Restaurants

So we all know that having food allergies is no fun, but when it comes to restaurants, it can get a lot worse. If you're ever just going out with your friends, you have to call ahead to the restaurant to make sure that you can actually eat something there without dying. If it ends up that that restaurant is not good with dealing with allergies then you have to pick a completely different restaurant to eat at, usually screwing up your plans. If it turns out that the restaurant is safe and you can eat there, then once you get there you have to tell your server, who usually brings over the manager so they don't accidentally kill you, and then you tell the manager and they assure your safety. 

Sometimes the managers are more re-assuring than others. At one restaurant, The Border Cafe, i told my server about my allergies and she then brought over the manager. The manager came up to the table and the conversations went as follows:

"So i heard that someone here has a food allergy?"
"That's me" I said, raising my hand,
"OH! YOU!" He yelled, pointing at me, "You'll be fine," and he walked away.

After that experience i do not plan on going back to that restaurant, even though the food was good and it didn't kill me. Other managers are more assuring and promise to have your food made separately from everything else. Some fairly-priced restaurants that are good about this are The Ninety-Nine and Bertuccis. Although the more expensive restaurants are usually very good about it, they're over-priced.. For instance, Abe and Louie's in Boston is great with allergies, but they are way out of my price range for being a teenager!

When going out to eat, it can be hard to speak up for yourself and tell the server about your allergies. It can sometimes be embarrassing when you can't eat the food you want and you sometimes keep your friends from eating what they want because being around that food will kill you. But not talking to the server is dangerous and i highly recommend that every single person with food allergies talks to their server every time they go out to eat. It can be embarrassing, but death is way worse than a little bit of embarrassment.