The King Street Grille Mount Pleasant SC

My friend Kathy and I went to King Street Grille for lunch on Monday. The last time Kathy and I had lunch together was at Piccolo Spoleto where Kathy was helping me with my booth at a craft show. They had a tea room delivery and when the volunteer was done with all our questions/requests we apologized for being so much trouble. She said, "That's okay, you're my first difficult customers." (Kathy has to eat soft foods for a while due to recent jaw surgery). So now we refer to ourselves as "the difficult ones." So the difficult pair goes to King Street Grille. We have both checked the menu ahead of time on line to be sure we each felt we could be accommodated by the choices that they have. Well, they have an extensive menu which is a great indication for both of us. http://www.thekingstreetgrille.com/ Our server was pleasant and prompt and she was amicable with our food questions. Ironically, even with all the choices on the menu, we had both honed in on the crab cake sandwich. It is served on a warm pretzel roll with waffle fries. Kathy requested to leave the pretzel roll off and was able to substitute the waffle fries with steamed broccoli with no problem. I inquired about the crab cake containing or being cooked in any milk product and she thought that it was not. Since I have had crab cakes here before I felt safe ordering these. But she did come back fter she placed the order to let me know that she had asked in the kitchen. Our food arrived and the crab cakes were delicious! We were both quite pleased with all of our food. The manager even stopped by a couple of times to check on us. Another pleasant dining episode for the "difficult ones"!

Hucks Lowcountry Table Isle of Palms SC

Saturday night there were four of us that dined at Huck's Lowcountry Table at the Isle of Palms. I had eaten there previously with friends but it had been a while ago and had recalled it being a very good experience. One reason this should be a good option for me is that this is a restaurant that uses seasonal foods so the chefs should be creative and used to changing menu items. Our server greeted us right away and got our drink order promptly. She came back with our drinks, told us of their specials, then proceeded to take our order. I always kind of hate this as I feel I am the "problem child" at the table. But I explained my milk issue to the server and she was just great about it. I ordered a grilled Wahoo dish that was to be served over corn puree and topped with grilled shrimp and a type of salsa. She made lots of notes on her order pad and told me she felt sure there was a milk product in the corn puree. I told her I would take anything as a substitute as long as it was safe for me. Ken is a friend of ours that was with us and he ordered the same dish but as was written on the menu. Okay, great! A little bit later our food arrives being delivered by another server. She asked who had the dairy free Wahoo and I told her I did. Ken then got his dish too. He looks at his and looks at mine. He says, "Yours looks just like mine." Yes, it did. We flagged our server down and she said "I swear I thought the corn puree has a milk product in it. Please don't eat any until I check. I wrote that on the ticket and even told them!" She comes back in just a minute, obviously exasperated with the kitchen, and removes my plate immediately with apologies. Now I have to wait to have my food replaced. In the meantime the manager does come out and is very apologetic. A few minutes later I have a new piece of grilled wahoo over asparagus. The food was good but not great. We all enjoyed being out at the beach and the company was great. (They were visiting from Atlanta.) I feel sure the server really did all she could to take care of me but there definitely was a misstep in the kitchen. It really helped that the manager came to apologize and I did not leave feeling negative about my dining experience. But Charleston has more than it's fair share of good/great restaurants (as most of you know!) so it would be easy to put other restaurants higher on the totem pole when deciding where to go!

An Overview of My Blog.

This is my attempt to review my experiences dining out with food allergies. It seem people have more food sensitivities than ever. There are a lot of theories as to why this is happening but no real concrete answers. As for my personal experience, I am allergic to milk and all milk products. Now I have not always been allergic. a matter of fact, quite the opposite! From the time I was a baby until approximately 5 years ago I drank milk everyday of my life. And I loved cheese! Even my first job at the age of 14 was at an ice cream parlor in Myrtle Beach. I worked 4-5 nights a week and always had a chocolate sundae and a different flavor of ice cream each night. I almost believe I have consumed my lifetime quota so my body said "that's it for you!"
As with any food allergy, milk is not just found in obvious foods. When shopping I have to read labels and search for words such as whey and cassein. These can be found in many processed foods and are often found in products like hot dogs, sausage, and breads. So, as you can see, this can make dining out even more challenging. I have to be extra cautious when eating at chain style restaurants where the food is largely pre-prepared and contains additives to keep the foods fresh. It would be ideal not to eat at these types of restaurants but sometimes it's just nice because of convenience. On my last trip to TGI Fridays they brought out an allergy menu to help me in making a selection. The real surprise was that they had absolutely NO items that did not contain milk. Even the balsamic vinaigrette dressing had some milk product in it which I would not have even questioned normally. I did appreciate that they were very nice in locating a menu like that for me and we knew to leave and go elsewhere. But...I find it a disappointment not to have something on the menu to accommodate everyone, particularly in these days when people seem to have so many food allergies. On the other hand, a favorite chain style restaurant for me to go to is PF Changs as they are VERY accommodating to food allergies. It is printed on their regular menu to please let them know of your allergy and they will print out a menu just for you.
I also believe that any restaurant that prepares their food to order really has no reason not to oblige their customer's special requests. It is so nice when I dine at a restaurant, have a server that does not mind talking to the kitchen staff, have the kitchen LISTEN to the wait staff, and  I am served food that is not only milk- free but flavorful. Another problem I have from time to time is ordering something that sounds delicious from the menu even without the cheese (or whatever it is) and getting the entree and it is very bland. I have had on numerous occasions, the person preparing my food not put anything on it either because they don't understand or they are just irritated by my requests.
As the food allergy problem continues to increase I believe restaurants of any kind need to be aware of accommodating this ever growing group of customers. Of course, it is much easier to eat at home and know that I am "safe" but I have always enjoyed dining out and eating foods that I would not prepare at home.
I would like to use this blog not only to share my experiences but hopefully to hear from anyone else about their experiences dining out with allergies for yourself or your children.