Thank you for all the suggestions everyone!  We ate at Chipotle in Palm Springs and a local Mexican place in Borrego Springs.  One day I wasn't feeling so well (caught a bad cold) and didn't want to have to make decisions about food, so we ate at Chipotle again in San Diego.  The food was really good and the staff were knowledgeable about ingredients and allergies. 

My parents are still on the look out for an In n Out burger place on their drive back to Canada.  We didn't find any on our trip - but we didn't look too hard either because Chipotle restaurants were everywhere it seems. 

I don't know about WM labeling. YKW likes it I think. I don't know about sesame there.

I will say that sesame is rarely my concern when eating Mexican.

There are a LOT of Chipotles listed in San Diego. My only concern would be cheese falling into something, but you should be able to see.  Do ask them to change gloves--all down the line. And also to out an extra wrapper on the surface to protect against cross contact.

I would probably only pick things that have tongs--that aren't grabbed by a hand.

I think we'll skip In-N-Out, but I'll let my parents know it's PN/sesame safe in case they see one.

We love Mexican food but I'm looking at the allergy list for Rubio's and my gut is telling me to skip it.  Everything has milk listed as an allergen, probably because they add cheese and/or sour cream, but it's a bit unsettling.  No mention of sesame either.  Are they safe for sesame allergy?

We've dined at Chipotle on a previous trip to LA!  They have an allergy statement on their website that says they are PN/TN/egg/sesame-free and have allergen lists for each individual ingredient, which is awesome.  I think we'll go there if there's one near by.  I didn't realise it was a major food chain.   

Thanks again everyone.  It's tricky travelling in another country because everything the locals are used to is completely foreign to you.  Except Walmart... there's always a Walmart somewhere...

On that note, does Walmart USA (Great Value brand) have pretty good labelling practices: shared facility warnings and such?  We trust their labels up here, but I know each country is different, even with the same brand.

Quote from: hk on January 28, 2014, 04:31:31 PM

Quote from: Macabre on January 28, 2014, 01:55:49 PM
With sesame?  Also do they have a veggie burger (that is vegan)?

They are safe for sesame.  They bake their own buns.  No veggie burger, but you can get a grilled cheese.  FYI - the 'special sauce' contains eggs for those who are dealing with that.

Hezzier - are you flying into SF?  They have Rubios there.

They do a grilled cheese, but it's on the same grill as the burgers. My veg-friend in Tucson wouldn't get one.

She'd ask for an un-grilled bun, mayo, lettuce, tomato, onion, with fries and special sauce --- as a sandwich!

Quote from: Macabre on January 28, 2014, 01:55:49 PM
With sesame?  Also do they have a veggie burger (that is vegan)?

they bake the rolls in house, no sesame

I think the only vegetarian thing at In N Out are the fries.  (they cut potatoes with this gizmo and they go right in the fryer)

Other than that, burger toppings. I think the chili is meat based.

Quote from: Mookie86 on January 28, 2014, 03:33:30 PM
spacecanada, we should swap notes about things to do in San Diego because I'm heading there and Los Angeles for spring break.  Also, I'm glad to read that I'm not the only vegetarian at FAS!

I'm vegetarian too.

Let me give you a suggestion for LA.  Mulberry Street Pizza on South Beverly Drive in Beverly Hills.  Total cheap dive with great pizza.  No nuts, eggs or sesame on the premises.

More on LA and San Diego later.

Quote from: Macabre on January 28, 2014, 01:55:49 PM
With sesame?  Also do they have a veggie burger (that is vegan)?

They are safe for sesame.  They bake their own buns.  No veggie burger, but you can get a grilled cheese.  FYI - the 'special sauce' contains eggs for those who are dealing with that.

Hezzier - are you flying into SF?  They have Rubios there.

spacecanada, we should swap notes about things to do in San Diego because I'm heading there and Los Angeles for spring break.  Also, I'm glad to read that I'm not the only vegetarian at FAS!

With sesame?  Also do they have a veggie burger (that is vegan)?

In-N-Out burger should be safe for you!

Quote from: Macabre on January 25, 2014, 11:54:37 AM
I saw many, many listings for Rubio's.  That's good to know Hezz.

My kids are sad that there are no Rubio's in the Monterey area.

I saw many, many listings for Rubio's.  That's good to know Hezz.

Okay--other crackers I buy:  I trust Keebler's labeling. 

Tortillas: I do fine with Mission and several other varieties. (Tumaro's is processed on the same lines as sesame)

Pretzels:  Rold Gold only.  Many Utz chips are safe, but their pretzels are not.  Also--don't buy Snyder's of Hanover. 

Chips:  Lays brands are fine.  Tostitos.   They label for shared equipment for our top 8.  Do NOT buy Good Eatin blue tortillas. The have a sesame variety.

Excellent suggestions, THANK YOU!!   

We'll probably do most of our shopping in Palm Springs when we arrive (direct flights on an allergy-awesome airline - yay!) but I'll keep an eye out for the stores and restaurants you mentioned.  I've never heard of any of them except Target, as we just got a Target here last summer.

Like Macabre, at the restaurants we (rarely) go to here, there's usually only one, maybe two, items on a menu that I CAN eat, so I'm never fussy as long as it is safe (and meat-free).  Thankfully, cross-contamination with dairy is OK for me, but we still avoid it when we can because there's no point of being miserable/uncomfortable, especially on vacation.

I'll be printing out this list in a week or so to give to my parents before they leave, so add any other suggestions if you can think of them.  We don't leave for a few more weeks. 

We had good luck for a quick meal at Rubio's.