How I Order Off the Menu

[jesse_the_k]

I know that the pandemic means many of us haven’t been inside a restaurant for a while, but I’m hoping that will change in the next year.

As folks have mentioned, eating out with food allergies and sensitivities can be risky — even when a restaurant has an allergen specific or gluten free menu.

There’s another approach: to "order off the menu."† You imagine a meal that’s as safe as possible and which uses foods that the restaurant already has on hand. You check with your server to see whether this is possible. You provide your server with specific instructions. They confer with the kitchen staff and then come back to confirm or deny. If they confirm, then shortly you’ll be eating food! If they deny, then it’s time to hunt in your bag for emergency food.

Here’s what this looks like when all goes well:

1. Check if it’s possible

To the server: "I have some food sensitivities (allergies … whatever word you prefer). Can I order off the menu?" If you get the go-ahead…

2. Decide what to ask for

I’ve had good luck with poached or steamed food. These wet cooking methods are least likely to include cross-contamination with breading or marinades.

3. Place the order deliberately

I tell the server, "I want naked food. Place any sauces, dressings, or spices on the side in a separate cup. I want a poached chicken breast with steamed rice. I would like a side serving of Italian dressing."

The server has to write down a lot of detail — give them time to work and have them read it back to you.

Other protein possibilities include: fish (U.S. restaurants often serve salmon) or eggs. Sides could be potatoes, broccoli stems, Brussel sprouts.

4. Eat and enjoy

Have you used this strategy successfully? Has this approach let you down?

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† English idiom is confusing: when you read menu items aloud to a server, you're "ordering from the menu." When the chef decides to go vegetarian, they're "taking meat off the menu."