Olive Garden

Can I ask what you ordered for your child at Olive Garden? Would love to try and go there but was told not too.

I order her grilled chicken, steamed broccoli, and fettuccini. Which is really a big enough meal for me [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/smile.gif[/img] The meal normally comes with spaghetti, but she doesn't like it. I read the labels for the breadsticks, the pasta, marinara, and alfrado sauce. Everything looked good and she did not have a reaction.

We're in MA and my DD eats at Olive Garden often with no reactions. She has taken a liking to the fettuccini alfredo (kid size) but has also had the chix fingers and spaghetti with sauce.

We are dealing with egg allergy too. Did you happen to notice if any of the items contained egg? Thanks Nancy

Ben is allergic to tomato, egg, dairy, sesame, tree nuts, and peanuts. Usually on the rare occasions we go out, we take food for him. This time I called ahead and talked to the manager who was so kind and helpful! We came up with a safe meal of grilled chicken breast without the usual marinade, spaghetti noodles, steamed broccoli, and raspberry sorbet. I nearly cried I was so happy to have be able to have a normal dining experience with family!

We had the BEST experience at Olive Garden just last night!

We decided to take out the family for dinner and there were not many choices of places to eat around where we were vacationing. I called ahead to the Olive Garden and spoke to the mananger about my 7 yr old DD's allergies (pn/tn/soy). She was SOOOOO helpful about putting together something for her for dinner. She checked every ingredient-a little dissapointed that they are not on their website. BUT, we found that the cheese ravioli was a good choice for her with butter on top. The only thing she, the manager, could not tell me was whether the bread sticks were safe. [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/frown.gif[/img] and that is the BEST PART!! [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/smile.gif[/img] Maddie is used to not eating bread in public places, but I decided to investigate even further.

The manager said that the bread sticks arrive at each Olive Garden in the NE area from a company called MidWest Bakery and that the ingredients were not listed on the frozen bread sticks. Hmmmm. She gave me the long distance number and I called. Spoke to a very informed supervisor who said that they make breads for many restaurants and that they are a pn/nut free bakery! HIP HIP HOOORAY!!

Soooo, to make a long story short, we went for dinner and spoke to the waitress. She already was expecting us. SHe then told me that they bake the bread sticks and brush them with soybean oil (margarine) before baking, so she made a special basket of NON soy ones, just for my DD. I was so impressed with her knowledge and patience I could have cried! [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/smile.gif[/img]

SO, we had a great experience at Olive Garden. [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/smile.gif[/img] My DD said "That was the best bread mom! I loved my dinner! " Makes all the work worth while when she says that! [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/smile.gif[/img]

Shandra
P.S. Interesting to note that they use Soy Milk in their alfredo sauce. We could not get it because of that factor.

I ate at the Times Square NYC Olive Garden last month [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/smile.gif[/img]

we love olive garden. eat there regularly and have never had any problems.

Where can I get a good allergy card to use in restaurants?
thanks

scaredtodeath, this is my Chef card. I printed it on brightly colored paper (5" x 7) and had it laminated.
-------------------------

CHEF CARD

To the Chef:

WARNING! I am allergic to peanuts. In order to avoid a life-threatening
reaction, I must avoid all foods that might contain peanuts, including:

PEANUT OIL
ARACHIS OIL
PEANUT FLOUR
PEANUT BUTTER
PEANUT
NUT PIECES
MONKEY NUTS
MIXED NUTS
MANDELONAS
GROUND NUTS
ARTIFICIAL NUTS
GOOBER NUTS
MARZIPAN
NOUGAT

If any of the above are served in your kitchen, please ensure any utensils and equipment used to prepared my meal, as well as prep surfaces, are thoroughly cleaned prior to use. Thanks for your cooperation.

Shandra,
Which Olive Garden did you eat at?
Just curious as we are in NH also and would love to add a few more restaurants to our list. My nearly 9 yr old is PA.
Thanks,
Shirley

Quote:Originally posted by maddiesmom:
[b]We had the BEST experience at Olive Garden just last night!

We decided to take out the family for dinner and there were not many choices of places to eat around where we were vacationing. I called ahead to the Olive Garden and spoke to the mananger about my 7 yr old DD's allergies (pn/tn/soy). She was SOOOOO helpful about putting together something for her for dinner. She checked every ingredient-a little dissapointed that they are not on their website. BUT, we found that the cheese ravioli was a good choice for her with butter on top. The only thing she, the manager, could not tell me was whether the bread sticks were safe. [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/frown.gif[/img] and that is the BEST PART!! [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/smile.gif[/img] Maddie is used to not eating bread in public places, but I decided to investigate even further.

The manager said that the bread sticks arrive at each Olive Garden in the NE area from a company called MidWest Bakery and that the ingredients were not listed on the frozen bread sticks. Hmmmm. She gave me the long distance number and I called. Spoke to a very informed supervisor who said that they make breads for many restaurants and that they are a pn/nut free bakery! HIP HIP HOOORAY!!

Soooo, to make a long story short, we went for dinner and spoke to the waitress. She already was expecting us. SHe then told me that they bake the bread sticks and brush them with soybean oil (margarine) before baking, so she made a special basket of NON soy ones, just for my DD. I was so impressed with her knowledge and patience I could have cried! [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/smile.gif[/img]

SO, we had a great experience at Olive Garden. [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/smile.gif[/img] My DD said "That was the best bread mom! I loved my dinner! " Makes all the work worth while when she says that! [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/smile.gif[/img]

Shandra
P.S. Interesting to note that they use Soy Milk in their alfredo sauce. We could not get it because of that factor. [/b]

Shirley-

We ate at the Olive Garden in Concord, NH but have also eaten at the one in Nashua, NH. [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/smile.gif[/img]

Glad to see other NH people on this board! Hey neighbor! Where are you in NH?

Shandra

We are in Goffstown.
Thanks for the info.
Never thought that Olive Garden could be safe due to previous posts a while ago.
We will give them a try. My daughter loves bread and pasta. I admit that when it comes to eating out I'm a nervous nellie.
Any other hot tips for NH restaurants?
Shirley

Quote:Originally posted by maddiesmom:
[b]Shirley-

We ate at the Olive Garden in Concord, NH but have also eaten at the one in Nashua, NH. [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/smile.gif[/img]

Glad to see other NH people on this board! Hey neighbor! Where are you in NH?

Shandra[/b]

We ate at the Olive Garden in Livingston NJ, yesterday and had a wonderful experience!
I called ahead as we were celebrating my Mom's 80th and I didn't want any problems.
The asst.mgr Janice was just great. We discussed the menu and DD decide on the kids pizza. Janice checked & the breadsticks were not from the same place as OP posted (I think it was Continental bakery) so we decided to skip them. Janice told me to feel free to bring in my own cake since I wouldn't let DD have cake from any restaurant. She also met me at the front door to go over everything again.
If only everyone "got it" like this asst.mgr. things would be easier for all of us.

------------------
Cindy
Mom to:
Stephanie (12)
Jessica PA/TNA (10)

re-raising

I am going to Olive Garden this afternoon. I called ahead and they were so nice. They are going to help make sure my son gets no milk, eggs or nuts!!! Yea Olive Garden!

Reading everyone's comments gives me quite a boost. I love Olive Garden- but thought restaurants were out for me now. (Adult onset PA). I will have to give our local Olive Garden a call and see what happens. Thank you all for posting this information- especially the menu information.

I have eaten at Olive Garden for years and it is one of the few restaurants I consider safe.

Just tell the waiter, most likely they have been trained about the issue

My daughter has a severe peanut allergy and we have been able to eat Olive Garden without any problems, even when we travel to different areas.