We will be in Paris soon- can someone tell me the most efficient way to explain to a waiter that I cannot eat ANY dairy products? Also, if you can recommend specific restaurants....

The Slow Travel site, slowtrav.com has a French-language board. Try posting your question there.

The phrase might be: <i> Je m'excuse mais les produits laitiers me sont interdits</i>.

&quot;Les produits laitiers me sont interdits par mon medecin&quot; would be understood. But I question whether you should be trying to say this if you don't speak French. Tolerance for (comprehension of) foreign accents varies greatly from person to person, and you would be speaking to a waiter who has dozens of things to do in approximately 30 seconds. I would write your special need on a &quot;flash card.&quot; And show the flash card while saying &quot;Excusez-moi,&quot; as Michael suggests.

The above should read, &quot; &quot;Je m'excuse,' as Michael suggests.&quot;

I would also suggest, at least occasionally, stopping by any &quot;target&quot; restaurants ahead of time -- for example, early in the lunchtime service, approximately noon, or before the dinner service begins in earnest, around 7:30 pm., with your &quot;flash card&quot; and discussing with the person in charge of seating, etc., what offerings on the menu would be suitable for you. In the majority of cases, in &quot;guidebook&quot; restuarants, you should be able to do all or most of this in English.

I really think this would be difficult enough to discuss with an average waiter in one's own language, but it's going to be very difficult in a foreign language. I think the real problem, aside from language difficulties and pronunciation, etc -- is assuming a waiter is going to know exactly what that means and what is going to be interpreted as a dairy product. For example, if this is a true allergy to the milk protein, I don't think it's going to be sufficient to say one can't eat dairy products. Because one can't eat any food or product that has any milk product derivation in it or where one is used in the preparation or perhaps preservation, as I understand a serious allergy to milk products (and I don't have one but have heard others talk of it).

For example, could one assume all waiters will know that saying I can't eat dairy products would mean you can't have a salad with vinaigrette dressing if that dressing had a little bit of cream in it? Or a biscuit or a crepe, or pureed potatoes, or vegetables if they are lightly sauteed in butter? I don't know, but I suspect some people wouldn't immediately think of those things themselves as dairy products. So, I wonder if one might have to explain more than just saying you can't eat dairy products, and say a dairy product or derivation of one cannot be used at all in the preparation, if that is the case.

That was exactly my thought, Christina. Can we really expect the waiters to know all the food prep and presentation ingredients?

One could always write a card that with a longer sentence:

<i> Je m'excuse, mais les produits laitiers me sont absolument interdits, y compris toute utilisation de lait ou de beurre dans la pr&eacute;paration des sauces et des pur&eacute;es</i>.

Just eat grilled or baked fish ,meat or chicken, salad vith vinaigrette dressing, vegetables provencal style made with oil, garlic fresh herbs and tomatoes.. This will be for you the healthiest and safest diet at any restaurants..

Perhaps, in a pinch, something much simpler? &quot;s'il vous plait, pas de lait, pas de buerre, pas de creme, pas de fromage.&quot; and then perhaps: &quot;Je regret, mais c'est absolutement necessaire pour ma sante.&quot; (sorry, can't do the diacriticals in Fodors). This is pidgin French, I suspect, but simple to say.

PS: What's yogurt? &quot;Yaorti&quot;? I think?

Kismetchimera's suggestion seems the wisest to me; choose as she suggests and you will not encounter any dairy products.

But if you want to explain to the waiter, go with Michael's suggestion with Dave_in_Paris's addition &quot;par mon m&eacute;d&eacute;cin.&quot; Waiters in France are not college students or actors &quot;between engagements&quot;; they are professionals who are perfectly well aware that a pur&eacute;e is made with butter and/or milk.

Cassandra,
You certainly can and very easily do the diacriticals in French.
Simply make sure that the &quot;number lock&quot; on the right side of your keyboard is on. Then, using one finger on the &quot;alt&quot; key and holding it down...type a four digit number related to the diacritical you need. For example:
Accent Marks
(Num Lock on. Press and hold ALT key while you key in numbers on keypad)

French (If word is all caps, do not accent)

0224 - &agrave;
0192 - &Agrave;
0226 - &acirc;
0194 - &Acirc;
0231 - &ccedil;
0199 - &Ccedil;
0232 - &egrave;
0200 - &Egrave;
0233 - &eacute;
0201 - &Eacute;
0234 - &ecirc;
0202 - &Ecirc;
0235 - &euml;
0203 - &Euml;
0238 - &icirc;
0206 - &Icirc; 0239 - &iuml;
0244 - &ocirc;
0212 - &Ocirc;
0251 - &ucirc;
0219 - &Ucirc;
0249 - &ugrave;
0217 - &Ugrave;


0225 - &aacute; 0193 - &Aacute;
0228 - &auml; 0196 - &Auml;
0236 - &igrave; 0204 - &Igrave;
0237 - &iacute; 0205 - &Iacute;
0242 - &ograve; 0210 - &Ograve;
0243 - &oacute; 0211 - &Oacute;
0246 - &ouml; 0214 - &Ouml;
0250 - &uacute; 0218 - &Uacute;
0252 - &uuml; 0220 - &Uuml;

I asked on your behalf on another forum:

Pas de produits laitiers, s'il vous pla&icirc;t.

Michael's longer formulation is just right, I think. I would also would do some early scouting of restaurants. Menus are posted in many cases. Some places have selections of grilled foods, &quot;les grillades.&quot;

I don't know if this will seem like overkilll - - but you could print and carry this page: http://www.123boutchou.com/alimentat...rgie_lait.html

For what it's worth, this page assumes that you need to avoid all beef and veal also. If you are able to tolerate those, you could black that out, I guess.

Best wishes,

Rex

I hate to tell you this but all purees are not made with butter and milk.