Kerouac is right. Most cafes will have either chicken or steak and fries. If they have a children's menu (and many of them do!) then the choices tend to be simple and don't include the foods you are worried about other than pasta with cheese.

Learn how to pronounce the foods you are worried about, keep the written statement with you, and you'll be fine. Learning the names of common foods you aren't worried about will help too.

A personal chef at Hyatt? that's crazy and it is also crazy that someone with an allergy problem would thus decide to only eat at McDonalds in France. Totally goofy.

Amy -we know you are very proud of your research and website . . . however >><i>we've yet to travel overseas. I would however recommend staying in either an American hotel chain or at the Marriott Vacation Club</i><<

and

>><i>I've also had another friend travel there with her son and before they left, they identified every McDonald's in France and that's where they ate most of the time.</i><<

and

>><i>Please let me know if you want me to contact my sources at the Hyatt. I would definitely stick with American hotel and/or restaurant chains.</i><<

Are pretty funny/silly suggestions. Perhaps one should actually set foot in Paris before suggesting where to stay/eat.

. . . And that recommended Marriott resort is more than 3 miles from the nearest train station and has no convenient transport into Paris.

"staying outside Paris in an "American" hotel and sticking with "American" chain restaurants is daft." G_Hopper

"Are pretty funny/silly suggestions. Perhaps one should actually set foot in Paris before suggesting where to stay/eat." janisj

One of the pitfalls of posting on Fodor's. One can be sure that someone won't let our silly (daft) answers politely pass.

I'm not advising that the OP should do as was suggested. However, the hotel mentioned must have a place in the overall scheme of things or it would cease to exist. If it gives certain travelers the measure of comfort they need to travel, for whatever reason and I'm sure there are many reasons, then I see no harm done by the suggestion.

I don't minimize concerns about food allergies. Here comes the however. MCDONALD's???

I would be as concerned about the preservatives, salt, fat, sugar and questionable meat served at McDo as I would about allergies!

Amy, have you read Fast Food Nation?

I think that unless you are completely fluent in French, that before you leave for your trip, you should have someone who is write up a clearly worded and as short as possible explanation of what you need, but with all relevant info--and print it out on index cards. This way you just hand it to the people in charge of preparing food.

Our son is a vegetarian, by choice, and at our first foray of trying to explain what he could eat, a very sweet waitress did this for us and that piece of paper saved LOTS of time and trouble for the rest of our trip. (This was >20 years ago when vegetarianism was not so common.)

Cathinjoetown, I think it is pretty clear (perhaps unfortunately) that huge numbers of people in the world are not allergic or adverse to the "preservatives, salt, fat, sugar and questionable meat served at McDonald's." Perhaps we should hear from a chef at Hyatt about this.

I like how this thread hasn't really answered the OP's questions.

To the OP--I've researched this b/c my DD is allergic to milk (all casein protein, so anything with milk, butter, etc), eggs (even egg wash on top of bread, so no baguettes for her), and peanuts.

I would steer clear of bakeries since based on the Brioche Doree website, it appears that even plain baguettes are contaminated with egg/milk.

Here is the list I made for my daughter. I think sticking with Japanese restaurants is the safest, since udon is rice flour + water and it's easy to see egg/dairy/nuts in japanese food (almost none).

I would AVOID McDonald's since almost all of their products are cross-contaminated with egg & dairy. They even say so on the website. KFC as well.

Here is my list of restaurants that will work for us:

Shabu/Sukiyaki, http://www.yelp.com/biz/takara-paris-2

Bento box, http://www.yelp.com/biz/kintaro-paris#query:rice%20bowl

Okonomi place, http://www.yelp.com/biz/aki-paris-2#...yaki%20chicken

Udon http://www.yelp.com/biz/sanukiya-paris#query:udon

More Udon (expensive)
http://www.kunitoraya.com/
http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/kunit...X7nJENjdXcKdTw

Pret a Manger
My daughter can have the Vegatble Ancien Soupe
http://www.pret.com/fr/menu/soupes/l...m_PFR3214.shtm
Miso Soup, http://www.pret.com/fr/menu/soupes/PFR3035.shtm

Chipotle one metro stop pass Opera)
http://www.chipotle.com/france/en-us/menu/menu.aspx
Carnitas bowl, rice, no cheese, no guac, no cheese

Brioche Doree CANT HAVE ANYTHING!!!
http://www.briochedoree.fr/nutrition/allergenes/

allergickid - Has it occurred to you that bringing your child into an environment that is unfamiliar and potentially hazardous might not be the best thing? Of course, you haven't given us any information about his age, or whether exposure to his allergens results in anaphylaxis. I can't imagine enjoying a visit if constantly worrying about the possibility of a serious medical emergency. If his reactions are not life threatening, I would definitely get an apartment and strictly control what he eats.

By the way, I have a young grandchild who has multiple severe food allergies. One of the worst reactions she has had was in a McDonald's where she apparently touched something on the table or highchair that necessitated an epipen injection and ER visit. She had eaten nothing. So McDonald's isn't necessarily a great place for all with food allergies.

The OP has not even told us yet how severe these allergies are and some of you seem to be making funeral arrangements already.

Until the OP posts again, we should all just shut up instead of fantasizing.

Thanks for many of the helpful suggestions. My son is 11 years old. He is extremely allergic to eggs/chick peas--needed epi pen with egg. We are not sure about the coconuts--he had a reaction when he was really little and may have outgrown it.
He is beginning to tolerate some baked milk products. I will be carrying several epi pens and antihistamine. We are staying in an apartment in Montemorte and plan to cook for him. However, he would enjoy eating out, especially if we are out all day long. I am sure there are some restaurants who are more accommodating and may be willing to prepare something without milk, eggs, and nuts. I am trying to find such restaurants. Any suggestions?
I will definitely get some cards from the site "selectwisely".
Thanks

MmePerdu: "However, the hotel mentioned must have a place in the overall scheme of things or it would cease to exist."

Guess you deserve to be cut some slack since you probably don't know that resort or where it is located. It is a self-contained, timeshare resort miles outside Paris. It's main claim to fame (other than being a Marriott and folks can use points) is it offers a shuttle to Disneyland. There is no convenient way to get to/from central Paris.

"...cut some slack..." Good one!

Uh, maybe I am working too late and really, really tired but I didn't get what MmePerdu thought amusing about "cut some slack."

Also, how come I never had a friend or classmate as far as I know who had a food allergy? I grew up in the late 1950s and '60s and I honestly don't remember this being a problem. I went to Europe at 16 with a whole bunch of other kids and I don't recall anyone carrying medicine because of a food allergy.

Best,
Lisa

Pull your epi-pen out and place it on the table as you're handing the card over and discussing the allergies with the waiter. Just to give a little weight to the allergy severity. Maybe seeing the pen (if they know what it is) might encourage the waiter to pay take you more seriously.

gualalllisa- read the NYT article mentioned above about the increasing allergies of children.

Lisa... If you are "of a certain age," the reason you didn't have any classmates with serious allergies is because they had already died before reaching school age. There were lots of babies and toddlers who mysteriously died back in the day, and it is quite likely that many were from unknown (at the time) food allergies.

Msteacher very likely has the answer to this often unspoken question.

Dear OP,

There are many, many restaurants in Paris, I would say most, where you can order items prepared without milk, eggs and nuts.

The issue will be cross-contamination, the dishes inadvertently coming in contact with eggs, nuts and milk.

Only you can evaluate the seriousness of this risk.

One more consideration, re: allergies then and now......There continue to be MORE and more chemicals in the environment that we are all exposed to and that babies are being exposed to in utero. I would not go by the comparison of the 50s to now as being a valid measure.