COLUMBUS Ohio Damon's Grill, the 100-unit restaurant subsidiary of Damon International, is disclosing the possible allergens in its menu items as part of a new "healthy dining strategy," which also calls for the addition of lighter menu items and the elimination of trans fats.
Guests can visit the website www.damons.com/interactivemenu.cfm to check for allergen in the chain's nearly 250 menu options. In addition, Damon's servers have been trained to provide guests with allergy information, the company said.
"Few casual-dining chains offer allergy sufferers and those with other dietary restrictions easy access to the information they need," said Carl Howard, Damon's president. "Damon's is taking the lead."
The company added that the most common foods triggering allergic reactions are milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, soy, wheat, peanuts and tree nuts. In addition, Damon's said it has eliminated the use of peanuts in any of its menu items since peanut allergies have skyrocketed in recent years, especially among children.
Also as part of its health dining strategy, Damon's is phasing out the use of trans fat frying oils and is working on removing all partially hydrogenated vegetable oils from its menu. A timeline for the complete phase-out was not given.
Lastly, Damon's also recently introduced five new entrees, all under 600 calories, including Aloha Chicken, Maui Salmon, Balsamic Steak, Blueberry Hill Salad and Chimi Chicken. Prices were not available by presstime. The company said the entrees were geared toward "guests watching their weight, cholesterol, sodium or saturated fat intake."