Hernandez Hideaway, Escondido Ca

[babysteps]

We were on vacation in San Diego recently and had an interesting (and eventually gluten-free) experience at Hernandez' Hideaway in Escondido (by Lake Hodges).

The night we were there the bartender was celiac! Our waitress had him come to our table, he said "to be honest there is very little here you can eat".

What a start, right?

*but* I ate cleanly thanks to his advice!

Eye-openers for me were the beer-marinated meats (now I know to ask other places) and the rice prepped in shared fryers (I would not have guessed).

As the bartender suggested, I ordered a cheese quesadilla with shredded plain chicken on a corn tortilla, not cut up, with beans, guacamole and sour cream on the side (I also used the table's salsa), heated in the microwave (not on their grill). He said he often gets olives on his.

Here's what I learned about their menu:

Safe:

Their salsa - house made and gluten-free

guacamole - house made and gluten-free.

beans - house made and gluten-free

the plain shredded chicken

corn tortillas (are 100% corn)

olives

cheese

likely safe (hm, that's a bit risky)

Their tortilla chips are 100% corn, but the bartender wasn't sure if the oil was always 100% gluten-free (he said he himself eats just a few chips at a time).

not safe

all the meats are seasoned with a marinade that includes beer ( *except the plain shredded chicken)

rice (is fried in a shared fryer as part of prep)

anything sliced (shared knives)

anything fried

enchilada sauce

[Mango04]

That is a great little place. Thanks for the tips.