Hi Fodorites,

As we get closer to our trip to Northern Italy in May, I have begun to prepare. I have an allergy to shellfish and I carry an epi-pen at all times. When you are allergic to any shellfish (in my case, it is crab), you must avoid all shellfish, because there is a chance of cross reaction between all types fo shellfish. My husband speaks Italian and can usually get the message across. We know he will need all the words for individual shellfish as well as the words for sauce, stock, etc. Does anyone familiar with Italy or the language have any suggestions on ways to deal with this issue?

My husband loves shellfish and sometimes in Europe, we have had trouble finding resturants that satisfy both our needs and wants. I'll eat almost anything else besides shellfish. We are truly looking forward to the great food of Italy, and for this trip, I have made a restaurant list from this site and from slowtrav.com. However, I would love suggestions on places to go where my husband and I can both eat well. We are going to the lakes (Maggiore, Como, and Garda), the Dolomites, Venice, and Milan. We enjoy resturants often frequented by locals, and do not feel we have to eat at the latest "trendy" restaurant. We would love the names of your favorite places.

Thanks in advance for any help you might give us,

Margret

I don't think you'll need to deal much with this issue in northern Italy (except Venice), because Italians generally tend to prepare and eat what is produced locally. No oceans, no shellfish problem....And your husband speaks Italian, so no big deal.

Hi Margret,

I also am allergic to shellfish and had no problems in Northern Italy. I found that the freshwater fish was always a good choice. I often had it grilled. There were no sauces on these dishes to worry about.

In Bellagio we enjoyed Bilacus, the restaurant across from Bilacus, and the restaurant down by the boat access to the lake. I'm sorry, I don't remember the names of the last two.

It is sometimes difficult dealing with allergies. I recently had one bite of a chicken taquito that put me into hives all over my body. In checking the packages of everything I ate the previous day, I noticed that in tiny print on the taquito package it indicated that the product may be manufactured on shared equipment with shellfish products. I check product labels much more carefully now!!!

Thanks for your replies. Dkw, thanks for the info for Bellagio and to ask for grilled fresh water fish. StCirq ( or anyone), any suggestions for Venice? Of the places we are going to in May, the only one we've been to before is Venice (which we loved, which is why we are returning), and I did have trouble there.

I'm allergic to shrimp and eat in Venice with no problem. It's easy to order chicken, pizza, veal cooked in wine or with lemon, liver with polenta- a Venetian specialty and several different kinds of lasagna and other pasta- all delicious.Then there are all the wonderful vegetable dishes- roast potatoes, spinach, beans, soups. Yum! I honestly have no more trouble eating there than in the US.

Try Vino, Vino for delicious lasagna,etc. and great vegetables. I actually don't ever remember seeing shell fish on the menu there. Google for directions.

La Rivetta is good, too. Just don't order shell fish. The only place I chose to not eat at was a fish restaurant on Murano where it looked like there were not many other choices.

I carry an epipen, too, but have never had to use it. I also carry an antihistime which I have used a couple of times- not in Italy, but in the US at a potluck lunch- shrimp dip, and once in Holland- oops - shrimp flavored crackers. My major shrimp episode ( swelling all over for four days, emergency room and all, was twenty years ago. Now if I accidently have a tiny amount of exposure, taking an antihistimine seems to be sufficent. But , of course, I am still careful.

Have fun, and eat a lot of gelato, too!

Been on two trips to Northern Italy and going on two more this year, and have never had a problem avoiding fish altogether (I don't eat it at all), going instead for pastas with pesto, zucca (squash), and the like or sometimes meat or meat sauces. The hubby loves fish and we could always find restaurants to suit us both.

In Venice I remember Marco Polo restaurant and a restaurant which translates to 'crazy water," which were excellent; even at the fish specialty restaurant we went to they made up a veggie pasta for me, no sweat.

At Bistro de Venise, which is in the Fodors guide, it was a bit more challenging but still I found ample.

So have a wonderful time and enjoy the great food!

Is your husband a fluent Italian speaker? If not, I recommend getting a card typed up that says in Italian:

"I am allergic to all shellfish. Please do not give me any food, sauce or soup that has been cooked with any form of shellfish. Thank you most kindly."

Hand the card to the waiter every time you order.

Hi JR - I have the same issue. With some searching here and on some allergy sites on the web, I found the appropriate language to put on a card. Then I had a friend write it for me in Italian. I printed this on an index and carried it in my purse. I only needed to use it once and the waiter read the card and helped me find appropriate items on the menu.

Here is the card text:

INFORMAZIONE IMPORTANTE PER IL RISTORANTE

Sono gravemente allergica ai crostacei (aragosta, gambero, molluschi, mitili, granchio, ostriche, ecc.).

Si tratta di una condizione medica molto seria. Potrei morire dopo aver ingerito questo tipo di cibo, cibo preparato con utensili che hanno toccato crostacei, cibo con olio di crostacei, estratti, brodi, ecc. E’ importante ricordare che questo ingrediente potrebbe essere presente anche nei cibi comprati gia’ fatti.

Se mangio crostacei o qualunque cibo che è stato cucinato con crostacei o che ha toccato crostacei, avrò bisogno dell'attenzione immediata medica.

La prego gentilmente di non darmi cibo che potrebbe contenere o che ha toccato crostacei.

If you have an attack:
AIUTO! Sto avendo una crisa di shock anafilattico. Per favore, chiamate subito un’ambulanza

Here is the text in English:

I am allergic to shellfish - shrimp, prawns, lobster, crab.... I cannot eat shellfish or food that is prepared in the same pan as shellfish. If I eat shellfish - shrimp, prawns, lobster, crab - I will need medical attention and I may die in restaurant. The second part just says: I need medical attention. Please call an ambulance and say I am in analphlactic (sp) shock.


Have a fun trip!

Thanks for the suggestions of preparing a card with the appropriate text in Italian. My husband will work on that before we leave and check it out with his Italian teacher. Thanks to those of you with similar allergies, who have successfully managed them in Italy.

Any more suggestions on specific restaurants that Fodorites love, particularly in the lakes and Venice? In the Dolomites, we will be eating dinner at the Hotel Uhrerhof, near Ortiesi, but would love lunch suggestions.

In Venice, you'll be happy (as everyone is, I think) eating at La Botte, www.osteriaallabotte.it
They always have plenty of shellfish for your husband, and they're always plain fish, plus some meat and/or vegetable dishes, and it's the best (though cheap and extremely casual) restaurant of Venice.
Your husband doesn't need to check the Italian card that cls2paris prepared for you, it's perfect Italian (just one absolutely unimportant mistake - if you want to correct it, make it "crisi" instead of "crisa&quot - just print it and take it with you, that's a great service of cls!!

brilliant suggestion about the "calling card"! My wife is allergic to nuts, some legumes & most frutti di mare, so I'd been preparing her to make her own announcement (hmmmmm... 3 times/day X number of days + cicchetti). You can imagine the minefield she has to negotiate in New Orleans!

A question about Italian usage: cls2paris' card refers to all shellfish (including mollusks) as "crostacei"; is that correct in Italian? In English, I think "crustaceans" means shrimp, crabs, crayfish, lobster, etc., but not oysters, clams, mussels, or the like.

You are correct, in Italian, as well, "molluschi" would be the proper term for mussels, squid and the like. But cls2paris' card says "crostacei (aragosta, gambero, molluschi ecc.)", so that's certainly included in her card. If you want to be absolutely correct, also in linguistic respects, you could make it "Sono gravemente allergica ai crostacei ED AI MOLLUSCHI(aragosta, gambero, COZZA, VONGOLA, mitili, granchio, ostriche, ecc.)." If anyone is also allergic to squid (I don't know enough about allergies, I'm afraid), include "calamaro, seppia" in the in-brackets list.

Franco, thanks for your help, and all the vocabulary words. The one that shook me up the most was "la crisi". I don't think there are very many singular nouns in Italian that end in "i".

Most Americans don't realize that many of the Italian words commonly used in the US are, in fact, plurals (such as "spaghetti&quot. They ask for "one biscotti". While most of the people here in New England can correctly pronounce the name of the American footballer Tedy Bruschi, they mangle the analogous pronunciation of "bruschetta". And they almost all sound the last "i" in the ever-popular pinot grigio.

Thanks again for your help.

- Larry

Dear Franco. Sorry to be a pain but can you tell me the English translation of "cibo?" Thanks.

Hi EK - I am pretty sure it means "food". For example - I cannot eat "food prepared in the same pan as what was used for preparing shrimp".

Thanks...I never heard that word but it makes sense. Good to know.

Dear ek, you're never a pain. As cls2paris told you, cibo means food, fare, but other than the English terms, it's most often used as a plural (cibi).
Dear Larry, certainly that's unusual, but words of Greek derivation happen to have -i as their singular ending in Italian (cf. analisi). They're feminine, the plural ending on -e.
Btw, and not because I wouldn't like to answer such questions here, but just if you want to help yourself, here is a great link to an online Italian-English dictionary: http://www.wordreference.com

Larry - one more example that springs to my mind: la tisi - tuberculosis! Remember the Doctor in La Traviata saying to Annina, before he leaves to let Violetta bid "Addio del passato": "La tisi non le accorda che poche ore" - Tuberculosis won't grant her more than a few hours.

I also have shellfish and seafood allergy and carry an epi pen - wherever I travel, I have found great luck in contacting the embassy here in the states for the country I would be visiting, by either phone or email, before I leave, and they have always been more than willing to write a letter for me, explaining my situation, on their stationary - and I have always recevied it well before my departure.