M​cDonald’s UK Link for Allergies: https://www.mcdonalds.com/content/dam/sites/uk/nfl/pdf/nutrition/allergen-leaflet-020823.pdf

I​ remember going to McDonald’s since I was a kid and playing on the playsets and eating some food. I remember liking their burgers, chicken McNuggets, and eating their apple slices, and I enjoy their apple pies as well. I have eaten at McDonald’s for a long time and I wanted to give my take on how McDonald’s deals with food allergies.

I​ googled “McDonald’s Allergen Menu” and the first one that came up on Google was an allergen menu for the UK. If you live or visiting in the UK then it is perfect for you, but since I live in the USA that will not work for me. I did find websites like godairyfree.org that gave me the information I needed to decide whether McDonald’s was the right choice for me. Which McDonald’s does have plenty of options for me to eat, but the one food I want to eat is french fries, but those have dairy and I cannot do that since I am allergic to dairy. Since McDonald’s is so popular their are lots of websites writing about allergies at McDonald’s and if you just google it you will be fine and make sure you take the time to research and scroll down on Google to find it. But you should find your allergy and see what you can eat and not eat.

C​hicken McNuggets

F​ood rating: 3 of 5 stars

R​ationale: I really enjoy their chicken and it is pretty good. I don’t eat it often, but when I do I seem to like it a lot. It isn’t overly dry and isn’t cold when I eat it.

A​llergy rating: 4 of 5 stars

R​ationale: Vegans and gluten people should stay away from this, but if you don’t have those allergies than these McNuggets are a great choice for a meal or a snack.

M​cDonald’s Burgers

F​ood rating 3 of 5 stars

R​ationale: As long as cheese isn’t on my burger I will be fine and I like their burgers. I like the buns and the patties. Just the patty and the bun at McDonald’s seems to be a good combo. I will get burger with lettuce on it as well, but I don’t go to McDonald’s very often, so I couldn’t tell you what extra toppings I got on my burger, but I wouldn’t say I had a bad burger from McDonald’s.

A​llergy Rating: 4 of 5 stars

R​ationale: It was pretty much like the Chicken McNuggets. Vegans and Gluten- Free people shouldn’t partake, the bun for one, but if you are gluten-free you can skip the bun and eat the meat. Plus if you’re keto taking the bun of the burger is a great option as well. Burgers are really good allergy-free food because you can customize a burger any way you want it. Unfortuanately McDonald’s doesn’t have a vegan burger.

A​pple Pie

F​ood Rating 5 out of 5 stars

R​ationale: I really enjoy this dessert. When I was in college I remember coming to McDonald’s specifically to grab this treat with my friends. This is how good this Apple pie. It is always hot and I really enjoy eating that pie. It is the one thing that makes me want to eat at McDonald’s. I would highly recommend ordering yourself and Apple Pie if you are looking for a good treat.

A​llergy rating 4 out of 5

R​ationale: Gluten-free people should stay away from this because of the crust being filled with gluten. Other than that there is no other allergen concern that I have when it comes to the Apple Pies.

A​llergy rating of Restaurant 2 out of 5 stars

R​ationale: The food is allergy-friendly, but it is really hard to find a nice organized chart that isn’t based out of the UK. If you’re in the UK it’s perfect for you. The good news is that people on the internet just like me have wrote to help make sure people with food allergies can eat their safely. That is the only thing, I had to go to multiple websites to find the information I was looking for, so I would browse Google before going to McDonald’s. I still would recommend eating at McDonald’s because they got good food.

M​arco’s Pizza Allergen Menu: https://www.nutritionix.com/marcos-pizza/menu/special-diets/premium

C​hicken Wings

F​ood Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

R​ationale: I really enjoy how juicy their wings are. I was so impressed with their wings and I would definitely recommend giving them a try!

A​llergy Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

R​ationale: Gluten-Free people and Vegans, and people who have a sesame allergy should stay away, but everyone else is safe!

P​izza

F​ood Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

R​ationale: I enjoy the big toppings, especially with their sausage. I get the all-meats pizza and I love it! The crust is pretty good as well!

A​llergy Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

R​ationale: Vegans can enjoy the pizza crust and get veggies. Gluten-Free people can get pizza bowls (sorry there is no gluten-free crust!)

C​innaSquares

F​ood Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

R​ationale: I really enjoy eating these delicacies! I come to Marco’s Pizza because I can order Cinnasquares! It is basically cinnamon and sugar with Icing. It is really good & I love eating them! Finding desserts that are dairy-free are tough and I highly recommend eating them!

A​llergy Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

R​ationale: It contains Wheat and Soy!

A​llergy Rating of Restaurant: 5 out of 5 Stars

R​ationale: They have a readable allergen menu and I have never had an allergic reaction. I normally order through the app, I wish they had a special instructions button where you could tell them your allergy! Luckily I haven’t had an allergic reaction and have been fine! They screwed up my pizza once, but I got it resolved. That location I had that problem is closed so that isn’t a concern! I would highly recommend eating at Marco’s Pizza!

L​onghorn Steakhouse Allergen Menu: https://media.longhornsteakhouse.com/en_us/pdf/nutrition_allergen_guide.pdf

*P​age 13 has a gluten-free menu and page 14 has the rest of the allergens (you’ll have to scroll down to find the allergens).

I​ haven’t had Longhorn Steakhouse in a very long time. I enjoyed it enough to where I would go back and eat it again! I just don’t have one in Marysville, Ohio (my hometown). If I were to eat there again I would probably order Fire-grilled T-bone steak and their seasoned french fries. Though they’re lots of options to eat. Lots of steaks, ribs, salmon and pork chops.

A​llergy Rating of Restaurant: 5 out of 5 stars

The good news is that they just updated their allergen menu (August 21st, 2023). They take their food very seriously and when I ate there I had allergic reactions and no concerns to where I would be concerned of that happening. For gluten-free people it is super easy to locate what you can eat because they have it in their menu exactly. They have lots of options and I would check their allergen guide and make sure what you are ordering is allergy-friendly. I would highly recommend eating there.

L​ong John Silver’s Allergen Menu: https://www.ljsilvers.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/LJS-Ingredient-List-Revised-2020-10.pdf

F​ood Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

R​ationale: I really haven’t had dry meat when I ate their (Chicken, fish, & Shrimp). I wouldn’t say I was too crazy about the breading, but It defenetely wasn’t horrible either. I would still recommend eating here!

A​llergy Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

R​ationale: There aren’t any options for vegans except their fries! I do like how they had their allergen menu organized, but it hasn’t been updated since 2020. I would ask to make sure their recipe hasn’t changed. I would recommend eating here. I have a place in my hometown with a KFC in it as well and I have liked eating there.

K​FC Allergen Menu: https://www.kfc.com/food-allergies-and-sensitivities

I​ have had KFC for a while! We have one in Marysville, OH and we occassionally go to KFC. It is also attached with a Long John Silvers as well.

F​ood Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

R​ationale: KFC isn’t the worst chicken I have ever had, but I’ll be honest that sometimes I like Hot Chicken Takeover better. If you don’t have a Hot Chicken Takeover in your area and you want fried chicken this isn’t a bad option! I enjoy their extra crispy chicken. I enjoy their chicken littles and chicken tenders. They had wings that was really good, but they got rid of them, so I’m not real happy about that. I went to KFC just to eat them! I like their secret recipe fries, they’re pretty good!

A​llergy Rating: 2 out of 5 Stars

R​ationale: It might’ve been the location I went to, I’m not going to say it is all KFC’s, but I felt like I wasn’t listened to. I explained to the manager what I wanted, I wanted the biscuit separate from my food because I got the baskets that have fries and a biscuit, I was trying to get it without the biscuit but I got a biscuit. That’s a major problem that I hope doesn’t happen at every KFC, but the location I went to had that problem! When I ate here I didn’t even bother asking it without because I couldn’t get it without it! I will say you can get a bucket of KFC extra crispy chicken or get chicken littles or a meal that doesn’t come with a biscuit. There are ways around this and again I would try your local KFC because the service might have improved. They have good chicken and I love their extra crispy chicken! Use caution when eating here! Be super specific!

H​ot Chicken Takeover Allergen Menu: It is confusing to find but here’s what you need to do: Pick the location you want to go to, and then go to the bottom of the website and it will say “Picky or Allergic Eaters?”, after you find that click the allergen guide

I​ recently came about Hot Chicken Takeover when I went on a Missions trip in Columbus. I was volunteering with a Ministry called Lower Lights and they helped people with poverty and helped people find their footing after getting out of prison. It is a cool organization and this restaurant made the trip even better!

F​ood Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

R​ationale: I really enjoy the chicken. It is hot and juicy like you would expect it! I get some Schwebel’s Bread which is cool because the bread normally has dairy in it! I was able to eat their waffle fries and they reminded me of the classic Chick-fil-A waffle fries. If you want a good chicken place, you have found it!

A​llergy Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars

R​ationale: There are vegan options and I haven’t had an allergic reaction, but it is concerning that the allergen menu is hard to find and their allergen menu doesn’t list everything! I had to ask if the fries are dairy-free. Their fries are definitely dairy-free, but if there is a concern, please ask them & inform them that their fries aren’t on their allergen menu and if they could fix it, that would be appreciated! I give them credit for having good food and having an allergen menu, but the menu could be improved. I highly recommend it, if you’re in doubt please ask and communicate with them! I defInitely would recommend trying them!

D​omino’s Allergen Menu: https://www.dominos.com/en/pages/content/nutritional/allergen-info

P​izza

F​ood Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

R​ationale: I love the size of the topping and the thin-crust! I have also had the gluten-free crust (those are the only two crusts I can eat). I do prefer the thin-crust, but the gluten-free crust wasn’t bad either!

A​llergy Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

R​ationale: They have gluten-free crust, you can customize your pizza according to your allergies, which is really an advantage of Domino’s!

W​ings

F​ood Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

R​ationale: I have had both the boneless and the bone-in wings. They are juicy and fresh! I really would recommend trying them!

A​llergy Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

R​ationale: The boneless chicken has gluten in it, but the plain chicken wings have no allergens!

A​llergy Review of Entire Restaurant: 5 out of 5 Stars

R​ationale: They have good food and a readable allergen menu! Plus I have never had an allergic reaction here! What more is there to say? I recommend eating here!

D​el Taco Allergen Menu: https://deltaco.com/files/pdf/2023/allergens-11-2023.pdf?v=1

M​y Sister wanted to go to this restaurant because she thought it was really good. We were surprising my Aunt from Ohio for retiring as a school teacher and we wanted to grab a bite to eat with my Grandma, Sister, Brother, and my Aunt and Uncle from Florida and we decided to stop here on the way home. Unfortunately the restaurant was really cold and the eating experience while dining in wasn’t that good, but they do have a drive-thru if you would like to do that instead.

C​rispy Chicken

F​ood Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

R​ationale: My food was fresh and juicy. It was really good! luckily me freezing my butt off didn’t stop me from tasting the chicken and its hotness. It definitely warmed me up a little bit.

A​llergy Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

R​ationale: The only allergen presented here is gluten! I would definitely avoid this if you are Gluten-Free!

F​rench Fries

Food Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

R​ationale: I really enjoyed them! They were crinkle-cut fries and I defenetely enjoyed them because I was starving and I will say that I felt good after I ate some of the fries!

A​llergy Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

R​ationale: They’re fries! 97% of the time there are no present allergens in Fries!

T​acos

F​ood Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

R​ationale: I got a taco for less than a dollar! I got beef and crunchy taco shell! I honestly really thought it was a great taco! They made my taco correctly without any allergen screw up so it makes it even better.

A​llergy rating: 5 out of 5 stars

R​ationale: Vegans and Gluten-Free people can easily customize to where they can eat it! Anyone with any allergen can custimize it anyway they want. They could do a taco bowl where they put their ingredients in a bowl worst comes to worst.

A​llergy Rating of Restaurant: 5 out of 5 stars

R​ationale: They just recently updated their allergen menu so you know everything is current, so that is good! The staff seemed to take precautions when I told them no cheese and they made my order correct, so that is really good. They had burgers so for people who are like me and are allergic to dairy there are plenty of options for you to choose from. That is a plus in my book! I would highly recommend to anyone that is looking for good food and the chances of having an allergic reaction are low.

C​ulver’s Allergen Menu: https://www.culvers.com/menu-and-nutrition/nutrition-and-allergen-guide

Culver’s – Hold the Butter for Various Dairy-Free Burgers & Entrees

C​ulver’s is known for it’s Wisconsin cheese and dairy. They use dairy in a lot of their products like their ice cream, butterburgers, and cheese curds. You would think that there is absolutely nothing for me to eat here, but it is not what you think, let me explain:

C​hicken Tenders

F​ood Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Rationale: These chicken tenders are always hot and I’m going to go out on a limb and say these are my favorite fast-food chicken tenders of all-time. The tenders are always juicy and I have always enjoyed eating, never had one bad batch of chicken tenders.

A​llergy Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Rationale: Vegans and people who are allergic to gluten should stay away and not eat this! For gluten-free people they do have butterburgers that have gluten-free buns. If you aren’t allergic to dairy I would recommend you try them because my family and friends say that it is a really good burger.

F​ries

F​ood Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

R​ationale: These fries are always hot when I get them! They are crinkle cut fries and they have the right amount of salt. I have absolutely zero complaints about these delicious delicacies!

A​llergy Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

R​ationale: There is no allergen present! If you are allergic to potatoes please let me know!

J​umbo Butterfly Shrimp

F​ood Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

R​ationale: It is still really hot and it is so good to eat as well. The shrimp is very juicy and as a result it is a pleasurable eat.

A​llergy Rating 4 out of 5 stars

R​ationale: People who are allergic to shellfish should stay away, but if you are allergic to shellfish I would hope you would know that this item should be off limits for you. Be careful of cross contimination of ingredients if the allergy is severe. It does also contain fish and gluten. Vegans should not eat this! A warning for vegans is that the garden veggie burger contains dairy, so that is not a good option! Fries might be the best bet for a vegan. According to godairyfree.org and their Culver’s review you can get pretzel bites without the cheese. Plus there are vegetables as well. Just be careful that they don’t add butter.

B​eef Pot Roast Sandwich

F​ood Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

R​ationale: I’m not the biggest fan of stringy meat (I enjoy my meat not shredded) and I still enjoyed the sandwich. It was hot and the right flavor and I really enjoyed it.

A​llergy Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

R​ationale: Vegans should stay away and gluten-free people should ask for the gluten-free bun or no bun at all.

A​llergy Review of Entire Restaurant: 5 out of 5 Stars

R​ationale: I mean they do an amazing job of allergies and alerting customers to tell the employees if they have food allergies and they do a great job of handling those allergies. They have signs as you walk in with their allergy warnings. It is rare to see the precautions they have taken with allergies. They have warned about cross contamination, and I would advise you to take their advice. I’ve never had an allergic reaction at Culver’s and I go all the time with my co-workers on my lunch break and I go with my family too. It is always packed and if you are looking for a restaurant that always has good food and takes care of their customers with allergies than this is the restaurant to go to.

C​ici’s Pizza Allergen Menu: https://www.cicis.com/media/ksla20m4/nutrition_facts_060122.pdf

I​ remember eating Cici’s Pizza as a kid. If you have never heard of Cici’s Pizza it is basically a pizza and dessert buffet. You can order carryout as well, but if you eat in it is buffet style. I loved eating the cinnamon rolls (sadly they changed their recipe and put dairy in them). I used to get them without icing and I enjoyed them, I remember they would make a separate pizza for me and there was a buzzer and I would either get the pizza or they would bring it out to me. They used to have a place 15 minutes from me, but that closed and the closest one I can think of is the Smoky Mountains in Tennesee and there is one in Cleveland, Tennessee. I have eaten at both of those places.

P​izza

F​ood Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

R​ationale: The pizza is always hot and fresh! You’ll never get a bad pizza at Cici’s! They make my pizza when I tell them my food allergies and they make one right for me. You can get lots of toppings to choose from and I love this pizza and I wish one were closer to me.

A​llergy Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

R​ationale: There really isn’t anything for gluten-free people. Gluten-free people should eat a salad or have them put pizza toppings in a bowl, that is the best bet for people with gluten allergies or intolerances. They do have a stuffed crust pizza, and that is not safe for people like me who have dairy allergies. Vegans shouldn’t portake in it because it has cheese in it and cheese is an animal product. Vegans can put veggies on their pizza with no problems at all. *on my video it says 5 out of 5, I meant to say 4 out of 5 stars, sorry for the confusion!

A​llergy Rating of Restaurant: 4 out of 5 stars

R​ationale: They do a great job of making sure your food is safe and not cross contaminated. The only thing is that they don’t have a whole lot of options for gluten-free people and have no desserts that are dairy-free and allergy friendly. Other than that, they have an easy to read allergen menu and I have had no allergic reactions here at Cici’s Pizza and I would highly recommend it because it is a safe place for people who have allergies. Just let them know you have an allergy and they’ll make sure your order is safe.