Why We Must Remain Hyper-Vigilant

This past weekend, we decided to take a short trip North and camp in one of our favorite coastal towns, Cayucos. The kids were out of school, my in-laws were in town and the weather was amazing. Due to Alexis' severe allergies not only to food but the environment as well, we have trailer which allows us to not only have a safe kitchen but her own bedding as well. There was space available and although the town is literally 20 minutes up Highway 1, it's nice to get away.

Now like most families of children with life-threatening food allergies, we rarely eat out and when we do we are on constant guard. Because we were in a familiar town, we decided to treat ourselves to lunch at a local restaurant. Actually the night manager's daughter of this particular establishment is one of Alexis' best friends and the kids have eaten there previously under the managers strict supervision.

Knowing our friend, the manager, was not working we decided to bring our own hot dogs for the kids but order french fries as we had in the past. Upon our arrival I knew instantly the fries looked different. When I asked the hostess if the fries were new, she seemed claimed they were the same beer batter fries they always served.

Trusting my instincts, I went to the kitchen myself to ask the chef. He also claimed they were the same fries and there were safe for those with an egg or milk allergy. Explaining we were talking about a life-threatening reaction, I asked to see the ingredients. Product contains; wheat, milk.

Mom knows.

Fortunately, the chef was very nice and make the kids special fries with fresh potatoes. The kids were thrilled, I was a wreck and had medication on the table just in case. Fortunately all was well and we spent the rest of the afternoon collecting sea glass on the beach. Dad even found a real shark tooth!

Trust your instincts and beware of those beer batter fries!