Many parents can relate to the stress from feeding a picky toddler or child. Now imagine feeding a picky kid with food allergies! This can be very stressful for the whole family. A year ago, our family made a huge lifestyle change in the way of eating. This was because we discovered that our daughter had a laundry list of food allergies to name (dairy, egg, gluten, and nuts). Pretty soon, we learned that many other friends had kids with food sensitivities or allergies. With a kid, we try to be flexible by still eating out. We soon learned that the biggest learning curve when eating out with food allergies is that allergens are hidden EVERYWHERE! At least if you cook at home, you can look at the ingredients list of your items. With some recommendations from friends and some trial and error, we have found a few favorites:
ALLERGY-FRIENDLY places to eat in Charlotte.
1. Mellow Mushroom (various locations) - Although you would think that pizza is NOT allergy friendly, this place does an excellent job providing delicious and safe gluten-free pizza. They also have vegan cheese options. What kid doesn’t like pizza? Win-win for the whole family. Other wonderful pizza places that accommodate food allergies include Brixx Pizza (various locations) and Tru Pizza (7828 Rea Rd F, Charlotte, NC 28277).
2. Bad Daddy’s Burger Bar (various locations) - We like this place because burgers are easy to build and to customize. They have a gluten free menu that is great. Their servers are very mindful of other allergies as well.
3. Chik-Fil-A (various locations) - I have yet to meet a kid (or parent) who does not love Chik-fil-A. Their staff always go to great lengths to accommodate allergies. They are happy to accommodate gluten and peanut allergies by grilling nuggets for us separately. Also available is their gluten-free bun. Their potato fries are also gluten-free friendly (but still fried in peanut oil, although some allergists ok peanut oil since it is highly refined - please note that everyone’s situation is different and should listen to their providers!).
4. Viva Chicken (various locations) - This is the other wonderful chicken option in town. Their kids rotisserie plate with plain rice is perfect for our daughter. We love all their sides. We do avoid their pulled chicken since it has whey protein. They do use soybean oil which may need to be considered by those with a soy allergy. Their staff is always happy to answer our questions about allergies.
5. Sunflour Baking (various locations) -This may be the best vegan bakery place in town. They clearly mark at their counter what allergens are in each dessert. We have ordered several custom cakes from here.
6. The Southern Olive (8356 Charlotte Hwy Ste 102, Fort Mill, SC 29707) - This is the other wonderful vegan bakery we love. It is across the SC border, they have a wonderful vegan AND gluten-free option for almost anyone.
Other tips - Learn to become investigative! Things like whey or egg are hidden in marinades, or issues arise with cross-contamination of ingredients. Before trying any new restaurants, you may search online first to see if they have an allergen menu available. If things are still in questions, you can always call ahead or just clearly address to your server about food allergies. Also, don’t ever be shy to ask your server again if a meal has been accommodated if it looks suspicious! Lastly, a mobile great app to download is AllergyEats.
