- I was born with allergies to dairy, eggs, milk, tree nuts, and sesame.
- Going out for dinner has never been a pleasant experience because I have to explain my allergies.
I've never known what it's like to go to a restaurant and order anything you want from the menu. I was born allergic to dairy, eggs, milk, tree nuts, and sesame.
I love dining out, but when I order, I dread having to list all the foods that make my throat close up.
After 24 years of conveying intolerances in an apologetic tone to waiters, I believed I was always going to feel like a burden at restaurants. This changed when I saw an allergist for the first time since my midteens.
I hadn't been to my allergist in years
Growing up in Canada, I visited the allergist regularly, but as the yearly appointments showed how stubborn my intolerances were, my checkups became sparser.
By the time I finished college in New York City, I hadn't seen my allergist in over five years. But since I was spending some time at home after graduation before pursuing my first postcollege job, the downtime seemed like an excellent opportunity to start seeing one again.
During my first appointment, a nurse scribbled letters and symbols on my arm with a pen and applied precise dollops of allergens in liquid form. She scratched each drop with a needle. After a few moments, some spots predictably swelled, like sesame, cashews, and pistachios — my most severe allergies. But some I'd expected to react didn't.
The doctor told me that besides cashews and pistachios, I didn't seem to be allergic to tree nuts anymore. And my dairy allergy was so faint that I could probably start eating cheese. During a second visit, I brought along a little spread of tree nuts and cheddar — I was told aged cheese was safer — and sampled these things I'd never thought I'd ever eat.
There were no reactions.
I realized I wasn't too fond of the foods I hadn't had for decades
I drove home, making a mental list of all the foods I wanted to try, while snacking on the salted roasted almonds I'd brought. But after a handful, I realized the inside of my mouth started itching a little. The allergist had warned me to start incorporating former allergens gradually because while I didn't react to the small quantity I had in the hospital, experimenting with larger quantities could provoke some discomfort.
He also advised me to avoid alcohol when eating these foods because alcohol increases absorption, which can worsen allergic reactions.
My friends, family, and boyfriend were excited to take me out to taste new foods. Still, I couldn't order as freely as they thought, and waiters had to navigate my unusual requests.
Dairy was complicated. I learned that aged cheeses like Parmesan and pecorino were fine, but fresher ones like mozzarella were not: Raw mozzarella in an Italian sandwich gave me a stomachache so bad I thought my appendix had burst.
Still, my boyfriend kept taking me to his favorite pizza spots, but I craved my usual marinara pie. I realized I wasn't too fond of cheese, having not grown up eating it. Servers and friends alike were confused by my request to still have Parmesan on the side, despite being able to tolerate it.
Trying tree nuts at restaurants was challenging. I couldn't start eating things like pesto pasta because I wasn't sure what quantity of pine nuts I could tolerate. But when I was ready to try some dishes that featured almonds or pecans, I'd be disappointed when sometimes the meal would arrive without them, as the waiters took my mentioning my cashew and pistachio allergy as meaning all tree nuts.
And on nights I'm feeling adventurous, I've absent-mindedly ordered a drink, spoiling my plans to try new dishes because I'm afraid the alcohol will exacerbate an adverse reaction.
While I was excited for dining out to get easier, my food experimentation has mostly been happening at home. But I'm happy getting used to adding a bit more parmesan to my pasta or some nuts to my salad until I feel secure ordering with more freedom at the restaurant.