Domino's (And Some Other Pizzerias)

[Dylanm]

Before going gluten-free, my favourite food was pizza.  The best place for pizza, in my opinion, is Domino's.  As their prices are so fair I thought they would never have a gluten free pizza crust and never looked into.

 

 Last night I got a craving for pizza and decided to look into Domino's to see what gluten-free options, if any, they had.  I was EXTREMELY surprised to see that they, in fact, DO have a gluten free crust.  I, of course, ordered the pizza and hoped that it was better quality than other pizza crusts I had. I have found that with each wheat free crust, the quality is never up to my standards and generally kind of gross.  

 

When I opened the pizza box to reveal what used to be the best thing to eat I was instantly in love.  It actually looked like a real pizza.  There is no crust with this, which didn't faze me as I don't even like crust.  Once I took the first bite, my mouth felt like it had met an old friend.  This is by far the BEST gluten free pizza I have EVER had.

 

I will mention, like most restaurants that are chain, the staff is not much educated on the effects of wheat and they do some "guessing" with their other food.  The woman tried to tell me that the breaded chicken was gluten-free, I kindly disagreed.  Make sure you ask them to read the list of safe toppings as their chicken has wheat but pepperoni does not.  I strongly suggest giving this a try!

[Takala]

I strongly suggest not, unless one likes playing reaction roulette !

[Adalaide]

The actual "pan" that the pizza is cooked on is not something that could ever be cleaned thoroughly of gluten. The same ones are used for all pizzas and are not cleaned in between. The gluten free and gluten pizzas are prepped on the same surface. The toppings come from the same containers, the same cook will usually do everything, especially at peak times of day. That means stretching the gluten dough, saucing it, and topping all the pizzas, which means putting their hands into the bins of toppings. The same toppings they will put on your pizza. There is no hand washing in between. There is nothing gluten free about any of their pizzas.

 

As a matter of fact, if you read the FAQs on the Domino's website under gluten exposure you will see a disclaimer saying that celiacs should not eat their pizza.

[julissa]

I wouldn't eat their pizza either for all the same reasons. check into local pizza places. I found one locally that has a separate oven, separate utensils, pans, toppings, everything. and the gluten-free area is way in the back of the pizza place.

 

Unfortunately, I have since been diagnosed with dairy allergy, so it kind of took the fun out of the place.

[cap6]

Hate to be the bearer of bad news here...but....they prepare everything right along side of and with the gluten pizzas.  They may have a gluten-free crust but the preparation and handling makes it no longer gluten-free.  I wouldn't.  

[karichelle]

I have eaten it and didn't notice anything adverse, but I now know that I was not yet totally gluten-free at that time due to my herbal tea having gluten in it (surprise!). Our store is smaller though and we were not ordering at a busy time. The crust was very good. I'm just not sure I'd have such a positive experience now that I have been "actually" gluten-free for a while.

 

We went to a different pizza place today that has gluten-free crust with a dedicated pan, peel, cutter, etc. and I asked them to take my toppings from new containers. It's a shared oven but that's it.

[gringa-lg]

If you guys have a Zpizza near you, you should try it. It's to DIE for! and they have vegan cheeses too for you guys with dairy intolerances too! A little pricy but soooo worth it! If you sign up for their Ztribe mailing letter they send you coupons -- one of them being $5 off of your first order. And on your birthday they send you a buy one get one free personal pizza coupon. (And they are super careful with cross contamination!)

[Dylanm]

The actual "pan" that the pizza is cooked on is not something that could ever be cleaned thoroughly of gluten. The same ones are used for all pizzas and are not cleaned in between. The gluten free and gluten pizzas are prepped on the same surface. The toppings come from the same containers, the same cook will usually do everything, especially at peak times of day. That means stretching the gluten dough, saucing it, and topping all the pizzas, which means putting their hands into the bins of toppings. The same toppings they will put on your pizza. There is no hand washing in between. There is nothing gluten free about any of their pizzas.

 

As a matter of fact, if you read the FAQs on the Domino's website under gluten exposure you will see a disclaimer saying that celiacs should not eat their pizza.

Generally when a restaurant has a gluten free crust it is already on a pan from the manufacturer of the crust.  This would be something that you can confirm.  Also, like most fast food places, there are people with certain areas of production.  Workers who make dough would not likely be putting the toppings on the pizza.

[kareng]

Generally when a restaurant has a gluten free crust it is already on a pan from the manufacturer of the crust. This would be something that you can confirm. Also, like most fast food places, there are people with certain areas of production. Workers who make dough would not likely be putting the toppings on the pizza.

You do know that Dominos came out and said that the gluten-free pizza was not meant for people with Celiac disease?

YOU are the one promoting this, don't you know if its on its own pan or not?

[Adalaide]

I used to work in a Domino's, and I have spoken to more than one local store about it. The same screens are used for the gluten and non gluten pizzas and are not cleaned in between, and as a matter of fact are of a type that are not capable of being cleaned in a way that would be safe to prevent CC. Also, no one in Domino's "makes" dough as the dough for gluten pizzas arrives refrigerated in balls. But, the people who stretch that dough on a corn meal surface then sauce the pizza (touching the pizza with the sauce ladle and putting it back in the bin, and using the same one on the gluten-free pizzas) then put their hands in the toppings on the line, the same line used to get toppings for the gluten-free pizzas. This is all stated right on their website, and they are quite forthcoming with this info if you talk to someone in the store.

 

Also, directly from their website, copy and pasted: (I have bolded what is important)

Gluten is present in Domino's Hand Tossed Dough. After stretching the dough, small gluten particles could remain on the pizza maker's hands, which then touch the cheese and toppings and could transfer to these ingredients. Due to the handcrafted nature of Domino's products and because stores do not have a separate gluten free area in the kitchen, a possibility for gluten exposure can occur. As such, pizza made with Domino's Gluten Free Crust is not recommended for customers with celiac disease. However, because the risk for exposure is low, this pizza made with Domino's Gluten Free Crust is an option for individuals with mild gluten sensitivities.

 

I haven't said anything I said the first time without knowledge, both from questioning of stores and intimate personal knowledge both of Domino's and pizza shops in general. You are risking your own health, and that is your choice to make but other celiacs who read this need to be warned of the dangers.

[Momma22js]

Hello!

 

My husband works for Domino's my son has recently had to go gluten free so we all are. I asked him about it and he confirmed what many are saying here. Everything is prepared on the same surfaces so while the crust may be gluten free nothing else is. There is so much cross contamination that goes on. Most of their stores are small in space and so separating things to make everything truly gluten free would make it rather difficult. As has been stated Dominos has placed a warning that their pizza shouldn't be eaten by those with Celiacs.

[kareng]

Hello!

 

My husband works for Domino's my son has recently had to go gluten free so we all are. I asked him about it and he confirmed what many are saying here. Everything is prepared on the same surfaces so while the crust may be gluten free nothing else is. There is so much cross contamination that goes on. Most of their stores are small in space and so separating things to make everything truly gluten free would make it rather difficult. As has been stated Dominos has placed a warning that their pizza shouldn't be eaten by those with Celiacs.

Thank you!

[Sassbo]

I live in Dallas and have had the Fireside Pies Gluten Free Pizza.  It is GREAT.  I am NCGI so it was fine for me, but I'm not sure about those who are celiac/more sensitive.  They seemed very educated when I inquired though.

 

They use Smart Flour Foods crust, FYI....

[bayba792]

If you guys have a Zpizza near you, you should try it. It's to DIE for! and they have vegan cheeses too for you guys with dairy intolerances too! A little pricy but soooo worth it! If you sign up for their Ztribe mailing letter they send you coupons -- one of them being $5 off of your first order. And on your birthday they send you a buy one get one free personal pizza coupon. (And they are super careful with cross contamination!)

My sister in law told me about this place. When I called them they said that they could not prevent cross contamination. He told me that the toppings used on regular pizza is also used on the gluten free and when I asked if the employee's wash their hands or change gloves before handling the gluten free pizza he said that he couldn't grantee that either. So I just made my son a homemade gluten free pizza. I don't know if it's just our local Zpizza or all of them but I didn't end up going.

[Brandiwine]

The only place I can go out for pizza is Mellow Mushroom. They are very careful, the staff always seem to be fairly educated about Celiac and understand about CC, they use sperate pans. The gluten-free crust is one size and a size they don't offer in gluten pizzas so they don't get mixed up. They also have vegan cheese and fresh local produce, they are very Eco friendly as well. A little pricey but kinda used to that now.... I've never had problems there.

[karichelle]

Mellow Mushroom also uses separate toppings, the employees change aprons and use a separate prep area. They made ours upside down once (I guess the crust is parbaked) and it was kind of strange, but when it's done right it's good.