You still have to be careful with Kosher meals on airlines, especially
breakfast and lunch, as it could be a Kosher dairy meal.  Kosher dinners
are generally meat and safe.

After lots of bad airline experiences, I just gave up and bring my own food
and snacks when I travel.  It's not really a big deal and this way I don't
have to be concerned.  While I don't react to dairy with anaphylaxis, my
reaction ain't exactly a party.  As  I am often quoted...."an airplane is
not where I want to be when I discover that I have accidently eaten dairy."
I think many of you on this list can sympathize with that.

I find that US Airways is the worst offender when it comes to not getting
the non-dairy meals right.  I once ordered, in their words, Non-Lactose
Vegetarian, and got...ready for this?...a cheese sandwich, scoop of cottage
cheese and a cheese danish.

On the other hand, the only airline that has ever gotten it right is
National Airlines out of Las Vegas.  They had my non-dairy meals packaged
separately with my name and seat assignment clearly marked and even bagged
a few extra snacks with the meal (pareve pretzels and fruit) because they
felt bad that my meal was smaller than the regular meals.  That's probably
what drove them into bankruptcy :o)

I think a problem in restaurants, especially chains like Bertucci's, is
that sometimes the staff doesn't understand the vast array of dairy
products.  I've explained in countless restaurants that I can't eat dairy
and more often than not the person thinks I am referring to milk only.  I
ask about cheese, milk, butter, etc.  Sometimes you luck out, though.  I've
gone into chain restaurants, explained my predicament to our server, and
they've brought out that packaging from the kitchen allowing me to read the
ingredients.  Generally, my husband and I stick to non-chain restaurants
where I can speak directly to the cooking staff which I find to be the
safest, but I know that when we're out with friends and end up in a chain
restaurant, I have to take my chances.  That's why I always carry a bottle
of Immodium in my bag!