Monday, July 22

OC Maryland Food Allergy Friendly Restaurants

We recently had a great allergy-friendly experience at two restaurants in Ocean City, Maryland. It was a drastically different beach trip than last year's trip. Although we had fun last year too, I didn't feel comfortable ordering at a restaurant that I wasn't familiar with, so we made all of Little Guy's food in the hotel room.

This year, Little Guy is obviously older and notices if he doesn't get a meal from the restaurant like everyone else. I also felt more confident trying two new restaurants since I did my research beforehand. We ended up having positive experiences at both Harrison's Harbor Watch Restaurant and Phillips Crab House. We've eaten at these restaurants before - even before Little Guy was born! So, our family loves going there anyway, and it's a bonus they could accommodate Little Guy's food allergies.

I called both restaurants ahead of time to make sure they felt comfortable preparing an allergy-friendly meal for Little Guy. I also used our trusty chef cards to help me communicate with the server, manager and chef about Little Guy's multiple food allergies to egg, dairy, nuts, sesame and wheat.

Little Guy had a plain hamburger with steamed veggies at both restaurants. Here's his meal at Harrison's - especially photo-worthy due to the "Allergy" stick:
Food allergies
Love the Allergy stick!
 Little Guy sat by the window to enjoy the view. Harrison's is right on the harbor and the views are so beautiful to watch the water and boats pass by.

Restaurant and food allergies
Little Guy enjoying his allergy-friendly meal!

I didn't take a photo of Little Guy's meal at Phillips, but it was about the same - burger and veggies. I usually bring extras for him like a gluten-free, dairy-free and egg-free muffin or nut-free granola bar. I also usually have some sort of treat on hand like Enjoy Life cookies!

Ocean City Maryland - Phillips Crab House
Little Guy having fun at Phillips with Daddy!
Our trip to OC Maryland was SO much fun, and I was so happy that we had great restaurant experiences. I'll write more about our fun vacation in my next post and more about the food we packed for Little Guy and what he ate the rest of the trip.

What is your best tip for managing food allergies on vacation?  AND/OR what's your favorite place to vacation!!?


6 comments:

Unknown said...

The allergy stick is a great idea! Good reminder for kitchen staff and servers.

Kathryn @ Mamacado said...

I agree Elizabeth! It just adds an extra touch of comfort when they bring out the meal and I see an allergy stick!

Jason K said...

We're OCMD regulars and our guy has dairy, egg, and nut allergies. We've had great experiences at both the Embers, where the Chef walked the buffet line with him and asked what he'd like then prepared some for him to prevent cross contamination, as well as Shenanigans where they were just very accommodating. The Bonfire was good as well, but the Embers went above and beyond. Dead Freddie's was also good.

Kathryn @ Mamacado said...

Jason - thanks so much for your recommendations! I will have to check those out next time we go!

Anonymous said...

Hi, I'm so excited I found your blog! My son has the exact same food allergies as yours, minus the sesame. We're going to Ocean City next month and am glad to hear these recommendations. I see this post is a few years old, I was just wondering if you've had any other new recommendations about other restaurants you may have had good luck with in OC? Thanks-Missy

Kathryn @ Mamacado said...

Hi Missy - So glad you found my blog too! We just went to OC MD this June, and ate at Harrison's 2x when we were there. We didn't get a chance to try Mother's Cantina, but it had good ratings on Allergy Eats, and when I contacted them the owner said she could accommodate my son's allergies. She said they even use Daiya cheese! Please make sure to call yourself though to confirm (and I also recommend using a chef card). If you DO try anywhere else, please let me know about it - we're always looking for new places to eat - it's so hard to find new options!

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