gluten-free Restaurants

[jleb]

I recently moved to San Diego and am looking for suggestions on restaurants that may offer gluten free options. I tried PF Changs, ordered off their gluten-free Menu and was sick for 3 days

[Mango04]

You should go to Mountain Mikes in Clairemont. They have great gluten-free pizza.

I have also had luck at Cilantros Live (if you like raw vegan food). They a few locations throughout the county.

[hathor]

My Triumph dining book mentions the following restaurants. I can't vouch for them personally. I've leave off the PFChang's. I'm irked at them for my own reasons.

Anyway, the list:

Andre's

Buca Di Beppo

Claim Jupper

Corvette Diner

Fleming's Steakhouse

Mimi's Cafe

Napa Valley Grille

Outback Steakhouse

Roy's

Ruth's Chris Steakhouse

Uno Chicago Grill

Have you found a local celiacs group? They may have suggestions as to restaurants. There is a Yahoo group for celiacs in my area and we frequently discuss restaurants, stores with good gluten-free selections, and so on.

[jleb]

Thanks for the suggestions......it would be nice to have pizza again, are they good about cross contamination, I would think there would be lots of flour flying around in a pizza place!

[Mango04]

Thanks for the suggestions......it would be nice to have pizza again, are they good about cross contamination, I would think there would be lots of flour flying around in a pizza place!

The owners are celiacs, so they are as careful as possible I talked to the guy when I was there and he seemed to really know what he was doing. The pizza was really good too

[Gwen B]

I recently moved to San Diego and am looking for suggestions on restaurants that may offer gluten free options. I tried PF Changs, ordered off their gluten-free Menu and was sick for 3 days

Tell them. I got sick after eating in PF Changs Portland, OR, Dec 24, plus I came out in severe hives, so bad my chin disappeared into my neck, and my voice went. Luckily I was not far from the ER who gave me shots which worked and an epi-pen for Christmas!

I have eaten at Red Robin twice. They don't have a gluten-free menu but the server either understood or fetched another who did and I did not get sick. The bill also came with great "allergy allert" stickers. It's plain food but safe.

[Petite fleur]

I'm looking for gluten free restaurant in Vancouver B.C area.. I found one called ANDUCCIS in Surrey, their pastas are delicious, and I didn't get sick.

Thank you 4 any suggestions .

[babysteps]

Was just in San Diego for a week, here's my restaurant report

short version of clear "thumbs up":

The Guild (barrio logan, really tasty)

Cafe Chloe (east village, a pre-celiac favorite)

Cafe Athena (pacific beach - close to the 5 - very reasonable)

Cafe Champagne (Thornton Winery, Temecula/Riverside County)

Addison (inland Del Mar - very fancy & pricey but wonderful)

short version of "okay, if careful"

Candela's (gaslamp)

County Admin Building Cafeteria (marina district)

Favorite snack: El Indio tortilla chips, really good (we bought at a grocery store, but they have their own shop on India street)

Coping mechanism of the week: with any dip, get a spoon & help yourself first to your fair share onto an extra plate. Then everyone else can dip away!

Long versions:

The Guild (22/25/20 - $35 Zagat) - new in the last year, very good. No one there was celiac but the chef came to our table (it was on the early side of dinner on a Saturday) and explained that they are very aware of keeping things separate in the kitchen. At appr 5:30 on Saturday they were changing the oil in their fryer, so I had the first set of "frites" (they do not have a gluten-free fryer, but do clean between sets of oil). Did have to ask for them not to put bread on the shared plates (it's a "small plates" concept) - but they were happy to do one slider w/bun, one w/out. Lots of wines by the glass, which is fun.

Cafe Chloe (24/23/21 - $32 in Zagat) - the budin blanc had no gluten & was quite tasty (it came w/brie omelet and pan fried potatoes). Brunch menu (Sat & Sun am) has lots of gluten-free options (but you have to ask). They did bring bread on same plate w/olive selection, but there were no crumbs in the oil & we separated the bread right away!

Cafe Athena (25/16/19 - $22 in Zagat) - bright lights, no table cloths, "fresh" Greek food (with some Turkish influences), big vegetarian selection. The waitstaff has a list of items with wheat in them (didn't have to run to kitchen to ask) - although, beware last week vermicelli was added to the rice pilaf but it wasn't necessarily on all the written-out lists. In the mixed appetizers, all the hot ones have wheat but all the cold ones do not, and they come on separate plates (hooray).

Cafe Champagne (not Zagat rated) - the restaurant at Thornton Winery, open for lunch every day (many of the at-winery Temecula restaurants are open only Thurs-Sun). Waitress seemed spacy at first, but really got it (checked each item with kitchen) - FYI the polenta the night I was there was not gluten free. She suggested I substitute mashed potatoes for the pasta in my lamb entree, which was brilliant! Except salads, most starters are hard to do gluten free (battered fried calamari, soy-sauce marinated tuna, etc.).

Addison (27/27/28 - $94 Zagat) - a big splurge, but worth it. There are a lot of people helping a given table, so I made sure to identify myself as gluten-free to each one (wasn't clear that they all had the word). Most items (there are 4 choices for each of 4 courses) were either gluten-free or could be adjusted easily, except desserts. But if you ask, you can now substitute cheese for dessert (just started the cheese thing 2 weeks ago). One demerit: of the 2 amuse bouches, one was a (full-o-wheat) gougere, they brought only one (good) but didn't bring me anything (demerit).

short version of "okay, if careful"

Candela's (25/23/23 - $47) - wait staff seemed new to the gluten-free concept, but it worked out okay for me. I was careful to ask very explicitly about each dish that I ordered. Not sure if every diner would be as successful, but the food is very good and I was not glutened. So go, but order & ask carefully!

County Admin Building Cafeteria (not Zagat rated) - on the 4th floor (there is free 2 hr parking in the lot), have to go through a metal detector & screen bags on way in. Great views, of the bay & really inexpensive. We ordered one veggie omelet and one combo - somehow the combo's toast came on the omelet's plate. I tried to 'wipe off' the crumbs & eat mostly the inside & underneath of the omelet, but think I was very mildly glutened anyway. Lesson: next time make it clear that the omelet goes on its own plate!!

[jleb]

The owners are celiacs, so they are as careful as possible I talked to the guy when I was there and he seemed to really know what he was doing. The pizza was really good too

I just found out they had to stop serving gluten-free pizza as of Jan. 14/08.

[jleb]

I'm looking for gluten free restaurant in Vancouver B.C area.. I found one called ANDUCCIS in Surrey, their pastas are delicious, and I didn't get sick.

Thank you 4 any suggestions .

There are lots of great options in Vancouver, I lived there for 12 years, only the last year gluten-free but here are some suggestions:

Joey's Global Grill: has a great gluten-free Menu, I always remind them of cross contamination issues just to make sure but I've never gotten sick there.

Cactus Club: the manager can give you info on which dishes are gluten-free and they're good about making substitutions to make sure your meal is gluten-free.

Sequoia Grill: (higher end) it's in Stanley Park and the waiters are pretty knowledgeable about which entrees are safe

The Boathouse: call ahead but most wait staff is knowledgeable.

Keg Steakhouse: the spices on their steaks are gluten-free.

Also, you might want to check out Panne Rizo in Kitsilano, it's a great little cafe, they serve soup, sandwiches, pizza, quiche etc. plus all kinds of baked goods, the whole cafe is gluten free so you don't have to worry about cross contamination.

There is also a completely gluten-free cafe/bakeshop in North Vancouver (which might be a little ways to travel if you're staying downtown and depending on traffic getting across the bridge to North Van can be a nightmare!!) It's called Mountain Top Bakery. Also, the grocery store "Choices" has a rice bakery and lots of gluten-free baked goods.

I'm pretty sure all these places are on the web so you can check out location to see what might work. The restaurant you found in Surrey is quite a distance to travel.

Hope this helps! Enjoy!

[jleb]

Was just in San Diego for a week, here's my restaurant report

short version of clear "thumbs up":

The Guild (barrio logan, really tasty)

Cafe Chloe (east village, a pre-celiac favorite)

Cafe Athena (pacific beach - close to the 5 - very reasonable)

Cafe Champagne (Thornton Winery, Temecula/Riverside County)

Addison (inland Del Mar - very fancy & pricey but wonderful)

short version of "okay, if careful"

Candela's (gaslamp)

County Admin Building Cafeteria (marina district)

Favorite snack: El Indio tortilla chips, really good (we bought at a grocery store, but they have their own shop on India street)

Coping mechanism of the week: with any dip, get a spoon & help yourself first to your fair share onto an extra plate. Then everyone else can dip away!

Long versions:

The Guild (22/25/20 - $35 Zagat) - new in the last year, very good. No one there was celiac but the chef came to our table (it was on the early side of dinner on a Saturday) and explained that they are very aware of keeping things separate in the kitchen. At appr 5:30 on Saturday they were changing the oil in their fryer, so I had the first set of "frites" (they do not have a gluten-free fryer, but do clean between sets of oil). Did have to ask for them not to put bread on the shared plates (it's a "small plates" concept) - but they were happy to do one slider w/bun, one w/out. Lots of wines by the glass, which is fun.

Cafe Chloe (24/23/21 - $32 in Zagat) - the budin blanc had no gluten & was quite tasty (it came w/brie omelet and pan fried potatoes). Brunch menu (Sat & Sun am) has lots of gluten-free options (but you have to ask). They did bring bread on same plate w/olive selection, but there were no crumbs in the oil & we separated the bread right away!

Cafe Athena (25/16/19 - $22 in Zagat) - bright lights, no table cloths, "fresh" Greek food (with some Turkish influences), big vegetarian selection. The waitstaff has a list of items with wheat in them (didn't have to run to kitchen to ask) - although, beware last week vermicelli was added to the rice pilaf but it wasn't necessarily on all the written-out lists. In the mixed appetizers, all the hot ones have wheat but all the cold ones do not, and they come on separate plates (hooray).

Cafe Champagne (not Zagat rated) - the restaurant at Thornton Winery, open for lunch every day (many of the at-winery Temecula restaurants are open only Thurs-Sun). Waitress seemed spacy at first, but really got it (checked each item with kitchen) - FYI the polenta the night I was there was not gluten free. She suggested I substitute mashed potatoes for the pasta in my lamb entree, which was brilliant! Except salads, most starters are hard to do gluten free (battered fried calamari, soy-sauce marinated tuna, etc.).

Addison (27/27/28 - $94 Zagat) - a big splurge, but worth it. There are a lot of people helping a given table, so I made sure to identify myself as gluten-free to each one (wasn't clear that they all had the word). Most items (there are 4 choices for each of 4 courses) were either gluten-free or could be adjusted easily, except desserts. But if you ask, you can now substitute cheese for dessert (just started the cheese thing 2 weeks ago). One demerit: of the 2 amuse bouches, one was a (full-o-wheat) gougere, they brought only one (good) but didn't bring me anything (demerit).

short version of "okay, if careful"

Candela's (25/23/23 - $47) - wait staff seemed new to the gluten-free concept, but it worked out okay for me. I was careful to ask very explicitly about each dish that I ordered. Not sure if every diner would be as successful, but the food is very good and I was not glutened. So go, but order & ask carefully!

County Admin Building Cafeteria (not Zagat rated) - on the 4th floor (there is free 2 hr parking in the lot), have to go through a metal detector & screen bags on way in. Great views, of the bay & really inexpensive. We ordered one veggie omelet and one combo - somehow the combo's toast came on the omelet's plate. I tried to 'wipe off' the crumbs & eat mostly the inside & underneath of the omelet, but think I was very mildly glutened anyway. Lesson: next time make it clear that the omelet goes on its own plate!!

Wow, sounds like you're way more adventurous than I am!! Thanks for the suggestions!