Infuriating Article On New gluten-free Restaurant

[C-Girl]

There is so much wrong with this. Open Original Shared Link

 

A journalist who writes about a gluten-free restaurant, never once mentioning celiac disease. And "local and gluten-free beer"? Not "local, gluten-free beer"? Are we to believe this guy is going to serve regular beer in his restaurant? Oh, I'm so angry. :angry: :angry:

[Kath Urbahn]

There is so much wrong with this. Open Original Shared Link

 

A journalist who writes about a gluten-free restaurant, never once mentioning celiac disease. And "local and gluten-free beer"? Not "local, gluten-free beer"? Are we to believe this guy is going to serve regular beer in his restaurant? Oh, I'm so angry. :angry: :angry:

According to the article, the restaurant is touted as all gluten free.  The quote I found says, "The beer selection will be similar, with only local or gluten-free options offered."  IF the restaurant really is ALL gluten free, the local beer he's talking about would be gluten free, too, I'd think.  This may just be a case of bad writing.  

[Gemini]

I can truly understand your anger at no mention of Celiac Disease.  I recently watched a lecture on PBS by Dr. David Perlmutter, who is a respected neurologist and nutritionist.

He is hell bent on helping those with neuro issues overcome their problems and he firmly believes that gluten is at the root of many of his patients problems and uses the gluten-free diet as a treatment in those he tests for gluten sensitivity., that come up with a "positive". Yeah...that was my only complaint about the program...he never once said Celiac Disease. He also referenced Cyrex Labs so I was totally annoyed that he did that and insinuated that there is a test for GS.....which there isn't.  However, the lecture itself was fabulous as he referenced and showed MRI scans of the white lesions/matter of a "gluten sensitive" patient. He reaffirmed much of what we all know about Celiac's affect on the neurological system in our bodies and went on to say how it leads to Dementia and Alzheimer's disease, which I firmly believe.

 

I read a report recently that Dr. Fasano did and he estimates that there are 18 million people in the US that are gluten sensitive.  I think the estimates for Celiac are around 3 million.  So....I think that is why they always defer to the gluten sensitive crowd because they have all the same symptoms as a Celiac does and if you want to make a restaurant successful, you can't just cater to the 3 million......you have to reach out to the rest of the population that are GS or are following the diet for various other reasons.  I have no issues with people who eat gluten-free for whatever reason BUT I would like Celiac Disease to be in the forefront of any publication and have all the others included too...but distinguish the differences so people take us seriously when dining out. The public needs to know the difference between those who have to follow the diet and those who choose to follow the diet. This country is food dumb enough without confusing the issue further.

[NoGlutenCooties]

IMO this is a very poorly written article by a writer who is no doubt clueless about what it means to be gluten-free other than it sounds "hip".

 

This is the part that irritated me the most:

    "they won’t even have flour in the building or allow staffers to bring in outside food with wheat products"

What do you mean "even" flour?  Flour is like one of the worst things you could bring into a gluten-free restaurant.  And how about not allowing outside food that has GLUTEN in it... which includes wheat but is not exclusive to wheat.  A gluten-ignorant person reading this would assume gluten-free means wheat-free and that flour is at the bottom of the potentially dangerous list.

 

I'm with you, coffngrl... 

[anti-soprano]

Oh no- The link is broken!  And I was looking forward to getting my panties in a bunch

 

The level of knowledge I'm inferring from the direct quotes is exactly why I tell anyone in a restaurant that "I have a gluten allergy" and "I'm not the trendy kind of gluten-free, just a speck will make me sick".  I did eat in one completely gluten-free restaurant in Asheville and it was GLORIOUS!  The level of comfort was astounding- highly recommended.  Also, I could pick things off my husband's plate 

[psawyer]

Jumping in here about "shared facilities."

They run a spectrum from safe for almost all of us, to dangerous for us all. Most are closer to the former case.

Flour is problematic because is is a light powder that can float in the air and land anywhere. Any facility where it is used is a potential problem. I say "potential" because it is only a problem if it is used in the same ROOM--it is not a problem just because it is used somewhere in the production complex.

Formed products with gluten, such as noodles, don't get airborne, and are much less of a concern. Commercial food producers follow protocols (Good Manufacturing Practices) that call for thorough cleaning between batches.

If you ever eat at a restaurant, it is almost certain that it is a facility where wheat (bread) is present, even if it is not in the other foods.

If you allow family members to bring anything containing gluten into your house, then your house is a shared facility.

We live on a planet where gluten is everywhere. It is a shared planet. I got over it a long time ago.

[JonnyFinale]

There is so much wrong with this. Open Original Shared Link

 

A journalist who writes about a gluten-free restaurant, never once mentioning celiac disease. And "local and gluten-free beer"? Not "local, gluten-free beer"? Are we to believe this guy is going to serve regular beer in his restaurant? Oh, I'm so angry. :angry: :angry:

 

As uneducated as his article is, at least gluten-free is getting exposure. More exposure means more options for Celiacs!

[C-Girl]

Oh it gets better and worse. That BizJournal story was yanked and not replaced. But the better journalists at the N&O asked specifically about celiac. Turns out the guy really is focusing on the fad dieters and not us lowly celiacs. And he is serving regular beer. God forbid you give up that alcohol revenue.

 

I think I'll stick with my few local retaurants that understand and care about my disease, thanks.

 

Open Original Shared Link

Open Original Shared Link

[larry mac]

What's the problem with serving regular beer? It's not going to be a problem for us. There's no cross contamination with a bottle of beer. So, what if I bring a family member, or friend to eat there, and they want to have a regular beer? How is that a problem?

 

best regards, larry mac 

[kareng]

What's the problem with serving regular beer? It's not going to be a problem for us. There's no cross contamination with a bottle of beer. So, what if I bring a family member, or friend to eat there, and they want to have a regular beer? How is that a problem?

 

best regards, larry mac 

 

 

That's what I thought, too.  My hub doesn't mind eating gluten free food but he wants a regular beer.

[C-Girl]

That's what I thought, too.  My hub doesn't mind eating gluten free food but he wants a regular beer.

I guess I just think it's disingenuous to have a "completely gluten free" restaurant, to the point you won't let your employees bring gluten foods from home, to tout it as such and then serve gluten-y beer. Cross contamination from glasses? Probably not a factor if they wash them in a dishwasher, but it's still annoying. Why not just have a truly gluten free restaurant and serve only good gluten-free beer (if such a thing exists, I haven't been brave enough to try).

[IrishHeart]

We live on a planet where gluten is everywhere. It is a shared planet. I got over it a long time ago.

 

 

One of my all time fave quotes. A while back, you wrote on a thread:

 

"The Earth, itself is a shared facility." I  never forgot that one, Peter and I use it often. 

 

 It's the truth. 

 

PS the link to the article is broken.

[Adalaide]

I used to be all panicky about the whole shared blah blah blah stuff. There's gluten everywhere, it's lurking in every corner, every crevice, every nook and cranny just waiting to get me. Then I got the whole the planet is a shared facility spiel and realized that I was being ridiculous. Who wants to live like that? Constant fear that danger lurks around every corner? If the only gluten is beer served either in bottles or cups so what? Let people who want a beer and are merely trying to enjoy the restaurant for reasons other than that it is gluten free either enjoy it and a beer, or enjoy a beer while being supportive of their gluten free loved ones. When I go out to eat with my husband we carefully calculate where to go so that it makes both of us happy, beer makes lots of people happy, gluten free beer not so much. It's beer in an otherwise gluten free restaurant, it isn't like they're doing something truly moronic.