Gluten Free Travel Blog

Tips for Dining Out Gluten Free At Restaurants

BLOG HOP, DAY 7: Much has already been written on the subjects of gluten free dining and "gluten free friendly" restaurants by those of us who provide gluten free dining resources on the web. However, many gluten free dining tips bear repeating, especially since all of us can be lulled into a false sense of complacency when dining out. Now that gluten free awareness has advanced beyond the point where people look at you like you have three heads when you bring up the words "Celiac Disease" or "gluten free," it is getting easier to find restaurants that understand our dietary requirements. However, there is a wide range of knowledge among restaurants...those that are simply trying to capitalize on the "gluten free trend" to those that know the important intracacies (like avoiding all the potential risks of cross contamination) and train their FULL staff (both front and back of house). And just because a restaurant offers a formal "Gluten Free Menu" doesn't mean the people in contact with your food are properly trained. The GF community learned that first-hand with the boggled introduction of a GF Menu at California Pizza Kitchen last year.

So...even if you're a seasoned veteran of dining out gluten free, please forward this post to anyone you know who might have been recently diagnosed -- or may need to be reminded of these important safeguards. 

1.) Research restaurants online and read reviews from others following gluten free diets. I launched GlutenFreeTravelSite four years ago to provide people in the GF community with a place to read personal, detailed dining and travel accounts from others with their same dietary needs and concerns. There is no better source for honest feedback, which can even vary among restaurants within the same chain. (You can also pull up the free MOBILE version of our site by entering our URL into the browser of any smart phone. It makes navigating the reviews on our site especially easy when you're on-the-go.)

2.) Call the chef at the restaurant ahead of time (even restaurants offering gluten free menus). Ask questions to assess their level of knowledge, especially with cross contamination. And do their merely adapt their "regular" menu, leaving off all the sauces and seasonings, or do they create more exciting, flavorful options? Request they make a note on your reservation so they can be reminded of your needs the day of your arrival.

3.) Don't leave home without Gluten Free Dining Cards, which help explain your gluten-free needs to servers, managers, and chefs at restaurants. There are several versions available for free online, but I like the bilingual laminated ones offered for a nominal price from Triumph Dining. They are available for 10 global cuisines (American, Italian, Mexican, Thai, Chinese, French, etc.). One side of the card is in English, and the other side is in the native language, so there’s never any issue of a language barrier. 

If you haven't already, be sure to follow us on Facebook or Twitter. Each day we share restaurant reviews from users -- from fast food and neighborhood restaurants to chains and high-end restaurants. Tomorrow, I'll discuss top picks among national and regional restaurant chains offering gluten free menus. In the meantime, if you have a favorite dining spot, please leave a comment below -- and consider submitting a quick review to GlutenFreeTravelSite so others in the GF community can benefit from your valuable feedback! 

If you leave a comment below, you'll receive one entry into our giveaway of a $25 P.F. Chang's gift card, to be selected at random from all entries received by May 18, 2012, the last day of our Blog hop. Each person is allowed one entry/comment per day for each of the 10 days of posts (May 7-11 and May 14-18), for a total of 10 entries on THIS Blog. You have the same opportunity for entering a total of 10 times for the giveaways on the other 9 Blogs listed below. The giveaway is limited to U.S. residents who are 18 years or older. The Giveaway begins May 7, 2012, and ends at 11:59 pm Eastern Time on May 18, 2012. No purchse is necessary. Odds of winning are based on the number of entries. The winner will be randomly chosen and contacted by email. The winner will have 48 hours to respond. If the winner does not respond, a new winner will be randomly chosen. 

Would you like to get more great gluten-free tips on baking, dining out, and kitchen tips? Check out today's posts from other Blog Hop participants: 

Getting Started - Linda at The Gluten-Free Homemaker 
Resources – Wendy at Celiacs in the House
Eating Out – Heather at Gluten-Free Cat
Frugal Tips – Janelle at Gluten Freely Frugal
Cooking – Carrie at Ginger Lemon Girl
Baking – Jules at Jules Gluten Free
Kids – Lynn at Lynn’s Recipe Adventures
Lunch Boxes – Tessa at Tessa the Domestic Diva
Shopping – Laura at Gluten Free Pantry

Gluten Free Restaurants: National Foundation for Celiac Awareness (NFCA) Expands GREAT Kitchens Program

Are you familiar with the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness's GREAT Kitchens Program? This is a 5-year-old program in which NFCA rigorously trains both chain restaurants as well as independent restaurants in the intricacies of providing gluten free meals. Their "Train the Trainer" course for chefs and food service managers provides the knowledge and tools to educate their entire kitchen staff on safe GF food handling and preparation. 

At GlutenFreeTravelSite, we've recently worked with NFCA to further get the word out about these GREAT-trained restaurants by adding them to our site. As you know, typically a restaurant or other business must be reviewed by someone in the GF community in order to appear on our site. However, with NFCA's GREAT Kitchens-trained restaurants, we've made an exception. We are confident in NFCA's strict protocols for training and vetting restaurants and want visitors to our site to learn about these designated restaurants. 

We can look forward to more safe choices in gluten free dining, since today NFCA announced the expansion of their GREAT Kitchens gluten free credentialing program. Af few of us had the opportunity to speak with NFCA Founder Alice Bast and her team this morning, and they are very committed to serve the gluten free community in this ongoing role. 

The objective of the GREAT Kitchens expansion is to address the restaurant community's growing interest in offering gluten free menu items. While this is theoretically a positive thing, NFCA -- and all of us in the gluten free community -- recognize the need for restaurants to execute any gluten-free strategy correctly. Currently, there are inconsistent standards within the restaurant industry -- and a lack of understanding about the seriousness of cross contamination for people on medically necessary GF diets due to Celiac Disease and gluten sensitivity. 

Interestingly, Alice pointed out that while gluten free has been a top culinary "trend" for the past 3 years, it has simultaneously resulted in more incidents of cross contamination as restaurants rush on board to offer gluten free menu items, without having the training to consistently offer them in a safe manner.

Dr.Ritu Verma, Pediatric Gastroenterologist at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and member of NFCA's Medical and Scientific Advisory Board echoes that sentiment, "While eating out is such an integrated part of our social fabric, the lack of consistent standards creates a stressful experience that erodes confidence and leaves many families preferring to opt out."

The updated GREAT Kitchen program will go live on May 15 and will include five multimedia modules providing interested restaurants with the knowledge and tools they need to safely serve the growing population of gluten free diners. Training modules cover topics like ingredients, implementation, and training both "front of house" and "back of house" staff (servers and kitchen). A two-tiered credentialing system, consisting of green and amber designations, will help gluten-free diners assess a restaurant's level of safe gluten free practices (how robust are their protocols and how well-trained is the staff). The goal will be to eventually migrate all restaurants to the higher green designation (indicating full training of ALL staff and strict cross contamination safeguards), but the amber designation allows interested restaurants with basic training to be transparent about what they can and can't offer with gluten-free confidence.That way, gluten free diners will know when to exercise caution and to inquire about things like dedicated fryers, for example.

For more information about this fantastic step forward for the gluten free community, you can read NFCA's just-posted Press Release. 

 

 

Gluten Free Restaurants Omaha: Lazlo's Brewery and Grill

Don't miss our Featured Review for February that was just posted on GlutenFreeTravelSite. This month, we chose to showcase a particularly enthusiastic review from a Celiac diner who frequents Lazlo's Brewery and Grill in Omaha, Nebraska once per month. She raved about the many delicious choices on their 2-page Gluten-Free Menu (unfortunately not posted on their website, but available upon request at the restaurant). In her words, she said, "It is obvious eating there that their staff has had significant training about Celiac and gluten issues. Every time our waiter or waitress brings our order to us they always make sure to mention it has been prepared gluten free and they ask me to look at the dish before they leave and make sure it appears as I expected." 

So if you live in Omaha or find yourself there visiting family, friends, or on a business trip, be sure to check out Lazlo's. Hey...isn't there something important going on in Omaha on May 5, 2012? Oh right...it's the annual shareholder's meeting of Berkshire Hathaway. Tens of thousands of people flock to Omaha each year for this "Woodstock for Capitalists" event and the chance to hear Warren Buffett speak. And some of them are bound to be gluten-free, right? If you know anyone who's gluten-free and attending this year's meeting, be sure to tell them about Lazlo's! 

Gluten Free Restaurants: Picazzo's Sets a High Bar for Gluten Free Menus

Fortunately for people with Celiac Disease -- and others following gluten-free diets -- restaurants offering gluten-free menus keep growing in number. But there's a difference between a restaurant offering "stripped down," bland versions of their regular offerings (often resulting in nothing more than a grilled chicken breast, baked potato and steamed veggies) and restaurants that really invest the time in creating amazing offerings especially for their gluten-free guests. Picazzo's Organic Italian Kitchen is an example of the later.  With locations throughout Arizona, Picazzo's sets the standard for gluten free dining with their extensive gluten-free menu that includes house-made gluten-free pizza. 

I had the opportunity to speak with Rick Freedman, the founder, owner, and Executive Chef of Picazzo's, earlier this week. His philosophy centers around offering his guests with the healthiest food possible. The result has been a new menu unveiled in the past year that incorporates more organic, local, and gluten free ingredients. Rick explained, "I'm all about eating healthy. And I want to be able to put bona fide healthy products out to our customers." 

Currently, 85% of Picazzo's menu is gluten-free. In fact, if you view their menu on their website, you'll notice they don't have a separate gluten-free menu...the "regular" menu is just filled with "gf" notations next to most of the items. The offerings range from appetizers (including their wings and sauces that are all gluten-free) to unique entree salads to gluten-free pasta with a wide range of sauces (and even gluten-free homemade meatballs) to house-made gluten-free pizza. A nice range of dessert options is also available for those diners that still have room!

Picazzo's has been using Ancient Harvest gluten-free quinoa pasta but will also begin offering a gluten-free brown-rice pasta from Goldbaum's soon, just so that people can have a choice. In fact, Rick is so committed to helping his guests eat healthier that he is planning to phase out "regular" wheat-based pasta and solely offer the two gluten-free varieties. 

Their hand-made gluten-free pizza and various gluten-free breads (including foccacia and flatbread) are made using a gluten-free flour blend from Tom Sawyer, an Arizona-based company that has worked with Picazzo's to develop its recipes. It was actually the chance encounter of meeting founder Tom Sawyer in Picazzo's Sedona restaurant years ago that launched Rick on his mission to introduce his first gluten-free offerings in the restaurant, something he'd already been thinking about for a while. 

This serendipitous event was just the beginning. Over the years, Picazzo's had expanded their gluten-free menu, and their devoted gluten-free clientele continues to grow. Rick is fastidious about avoiding cross contamination, saying they are "very, very aware" of how important that is. They have a separate area of the kitchen devoted to building the gluten-free pizzas, and there is a special washdown process on all the mixers. They even have a special brick in their oven for gluten-free pizza. All staff members -- from kitchen staff to servers -- are extensively trained in person, and all gluten-free orders are "flagged" from when the order is taken until it comes out of the kitchen with a special American flag toothpick as an identifier.

When asked if they planned to take their successful concept to a wider geographic area beyond Arizona, Rick said he'd love to do that at some point, but expansion would have to allow for the same stringent requirements with regard to local, gluten-free, and organic sourcing. I, for one, will keep my fingers crossed that this fantastic concept makes its way eastward!

If you've been lucky enough to dine at one of Picazzo's locations, please take a moment to share your experience by posting a review to GlutenFreeTravelSite -- or sharing your comments below. And if you'll be traveling to Arizona, take a moment to search reviews of Picazzo's and other "gluten-free friendly" restaurants on our Search/Mapping page. 

Gluten Free Restaurants: Fantastic gluten-free menu at Bruschetta restaurant in Surrey, England

Our Featured Review on GlutenFreeTravelSite this month takes us to England, where our winning reviewer was truly "wowed" by the treat that awaited her at a local restaurant. Expecting to have the usual choices of grilled meat or fish as she often does when dining out, she "had one of the best surprises of her life" at Bruschetta restaurant in Surrey, England. Choices on their extensive gluten-free menu include homemade gluten-free pizzas, pasta, risotto, antipasti, and delectable desserts. Having grown up with an Italian mother who prided herself in creating traditional Italian dishes, our reviewer had had a hard time with her Celiac diagnosis years ago. This was the first time she was able to truly enjoy gluten-free pasta and other Italian favorites like her mom used to make. 

In addition to the incredible food, our winning reviewer raved about Julia, the owner, and her commitment to avoiding cross-contamination in preparing gluten-free meals. (She herself is gluten-intolerant.) Julia shows a real personal devotion to the gluten-free community, which, coupled with her amazing food and reasonable prices, attracts gluten-free diners from all over England. Read more details about Bruschetta and the recommended menu choices in our Featured Review.

Don't forget to submit your own reviews of favorite places to dine, shop, or travel gluten-free. Each month, we select a particularly helpful or interesting review from all the prior month's wonderful gluten-free dining and travel submissions to showcase on our Featured Review page. The winning reviewer receives a prize...whether it's a set of Dining Cards in multiple languages to use to communicate with restaurant staff around the world OR even a gift card to a restaurant with a gluten-free menu! 

Gluten Free Restaurant near Bethany Beach, Delaware: The Cafe on 26

Our family vacationed in Ocean City, Maryland last week and had the opportunity to try a relatively new restaurant (open just 3 months) called The Cafe on 26 in Ocean View, Delaware, just west of Bethany Beach. It's co-owned by chef Cathy Berzins who has Celiac Disease, and most everything they serve for breakfast, lunch, and dinner is gluten-free. I posted a review of our breakfast experience at The Cafe on 26 on our sister site for gluten-free restaurant reviews: GlutenFreeTravelSite. Well, needless to say, we liked The Cafe on 26 so much we went back a few days later, this time for dinner...

Be sure to go early enough if you choose to dine there for dinner. There's some question as to what time the kitchen "closes" (I saw both 7 and 8 pm posted...call to be sure). And it probably doesn't hurt to make a reservation, since the restaurant is rather small (in the main floor of an old but beautifully restored and maintained beach cottage). There already seems to be quite a loyal gluten-free clientele as well, since word travels fast in our community...there was a customer who came in while we were dining and bought the "last six" loaves of their homemade gluten-free bread to take home!

The dinner menu is pretty limited, with only about 6 choices, but I have to say, I still had a hard time deciding...they were all so tempting! Choices included crab cakes, filet mignon, seared jumbo scallops, beef bourguignon, duck, and prime rib (the special of the day). I think there may have been a fish special that night as well. My husband and I both ordered the duck, which we so rarely get to eat. It was probably the most delicious duck I've ever had...very tender and flavorful with a cherry port reduction. My mom ordered the prime rib, which I thought was done perfectly (not too rare but still pink), and our boys split one of the most tender and perfectly cooked filet mignons. We all had a choice of two sides with our entrees, and we chose to sample most of them: the mashed potatoes, green beans with slivered carrots and almonds, homemade applesauce, sauteed summer squash, and quinoa tabouli (excellent...and I love to eat things like this that are tasty AND healthy and that I don't typically make myself!). The salads and cream of crab soup we ordered to start were equally good, and the dessert finale was wonderful: a gluten-free Key Lime pie with a gluten-free chocolate cookie crust, gluten-free cheesecake, and a piece of "Smith Island" red velvet cake (the only dessert on the menu that wasn't gluten-free). 

This was our last night of our one-week vacation to Ocean City, and we found ourselves wishing we could stay another week to enjoy more of the near-perfect weather we'd had, the gorgeous surf, and more meals at The Cafe on 26 just down the road in Ocean View, Delaware! Have any restaurant reviews of your own to share? Submit a review to GlutenFreeTravelSite. It takes just a few minutes and helps so many other Celiacs find safe places to eat! 

New Search and Mapping Features Added to GlutenFreeTravelSite

I'm excited to announce that our website, GlutenFreeTravelSite, has added enhanced search and mapping features. Previously, users had been able to select a geographic region (i.e. a U.S. state or European country) when searching gluten-free dining and travel reviews. However, as the site has grown, many locations now have so many reviews that scrolling through the search results to find places in a more targeted area became cumbersome. 

So we've now added the ability for users to narrow their search to the city/town or zip code level. And best of all, the list of results appears with all the Celiac-friendly restaurants, grocery stores, hotels, and resorts marked on an adjacent MAP. Just click on any of the markers on the map to read the detailed user-submitted dining or travel review. Of course, you can still search "the old way," by going to Search Reviews and choosing your geographic region. Then you can either scroll through the summary list of establishments OR narrow your search further by clicking on the link at the top of the page. With over 800 places reviewed on our website, these new features should help you find the reviews most relevant to you...in the most efficient way possible. We'd love your feedback! (And don't forget...there's also our Gluten Free Restaurant Menus page which lists dozens of national and regional chain restaurants with gluten-free menus. When you combine those restaurants' many locations with our 800 reviews (mostly of independent, non-chain establishments), you have thousands of "safe" places to choose from!)

Sambuca Restaurant in New York City Is Indeed a Great Bet for Gluten-Free Dining

At GlutenFreeTravelSite, we've received several reviews of Sambuca Restaurant on the West Side of New York City, so I thought it was only fitting we give it a try while in town for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade this year. As those of you who live in or travel to New York City know, there's a large and growing number of independent neighborhood restaurants (as well as large chains) that offer gluten-free menu options. (You can Search our Reviews of New York establishments or our list of national and regional chains with gluten-free menus at GlutenFreeTravelSite.) 

When I called to make a reservation at Sambuca, which was fortunately open on Thanksgiving, they confirmed that they did indeed have an extensive gluten-free menu and asked me if we'd be ordering a traditional Thanksgiving meal, which they'd be serving that day, or if we'd like to order from the Italian (regular or gluten-free) menus. Our family decided that we'd might as well try their Italian fare...after all, turkey is turkey, but only really good restaurants can pull off gluten-free Italian! So we decided to have our traditional Thanksgiving meal the next day at home. 

Our reservation at Sambuca was at 2 pm, when the restaurant opened, and by that time, we were all starving! The restaurant was moderately crowded and continued to fill up during our time there. The gluten-free Italian menu was extensive, with probably 50% of the items from the regular menu appearing on it. Sambuca is "family style" Italian, so we ordered our dishes to share. We chose the Chopped Salad with arugula, romaine, cannelini beans, gorgonzola cheese, roasted red peppers, black olives, basil and tomatoes to start with. It was delicious. Apparently, they typically have gluten-free bread but were out of it that day. Too bad...but we were not at a loss for food! For our main courses we chose the Chicken Paillard, Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Broccoli, and Mixed Seafood Pasta with Marinara Sauce (with calamari, shrimp, clams, and mussels). All were excellent...each of us had a "favorite"...mine was the veal, although the two pasta dishes were excellent as well. They use the elbow-shaped Tinkyada pasta, which I occasionally make at home, but without as much success as they seem to have at Sambuca. (We like Schar gluten-free pasta the best.) There's something about the gluten-free pastas we have at restaurants...ironically, they are always better than they turn out at home. I think the key is not overcooking it and perhaps running cold water over the pasta when it's done to prevent further cooking even after it's drained. Regardless, Sambuca did it perfectly.

Needless to say, we were too full for dessert but look forward to visiting Sambuca again next time we're in "The City." (As a side note, New York was the winner of our first annual contest last year to find the "World's Most Celiac-Friendly Destination." We are hosting the contest again RIGHT NOW and will be choosing the geographic location with the most review submissions by December 31 as this year's winner. So PLEASE submit a review or two of YOUR favorite restaurants, resorts, cruise ships, or grocery stores to GlutenFreeTravelSite.com today!

Gluten Free Tepanyaki-Style Japanese Food

I was reminded tonight just how easy it is to have a delicious and fun experience dining gluten-free at a Japanese Tepanyaki-Style restaurant. This is where the specially trained chefs cook your food on a griddle, called a hibachi, in the middle of your table. Because the food is simple (meat, seafood, rice, and vegetables), it lends itself well to the gluten-free diet. The only request you typically have to make is for them to cook the food without soy sauce. This is not a huge sacrifice, as the food is still extremely tasty cooked with just a bit of oil, butter, salt and pepper. Everything is so fresh, and it's fun to watch the chefs do tricks with their utensils while they prepare your meal (our kids especially get a kick out of this). Another option is to check with the restaurant to see if they have gluten-free soy sauce (or bring your own). So whether you seek out a tepanyaki/hibachi style Japanese restaurant in your area or while traveling, it can be a unique and fun naturally gluten-free experience. For my full review of Kochi, the restaurant where we dined, visit GlutenFreeTravelSite.com's Virginia reviews.