Perogy Boyz Food Truck

This is a food truck that the husband has been wanting to check out for a while and we finally did it on a drizzly day near the university.  After seeing Perogy Boyz Food Truck on Eat Street, it seemed like it would be a good opportunity to try unique perogy fillings that aren't easily found at restaurants or stores (side note: the husband really, really likes cottage cheese perogies but has not found them readily available in Calgary - any suggestions?).  The irony is that in the end, the husband went with the traditional perogies so that he could see how they fared against past perogies he's had.

Considering the fact that getting a perogy fix in Calgary is limited, the husband deemed his traditional perogies to be good; however, they didn't necessarily taste that different from our favourite store-bought perogies.  The wife's perogies were more uncommon although she was confused at first because she forgot that the sauerkraut was a filling and not a topping.  The strange thing is that she didn't realize this until a few perogies later, which meant that there was almost no taste differentiation between the sauerkraut perogies and the traditional perogies.  Despite this, we did appreciate the amount of bacon and sour cream we received which lasted until the end of our meal.  The sausages on the other hand were a little small for our liking and accompanied by a mustard that was so strong that we abandoned it.

While the meal was filling enough for a lunch, we did find it to be quite costly and the wait time was much too excessive as it was 45 minutes of standing in light rain, something that might not even happen in a sit-down restaurant (the time it took, not the weather conditions).  Since most people get a limited amount of time for lunch, Perogy Boyz needs to become more efficient in order to attract and retain the lunch crowd.

The husband's traditional perogies and knackwurst sausage.

The wife's sauerkraut perogies and Kielbasa sausage.

Seafood-free friendliness: What's positive about Perogy Boyz is that they don't have seafood on the menu at all.  What's negative is that it felt like we were paying "market price" for our food and waiting for them to catch it live.

Why Risk It

In watching some videos on Anaphylaxis Canada's YouTube account, we came across the Why Risk It website for youth and young adults dealing with allergies.  One page of interest was the dining out page with the statistics on what American food service personnel thought about allergies; we're not sure if it's comparable in Canada but what a shock!  The statistics that jumped out at us the most were:

• 24% thought allergic individuals could safely consume a small amount of an allergen
• 25% thought that removing an allergen from a finished food (e.g. taking nuts off) was enough to provide a safe meal

That's a quarter of the people that could potentially touch your food!  While we recognize that it does take additional time and work to take care of restaurant patrons with allergies, we shudder to think of what the alternative could be.  What a good reminder for us to speak up and eat safe.

Also, be sure to check out the Why Risk It blog; there are lots of entries from others who have suffered from allergies.

Angel's Drive In

Angel's Drive In is just the place that we envision would make an appearance on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives due to their unique decor and atmosphere so we were curious to see how the food fared.  The husband has been here before but it was a new experience for the wife.

It's sort of hard to miss in Bowness!

While we noticed that fish and chips, a fish burger, and Caesar salad were offered here, they didn't seem too prominent on the menu so we didn't think to mention the seafood allergy (although in the future, it would probably be prudent to do so...).  However, we both lived to blog about it so we are going on the assumption that the burgers didn't touch anything else.  Neither of us were too hungry so we each ordered a mozzarella burger filled with a mayonnaise-based sauce, onions, mozzarella, bacon, lettuce, and tomato.

Pretty substantial burgers; we're glad we didn't get fries on top of this!

The burgers were filling and they tasted just like homemade burgers that perhaps Mom would make for us.  The patties had that familiar grilled taste and the toppings were fresh and generous.  They weren't gourmet burgers but at the same time, they were pretty much what we hoped for in a little drive in like this.

Seafood-free friendliness: There is seafood on the menu, particularly fish, so it's probably worth mentioning an allergy; however, it looks like people mostly come here for the beef burgers and the floats/milkshakes (based on our observations when we dined there).  Angel's seems to be a family-friendly place where you can get comfort food at a reasonable price so we'll likely return there this summer to try other things on the menu.

Jelly Modern Doughnuts

The third course in our adventures following Holy Crepe Food Truck and Big Cheese Poutinerie was the dessert round.  The husband surprised the wife by taking her to Jelly Modern Doughnuts, which was a nice finale to their meal.  Since we were both full, we only ordered the three-bite doughnuts but they did leave us wanting more.  The husband had the s'more doughnut (as depicted on the left) and the wife had the Nenshi's salted caramel doughnut (as depicted on the right).  A pleasant surprise for both of us was finding that neither doughnut was as sweet as we feared; we didn't really want to feel as if we ate blocks of sugar even if it was dessert.

Oh no - we didn't notice that this was blurry either but that just means we'll have to go back.

Seafood-free friendliness: Jelly Modern Doughnut does not have any seafood on the menu - which one would probably expect - making it very friendly for allergy-sufferers.  Hooray for dessert (although they do have sandwiches as well)!  According to their menu, they only offer chicken salad and egg salad for their sandwiches, which makes us very happy as cross-contamination between egg salad and tuna salad seems to happen more frequently than it should (which in our eyes means never).  We hope to return for larger doughnuts in a wider variety, possibly including a sandwich or two.

Big Cheese Poutinerie

After sharing our crepe at Holy Crepe Food Truck, we decided that we needed something else to complement our meal so we walked to Big Cheese Poutinerie on 17th Avenue to continue our Quebecois-themed lunch. While the wife has already determined that her favourite poutines come from Maaam Bolduc and La Banquise in Montreal and La Belle Patate in Canmore, there was definitely interest in seeing what this Calgary poutinerie had to offer.

The nice thing was that there were hardly any people at Big Cheese Poutinerie so we had some time to think about what to get.  As the husband is usually more traditional in his poutine selections (give him squeaky cheese curds, good gravy, and the occasional smoked meat over his fries and he's happy), the wife suggested ordering the Hogzilla with Carolina pulled pork, double smoked bacon, and peppercorn gravy as a compromise.  Since we were sharing the poutine, we split a large order but learnt that in the future, sharing a small poutine would suffice.

The Hogzilla poutine: Definitely larger than we anticipated and just as tasty as we hoped.

This poutine choice was delicious; however, after a few bites, we realized that the husband ended up getting more of the pulled pork and the wife got more of the bacon and gravy so if you're sharing, you might need to switch sides after a while due to the uneven layering.  The bacon added the right crunch and the small bits of pulled pork tasted great with the peppercorn gravy but it didn't seem as though there was a lot of pulled pork in the first place.  We didn't try the Montreal smoked meat poutine here so we can't compare it to our local favourite at Alberta King of Subs but the husband is willing to make another trip to Big Cheese one day (although parking is not very conducive at this location).

Seafood-free friendliness: We love that this poutinerie is absolutely seafood-free, which means that we can come back and try anything on the menu.  There are no concerns about cross-contamination with either the poutine toppings or the fries, which is already a treat in itself.  The cheese may not be as squeaky as out east but it's a step above fast-food fare with interesting selections, so we probably wouldn't mind attempting more menu items.

Holy Crepe Food Truck

We did it!  It's amazing what happens when you post your goals online - they actually take place.  Alright, that may be a slight exaggeration but this past week, we decided that we had to find the Holy Crepe Food Truck.  Their completely seafood-free menu really enticed us but what made us go out of our way was the idea of indulging in the Holy Smokes crepewich.

We were worried that we'd miss them for lunch but caught them just in time.

We apologize for the blurriness of the picture (hungry tummies, unsteady hands) but this crepewich was large enough that we shared it.

The only thing we have to say is that searching out this food truck in the middle of downtown was worth it.  The smoked meat was delectable, the chipotle aioli sauce gave the crepe such a nice kick, and the melted cheese rounded everything out.  It is always a treat when we can fully enjoy anything off of a food truck/restaurant's menu without needing to worry about seafood contaminating any of our selections - now we just need to go back for more crepes!  (The husband's only regret was that he had to share his crepe; he would have much preferred one all to himself.)

Seafood-free friendliness: It doesn't get any better than this food truck and its seafood-free menu.  If Holy Crepe stays this way, this truck may easily become our newest favourite.

Famoso Neapolitan Pizzeria

This is a pizza joint that we have been wanting to check out based on the allergy chart we came across at the beginning of this year.  While a smoked salmon pizza has been added to the menu since we first saw the chart, seafood only appears in two items at Famoso Neapolitan Pizzeria, which made ordering a meal much easier for us (even if we still struggled to narrow down what we wanted).

In the end, we settled on sharing a Cappricciosa pizza as it had both meat and a good selection of different vegetables.  Though we could have had a salad with our meal, we were more interested in seeing if we could polish off the pizza without any leftovers - and we did!

Italian ham, roasted mushrooms, artichoke hearts, kalamata olives, and extra virgin olive oil.

Taste-wise, the pizza was amazingly delicious and filling.  We were worried that the kalamata olives would be too bitter for the pizza but they blended right in.  Eating-wise, the only thing that we noticed was that it got a little soggy right in the middle which necessitated a knife and fork.  Allergy-wise, we were impressed that when we mentioned the seafood allergy that the person taking our order shouted it out loud to the people making the pizzas nearby - this practically sealed the deal on the fact that we would have a good experience here.  Added to this were the great atmosphere, good pizza selection, and central location.

Seafood-free friendliness: With most pizza places offering shrimp, anchovies, and salmon as topping choices now, this is an excellent pizzeria for those with shellfish allergies and even fish allergies.  What we love is that seafood appetizers aren't served here (unlike Pulcinella) which greatly reduces the risk of cross-contamination.  We'd definitely return to Famoso, not only for being fairly seafood-free but for their wonderful pizzas!

Smashburger

We know - everyone is doing a review on Smashburger and other burger joints in Calgary these days.  But, it's not surprising we'd jump on board considering that these places are more often seafood-free than not.  If you check out the American allergen information sheet, it appears that the only risks are in the salad dressings and sauces, and the beefy chili.  While we both enjoy salads, neither of us actually like chili so that didn't bother us at all.

When we went to Smashburger this past Saturday, the line-ups were long but the tables turned over quickly so we were able to enjoy our food in no time.  Since we both only ordered burgers and fries, we didn't even need to think about seafood allergies!  This was a relief because one of the biggest frustrations we've had is in hearing that we can't have restaurant fries since they are cooked in the same deep fryer as the seafood (will restaurants one day have two separate fryers for this purpose?).  This has resulted in the wife having to change her order to a salad while longingly eyeing her husband's fries (the wife admits she should eat more salads but that it's less fun when she doesn't have a choice in the matter).  This time, however, there were fries in abundance on our table, which we realized at the end of the meal when we needed a bag to take half of them home after consuming pretty large burgers.  The following are what we ordered and practically inhaled:

The wife's Spicy Baja burger and sweet potato Smashfries with chipotle dipping sauce.  The avocado and the jalapenos created the perfect tang while the rest of the burger was actually spicy (just like they advertise).

The husband's Calgary burger and sweet potato Smashfries with chipotle dipping sauce.  The bacon really stood out and the spice level was just right.  While on their website, we noticed that the ingredients in the Calgary burger are the same as in the Colorado burger....

Seafood-free friendliness: Extremely, as long as you stay away from the Caesar salad dressing that has fish in it.  It would also be best to avoid the dressings/sauces and chili that have been produced in the same facility/line that fish and shellfish have come into contact with.  Other than that, we're thrilled that we can eat the burgers and fries here without any thoughts of allergies.

Ricky's All-Day Grill

A few days ago, the wife had a reunion with some college friends at Ricky's All-Day Grill (probably the place she goes to for breakfast the most).  In the past, she hasn't had to worry about bringing up her seafood allergy at breakfast; however, with the increasing prevalence of shrimp omelettes and smoked salmon benedicts on breakfast menus, she no longer takes a chance for fear of cross-contamination.

The good news is that when she mentioned her allergy to her server, she was assured that the seafood was prepared in a separate area from her breakfast food - now she can enjoy all the eggs, bacon and hash browns she wants!  While Ricky's has ensured that this happens at their Harvest Hills location, we're not certain if this is standard practice for all of the restaurant locations but we're willing to find out one day.  This is a change from other all-day breakfast chain restaurants that we've visited, such as Perkins where the wife was told not to eat the hash browns because the seafood was fried in the same oil.  Although we understand the precautions in following such advice, the wife is always a little disappointed when she can't have her crunchy potatoes in the morning (or during the day).

The following is what the wife ordered on Thursday morning - the quick commute.  It's been the best value for breakfast for years and while the husband doesn't slather on as much ketchup and Tabasco sauce as the wife, you can see that it's indeed a full plate for just around $7 with tax and tip.

Maple bacon, shredded hash browns, buttered toast, and an egg with lots of ketchup and smoked Tabasco chipotle sauce.

Seafood-free friendliness: Compared to other breakfast chains, it seems to be quite friendly (double-check with the server though).  It's been over half a year since we've had the dinner menu to test its seafood-free friendliness so we can't quite comment on that but if the seafood preparation station is indeed separate from the other stations, this is a good indication that we'll likely be safe with dinner too.

Seafood Allergy Resources

Although we've found that having a seafood allergy does not seem to be as common where we live or amongst the people we know, it has been nice to find helpful resources online.

We're impressed that our government recognizes that seafood allergies are one of the nine most common food allergies (Allergic Living declares that it is the most common one in Canada) and that they are committed to helping make food safety a priority through accurate labelling and proposed future legislation.  For more information on seafood allergies, you can check out Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.

Here are other sites that may be of interest to seafood-allergy sufferers:

• Seafood Allergies - Allergic Living
• Seafood Allergy - Sharecare
• Fish Allergy Facts, Symptoms - The Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network
• Shellfish Allergy Facts, Symptoms - The Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network
• Eating at Restaurants with Shellfish Allergies
• Shellfish Allergy - Symptoms and Management
• Foods to Avoid with a Shellfish Allergy
• Fish Allergy Information
• Seafood Allergies - Live Strong

Some of these sites go into further details on how to travel safely with food allergies and how to recognize seafood in other languages, so when the day comes that we get to travel afar, these will be useful articles for us to read as well.

Update from July 20, 2023

A reader, Debbie, has kindly suggested the following resource that we would like to include - thank you, Debbie!

• Food Allergies and Intolerances: The Complete Guide to Identifying and Avoiding the Wrong Foods
  

"We can't guarantee anything"

This has to be one of the most frustrating things that a restaurant patron can hear.  It's an empty phrase that has more to do with risk and liability than ensuring that the patron actually has a good dining experience.

In our opinion, the worst offender of this is Milestones Grill and Bar.  This isn't a restaurant that we as a couple have ever chosen to go to on our own, save for a friend's birthday party.  While we went expecting that Milestones would be akin to other restaurants like Earls or Moxie's, we were disappointed to find out that there was actually very little that the wife could eat.  It wasn't that the menu was completely seafood-saturated; it was that the waitstaff would tell us that a lot of their food came from outside sources and so they could not guarantee that it did not come into contact with seafood before arriving on-site.

Typically, the wife (and husband) appreciate it when the waitstaff looks into her allergy and takes the concern seriously; however, this was borderline excessive in that no other alternatives were presented.  It's as if you go into a store, tell them of your intolerance to lactose, and instead of being referred to almond or soy milk as a substitution, the staff mention that they can't guarantee anything and don't say anything further.  The likely conclusion is that if you didn't know about those other products, you'd leave the store, right?

That illustration aside, it was a birthday party and we were hungry so we stayed.  The appetizer that the group shared was Milestones' Famous Hot Spinach and Artichoke Dip, except that the wife was told that the warm red tortilla chips could have been in contact with seafood so she shouldn't partake in it.  (Side note from the wife: How fun is it to watch everyone else get to eat while you sip your water?)  The other frustration was that the wife asked if there was any other option that she could have, such as bread or pita chips; however, the response given was that those items also came from outside vendors and so there were no guarantees (and thus, nothing was offered).

We're not ones to criticize how a restaurant runs itself - believe us, we sometimes have enough things to figure out in our own kitchen - but we were a little flummoxed that nothing else was presented as an option.  We were paying customers and since it was an allergy that prohibited one of us from eating rather than say, food pickiness, we would have thought that the restaurant could have accommodated us.

Despite this, we did manage to have dinner, and though ingredients had to be taken out because they couldn't "guarantee anything", we were thankful to at least have some food in us by the end of the evening even if our entrées didn't really stand out.  Our suggestion is that if ingredients have to be omitted that either a substitute ingredient be presented or a discount be taken off of the meal - something to acknowledge that you didn't receive everything you're paying for (we much prefer the substitute ingredient; it's not as if we're out to score cheap meals this way).

Another thing we noticed on their menu that doesn't have to do with us specifically is Milestones' Gluten-Free Favourites.  While most of our friends suffer from a gluten intolerance/sensitivity as opposed to having celiac disease, we do know that cross-contamination is a serious concern for those with the disease.  What's the point in offering a gluten-free menu when the staff does not prepare those items separately?  It would be no different from offering a chicken stir-fry but using the same wok that the shrimp stir-fry was prepared in just before that.  Anyways, we acknowledge that this particular allergy is not our fight (Vincci offers a better soapbox on this topic) but it's still frustrating when those in the restaurant industry do not realize that allergies can be a life-or-death matter.

Seafood-free friendliness: Well, if you only stick to what's prepared in-house, Milestones might be okay; it was just too bad that the staff could not "guarantee anything" with so many of their ingredients.  We left with the feeling that we probably won't ever go back to this chain restaurant (their limited menu was another factor for us - it was hard enough finding seafood-free food but also food we wanted to eat).  There are other places where we can enjoy our "life milestones" and have a better dinner out.

"What's an allergy?"

This is probably a question you don't want to be asked if you have a serious allergy (amongst others which we'll post about).

A few weeks ago, we had a fun getaway to the mountains and travelled through a couple of touristy towns.  Since we were somewhat on a schedule, we decided to bypass the food in Banff for the food in Lake Louise.  Now, if we were dining at the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise, that probably would have made the wife's day but with our limited budget, we went to the Lake Louise Village Grill and Bar instead.

Although the husband had eaten here in his past, we noticed that something must have been different this time around.  With a Chinese food menu and the husband being the only Caucasian person in the whole restaurant, we wondered how the experience would turn out.  Normally, we avoid Asian restaurants because of the copious amounts of seafood and the greater likelihood of cross-contamination.  We feel we can speak about this with authority because the wife is of an Asian background and is all too aware that the word "allergy" is not part of the Asian vocabulary.  Just ask her relatives.

That means that we shouldn't have been surprised when our waitress asked us, "What's an allergy?"  At that point, we were ready to head out of the restaurant; however, after a long travel day and having already left another restaurant because of their menu, we didn't have the energy to find another place to eat.  It even got to the point where the husband mentioned that the wife should stick her EpiPen on the table in case anything happened (we know - we are not suggesting this idea to anyone else even though we did just that).  Thankfully, another waitress came out with a more comprehensive understanding of English and asked us what we were allergic to which we were immensely grateful for.

Overall, we got more out of this story at the restaurant than the meal itself.  The husband had a greasy lasagna and the wife had an average burger so we're not anxious to return here.  With seafood on the Asian and Western menus, we were really taking a chance (though the wife is still alive so that was a good sign!).  There probably aren't too many other dining options in Lake Louise but we'll likely pass on this one.  Also, we didn't take pictures of our food which should be understandable given the stress of the situation ("Am I going to die here?!").

Seafood-free friendliness: Not very; however, the wife didn't have a reaction to anything she ate so they must have kept her burger and fries away from the seafood.  We imagine and hope there are other restaurants in Lake Louise that would do a better job in handling patrons with allergies.  We've learnt not to take risks like we did in case anything does go wrong.

Future Eats: Holy Crepe Food Truck

We don't know when we'll end up crossing paths with the Holy Crepe Food Truck but it's on our radar now.  If you look at their menu, there is absolutely no seafood - only what looks like tempting crepe goodness.  Our main difficulty is that neither of us are downtown during the day so we usually have to catch food trucks at special events or weekends (if they happen to be out).  But, since we both have a love for French/Quebecois fare, we might have to figure out how to go out of our way for this one.  Future post to come? :)

Past Eats: Red Wagon Diner

While we only thought of creating this blog yesterday, we have definitely been trying to eat our way through our city long before then.  Unfortunately, we haven't always taken pictures but we did find one from Sunday, May 6, 2012 when we came across the Red Wagon Diner in the East Village.  This new Calgary food truck serves one thing, and one thing well - Montreal smoked meat.  That alone caught our attention, especially since the wife once lived four blocks away from a pretty neat little place in Montreal called Schwartz's (perhaps you've heard of it?).

Although we know that the Red Wagon Diner does not compare to Schwartz's, it's much, much better than our attempts to make the famous sandwiches, plus you get a generous portion of meat, soft rye bread that holds everything together, and a large pickle.  We saw them at the Calgary Lilac Festival but haven't caught up with them again as we don't work downtown so we're looking forward to our next encounter.

The traditional smoked meat sandwich - they ran out of the other specials but this one did not disappoint.

Seafood-free friendliness: We think this one speaks for itself :)  The menu does offer smoked salmon eggs benedict and salmon as an ingredient for their omelettes; however, we would assume that their breakfast menu is kept separately from their lunch menu.  For full assurance, it would probably be best to ask if the ingredients are handled separately within their truck (when we ate our meal, they only advertised their sandwiches).

Edelweiss Village Café

Today was a good day for us to begin our food blogging fun although we acknowledge that this post isn't too allergy-related.  We were able to have lunch together (a rarity these days) and after watching Diners, Drive-ins and Dives last week when a German restaurant was featured, the husband suggested that we return to Edelweiss Village Café for our lunch date this week.  We have eaten there before although not as frequently as the husband would like, hence the not-so-subtle suggestion.

One thing that the wife has learnt since marrying someone of an Eastern European background is that the cuisine from that part of the world typically does not highlight seafood, which was confirmed when we looked at Edelweiss' online menu.  As allergy sufferers, we really appreciate online menus so that we can at least determine whether we can eat at the restaurant or not.  While this menu didn't list the ingredients of their food, the only seafood we saw on there were the clam chowder soup and the North Sea fish cake, neither of which seemed prominent when we arrived for lunch.

This was a relief especially in dining at places that offer ready-to-serve food where cross-contamination is very possible (such as when the same serving utensils are used for different foods or different foods are prepared on the same work surface).  Thankfully, the warm foods that were placed together were items such as perogies, sauerkraut, red cabbage, and bratwursts - foods we didn't need to worry about and enjoy anyway.  The fish cakes might have been in the same vicinity but it was not touching the other foods; hurrah!  The only suggestion we have might be that each food has its own serving utensil but this would be minor compared to other things we've faced.

In the end, we both decided to have the Schnitzel plate (husband-pork, wife-chicken) and it was delicious (and filling as you can see below)!  We're grateful that German food is usually a good option for seafood-free eating and that for once, we don't need to draw attention to our "special" needs.  That, and how can you go wrong with red cabbage, German potato salad, and schnitzel?

The wife's chicken schnitzel plate - and yes, she did share.

Seafood-free friendliness: Very!

Hello, nice to meet you

Seafood-Free
We're a husband and wife that love eating out and enjoying the great foods of our city with one exception - seafood.  The reason is that the wife has a life-threatening allergy to seafood which can lead to anaphylaxis.  Thus, the husband cannot partake in seafood unless he wants to risk becoming a widower (and at his young age, that's much too soon).  Needless to say, with that huge category of food being off-limits, we've had to become a little more creative and assertive when we dine out.  This blog is meant to chronicle our journey in finding good seafood-free eats where we live!

Eats
To be honest, with our professions (both of which have absolutely nothing to do with food), it's more likely that we would be dining at chain restaurants, diners, the occasional food truck, and random food stops as opposed to five-star gourmet restaurants (or quite frankly, restaurants with any star).  With that being said, we still like trying new things and hunting down the best of our favourites.

Blog
In starting this blog,

• We want to celebrate the restaurants that have been friendly to us as seafood-allergy sufferers.
• We want to bring awareness to the fact that fish, crustacean, and shellfish allergies should be taken very seriously (just like with gluten and nut allergies).
• We not-so-secretly hope that restaurants will begin to make small changes that would make a world of difference to people like us so that dining out remains a positive experience.
• We want to have fun remembering our adventures :)

And now, to eat!