While my career has been focused on digital marketing, I didn’t get involved as a local guide related to my clients or my day job. I started sharing to Google maps initially because it made my life easier when it came time to eat out.
About ten years ago I discovered that I have a soybean intolerance. To most, I just mention that it’s an allergy to soybean (as it’s just easier when trying to get ingredient information out of waitstaff). I actually developed this allergy prior to meeting my Indonesian husband, and I didn’t mention it until date 6 as I was worried that he would dump me once he found out that I couldn’t check out his favorite Chinese restaurants.
Having a soybean intolerance in the US is difficult as most restaurants use soybean oil in as their cooking oil, and it’s also in bread, margarine, mayo, chocolate and other places you wouldn’t guess (like instant lemonade). Navigating this while traveling for work or fun is challenging and I’ve discovered that doing research about places I can eat in advance of traveling to a new destination makes it less stressful. At times I’ve found other soybean allergy people on social media who have given me tips about places to eat. One really nice blogger in Australia gave me some options to research before we landed there for our honeymoon.
As a way to repay those who have helped me, and to make other people’s eating out adventures easier, AND to help me remember places that I’ve visited and what parts of their menu I can eat, I started leaving Google reviews with detailed notes about what part of the menu was soy free.
One of my favorite restaurants on that list that’s here in DC is Raska. There’s no soy on the premise, and so I can order and eat like a normal person without having to worry or ask a thousand questions. It’s also an AMAZING Indian fusion restaurant that everyone traveling to DC should check out. My other favorite is Belga Cafe for the same reason - no soybean on the premises and amazing food.