Finding a place to eat in your area is as easy as opening Google Maps on your phone and filtering it to just restaurants. However, this won’t show you eateries that can cater to your specific dietary requirements.
Finding places to eat that meet your dietary restrictions can actually be really hard. This is in part due to the fact that many restaurants want to appeal to everyone, so they don’t really think of specific dietary needs. With a little research and effort though, you can find a great local restaurant that meets your dietary needs.
Common Types of Dietary Requirements
There a number of dietary requirements that people adhere to. They eat certain things for a variety of reasons including: moral beliefs, biological responses, or religious teachings.
A few common lifestyles that require restrictive diets include veganism, vegetarianism, pescatarianism. These food requirements are some of the most common ones, so many places do cater to those who adhere to them.
Another reason you might be following a regime with your eating is you have an allergy. Allergies to foods are extremely common. Common foods for which people have allergies
include peanuts, milk, soy, gluten, and shellfish. Restaurants are pretty good about advertising the ingredients in their products and catering to people who have allergies. However, it can be disappointing to get to a restaurant and find out they have nothing for you or you have to drastically customize your order.
Many religious teachings also restrict food that people can eat. These restrictions are probably the hardest for eateries to cater to. Often times, you have to go to a place that is known to practice these religious food requirements and restrictions. Some people who follow Hinduism won’t eat garlic or onion, which are two extremely common additives to recipes. Some Jews keep Kosher, which restricts them from consuming quite a few things. This includes pork, which is a common ingredient in a lot of Italian dishes. Muslims wondering where is there Halal food near me? can’t go to just any restaurant. Regardless of what your reasoning is, you need some way of knowing which local eateries are best at catering to your dietary needs.
Take a Peek at Their Menu Online
The easiest way to see if a place has food you can eat is to go online and check to see if they have a website. If they do, they usually layout what menu items they offer and the ingredients in them.
However, this isn’t always the case. Some only list the name of an item with no further information, and other smaller businesses may not even have a website to visit.
Ask Those Friends Who Have Similar Dietary Restrictions
The chances are good that you have a family member, friend, or even coworker who follows the same diet as you. Use this similarity to your advantage. You can ask them what local places they enjoy eating at and inquire about what they get to eat there.
If you’re traveling to somewhere new, see if anyone you know has been there. Perhaps they can offer you a recommendation on somewhere good to eat that is also considerate of your dietary needs. If you don’t know anyone who’s been to the place your traveling, the hotel staff and locals can serve as friends with recommendations.
Look at Customer Feedback
Customer reviews are a great way to get a feel for what to expect when you visit a restaurant. This feedback is most useful to understand the quality of the food and service a place offers. However, this feedback can sometimes tell you if they have food that you can eat.
If there isn’t feedback, certain websites allow you to ask questions, and people who have visited these eateries can answer your concerns.
Call the Place You’re Interested In
If you’re still unsure whether a place caters to your dietary requirements, then you can just call places you’re interested in. They’ll be able to tell you everything you need to know. While it may seem like no one cares about your dietary requirements, when you do a little research, you’ll find that many places are willing to cater to you.
