When booking a trip to Mexico City, I was swept up thinking about the culture, the museums and other sights. In my excitement, I took for granted that I’d be able to eat without difficulty with my food allergies. This stemmed, in part, from the fact that “Mexican food” as we know it in Canada and the U.S. is one of the safest cuisines for my allergy to peanuts and tree nuts. Who puts nuts in salsa or quesadillas?

When I turned to researching food a couple of weeks before my trip, I was quite surprised. According to many online articles and Reddit threads, I’d apparently made a dangerous assumption. Mexico City was not considered a safe haven for food-allergic travelers like me.

According to the internet, Mexican food, as I had known it, was not reflective of local cuisine. Turns out that others had found “real” Mexican food to be rife with peanuts, of all things. The internet community cautioned that Mexicans are not as familiar with food allergies as we are in Canada and the U.S. Since I do not speak Spanish, the language barrier was something else to consider.

My heart sank. I had been so excited for my trip and couldn’t believe I’d booked without doing more food research first. While I have a passion for travel and good food, I’m also highly aware of my allergies. How could I have made this mistake?

While I considered the option of cancelling, that was not the choice I wanted to make. I have never let my food allergies hold me back from anything, including travel. I wanted to figure out how to make this work.

Mexico City & Allergies

As I educated myself about Mexican cuisine, I began to understand that, while there are foods that contain peanuts and tree nuts, they are specific. For example, salsa “roja,” a dark red salsa, is typically made with peanuts. Salsa verde, a bright green salsa, is not. Similarly, “mole,” a dark brown sauce, is also often made with peanuts.

However, the good thing about Mexican cuisine is that, for tacos in particular, you typically add your own toppings. This means that when you order a taco, you choose your base (usually meat), and then head to a toppings bar, where salsas and herbs are laid out. Tacos seemed a good way for me to still be able to experience the local cuisine while managing my food allergies.

I then began researching restaurants that were highly rated (despite my food allergies, I am a “foodie”). I reviewed their menus, looking for safe options. If a restaurant looked good, I “pinned” it on a Google Map, so I could easily find safe places to eat no matter where I was. If a menu had too many items with nuts, or the restaurant generally felt unsafe, it did not make my list.

I also made the decision to avoid street food in Mexico City entirely. This was disappointing, as I’d read about how important street food is to the local culture (and how delicious it can be). However, I would not feel safe eating at stalls that may not be able to control for cross-contact. It was not worth the risk.

I have experience with international travel (including throughout Europe and the Middle East) and successfully managing my food allergies. Admittedly though, I still felt some unease about this Mexican adventure. Yet, I was also confident that I could make it work.

Google Map and Tacos

The departure day arrived. I brought epinephrine auto-injectors and created my own digital food allergy card in Spanish using Google Translate. I’d also booked a hotel with a kitchenette, just in case I needed to cook some meals during the trip. My bags contained instant oatmeal packets and other safe snacks from home.

For my first meal in Mexico City, we went to a taco restaurant that I’d read about online. I showed the server my self-made Google Translate card. He acknowledged that what I had ordered was completely fine. (It was a Mexican take on a French onion soup-style taco.) My food was delicious!

After I ate this meal successfully, my confidence began to grow. I found that every restaurant I went to (as marked on my Google Map) felt very safe for me with my food allergies. As I had hoped, ordering tacos was a practical way for me to control what I was eating and to avoid exposure to foods that were unsafe to eat. 

I typically ordered a beef or pork taco, which was composed of marinated meat on a fresh tortilla. As I’d anticipated, tacos were always served without any toppings – just meat, tortilla, and sometimes cheese. If I added toppings to my tacos, I only did so with what I knew was safe, like squeezing lime juice on top, or adding chopped onion, cilantro, and green salsa. The salsas were usually kept in containers away from the fresh herbs and vegetables, which also helped me to avoid cross-contact.

Trying the ‘No Menu’ Restaurant

Before the trip, I’d read about a Michelin-starred restaurant called Expendio di Maiz. I really wanted to try it, but it came with a caveat: no menu. According to people online, you simply showed up, sat down, and told the servers if you had any dietary restrictions. The servers would then start bringing you dishes until you told them to stop.

This was a really exciting concept, but it also made me nervous. “No menu” meant that I couldn’t order around my allergies, and would have to trust the kitchen and servers to remember my food allergies. Was it worth the risk?

As I read more about this restaurant, I saw comments from several diners with celiac disease. They raved about how the restaurant had managed their dietary restrictions. I decided I felt comfortable giving it a try. When we sat down, the server came over and asked about any dietary concerns. I showed him my food allergy card, which he acknowledged and left to tell the kitchen.

After a few minutes, he came back and asked if chickpeas were OK. I hadn’t included chickpeas on my card as I’m not diagnosed as allergic to chickpeas, yet often experience some symptoms from them, like an itchy tongue or an upset stomach. However, I knew that in asking this question, the server had communicated my food allergies to the kitchen, and they had been understood. This gave me some confidence.

The first dish came, and the server confirmed it was safe for me. I began eating – it was delicious, and I was thrilled. After we finished that dish, the server continued to bring new dishes until we told him to stop. I was full, completely satisfied, and excited that I had experienced such a unique restaurant.

Mexico City: Trusted My Gut

Eating at Expendio di Maiz made me realize a few things. First, I am capable of balancing my love for travel and adventure with my food allergies, and that a lot of that has to do with eating at restaurants where I feel assured by the staff.

Now, I wouldn’t be recommending a no-menu concept restaurant to those new to dining or traveling with food allergies. I am a seasoned world traveler, which started in childhood, with parents who taught me skills to travel safely and confidently. For years, I’ve been sizing up restaurants that do and do not “get” food allergies. My recent experience simply shows the doors that can open, with the right research and the right restaurant.

On reflection, I handled the Expendio di Maiz experience as safely as I could have. I trusted my gut, after speaking with staff and paying close attention to their answers. I did the things I would do at any other restaurant, whether at home or abroad.

Another lesson I came to appreciate is this: a menu is only as reliable as the people behind it. Diners with food allergies do have to rely on staff to advise us as to unlisted ingredients and help protect us from cross-contact.

I am proud of how I managed my allergies on my trip to Mexico City. I prepared in advance and was overall cautious.

Although that meant I didn’t eat as many things as I would have liked to, I was able to safely experience a distinct culture. My trip was a great reminder that I don’t need to let my food allergies hold me back from exciting new experiences – or from eating lots of tacos!

Allergic Living contributor Hannah Lank is an associate lawyer practicing in Toronto.

Related Reading:
U.K. Trip: A Taste of Better Dining Out with Food Allergies
From ‘Phantom’ Reactions to Taming My Food Allergy Anxiety
I Didn’t Love My Heart-Shaped Pizza: My Allergic Reaction in Italy