Issues W/ Pizzeria Uno

[kbdy]

We've gone to 2 different locations & only had issues with one of them.

The first place explained that the manager handles all the gluten-free pizzas & will bring it out to the table personally as to ensure no cross contamination. It was excellent. Dd had it & loved it! She was so excited to actually eat restaurant food w/o having to bring her own (she's 5).

Then we went to location #2. We ordered the gluten-free pizza again & this time the server brought it out, not a manager. So I inquired if it was the gluten-free pizza & asked if she was certain there was no cross contamination.... *crickets* So, I help out & ask if it was baked separately, if it was made in a separate area & if it was cut w/a different knife. Her answer was "I believe so". Not good enough.

I then asked if she could go back & check b/c otherwise there would be a very sick little girl w/in 15 minutes of her eating. When the server came back, she admitted that the same knife that cut our gluten pizza was used to cut the gluten-free pizza. She said they only had ONE pizza cutting tool in the kitchen

They did remake it, but I was very leery about dd eating it.

I guess the PSA is; even if there is a gluten-free menu, you may still need to check & double check to make sure it was properly prepared. sigh.

[Amyleigh0007]

I have eaten a Unos twice, at different locations, with very different outcomes. The first time was awful! They brought my son's gluten free burger out on a bun and when I asked about the bun the waitress paused, watched my son take a bite, and grabbed it away from him. She returned and said the bun wasn't gluten free (no kidding!) and they would make him another burger. My pizza was awful. The crust fell apart and I had to eat it with a fork. They actually ended up paying our bill that day and the waitress was visibly shaken that my young son had eaten the bun. She gave me her phone number and told me to call her and let her know if he got sick. The second time we went to Unos everything was wonderful. The manager brought out my son's burger and checked on us several times. My pizza was the best gluten free pizza I have had. I could actually pick it up and eat it like "real" pizza.

[KPanther]

I didn't have any luck with Uno's and I'm afraid to go back. My husband researched some safe menu items from the Uno's website (making sure they were listed as gluten AND soy free - not only am I celiac, but I'm also soy-intolerant). When we got to the restaurant, their gluten free menu did NOT list the menu item that we thought was safe. The waiter was clueless and told us to check the in-restaurant kiosk (which linked to the same Uno's website my husband researched at home a few hours prior). We asked for the manager to speak to us regarding what was safe. The manager told us to only order from the menu, since he could safely say those menu items were gluten free. He admitted that the printed menu and the website didn't always "sync".

The only thing that was safe for me to eat was a plain steak (thank goodness they had A-1 steak sauce and that is safe for me). They couldn't do a baked potato (they don't have them, per the manager). I asked for some vegetables (I prefered asparagus) grilled with some olive oil....they don't have that. The only thing they could offer me was their grilled vegetable mix of green peppers (hello, heartburn), zucchini and some other squash that came from a frozen bag. I couldn't have the seasonings that are usually added to the vegetable mix since it contained gluten/soy. Not exactly enticing.

The manager said that all of their food is pre-packaged and pre-seasoned. They don't carry potatoes for baking...only their pre-made twice baked potatoes that either had gluten or soy (I can't remember now). I couldn't have their gluten-free pizza since it had soy in it. The dinner was quite disappointing and I won't go back there unless I have a strong desire to only have a slab of meat for dinner (and no sides, since nothing is gluten-free AND soy free). I picked at the vegetables since I'm not a fan of heartburn from the peppers, and I have never liked zucchini/squash.

I have had a tremendously difficult time finding safe restaurants to eat at. It's not necessarily finding a restaurant offering gluten free alternatives, but more so the SOY-free options.

I have to say - I have gotten so turned-off by restaurants and their "gluten-free" menus...the ones where they say "ask for such-and-such plain", or "eat without the bun/bread". They don't offer alternatives....they just tell you to stay away from the bread/buns/croutons/spices/sauces...anything that adds flavor and enjoyment to your dinner out. Will restaurants ever really be fun for those of us with multi-food intolerances? My daughter is also celiac, and she is intolerant of soy/eggs/casein. We don't eat out anymore since it's become literally painful. Wait staff is clueless and often don't want to take any extra time to understand the severity of what we deal with everyday. You'd think we were asking them to give up their first born to ask the cook to use a clean pan/spatula/etc. It's just not worth it.