Over the past couple years being back in the Lower Mainland, I have found a couple places that @nachoman and I frequent, since they are able to accommodate his allergies and my stomach issues, but we can only go to those 3 restaurants so much. Can’t wait to try out this mix-and-match Rugby Club food.

The calling ahead is handy sometimes, though many a restaurant manager has actually said that they would be able to accommodate our dietary needs on the phone, but when we arrive to order, the kitchen has a different agenda.
(I actually had called a wonderful restaurant in Vancouver to double check they could accommodate my dietary needs and a couple friends’ very specific allergies, and was reassured that there would be plenty of options the kitchen could whip up. Sadly, upon arriving at the restaurant, speaking with the same manager, the kitchen ended up having to make us very bland meals, without any sauces, as the manager hadn’t actually verified with the kitchen staff that they would be able to accommodate our specific allergies.)

Oh well, it truly is a learning experience.

Thanks for the well wishes all, and I will keep you posted on where I find that is able to feed me.

The Rugby Club in Vancouver has all dishes separately – meat, veg, carbs, etc. You mix and match as you choose. That might the type of thing that you’re looking for – don’t know if there’s something similar out your way.

(Also, where the hell are you going that’s charging $2 for hot sauce? I order Frank’s / tabasco sauce all the time and have never been charged)

I know that for many chain restaurants, the real creativity happens in the test-kitchens, and any deviations from the norm are firmly stomped out of the staff in the kitchen. It actually becomes a liability (because of forecasting/ordering) to encourage playing fast and loose with the ingredients available.

When I worked with someone who’s got severe nut/seed allergies (which end up in more things than I’d have thought!), I learned of the magic of phoning ahead. If you’re with a group that has a reservation, simply phone, say you’re coming and have the following restrictions. That gives them some time to come up with something besides edamame and a baked potato, and perhaps they can give suggestions over the phone, while not in a rush, on substitutions that won’t cost an arm and a leg.

Another bonus to phoning: you can often end up speaking to a manager who’s in a better position to put together a reasonable meal at a reasonable cost for you, rather than a server patching together a series of sides from what they’ve got available in their computer during the dinner rush.

Good Luck!

That, and by saying “Can I have a side of…” is akin to asking a car salesman “Do you think I should get the undercoat?”