AllergyEats: A Helpful Resource for the Holidays: Reduce Stress Around Dining Out, Traveling

Dec. 6, 2010 - PRLog -- For many, the holiday season is filled with stress: long lines of shoppers, crowded mall parking lots, traffic jams and delayed flights.  People with food allergies and intolerances often have the added anxiety about where they can comfortably eat during their holiday activities.  AllergyEats (www.AllergyEats.com ), the fastest growing source for finding allergy-friendly restaurants, offers a solution, whether people are dining out across town or across the country.

AllergyEats is a free, user-friendly website that provides valuable peer-based feedback about how well (or poorly) restaurants accommodate food-allergic customers.  AllergyEats lists well over 600,000 restaurants nationwide, which food allergic diners can rate.  The site also offers information on restaurants’ menus (including gluten-free menus), allergen lists, nutrition information, certifications, web links, directions and more.

“The greatest value that AllergyEats provides is the peer reviews outlining how well restaurants cater to food allergic diners, allowing people to make more informed decisions about where to eat.  By visiting www.AllergyEats.com, people can quickly find restaurants that have accommodated other diners with food allergies or intolerances – and avoid the ones that haven’t,” explained Paul Antico, Founder of AllergyEats.

“During the holidays, many of us dine out more often, while traveling to visit family and friends, running errands or vacationing during school break.  Now, food allergic diners can easily collect helpful, at-a-glance, peer-rated information about restaurants nationwide,” Antico continued.  

AllergyEats has experienced tremendous growth since its launch nine months ago, and word continues to spread about this resource among the food allergy community.  Tens of thousands of visitors now use the site monthly, viewing the restaurant ratings as well as the menus and other information associated with 600,000+ restaurants nationwide.  Additionally, more than 2,000 social media “fans” follow the site, participating in discussions and posting comments on the AllergyEats blog (www.AllergyEats.com/blog).  The overwhelmingly positive response to the site demonstrates that AllergyEats is meeting a tremendous need in the food allergy community.
 
“In addition to finding and rating restaurants, visitors to the AllergyEats site, blog and Facebook/Twitter pages can access tips, advice, recommendations and discussions about a variety of food allergy issues.  Recent dialogues on the AllergyEats blog have included allergy-friendly cruise lines and theme parks, as well as feedback on recent legislation and media coverage around food allergies,” Antico added.

A former fund manager at Fidelity Investments, Antico started AllergyEats after dining out with his two food-allergic children and becoming frustrated by the inconsistencies in restaurants – some were willing and able to accommodate food-allergic diners and some were not.  He understands from first-hand experience how stressful it can be to find allergy-friendly restaurants, and created AllergyEats to help food-allergic individuals help each other find accommodating establishments by offering more detailed (and food allergy specific) restaurant reviews.

AllergyEats has received a number of endorsements from highly-respected food, health and allergy organizations, including the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, Gluten Intolerance Group, and the Massachusetts Restaurant Association.   Additionally, AllergyEats is forming exciting partnerships with other organizations, including restaurant chains, established food allergy non-profits and more.

For more information, please visit www.AllergyEats.com.