Navigating restaurant menus

In the UK, and more and more in the rest of the world too, dietary requirements are being taken seriously. This is great news for people with allergies and very clear and specific preferences, such as vegetarians, vegans, halaal, kosher and even pescatarian. It's a double-edged sword if you're in the (much bigger) group of foodies with less clear-cut sensitivities. 

UP: Vegan menus and products don't have lactose! 

• Down: Vegan menus are packed with veggies that can cause sensitivities: onions, carrots, tomato, butternut and, dear soul, the beans! So many beans. And lentils. In Cape Town a whole area has been designated the "lentil curtain" in their honour. 
• Sensitive foodie WIN: Three words. VEGAN. Chocolate. Brownie. This is an absolute winner. It's been my failsafe when in doubt and on occassion I have genuinely had a moment's deep, mindful, spiritual gratitude to vegans and their incredible impact on modern life.  
• TIP: Look out for vegan chocolate cake or red velvet made with beetroot. It is delicousness itself but if you're sensitive, it's the devil herself. 

UP: Low lactose mozzarella is the main pizza cheese

• Down: Pizza bases "impregnate" bestie with their bowel stagnating white flour. Pizzas are pretty much defined by their tomato sauce, which is a problem if tomatoes don't like you. Also watch out for onions lurking, often in veg or blue cheese and relish pizzas. 
• Sensitive foodie WIN: Some (not all) gluten-free pizzas are made with alternatives that work well, such as potato starch or our personal low carb "fuck yes!" found everywhere in Cape Town: caulibases!
• TIP: Cauliflower is not a big deal in the UK as a substitute for carbs (although it is used as an absolutely awful meat substitute, e.g. caulisteaks), but we have managed to track some pizza caulibases down at Waitrose!

Other tips & tricks

• Parmesan in pasta is great but avoid those unfortunately delicious ricotta ravioli dishes.
• A Greek salad is a bit of a lucky packet when it comes to feta - you never know if you're going to have a normal amount of crumbs (eat), massive slabs (don't eat) or a full whitewash (eat some, scrape some off). 
• Butter is fine for most of us. Nobody eats more than 30g in anything. 
• Dark chocolate desserts are good inside and out. The problem is that they often fool you into eating their halfbreed brother, milk chocolate, or their clingy girlfriend, ice cream. 
• These days soft cheese (i.e cream cheese outside of the UK) is low-fat by default. Ask for full fat if you can, if not avoid it. Goodbye delicious salmon and cream cheese sandwiches. 
• Similarly, "cream" or "whipped cream" means single cream by default. In the UK you can ask to swap for clotted cream, which has a similar lactose content to double cream and most places have it, especially down south where it is the standard for scones.  

Soups can be tricky:

1. Usually made with milk or single cream: Mushroom and seafood chowder
2. Sometimes made with milk: Butternut, potato & leek, cauliflower, chicken, carrot, broccoli
3. Usually no dairy: Tomato, vegetable, lentil