Buffet

[Duhlina]

My mom does a "girls night out" once a month with a group of her friends. I have been invited this month and they are going to a $25 all you can eat lobster & prime rib buffet. It sounds VERY tempting...I love lobster and I love prime rib, but I am VERY hesitant to go. I know I'll probably have to avoid the prime rib, since the 'au jus' probably has gluten in it but I'm afraid to try anything else on the buffet and I certainly don't want to spend $25 for a salad! Mom suggested I call ahead. Uh, no. I went out to dinner last night to a place we frequent and, even though I discussed (at length) celiac with the waitress, I think I still got glutened with cross contamination somehow. I have a raging headache and my hands are swollen.

As celiacs, do we DARE go to a buffet??

[kareng]

I would only do a buffet if everything on it was gluten-free. People always take the spoon from the green beans (gluten-free) and use it to scoop up croutons then stick it back in the green beans. Or drop a piece of pasta in something.

[Simona19]

My mom does a "girls night out" once a month with a group of her friends. I have been invited this month and they are going to a $25 all you can eat lobster & prime rib buffet. It sounds VERY tempting...I love lobster and I love prime rib, but I am VERY hesitant to go. I know I'll probably have to avoid the prime rib, since the 'au jus' probably has gluten in it but I'm afraid to try anything else on the buffet and I certainly don't want to spend $25 for a salad! Mom suggested I call ahead. Uh, no. I went out to dinner last night to a place we frequent and, even though I discussed (at length) celiac with the waitress, I think I still got glutened with cross contamination somehow. I have a raging headache and my hands are swollen.

As celiacs, do we DARE go to a buffet??

Buffet? Hmm

[Reba32]

I personally stay away from buffet restaurants like the plague. There is just too much opportunity for cross-contamination, even if they do have one or two gluten free options in it. Which is unlikely.

Someone really needs to start a chain of all gluten free buffets. I'm sure they'd get lots of business.

[GlutenFreeManna]

I stay away from buffets. But if you were to go the salad bar part would probably be the least safe area. The croutons are usually near the dressing and you can never tell if some one dropped a crouton in the bottom of the dressing or used the same tongs for the croutons as for the lettuce. I've heard some (less sensitive) people go to them and always are careful to take stuff from the BACK of the containers where there is less likely to have been a crouton dropped in the lettuce bin and picked back out. I've also heard that some people have success calling ahead and having the servers bring out fresh items JUST for them so things have not been contminated. That would be more likely during a non-busy time, however, it never hurts to call and ask if they could do that for you.

[sariesue]

I would call the resturant and ask if they could accommodation you by plating your meal in the kitchen omiting gluten items. If they could put the lobster and the prime rib (minus the au gus) on a plate for me from the reserve stocks I would go because then I don't see it as being any worse than going to a normal restaurant. I would also go if it was set up with manned stations for the prime rib and the lobsters. If there was an employee who was only cutting the meat and one who was only handling the lobsters, I would do that and probably skip the sides. But, I am not overly sensitive.