Old Spaghetti Factory/ Original Pancake House

[RacerX35]

So along with some other places I go to is the Old Spaghetti Factory. My family and I went there for a birthday party and I was planning on getting a salad with no croutons. Looking at the menu, I saw that they now had gluten free noodles!!!

Now I had to try it and I tell you it was great. I was also told that all their sauces were gluten free. Now I do still miss the sourdough bread and the smell is soooo good. But just to enjoy pasta with the rest of the family is so much fun.

Shortly after being diagnosed, we went to the Original Pancake House. Planning on a nice omlette and saw on the menu that they are now serving gluten free pancakes!! It was just getting too good. The pancakes are delicious and I always get the bacon as well. I don't get the omelettes any more. My wife and I are convinced that they add a little batter to the eggs so that they are fluffier,,,,,,,,, and I have had a couple of siezures sometime after eating there. Of course there are a few other places now serving gluten free products as so many already know. My friends told me that BJ's has a gluten free pizza there.

Later,

Ray

[Sarah Alli]

So along with some other places I go to is the Old Spaghetti Factory. My family and I went there for a birthday party and I was planning on getting a salad with no croutons. Looking at the menu, I saw that they now had gluten free noodles!!!

Now I had to try it and I tell you it was great. I was also told that all their sauces were gluten free. Now I do still miss the sourdough bread and the smell is soooo good. But just to enjoy pasta with the rest of the family is so much fun.

Shortly after being diagnosed, we went to the Original Pancake House. Planning on a nice omlette and saw on the menu that they are now serving gluten free pancakes!! It was just getting too good. The pancakes are delicious and I always get the bacon as well. I don't get the omelettes any more. My wife and I are convinced that they add a little batter to the eggs so that they are fluffier,,,,,,,,, and I have had a couple of siezures sometime after eating there. Of course there are a few other places now serving gluten free products as so many already know. My friends told me that BJ's has a gluten free pizza there.

Later,

Ray

Oh man, it's great to see this. Old Spaghetti Factory is just about my favorite restaurant. My birthday is coming up and I wanted to go out but I was terrified of dealing with a restaurant... with all that crusty bread running around it seems like OSF would be cross contamination ground zero, but perhaps not. Did you get any info about their procedures?

[Coleslawcat]

Oh man, it's great to see this. Old Spaghetti Factory is just about my favorite restaurant. My birthday is coming up and I wanted to go out but I was terrified of dealing with a restaurant... with all that crusty bread running around it seems like OSF would be cross contamination ground zero, but perhaps not. Did you get any info about their procedures?

I've eaten at OSF several times. When I order gluten free they always ask if it is for an allergy or not. I tell them yes. I assume that means they take different precautions based on your answer. I have not gotten sick there.

[RacerX35]

If I remember correctly, they have seperate pots for the gluten free pasta. The last time I went in, the waitress acidentally brought my salad with croutons. When she realized it, she took the plate away to replace it. They were very helpful. No siezures after we ate there, so I figured it was okay, or as one of our family friends has made up. It's "Ray okay" .

Later,

Ray

[Sarah Alli]

Just thought I'd share my experience with OSF.

We went for my birthday, and sat in the bar for the whole meal because it was quiet and we could get seated right away.

I asked my server what the procedure was for the gluten-free menu and he said that beyond the fact that all the ingredients were gluten free, he didn't know. He fetched the manager immediately.

The manager was very helpful. She explained that anyone who was working on a gluten-free meal worked with all gluten-free-only utensils and cooking equipment including pots and pans. They also wore specially colored gloves that alerted everyone around that they were working on a gluten-free meal and thus to stay away from them and their workspace. Nice touch, I think.

Next, I asked the bartender about drinks. It was my 21st and I wanted to have a drink. I had decided beforehand on a daiquiri because rum is not made from grain and the rest of the ingredients were simple. He brought out the juice mix he uses for the strawberry and let me examine the ingredients. It was safe. He also told me that the rum didn't have anything on it about gluten and so the manager came back out and we talked. In the end, she just told me what kind of rum it was (bacardi) and I looked it up on my phone.

The man that brought out the food was very nice, he confirmed that the pasta was gluten free and even knew what it was made of (rice and corn) and told us that they had originally had corn, but people complained and said they wanted rice so they got rice. Then people complained and wanted corn, so they got one that was a mix of both and everyone seems to like it. He confessed to liking it better than the normal pasta even though he is not gluten intolerant.

The pasta was good. I would not have been able to say with any certainty had I not known, that it was gluten free. The taste was spot on- the texture was a bit off but it was definitely close enough. A little bit tougher than gluteny pasta. My fiance got his all drenched in spaghetti sauce and he said the noodles that were covered in more sauce were not as tough. I got mizithra cheese and brown butter because it was simple and I figured was less likely to have THB, which I react annoyingly to.

For dessert, my fiance got ice cream with chocolate sauce. I was a bit full so I turned down ice cream (we had dessert waiting at home). The waiter did NOT tell us that the chocolate sauce wasn't gluten free, probably because even though we both ate gluten-free it was clear that I was the gluten intolerant one. He brought out an extra ice cream (with syrup) with a candle and they sang happy birthday which was very nice. Once I had it in front of me I kind of wanted it so I asked about the chocolate syrup and he ran to ask the manager who told him it was NOT gluten-free. He came back and apologize profusely- it was kind of a disappointing oversight but not a huge deal.

All in all, very satisfied with the meal and the service. OSF is very close to my home and we will definitely be returning on those nights I don't feel like cooking!!

And, I didn't get sick.

[NorthernElf]

I had a great meal in Nashville at the Old Spaghetti Factory - pasta with red sauce (can't remember which one), off the gluten free menu.

But then I spent the night with nausea, stomach cramps, and didn't sleep much...next day wasn't much better or the days after that for that matter (thank goodness for advil & pepto).

Definitely quiz the wait staff and whoever you can...I dunno what they did - use the same colandar ? Whatever, I was ill big time, which really sucks on a vacation.

[Takala]

Oh, no, NorthernElf, what a bummer !

So far I've been good with the ones in Northern CA (keeping fingers crossed). The last time they had switched to the rice/corn noodle from a straight rice noodle, and it was a spiral rotini type of pasta instead of the flat rice spaghetti/linguini type, so they could keep track of it- I immediately was poking it with my fork, going what is this?, because it was a different shape, but it's quite ingenious.

[Sarah Alli]

Oh, no, NorthernElf, what a bummer !

So far I've been good with the ones in Northern CA (keeping fingers crossed). The last time they had switched to the rice/corn noodle from a straight rice noodle, and it was a spiral rotini type of pasta instead of the flat rice spaghetti/linguini type, so they could keep track of it- I immediately was poking it with my fork, going what is this?, because it was a different shape, but it's quite ingenious.

Yup, I think it's helpful. I was pretty sure it was the gluten-free stuff as soon as I saw it because I'd never seen rotini at old spaghetti factory. I still asked to be sure though!