Mexican Food Gluten Free?

[HalfBlindJ]

I was curious if Mexican food is something I should keep an eye out for. I understand that this is very ambiguous and largely dependent upon the restaurant, but I have pegged certain foods as questionable (such as Asian food - wheat possibly in soy sauce) and was wondering if Mexican is another one to watch out for. Any comments are much appreciated.

[mookie03]

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Check out that post-- i hope i did that right! i asked this question not too long ago...the consensus was that mexican restaurants are not too safe b/c of cross contamination problems (cooking everything in the same oil, etc.)

[gf4life]

Yeah, I worry about the cross contamination issue eating out at Mexican restaurants, so we don't here in my family.

As far as purchasing mexican food from the grocery store, it really depends on the items you buy. My kids don't like mexican very much, so we don't even cook it a whole bunch. Corn tortillas and spanish rice are about the only thing the kids will all eat. My daughter will also eat beans, tacos, etc. If you make it yourself then you can control the ingredients. Mexican food is very easy to make from scratch with pure fresh ingredients and at home you can be careful about the contamination...

[bklyn]

My local mexican restaurant told me they marinate all of their fajita ingredients (even the vegetarian) in soy sauce. (Told me this after I ate it)!

[happygirl]

Yes-I learned that about the soy sauce too (even from a more "upscale" Mexican place in Atlanta. For that matter, many "American" foods like chicken breasts have soy sauce in the marinade).

It depends on the place, but the sauces (for enchiladas, etc) have a good chance of having wheat in them.

Don Pablo's (not authentic Mexican, but it will suffice) lists their gluten free items online. There is always the risk of cross contamination, however.

[jams]

I am not going to recommend anyone to eat mexican. I, however, do eat authentic mexican. I work at a restaurant with a mexican staff. They have said that at authentic restaurants they don't use the commericalized packets of seasoning that contain wheat. They use "real" seasonings. Also, they do not know of anyone using soy sauce. Not to say they do/don't. I am carefull what I order, but mostly I order nachos.

It is your own decision and I am not claiming that it is safe to eat anywhere. I am very sensitive when I do eat gluten and I have not been affected when I eat at authentic places. I have had issues eating at commercial restaurants though. This is just my own story.

[Rusla]

Maybe it is my own weird thinking but there is something so wrong and not authentic about Mexican food containing soy sauce. As a matter of fact to me it is a bit like MSG, it is unnecessary and dangerous.