The Restaurant Experience

Eating out at restaurants can be a bit of a pain with food allergies. Most fast food places post nutritional information online and earmark specific allergens in their ingredients lists. This can be a huge help. Before I go out with the kids, I make sure to check up on anyplace we plan to dine at. It's important to double check the information listed, because menus and ingredients change.

When you are dealing with casual and fine dining chains, or smaller local eateries, things can be a lot more hit and miss. Some places have vegetarian or vegan food marked on menus, others list the ingredients in the dishes, but not the sauce. Always ask your server if you aren't sure about something, and make sure you tell them about severe food allergies to avoid cross contamination or hidden ingredients. Cheese is easy to have left off a pizza, for instance, but the pepperoni might contain casein or whey protein, both of which are milk derivatives.

In my experience, most places will bend over backwards to cater to special dietary needs. I recently ordered a pasta dish at a local Italian restaurant. I asked our server to make sure any cheese was left out of the dish (I was sharing my food with Evie), and she passed it on to the kitchen. When our order was served, I noticed little melted bits of Parmesan in my meal. I informed our waitress, and she immediately took the dish back to the kitchen. They made up a whole new order, and sent the one they mixed up home with us, free of charge. They were very apologetic, and very polite about the situation. I was impressed with how good about it they were. 

The alternative to eating fancy out is always eating fancy in. This weeks recipes are a complete meal with sides that are dairy, soy, and nut free.The sides are both vegetarian and vegan.

Coffee Rubbed Steak

The rub I made up was inspired by this recipe here. This makes enough for one 450 g (1 lb) steak, or two 200-250 g (1/2 lb) steaks.

1 tbsp fine ground coffee

1 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp coarse salt

1/2 tsp pepper

The night before, mix up your spices and rub them into both sides of your steak. Wrap your steak in clear film or seal it into a baggie with all the air smoothed out. Let it sit in the fridge for 12-24 hours. This allows the meat to brine. When you are ready, fire up the grill or stove and brown for 2-4 minutes per side over med-high heat. If you like your steak rare, go with the shorter cook time.

Broiler Roasted Potatoes

This is a nice alternate to mashed potatoes made with milk and butter.

2 tbsp olive oil

4 large white or red potatoes

1/2 tsp rosemary

2 cloves minced or micro-planed garlic

salt and pepper to taste 

 

1) Preheat your broiler.

2) Dice up your potatoes and place them into a foil lined baking dish. 

3) Add the olive oil and spices and toss well to coat.

4) Broil the potatoes for 20 min, turning half way through.

Garlic Green Beans

GARLIC! LEMON! YUM!

500 g fresh or frozen French cut green beans

4-6 cloves minced garlic

1 tbsp olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

zest of 1 lemon

1) Heat a skillet over medium heat, then add the olive oil and green beans. 

2) Saute the beans for 3 minutes, then add the garlic, salt and pepper.

3) Continue cooking another 3-4 minutes, then remove your pan from the heat and zest the lemon over the beans, tossing to coat.

4) Transfer to a serving dish, cover and let sit for 2 min. This will allow all the flavours to come together.

This meal goes well with a nice valpolicella or medium ale.