christycruz

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.

Christina

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.

janisj

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

janisj

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

MmePerdu

"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.

Cathinjoetown

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?

socialworker

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.)

kerouac

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.

MaddieEms

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/

MaineGG

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.

kerouac

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.

allergickid

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

janisj

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