Red Lobster Response

[CaraLouise]

We appreciate your inquiry regarding the availability of gluten-free items on our menu. Because your health is so important to us, we cannot guarantee anything on our menus to be free of gluten.

Red Lobster's kitchens are not allergen-free environments and neither are those of our suppliers. In addition, all of our fried food selections are prepared in shared fryers and our grills are shared cooking surfaces. Because of these processes, we cannot guarantee that seemingly gluten-free items have not come into contact with gluten.

To minimize potential contact with gluten-containing items you may wish to consider ordering steamed crab legs or steamed Maine lobster, broiled fish or chicken with no seasonings or marinades and steamed vegetables with no seasonings.

Also, the baked potatoes can be ordered plain without anything on the skin.

Please speak with the manager and your server prior to ordering to alert them of your specific dietary restrictions.

Sincerely,

Shari

Guest Relations Representative

[casnco]

We appreciate your inquiry regarding the availability of gluten-free items on our menu. Because your health is so important to us, we cannot guarantee anything on our menus to be free of gluten.

Red Lobster's kitchens are not allergen-free environments and neither are those of our suppliers. In addition, all of our fried food selections are prepared in shared fryers and our grills are shared cooking surfaces. Because of these processes, we cannot guarantee that seemingly gluten-free items have not come into contact with gluten.

To minimize potential contact with gluten-containing items you may wish to consider ordering steamed crab legs or steamed Maine lobster, broiled fish or chicken with no seasonings or marinades and steamed vegetables with no seasonings.

Also, the baked potatoes can be ordered plain without anything on the skin.

Please speak with the manager and your server prior to ordering to alert them of your specific dietary restrictions.

Sincerely,

Shari

Guest Relations Representative

Caralouise: How did you contact Red Lobster? Is this person from your local resturant or corpporate? I am just curious. And I might want to add my 2 cents worth for this person or someone at the corporate level.

My husband and I frequent a local Seafood resturant in a small resort community in the Mid West. This place is actually podunk no where! But they completely accomodate me. Not only do they accomodate my celiac disease, they accomodate patrons with SHELL FISH allergies!!!! In a Seafood resturant!!! They have accomodated the shell fish allergy long before they met me! Thank God there are wonderful resturant owners out there that will provice excellent food that is safe. I do so hate cooking all the time. And I hate ordering boring food when I go out. Steamed fish with no seasoning, you might as well eat cardbord! BLAH!

[modiddly16]

I gotta tell you though......those mom and pop restaurants in Podunk are the BEST....Corporate companies care so much less about customer service. My family has long vacationed in Pawleys Island, SC and we stop at small seafood joints all the time and have the best experiences....I'll give my money to their business before the corporate man any day.

But I do miss those delicious chedder biscuits from Red Lobster.

[Fiddle-Faddle]

I think we should all write to Red Lobster and give them an earful about how many customers they are losing. Or we could just keep ranting here on this thread, and when it gets long enough, I'll send the link to the corporate office.

Geeze Louise, we could steam or broil our own unseasoned seafood and meat--why on earth would we want to go to a restaurant that can't serve us anything that tastes good???? Especially when there are so many who DO accommodate food allergies!

Oh--I will post a really good recipe for Red Lobster-style Cheddar biscuits under the recipes section. Keep a lookout!

[SunnyDyRain]

I always ordered the steamed crab legs, before celiac and now after celiac. Only problems I have is some servers don't remember the "no crutons" on salad thing. But other than that I'm all about Red Lobster!

[CaraLouise]

This is a response from corporate, but I have always ordered steamed crab legs anyway (They are my favorite). At my OKC Celiac meeting I had heard a rumor that the baked potatoes weren't gluten free so I contacted corporate to find out. I will tell you though some Red Lobsters are definitely better then others though. Luckily the one in OKC is great!

[gymnastjlf]

It's been a year or so since I've last been to Red Lobster, but here's what I remember. First, the response about can't accomodate allergies, that's the corporate's cover-the-butt-statement. Many (not all) individual store managers are VERY accomodating!

Unfortunately, the seasoning blends as well as the butter blend used on the veggies AND baked potatoes contains gluten. Many locations will "butter" the outside of their potatoes at the beginning of the day, so by the time you get there, the damage has been done, so to speak, and you're left without a potato. i have eaten very successfully at Red Lobster though, getting steamed fish (the manager had managed to get plain spices to season it with) and steamed veggies-- no butter. I had ordered the potato, and she (the manager) came out a few minutes later and explained how the potato had butter on the outside, she'd let me make the decision about whether I still wanted to the potato or nt. I chose not to, and she was so apologetic, offered me extra veggies, but what impressed me most was how observant she was!

This is a response from corporate, but I have always ordered steamed crab legs anyway (They are my favorite). At my OKC Celiac meeting I had heard a rumor that the baked potatoes weren't gluten free so I contacted corporate to find out. I will tell you though some Red Lobsters are definitely better then others though. Luckily the one in OKC is great!

[SacGFGirl]

I think we should all write to Red Lobster and give them an earful about how many customers they are losing. Or we could just keep ranting here on this thread, and when it gets long enough, I'll send the link to the corporate office.

Geeze Louise, we could steam or broil our own unseasoned seafood and meat--why on earth would we want to go to a restaurant that can't serve us anything that tastes good???? Especially when there are so many who DO accommodate food allergies!

Oh--I will post a really good recipe for Red Lobster-style Cheddar biscuits under the recipes section. Keep a lookout!

I used to love red lobster and those cheddar biscuits were so yummy, but their corporate office has been completely rude and unhelpful the two times I called and inquired. I've learned how to make great tasting seafood, especially shrimp, including deep fried coconut shrimp just like you would get at red lobster for way cheaper. Who needs them. I've taken my business to my local fish counter.

[celiac-mommy]

Oh--I will post a really good recipe for Red Lobster-style Cheddar biscuits under the recipes section. Keep a lookout!

I'll add mine, if that's OK. I make these at least once a week:

1/2c butter, melted

2c Pamela's baking mix

~2/3c buttermilk (don't dump all in at once, mix some in a bit at a time to make sure it's not too 'wet')

1/2c-1c sharp cheddar (depending on taste)

1 clove chopped garlic (I acutally use more)

mix all, drop biscuit mounds (I just form them in my hand) onto parchment paper

bake 375 for 8-10 min or until edges are browning

[minniejack]

Got the same exact reply--I posted on the travel section over there. I also asked about the butter to dip the lobster/crab. Do I need to bring my own?

[DarkIvy]

Well, that sucks.

I'm really disappointed with a lot of chain restaurants like this, anyway. They just don't give a rat's butt, if you know what I mean. Loosing a few celiac customers means nothing to them, because they can make so much money off of everyone else.

I just go to a local sushi joint that's totally accommodating if I want a seafood fix. They make so much money off me and my boyfriend, it's ridiculous.

[minniejack]

I was scared to go, but today I went to Red Lobster and the food was fantastic. Nothing was glutened. I had talked to the manager a few weeks ago and he told me their dressings were all Marzettis. All I had to do was inform the server no biscuits and no croutons. She double checked on the scampi, but all was great. For once I let the server handle it all and I did not even request to speak with the manager.

I had the grilled lobster, shrimp scampi, grilled shrimp with mashed potatoes, salad and coleslaw.

I will go back soon.

By the way this was a Red Lobster in St. Clairsville, Ohio.

[TieGrrr]

Funny, I wrote to Red Lobster some time last year and received the same reply!

At one point, we talked to the chef at the restaurant and she recommended that we not use any seasonings, but the flavor was boring and bland. We never had gluten issues at Red Lobster before, even with the potatoes, but we do remember to order the salad without croutons.

Basically, we order nothing fried and we never had a problem before.

It does strike me as odd, though, that this big chain refuses to cater to the gluten free clientele. Ironically, Olive Garden has a gluten free menu, even if it only contains three dishes and Olive Garden is part of the same chain as Red Lobster.