Here's Where To Eat If You Have A Food Allergy

If you have a food allergy, you know exactly how eating food you haven't made yourself is a hassle at best, and downright dangerous at worst. Luckily for us, the Huffington Post rounded up the top 10 most allergy-friendly restaurant chains in the United States, so maybe you won't have to feel like you're taking your life into your hands every time you eat out anymore! Until the next time someone in your group insists on eating at a place where you know for a fact you can't touch anything with a 10-foot pole, because "surely you can find something to eat." People love to do that for some reason.The Huffington Post got their list from AllergyEats an online guide to restaurants that are willing to accommodate allergies. Each year, the website releases a list of the chains that "have demonstrated a superior willingness and ability to accommodate guests with food allergies," AllergyEats founder Paul Antico said in a statement. The choices are compiled based on feedback from users online as well as the AllergyEats app, which my fellow nerds with food allergies seriously need to get if they haven't already. It finds allergy-friendly restaurants based on your location, which is especially useful for traveling — we all know how nerve-wracking it is to put your life into a new chef's hands who may or may not understand the severity of your allergy.

<img alt="Cheezburger animated GIF " src="http://media.giphy.com/media/zv8JtHs5SIrQs/giphy.gif" class="article-body-image" title="Image: http://media.giphy.com/media/zv8JtHs5SIrQs/giphy.gif"/>Those of you who can eat what you want with impunity are probably wondering what all the fuss is about. Suffice it to say that when you're deathly allergic to something, eating out can be a bit of a minefield, especially when it's not well-known like a peanut allergy. For simplicity's sake, I'll use my allergy as an example. First, you have to convey to the waiter that you will die if milk enters your body. Yes, that includes butter, whey, cheese, sour cream, and any other milk products. No, you're not lactose intolerant. No, you're not vegan. Is it possible to hold the cheese that comes on this sandwich, or is it pre-prepared? OK, what about this soup? Is it a huge hassle to ask the chefs to change their gloves before making my food? Please don't hate me.You get the idea. Only about 200 people actually die every year from food-related anaphylaxis, but an estimated 50,000 to 200,000 people, depending on who you ask, are sent to the emergency room annually from eating something they're allergic to. It's crazy to expect someone with an allergy to never eat out their entire life, though, which is where AllergyEat's list comes in. So which restaurants are least likely to kill you if you have an allergy? The answer might surprise you.

Chipotle Mexican Grill

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As if we needed any more reason to love Chipotle, users rated this one 4.41 out of 5 stars, the Huffington Post reports.

P.F. Chang's

Who'd have thought? Users gave this chain 4.39 stars.

Red Robin

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I definitely didn't see this one coming, but the fast food chain tied with P.F. Chang's for second place at 4.29 stars.

Head over to the Huffington Post to check out the rest of the list. Happy eating!

Images: Giphy (3)