Month: November 2022

Given my set of allergens, I have found that the only way to completely avoid them while eating out is by dining at vegan restaurants and cafes. For those who do not yet know, I am allergic to milk, beef, pork and egg. All of these allergens happen to be animal products. This is a way for me to recall what my best dining experiences have been and is all in good fun. I certainly do not have the most diverse set of dining experiences, but I look fondly upon the few restaurants at which I have been able to (safely) eat.

Planted Plate (Princeton, NJ)

Rather than going here for the main menu, I love to make regular trips to this small Princeton cafe for their desserts. They have a nice case by the register in which they display an ever changing selection of cakes, pies, and other treats. To my knowledge the Planted Plate receives a weekly supply of whatever vegan desserts a nearby bakery has to offer. For someone who grew up on simple, homemade, allergen box cupcakes, I absolutely adore this location for their sweet treats.

Sprig & Vine (New Hope, PA)

This place is the closest location to my home, although I have to say it is my least favorite. On their website, they claim to be a vegetarian restaurant. From my memory, however, their main menu is vegan (I could be completely wrong about this). 

There is quite a bit of variety in their menu. This could be positive or negative; interpret it as you will. The food is quite expensive for what it is, and, although I have had some nice meals here, it did not leave a strong impression on me like the other dining spots in this post.

Thai Basil (Piscataway, NJ)

To be quite honest, every dish in this menu sounded delicious to me. This type of cuisine caters very well to my taste buds, so I think I would have enjoyed anything I got off of the menu. I have been only once for my 18th birthday with my family, and I had a lovely meal.

Blossom (New York City, NY)

This restaurant is now permanently closed, which is deeply saddening given how much I loved their food. Once located by Washington Square Park, I have been to this elegant restaurant a total of three times: two with my mother and once with a good friend. Each time I was presented with beautifully plated and delicious dishes. I would have loved to visit here once more before their shutdown. One of my favorite items on the menu had to be the crispy artichokes! Battered in chickpea-flour, fried, and set in a pool of arugula and lemon-caper aioli, I could never get enough of how good these tasted.

. . .

I think that I will always be inclined to eat at a vegan restaurant not only for the safety aspect, but simply because I have grown to love vegan cuisine. The possibilities are endless. I love to see traditionally non-vegan dishes transformed into vegan alternatives. Although I cannot say that I am vegan, I hold vegan cooking close to my food loving heart.

 

 

One thing that set my college application experience apart from those around me was my food allergies. What I came to learn over a few months of researching schools was that every university has different policies and methods of handling them, some none at all. 

Penn State was the first school that I was truly impressed by regarding food allergy
accommodations. Each day, the dining hall menus are made available on the Penn State Go app. You are given the option to filter out items that contain certain ingredients or allergens. Once you find something you want, you can place a food order through a form that the university’s registered dietitians created. This form allows you to choose serving sizes of dishes, pick up time, and whether or not you would like to get take out. While this form can be an inconvenience to me at times, I cannot express how appreciative I am of the care with which the staff handle my food allergies. 

As a state school with such a big student population, I guess I should not have been surprised to find that such accommodations exist.  Yet one of the largest public schools in my state, Rutgers, didn’t have nearly as many accommodations to offer me when I applied. The staffs’ willingness to accommodate me left me truly excited to attend here. It makes all the difference when you feel like you can truly belong in a community, and being able to eat from a campus meal plan is (strangely) a part of that for me. However, mistakes can happen. 

This month I was rushed to the emergency room after eating mashed potatoes from the dining hall which, I later found out, contained milk. I consider this a mistake on both my part and the dining hall’s part. I was not careful enough in checking the ingredients of what I ordered for lunch and the dining hall did not catch this mistake until 20 minutes after I had picked up my food. By that time, it was too late. I had already tried a spoonful and consequently injected myself with the epipen.

I have had more allergic reactions that sent me to the hospital than I would have ever liked to experience. I believe that I have honed the skill of keeping calm in emergency situations as a result. Even so, I immediately broke down in tears when I realized I was having a reaction that morning. It was my first time going through such a thing away from my family, and that definitely took its toll on my mental health and energy levels for a few days. 

Despite this, I do feel safe eating at the dining hall again. The dining hall managers reached out to me unyieldingly upon realizing their mistake with my order and even contacted me personally to check-in after the incident. They have reassured me that all staff members have reviewed the process for food allergy orders and will stress the importance of double checking everything moving forward. This is why having such systems in place matters. This is why accommodations matter. Feeling seen and safe on campus with a disability is something everyone deserves. I hope that more schools will look to Penn State as a model for accommodating their students in the future.