Food Allergens and Restaurants

I discovered that I have an allergy to monosodium glutamate (or better know an MSG) when I was in college. Ever since then, I have avoided pretty much every Chinese/Japanese/Korean/Thai/Vietnamese/You-name-it Asian place. So today when a co-worker suggested getting lunch at P.F. Chang's, I was a little worried. But it's her birthday, so I wanted to go where she wanted. I called the restaurant and asked about the menu, and to my surprise, NONE of their dishes have MSG in them! We went for her birthday lunch, the food was delicious, and I feel fine (believe me, if there were MSG in there, I would have felt the effects before we even left the restaurant). From now on, I will not shun all Asian food: I'll simply call ahead and see if they use MSG. Don't let your food allergies hold you back from delectable meals!