A couple months ago Kayla's allergist was approached by a local restaurant owner about getting the word out that his Italian restaurant is very accommodating to food allergies. So in our support group meeting last month we decided to test him out. Last night we had our meeting at this restaurant. I had arranged with the owner ahead of time to expect our group.

So 11 of us (including our allergist) swooped in on this restaurant and gave him a run for his money. He was phenomenal. So knowledgeable about the menu and foods and food allergies. He said he can and will adapt any dish. Every dish is cooked in it's own pan and he and his staff are very aware and conscious of cross-contamination issues. I was very unsure myself about eating dairy-free there since cheese is a huge staple in Italian cuisine. But after talking to him I decided to try the chicken francaise. It's normally served in a lemon butter sauce but for me he made it in a lemon, white wine and olive oil sauce. This was hard for me since I was without Kayla and I usually take advantage of that to get my dairy fix. But since that would have defeated the purpose of going there, I was good and ate dairy-free. It was absolutely delicious!!! And J agree wholeheartedly when he had my left-overs today.

So needless to say I'm looking forward to having a second restaurant option for Kayla.

I applaud the owner for creating an environment where us allergy moms could go and feel comfortable. He was brave taking on 10 of us at once but he held his own and then some.