When Boston dad Paul Antico found out two of his five kids had food allergies, the business analyst with an economics degree from MIT got so frustrated with trying to find allergy friendly restaurants that he launched allergyeats.com.

Tucker has a tree nut allergy, and Keegan, 7,  is allergic to tree nuts, peanuts, sesame, dairy, eggs, and fish, who just outgrew his allergy to wheat. "I understand the concerns of parents and know what it’s like to be constantly on guard," he said. "So when I repeatedly find myself in the same predicament – like not being able to find an allergy-friendly restaurant on a family road trip or for a Friday night dinner with the family – I’m determined to find a fix."

His website helps families find restaurants so that 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.

Most restaurant review sites include information about establishments’ food, ambiance or service, but AllergyEats is singularly focused on food allergies, with peer reviews spotlighting where people with food allergies or intolerances can more comfortably eat.

To rate a restaurant on AllergyEats, users answer just three questions about their dining experiences, which takes less than a minute. 

Even with such a resource, many families living with allergies often rely on a few standbys. Antico, for example, says they rely on  Not Your Average Joe’s, which has 15 units around the area. "It is extremely well-trained and knowledgeable about food allergies," he said. He also cites  Bertucci’s in Hingham for egg-free pasta, and a great cheese-free hamburger pizza at Cosmos Caffe in Scituate, "which is careful about cross-contamination."

On the road, he says that Disney World's dining options "are absolutely the gold standard which we get to experience every few years."

"I can also talk about other Boston-area restaurants, but with 5 children now (ranging from just under a year to 13), our family dining-out options have become a little more limited and narrow in recent times," he explained.

But thanks to a growing effort of allergy awareness, Antico added, "We’re thrilled to see an increasing number of restaurants responding to the growing concern about food allergies and intolerances. Increasing numbers of restaurants are training their staff about food allergies and publishing allergy information on menus. With more than 12 million of us (one out of 25 Americans) living with food allergies, we’d like to see this become standard practice. In the meantime we hope AllergyEats can serve as a valuable guide to allergy-friendly dining on the go."

Antico and AllergyEats, meanwhile, recently challenged Applebee’s, the country’s largest casual dining chain, to better accommodate food-allergic diners.This exchange began when a friend of Antico had a frightening experience when an Applebees restaurant was unable to prepare a dairy-free meal for her. 

The experience was chronicled in a blog entry on AllergyEats, resulting in an unprecedented outpouring of commentary from others within the food allergy community, talking about similar experiences at the chain.

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