Need Advice

[clnewberry1]

A good friend is going through breast cancer and surgery this week. Tomorrow a bunch of her friends are having a lunch for her. It's at a chinese restraunt. I have not been out to eat since I have gone gluten free. I know most soy sauces are made with wheat.

I don't want to be a bad friend - her problem is way worse than my own in that she has cancer and I only need to be gluten free.

What should I do? Should I go and not eat anything? Should I just say I can't come. I looked at the menu online. I am not sure there is anything gluten free. I will try to call them tomorrow but I really don't know exactly waht to ask.

Thanks,

Crystal

[NicoleAJ]

It sounds like the lunch is too important for you not to go, and yet Chinese food except for at a few particularly accommodating places, can be difficult to manage gluten free. I have gone to many a lunch where I don't eat. I eat something extravagant and filling directly beforehand and bring a small snack in case I get hungry, but then I just order a glass of tea or a soft drink and go for the company. Of course people ask questions, and though they may sometimes feel uncomfortable with someone not eating, I don't let it bother me in the least. I just say I have way too many dietary restrictions to make it worth eating out and that I just had a lovely meal of ...[fill in the blank]... so you need not feel sorry for me.

[cattriona]

sometimes if you bring something to eat yourself and sneak it out, people don't always notice because they see that you're eating something. plain salads are good if you're desperate. sometimes too i put my own meals together from the menu - ask for certain ingredients from one thing and mix it with another. rice noodles are usually gluten-free, but check with the restaurant. rice noodles and cooked vegetables perhaps? with a little plain meat maybe? just a suggestion

[YoloGx]

Depends on how sensitive you are. If you have true celiac sprue I wouldn't eat their food. Otherwise you might be able to talk to the cook ahead of time and have them make something you could eat.

For me, since I am extremely sensitive, I would just bring some Chinese like food of my own to eat on the side. Ask for an extra plate and maybe no one will notice since often people share dishes.

Bea

[missy'smom]

I've joined a group of aquaintances at a Vietnamese rest. and a Chinese rest. and brought my own food both times because I wasn't familiar with the menu and knew that at those particular locations the staff was all non-native English speakers and communication would be difficult, even with dining cards. Everyone was ordering off the menu so they got plenty of business and when it was my turn to order I just said to the waitress that I had multiple food allergies and would be eating my own meal that I brought. They were fine with it. I just set my container on the table. Some in the group didn't understand and thought it was odd, I'm sure, but that's OK. I don't try to make similar things anymore. From the responses that you've seen, there are a number of ways you can approach it. You get to choose what's comfortable and works for you.

[Happy Holly]

I know I'm probably responding too late. I hope the lunch went well and you were able to join your friend and enjoy the company.

In the future, you might order some dining cards from Triumph Dining. I have a set, and they have proven to be invaluable. There are cards for all types of dining: Chinese, Mexican, Vietnamese, French, Japanese, Italian, Thai, Indian, and Greek. The cards explain on one side in English what you can and cannot eat. On the other side, the same message is printed in the language of the dining experience.

I have eaten successfully at a chinese restaurant close to my home a couple of times now. They know I cannot have soy sauce, so they give me white sauce instead. They do not speak very much Englilsh, so the Chinese explanation was perfect.

For Chinese dining, the card states that you should not have egg noddles, wonton skins, egg roll wrappers, pastries, battered or floured foods, imitation crab, bouillon, oyster and hoisin sauces, beer, malt and MSG. It states in large bold letters that soy sauce is brewed with wheat and cannot be used.

The cards even explain that utensils, preparation or cooking surfaces used for foods must not be cross contaminated with any wheat -- the surfaces and utensils must be cleaned.

I carry all the cards in my purse and ask the waitress or waiter to present the card to the chef. Sometimes the waiters or waitress will try to read the cards and decipher on their own what I can or cannot have. I'm just not comfortable when the people in the kitchen don't see my cards, so when this happens, I usually ask for a manager.

Hope this was helpful.

[clnewberry1]

Well the lunch turned out good - at least so far.

The Chinese place was closed so the next closest was Applebees. I read that most people have not had good luck with Applebees here. I tried to call the corporate office to see if I could eat anything there or at least get the ingredients of there menu items. It was closed for presidents day.

I called the local place and fortunatly for me a regular customer of this particular Applebees who has Celiac orders the plain chicken breast with a baked potatoe and broccoli. The told me this particular woman has never complained that she has gotten sick. So that is what I ordered. I hope that the chicken was safe - we will see. It didn't taste like there was anything on it but who knows. I took a digestive enzyme just in case in hopes that if there was hidden gluten my reaction would be less severe.

One of my other friends is not going gluten free not for Celiac but turns out we have the same doctor and didn't know it. She is trying the gluten free diet to see if some of her inflamation goes down. She ordered a salad plain.

Thanks for all of the reply's. I am going to look into getting those cards. Thanks so much!!

Crystal