Printable Allergy Cards: Fill & Download for Free

In general, nah… you do you. You’re paying for the meal and you should be able to get what you want. Sometimes, it’s not really that people are picky eaters in general, but that the particular restaurant doesn’t appeal that much to them but they end up there anyway because everyone else wants to go. And what if they are picky? Can it be a pain for the server sometimes? Sure. Pain for the kitchen sometimes? Yup. But they don’t have to eat it either. The person who actually has to ingest it should call the shots.One caveat is that the requests have to be reasonable, especially when they’re busy, but that’s pretty easy. Like, you can’t sub in Swiss cheese on your burger if they don’t actually have Swiss cheese. There are certain things they can’t take ingredients out of (e.g., a slow-cooking sauce can’t have things removed from it — it’s already prepared because it takes hours, certain dips or spreads or sides are made in advance to let flavors meld or because they hold up well, certain labor-intensive foods are made in bulk before the rush because the kitchen would fall apart if they had to do all that by hand each time it was ordered… that kinda stuff). Some restaurants may have rules about how rare your food can be to protect them from lawsuits or even times of day you can request certain types of substitutions.Also, at certain higher-end restaurants, it may be difficult to accommodate a ton of special requests due to limited staff and ingredients, and let’s just be real. The chef carefully crafted that plate to taste a certain way. So taking a whole bunch of stuff off and adding a whole bunch of other stuff is sorta missing the point of paying that much for that level of professional creativity.But at a fast food or fast casual place? It’s fine. Just expect your food to take longer in some cases since it may take extra time to accommodate the request (either a while for the server to put it in and/or explain it to the cook or just to actually prepare). Also, expect to pay for it. Some substitutions may be six of one, half dozen of the other in terms of food cost, but others increase the cost of the food, meaning they have to charge you for it.If Taco Bell ever gets its act back together and starts serving the food it did back when they weren’t clearly just pranking all of the U.S., I highly recommend a Baja gordita with no beef, add rice (the original Tex-Mex rice they had… not the new white rice) or a Volcano taco the same way (no beef, add rice — although that one’s OK with the white rice).One last thing: Never claim to have an allergy you don’t have just because you think it means they’ll take you more seriously. First, if you get caught in a lie, you might not suffer any consequences and you certainly may still get your food the way you want it. The problem is when it happens so many times to a waiter that they start being suspicious of everyone who says they have an allergy, which could end up being dangerous or even deadly for the person who does actually have one.Besides, you may also quickly find out just how many dishes that ingredient is in. Restaurants may refuse to make certain dishes for you because they can’t guarantee it won’t make you ill. That doesn’t mean they’ll turn you away (though it might if there’s literally no way to avoid cross-contamination, such as having a peanut allergy in one of those restaurants where every table gets a bucket of nuts and people throw peanut shells on the floor or in a second empty bucket — but people with peanut allergies wouldn’t go there and would leave quickly if they found out after they did).If you do have an allergy, especially one that can be complex, like onion allergies or intolerance, make yourself up some printable allergy cards to carry in your purse or car or wallet so you can hand them to people who wait on you. They can hand it to the cook/expeditor/manager who can check your order for allergens. You can also buy them or download them for free so long as the ones provided are correct in describing your allergy. If it’s life-threatening, the card should say so. If you’re OK with it one way and not another, it should say so (i.e., raw onion vs. cooked onion). And you can buy them in other languages if you travel. I cannot tell you how much time this saves and how much easier it makes it to make sure your allergen isn’t in your food or doesn’t touch your food. Instead of having to remember all the rules and all the related allergens (i.e., people allergic to onion are often allergic to related root vegetables like leeks), the server just hands it to the right person who can review what you ordered before it’s even cooked. Even a server who has the ingredients of every dish in the restaurant memorized likely can’t know where the potential for cross-contamination exists because they’ve never prepped or cooked the food.

Here is a site with printable cards that have bilingual Japanese/English messages on them:Printable cards for communicating dietary restrictions in JapanThat should take care of most needs. I’ve never used them as I’d already learned to say “Sumimasen, kore wa ebi-kani haite imasuka? Arerugii arimasu.” (Excuse me, does this contain shrimp or crab? I’m allergic.) before I came here, but they would be quite useful for travellers. But even I don’t always know all the kanji for things my visiting guests might be allergic to, so this is good to help read labels:How to Enjoy Japan Safely with Food Allergies and Intolerances - LIVE JAPANAnd if your allergies are such that they could turn into medical emergencies, bring an epipen, along with the prescription. Here is some information for traveling with medicines:Learn the Facts About Allergy Medication and Airport SecurityYou should be able to explain in English to the Customs people at the airport on arrival in Japan, but in case they don’t understand, you can say, “Kore wa arerugii no kusuri desu.”

Some quick tips for any first-time visitor:11 extremely practical Japan travel tipsAdditional tips:August is hot and humid. Be ready for that. Drink lots of fluids and dress lightly. Bring good deodorant.August is also time for lots of festivals. If you have time, use that Japan Rail pass to get out of Tokyo and into small towns and villages and see a couple of festivals. Kids come home to see their grandparents and there are fireworks that go off way lower than in the US so they’re way more impressive. (Seriously, once you’ve experienced small-town-Japan fireworks, American fireworks displays will be pretty unimpressive.)Obon is August 13–16. Expect that whole week to be kinda…different. It’s sort of like Thanksgiving mixed with Dia de los Muertos. Everybody is going home, things get quiet, the roads are in traffic gridlock, and lots of shops will be closed.Learn basic phrases:Basic Japanese Phrases You Can Use While In Japan! | MATCHA - JAPAN TRAVEL WEB MAGAZINEYou’ll meet lots of people who know English, but most have forgotten 95% of what they learned in school. And people who’ve learned how to say the simple, basic stuff will bring a smile to their faces. You’ll get plenty of “Nihongo wa jouzu desu ne!” (Your Japanese is great!)Do as the locals do. If you aren’t sure whether it’s OK to cross the street, check what everyone else is doing. If nobody is buying food from that one food stall at the festival, don’t buy that food.If you have food allergies, use these cards:Printable cards for communicating dietary restrictions in Japan