South Orange County, Ca Restaurants

[Cynbd]

I generally stay away from restaurants and other peoples kitchens. But -- I like to have the option of eating out. I live in South OC and was wondering of there are others who have had successful meals out at specific locations with some of these local chains.

I have eaten at Pei Wei's in Lake Forest and have never gotten sick. (YAY). I have eaten at PF Changs at the Mission Viejo mall twice and got very sick both times.

The very first time I ever ate out after going gluten-free was to Pei Wei's in Irvine (this was months after going gluten-free too), and the guy that brought me my food couldn't speak English, so when I asked him (to confirm) if my dish was gluten-free free he gave the obligatory "yes" -- then I found out I had the wrong salad, it was my husbands gluten salad which I had started to eat. I started crying -- they gave me gift cards worth 40 bucks, but I won't go back to that location.

I have not tried Outback yet -- After my experience with PF Changs, I am a little skiddish to try another big chain restaurant.

I suspect some of these chains do better than others.

I have also eaten at the Fish Market at the Irvine Spectrum twice, and did not get sick.

I tend to go during off-peak times to try to limit mistakes.

Anyone from this area have some success stories from any of the chains around here?

[tarnalberry]

When I lived in HB, I had no problem with the PF Changs in Irvine, or the Outback in Long Beach (not OC, I know). I also ate at Open Original Shared Link in Fountain Valley successfully (vegan Vietnamese food), and the Buca Di Beppo in Irvine (if you can have dairy, there's lots of options).

[JustMe75]

I am in Riverside and have tried several places so far.

I love Outback. I had never been there pre gluten free and its now my favorite place to eat. I get the Alice Springs chicken with garlic mashed potatoes.... YUM! Never had a problem there (yet) I tried PF Changs 2 times and got sick once. Chipotle made me sick. I ate at Macaroni Grill and did fine. They have a gluten-free list online. I think I had something called the skinny chicken and a salad. Oh, and I just tried On the Border. I had the southwest chicken salad, very good. It did bother my stomach a little but I think it was because it was spicy (it didn't feel like glutening). They also have a list online of gluten-free items. Good luck!

Another place I want to try but haven't is Carinos Italian Restaurant, they have an online menu.

[kylesmom1112]

In-N-Out:

#3 protein style, animal style, no sauce, no seasoning. If you can do dairy (I can't) you can get the #2, same way. Their fryers are dedicated and one of the workers told me they are expereinced with dealing with food allergies & intolerances and they get asked questions relating to ingredients all the time.

Royal Hawaiian in HB:

seared scallops. chef said they sear in a pan w/ butter. I requested olive oil instead. Did not get the salad as it is tossed in a house dressing made with blue cheese, but if you can do dairy it is gluten-free if you get no croutons. They also serve a french onion soup, but I did not eat that since it comes with a crostini on top

HTH

[babinsky]

Mimi's does not have a gluten-free menu but the mgr keeps a gluten-free list in the back office...they have been very accomodating...also Red Robin will work with you, the one near me has a dedicated fryer and they put the cheeseburger andall the "fixins" on the side. I bring my own bun and just put it together at the table.

[tracylikesfood]

outback in Laguna Hills isGreat

La Fondue in San Juan Capistrano is awesome and they really go out of there way to help.

I generally stay away from restaurants and other peoples kitchens. But -- I like to have the option of eating out. I live in South OC and was wondering of there are others who have had successful meals out at specific locations with some of these local chains.

I have eaten at Pei Wei's in Lake Forest and have never gotten sick. (YAY). I have eaten at PF Changs at the Mission Viejo mall twice and got very sick both times.

The very first time I ever ate out after going gluten-free was to Pei Wei's in Irvine (this was months after going gluten-free too), and the guy that brought me my food couldn't speak English, so when I asked him (to confirm) if my dish was gluten-free free he gave the obligatory "yes" -- then I found out I had the wrong salad, it was my husbands gluten salad which I had started to eat. I started crying -- they gave me gift cards worth 40 bucks, but I won't go back to that location.

I have not tried Outback yet -- After my experience with PF Changs, I am a little skiddish to try another big chain restaurant.

I suspect some of these chains do better than others.

I have also eaten at the Fish Market at the Irvine Spectrum twice, and did not get sick.

I tend to go during off-peak times to try to limit mistakes.

Anyone from this area have some success stories from any of the chains around here?