery in DDT. Ds will be super excited to be able to get a brownie or choc. chip cookie!

 

[clanmcculloch]

Heather, if he likes roast beef, mashed potatoes and Tofutti ice cream then go ahead and keep the LTT ADR. Chef Rafael confirmed that my kids could eat some flank steak that he'd prepare (I don't see it on the menu but he listed it as an option) as well as dairy free mashed potatoes. They even have Enjoy Life cookies so he could even have those if he wants.

 

[HeatherL]

Thanks! He loves steak and potatoes, and would be thrilled with anything that is Enjoy Life. My other problem is that I realized we are eating dinner at Chef Mickey's the night before, where he will have roast beef and mashed potatoes. Any other suggestions for an allergy friendly sit-down lunch at MK?

 

[HeatherL]

Does anyone have allergy experience to share about Crystal Palace and/or Sci Fi? I made ADR at Sci Fi because my kids really liked the idea of eating in the car.

 

[clanmcculloch]

At MK we're more likely to eat CS at CHH for the chicken tenders rather than TS. CP is so hit and miss. People seem to have either amazing experiences or negative experiences with very few of us having anything in between. The gluten, milk and egg free chocolate cake/brownies that they offer then have me toying with the idea of a repeat visit but I'm nervous since the one time we did eat there the chef helping us clearly either didn't know what he was doing or didn't understand the significance of allergies. As he was walking us through the buffet I caught him in several mistakes (a child allergic to citrus fruit obviously can NOT eat lemon poached salmon) plus he was not familiar with the concept of cross contamination (he couldn't understand why I'd ask for deli meat from the kitchen when the tongs from the deli meat were sitting on the cheese right next to it; both of my girls are allergic to milk). I've read of amazing experiences and experiences like mine so I suspect with CP it is VERY dependent upon the individual chef.

Does your son like ham or turkey? These are also gluten, milk and egg free at LTT. When we at at CM last year, the chef brought out salmon and chicken wings at the request of my girls. The roast beef at CM is very different than flank steak so they really are different. My DD12 wouldn't care that she's getting beef two days in a row so that wouldn't phase her. I'm assuming the flank steak will be similar to what we were served at Garden Grill. Well cooked flank steak is much closer to steak or even fajita meat while roast beef is more like prime rib; they're both beef but they're quite different IMO. At CM they also carry gluten, milk, egg, soy and nut free iced cupcakes. Your son will LOVE it.

We've never dined at Sci-Fi because I'm never quite sure how my kids will react to the movies. DD12 is autistic and it often surprises me just what will set her off and DD10 is a MAJOR chicken as well so we just skip it. Our go to meal at DHS is 50s PTC for that amazing gluten, milk, egg and nut free fried chicken. OMG that stuff's GOOD!!! Don't forget the milk shakes. I believe you can get the milk shakes at Sci-Fi as well.

 

[HeatherL]

Thanks so much! You are a wealth of information LTT also has "kid food" in the menu, and I'm sure they would make ds a plain hamburger if I asked. We also have ADR at Garden Grill the night we go to Epcot, so ds will be eating a lot of meat and potatoes. I'm now re-thinking our ADR at Sci-Fi. My ds (same one with allergies) is also on the autism spectrum-he has Aspergers. I didn't even think about the movies bothering him, but it's a definite possibility, especially if he's already tired or overstimulated. I hope I can still get ADR for Prime Time now.
Thanks again for all of your advice!

 

[allenscholar]

I have to be discussed as a possible problem with walnuts, but the information shared lines is so complete that will probably be good for my kids. This is a novel can go to Downtown Disney and buy something.

 

[clanmcculloch]

I'm glad to help! I enjoy this a lot. I've been told I should write a blog. LOL

The hamburger buns I believe are gluten, milk, egg and nut free so he may enjoy having this. I can't really comment on the taste of the buns since neither of my girls can eat them (they contain orange citrus fiber and yeast; neither of my girls can eat citrus fruit and one can't eat yeast) but lots of people enjoy them if they've been toasted or warmed in a microwave.

If you haven't already planned for this, you might want to take a trip to DTD to check out Babycakes. I can't wait to be able to give my kids the experience of pointing at a bakery counter and saying "choose whatever you want". I really should email them to ask what things have yeast (probably donuts) and citrus because that will be an exclusion for my girls but otherwise I think everything else will be safe. It's funny how this is one of the things I'm most excited about for our upcoming trip. We don't usually go to DTD but we're making a point of going just for Babycakes.

 

[HeatherL]

Oh I'm so excited about Babycakes! I've already told ds about it. In fact, we may eat at the restaurant attached to it for dinner on our DDT night. Pollo Camparo I think it's called? My ds loves burgers, so I'm sure he would be happy eating a burger every day. LOL Do you anything about getting the popcorn sold at WDW? I LOVE the way it tastes, but need to see if it can be made popped in oil only for ds.
You should totally write a blog! I would read it ETA: I changed our ADR from Sci-Fi to Prime Time.

 

[clanmcculloch]

Why do you need the popcorn to be popped only in oil? The regular "buttered" popcorn sold all over WDW is already dairy free. It has coconut oil but the majority of people with nut allergies are fine with coconut since it's not actually a nut (a small percent of people with nut allergies are ALSO allergic to coconut). It is produced in a plant that also produces peanut oil and is by Orville Redenbaucher. I just confirmed this is still true, at least it was as of January 4th when Special Diets sent me the latest and greatest info. You need to decide for yourself if that's safe for your child with peanut allergies. We don't worry about even cross contamination with peanuts; only actual pieces as this is the mildest allergy for both of my kids and only results in minor bloating when actually consuming real pieces of peanuts. I don't believe you can get the popcorn without the popcorn oil though.

I haven't looked into Pollo Compero. I don't believe that they're the best place for all food allergies. I think they may have a gluten free menu but I'm not so sure you can get much dairy free there or if they're set up to handle dairy free in the kitchen. When we're at WDW we stick with Disney owned restaurants. Babycakes will be an exception for us because of their reputation. They are totally separate companies that happen to have independent spaces within a larger complex. Don't assume that Pollo Compero has similar practices to Babycakes.

 

[HeatherL]

Thanks. I assumed the popcorn had real butter on it. The possible cross contamination bothers me though. My ds peanut allergy is severe, so I will have to speak to someone about special popcorn. Popcorn is one of his favorite snacks, so I'd hate for him to miss out. Thanks for the other info too-I will look into the burgers at Pollo Comparo to make sure they are safe. He can have gluten-he is allergic to eggs, dairy and all nuts.

 

[marypopfan]

They have an allergy menu on the website. No burgers and alot of things have milk in them.

 

[nfceagles]

She's right about the popcorn. It's safe except for the coconut oil that it's popped in is produced in the same facility as peanut oil. My DS had it without reaction, but we haven't had any scarey reactions before. I don't see how they could make anything separately, it's popped in a handcart. You can find Divvies caramel corn or kettle corn or something like that in some of the shops on Main St. Either the bakery or the confectionary. You could also bring microwave popcorn with you if you'll have access to a microwave and then bring it into the park with you.

We had a nice CS meal at Cosmic Ray's. The chicken and ribs meal was safe, it just needed to be handled properly. It's a lot of meat, but my kids are also carnivores.

 

[shelby101301]

Just so you are aware (I wasn't until this last trip), when planning for CS, you need to be aware of what time you are going.

Both at Flametree BBQ and Pizza Planet, we waited almost an hour from the time we got in line. At Flame tree it was particularly bad...I had to wait in the queue, then when I got to the cashier to order, they made me go up to the counter and flag down a chef (more waiting) we decided what my son could eat, then they sent me back to the cashier for which I had to wait again for two more people, then get dirty looks from the people who thought I was cutting.

Pizza Planet was only slightly better because I was able to glad down a mgr while in line to ask if they even had options. So while I was waiting, he took my order early and got it started. EVen then, it was another full 20 minutes from the time I paid.

And the hold your entire order.

Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the care they took to avoid cross contamination, but I will certainly plan our meal times to off peak, kwim?