I went out to eat again

My friend Kelsey is leaving our merry shores soon to go to Korea...she mentioned having a dinner at the Eastern Standard, and I asked if I could tag along as I hadn't had a chance to see her while she'd been in Boston this time around. I was nervous about going out to dinner, but I also have to start pushing myself more. We all ended up going to the Eastern Standard, and my god it was so worth it. Eating out is still one of my biggest fears since my stomach was pretty much destroyed at the height of my mastocytosis and it's still healing...so foods are still my biggest triggers.

First major props go to my dear friend Peter as he actually went to the restaurant at lunch to go over my allergies with the chef and the manager, as they both wanted to discuss it with him (he works near there, but regardless that really was going above and beyond as far as I'm concerned) He brought a copy of the low histamine checklist and went over it with the manager and the sous chef. The fact that they'd even take the time out of their prep time for your average joe customer is just phenomenal as far as I'm concerned.

When I got there this evening, they were fully aware of my condition and my triggers, had kept a copy of the list which they kept in the kitchen, and were so well versed when I ordered something that had something I was allergic to in it that isn't a common ingredient (I ordered mashed potatoes, and they had buttermilk in them) the waiter came out seconds later to discuss it with me. Seriously, they took my health and allergies that seriously that they kept paperwork on it on hand to make sure they wouldn't accidentally give me food with an allergen in it. The waiter even asked me if I'd mind explaining my condition with him, since it seemed really interesting since it went outside the realm of normal food allergies.

Second, they custom made me a meal that wasn't on the menu so that I'd have no risk of cross contamination or anything. It was a simple meal (chicken breast with rosemary and olive oil with fries seasoned with sea salt) but it was delicious. The meat was tender and seasoned perfectly.

For dessert I had a coconut creme brulee which is one of the best I've ever had, maybe slightly edged out by one I had in Paris. The top was caramelized perfectly, not too bitter, not too sweet, and the coconut was a fantastic touch.

When they found out that we were sending a friend off to Korea, our waiter took a picture of our table together, which I thought was very sweet. I do wish I still drank as their drink list was astounding. Classic cocktails, absinthe cocktails, just great.

Seriously, everything there was fantastic, the atmosphere, the service, the quality of the food...just awesome. I am so glad that I went out on a limb and had a meal there. It was so totally worth it, something obviously magnified by the company I was keeping during the evening.

Honestly I am so impressed with my experience that I am going to write them a thank you letter. Having a chronic illness, especially one that effect what I can eat sort of makes me feel like a leper when it comes to restaurants, there are so many questions, so many precautions, but as our waiter said to me after I apologized for the 15th question about ingredients in something, "we're here to make sure you have an enjoyable and fun experience and want to do everything we can to ensure that".

And that's really damn awesome.