Fantastic Food Allergy Dining Experience
We travel to NYC for medical care every few months with my food allergic son (more on that later) and I usually check in with Allergic Girl for some tips on dining out. This time I just popped over to her Please Don’t Pass the Nuts Blog and when I read about Dos Caminos Third Avenue, it seemed like the best place to start.
I called on Monday to inquire about dinner on Wednesday. The hostess immediately offered to transfer me to the chef (even at 11:45 am). I spoke with Chef Anthony who patiently went over all of the ingredients of various food items with me. Even though my son avoids milk, wheat, egg, peanuts, tree nuts, seeds, fish and shellfish, we were able to decide on a “safe” menu. Anthony said that they would either purchase or set aside some steak or chicken without marinade depending on what my son wanted to order.
My son decided on chicken this time, so per Anthony’s suggestion, I called back on Tuesday and asked him to set aside a chicken breast for my son. Chef Anthony explained that he would not be there on Wednesday night but that he would make sure that the chef on duty understood how to cook for my son.
We arrived in the city the next day for my son’s appointment and later found that our car had been towed! So when we finally made it to the restaurant, we were 30 minutes late for our reservation. “Not a problem” we were told as we were promptly seated.
Not one but two waiters came to greet us! They informed us that they were aware of our special needs (-without out me saying anything! They must have flagged our reservation.) and that they were going to take good care of us. WOW!
We ordered chips and salsa after reconfirming the ingredients. Delicious hot corn tortillas chips straight from a dedicated fryer with three different kinds of freshly made salsa–most “safe” for my son. A mild roasted tomato variety was his favorite.
Then Chef Andrew came out to welcome us and to reassure us that Chef Anthony had left very detailed instructions on my son’s meal. We went over this again as well as some options for oils and vinegars they had available for salad dressing.
So my son had:
Fresh and hot Corn Tortilla chips with Roasted tomato salsa
Romaine lettuce salad with extra virgin olive oil and apple cider vinegar
Beautiful, lightly seasoned pan seared chicken breast (cringe: ds also had ketchup with this)
Corn on the cob –grilled separately and seasoned with salt and pepper
Plain Steamed rice (The rice and corn were cooked separate for my son as they usually season these.)
Barq’s Root beer to drink
No wheat, dairy, egg, peanuts, tree nuts, sesame, fish or shellfish and fabulous!
My husband and I also had wonderful dinner, truly delicious Mexican food. The service could not have been better.
We will make this a regular stop on our trips to NYC and for those of you who travel there for fun or for medical care, I’d highly recommend it. My son (8 years old) said that “on a scale of one to ten, I’d give it a 15″ and I agree!
Please do your homework though: call, explain, reconfirm and then prepare for fantastic dining experience!
June 20, 2009 @ 7:32 am
Hi Gina,
That’s wonderful. I live right outside of the city and will try Dos Caminos next time I’m in the city. My daughter is allergic to wheat, egg and barley.
Thanks!
June 24, 2009 @ 12:03 am
Glad you had a good experience in NYC, except for the tow! Do you come in to to go the Mt. Sinai allergy clinic? We go there too.
I have had very good experience at Cafe U on Lexington and 95th street. The chef came over to our table and prepared a special dish for my son that was not on the menu. He felt he could not get his grill clean enough so he steamed his fish instead.
I have also heard that the chef at Barking Dog on 3rd ave, has a daughter with food allergies and is also very accommodating.
June 29, 2009 @ 6:41 am
Hi Gina,
Next time you come to Chicago, give me a call/email, I will set you up with some yummy allergen destinations.
Hope to meet you soon.
Lisa
June 29, 2009 @ 10:34 am
Hi Lisa,
I live in Chicago (NW side) and would love to know about your restaurant recommendations.
Also I’d like to know what to do about my son next year when he goes all day at school and will have lunch in the lunchroom which is not nut and peanut free.
Thanks, Diana
June 29, 2009 @ 10:34 am
Hi Lisa,
I live in Chicago (NW side) and would love to know about your restaurant recommendations.
Also I’d like to know what to do about my son next year when he goes all day at school and will have lunch in the lunchroom which is not nut and peanut free.
Thanks, Diana
June 30, 2009 @ 9:14 pm
Hello,
I would like to start off by saying THANK you for the existence of this website. Not only does the information here gives me great comfort to know how many moms are out there just like myself, but also this website is super informative and simply wonderful. I have learned so many things just by reading the comments. My daughter has all eight common food allergies and plus some. She is only 2 1/2 years and I try to teach her every day about the foods she can and cant have. SHe is pretty content with what she eats, but the only tough thing is going out to eat. I live in Queens NY so the only safe place that we do go out is to Grill Point on Main street in Flushing. It is a Kosher restaurant, so they do not serve shellfish, dairy, I dont think they have any nut/peanuts related items. They We usually order chicken, meats and rice related items. Thank you all for the restaurant information in NYC. Please post more if anyone has more info!!!!!
Thank you a thousand times!!!
FYI: I go on this blog a lot: this mom has great recipes that she prepares for her kids with allergies —-yammyallergenfreeblogspot.com
Natalie
October 18, 2009 @ 10:30 am
Thank you so much for this information. We too go to Mt Sinai in NYC…but have never dared to try a restaurant. I’m going to go to either Barking Dog or Dos Caminos!! SO exciting. Both of my kids are allergic to milk & eggs. Anyone have suggestions for New Jersey? I live in Chatham…but will travel.
Thanks again,
Lori