[sullystaub]

Has anyone had any experience with gluten-free dining in Denver? We'll be there for 1 night on 7/13 & are looking for somewhere safe to eat with our 7 yr. old son. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[Michelle1234]

I don't have suggestions for right downtown as I don't eat there often and have not had success when I do. But if you have a rental car and would like a good pizza place I recommend:
http://www.beaujos.com/locations.html

Probably the closest one to downtown is:
Denver
2710 S. Colorado Blvd
University Hills Mall
Colorado Blvd. at Yale
Denver, CO 80222
PH: 303-758-1519

I get their pizza about once a week (different location - same chain) off of the gluten free menu. They have a nice variety of sauces to choose from but the rice crust, while good isn't fantastic so I usually order 2 types of cheese so it is well covered. Only once did I have a problem and it was a time I got their salsa and chips (also on the gluten free menu as an appetizer). I've avoided it since and the problem has not repeated itself. The time I had a reaction I had taken some of the pizza home and eaten it at a later time with no bad reaction so I'm pretty sure it was the salsa and chips. You can see their gluten free menu at the end of this PDF file. I'm partial to the Gluten Free Yukon. Yum!
http://www.beaujos.c...itionalMenu.pdf

If you have good pizza where you live and want to get just about anything else I also recommend:
http://www.debysglutenfree.com/

They have a restaurant (closed Sunday's) that has a 100% gluten free menu and you can order just about anything you can think of. Personally I'm partial to their cupcakes for dessert but you want to call and order that ahead of time since they are not always in stock. You may want to bring an extra suitcase to take some muffins or other goodies home. I find the cookies to be a little too sweet for me but the chocolate chip muffins are great! The location is a little out of the way (sort of a commercial area) but really very close to downtown if you have a rental car. Click on the "Cafe" link on their web site to see their full menu. The only think I wouldn't recommend is the pizza. If you want that go to Beau Jo's. They get their crust from Deby's but something about the way they make it is better to me. Just about everything else I've had has been really good.

A warning to everyone who looks at the Deby's menu you will want to sell your house and move next to this cafe. I know I would like to. :-)

I look forward to any other responses to this query as it will likely give me some place new to try.

Best,
Michelle

[grantschoep]

Same answer from me. I haven't eaten at place in downtown Denver. But there is a completely gluten free restaurant/bakery in south Denver called Deby's gluten-free. Its not that far south, you'd want a car though.

2369 S Trenton Way, Suite M
Denver, CO 80231-7628
http://www.debysglutenfree.com/


Also, I haven't tried it yet, buy smack dab down in downtown is an Old Spaghetti Factory. I know some of the places have gluten free pasta. I thought there was a way from their website to find out, but don't see one right now. Could give them a call. I'm a little bit afraid of pasta places though.

1215 18th St.
Denver, CO 80202
http://www.osf.com/l...ns.htm#Colorado

I know my wife knows of a few other places, as she works downtown, but she's off in China right now. I'll ping her an email. Though, her email access is hard to come by right now

[nmw]

Mercury Cafe 22nd & California - downtown.
The owner (Marilyn) is gluten-free, and the menu is primarily organic and local fare. Side dishes like quinoa and lentils are standard!
Just ask your server to tell the kitchen to make your meal as if they are cooking for their boss. Works for me! Prices are reasonable and the atmosphere - well - eclectic and kinda hippie-ish, but very comfortable with music, art, theater and dance happening on a daily basis. Not a gluten-free kitchen, but they "get it". No credit cards accepted. Mercury Cafe

Search this forum for references to "Denver" and you'll find other suggestions as well. You'll be ok no matter what part of town you are staying in.
Happy eating!

[hez]

I do not live in Denver so I am not a huge help

I have been to Abruscis, it was really good. I thought they had a decent selection on their gluten free menu. http://www.abruscis.com/index.shtml

Here is the website for the Denver group http://www.geocities.com/csadenver17/ There is a dining out section under the dietary tab.

Have fun in the mile high city!
Hez

[grantschoep]

I got a reply from my wife.

Watercourse foods (206 East 13th Avenue, Denver, CO 80203. 303-832-7313) has some stuff

also

Wholly Tomato (955 Lincoln St., Denver, CO 80203. 303-860-0041)

I've heard that Wholly Tomato is a bit of a chance, a few threads on here about that place.. have not heard anything much about Watercourse...

[hlm34]

i was in denver for one night only and went to Steubens in Downtown Denver. Sooo good. They have a gluten-free menu and it was great. I hear their sister restaraunt is called Vesta Dipping Grill and also has a gluten-free menu. both places have a website. I highly recommend steubens though!

[buffettbride]

My daughter is 9 and she has eaten successfully at PF Changs (although we've never eaten at the downtown location) and she has enjoyed the original ribs and corn on the cob at Chilis downtown (we went when it wasn't very busy).

I work in downtown Denver, if you're really in a pinch, I'm happy to pack an extra gluten-free lunch that day (our whole house is gluten-free) and meet up with you if you're there during the day.

[buffettbride]

There is also a Noodles downtown and my DD has eaten there several times ordering the rice noodles, buttered with parmesan. We usually go to the one near our house and haven't tried the downtown location.

There is also a Chipotle. Technically you could order just about anything there, but for some reason I can't seem to get the employees to change their gloves or stop putting the corn tortillas on the same press as the flour tortillas. Plus, the email response I got from Chipotle kind of seemed to blow off my concerns.

I'll let you know if I think of anything else.

[steveindenver]

Wholly Tomato has closed (I'm pretty sure). I've listed a few places to eat on my blog, www.Lame Advertisement - check it out, it's in the June postings.

[sullystaub]

Thank you so much to all that replied to this post. I feel confident we'll be able to find somewhere good to eat now. I also posted a similar message on the gluten-free travel board & someone was kind enough to post a link to the Denver celiac chapter with lots of good info. about restaurants. Here’s the link http://www.geocities.com/csadenver17. If for some reason it doesn’t work you could check the travel board & look for my post. Maggianos looks like it might be good. I can’t even imagine what it’s like to go to an Italian restaurant with my DS. None of the restaurants near us (just outside of Boston) carry gluten-free pastas. It would be a real treat to go to one that does. Thanks again!

[SillyBoo]

I wouldn't trust Chipotle (mentioned above). Whether or not they change gloves or use a separate press for the corn tortillas, there is still a huge cc issue with the spoons. Ever watched them make those burritos? They spoon out the beans, meat, whatever, touching the spoon to the flour tortilla, then plop the spoon right back into the containers. No thanks.

Good luck in Denver! If you make it up to Boulder, there is the Sunflower restaurant that has a nice gluten-free menu.

[buffettbride]

How did it go while you were in Denver?

I'm interested to hear your experience here since I live here and dining out is always such a challenge.

Good or bad, I wanna know!

[sullystaub]

Hi all,

Just wanted to let you know we ate dinner at Maggianos. We told them we needed a gluten-free meal & they immediately said they'd send the chef out. However, that wasn't necessary in our case because we knew all our DS would eat would be pasta. They made him some rice spaghetti with alfredo sauce & a small salad with no croutons. He seemed to like it & had no adverse reactions. I did ask if they had any gluten-free bread or rolls, but unfortunately they didn't. Too bad. But, overall the experience was a good one. Thanks to everyone for all your suggesions.

[buffettbride]

Thanks so much for sharing your experience and I'm glad it was a positive one. We haven't been to Maggiano's since DD was DXd but she's a huge pasta lover so I'm sure we will sooner rather than later.