GF Social Life. Be Educated

The easiest way to eat out is to eat at dedicated gluten free restaurants. They are popping up around the country, but they are still few and far between. Other restaruants are adding a gluten free menu, however, I recommend going online to their site and printing the menu and taking it with you. Sometimes they are hard to find and the server will just tell you they cannot find it if they are busy. This also gives you a chance to look it over and prepare any questions you might have as to preparation.

Always inform your server and ask to speak to the manager as well so that they can monitor your food as it is prepared. Most restaurants have systems in place, it is just making sure the proper people know so they can protect your food.

That brings us to cross contamination. Please do not just order a grilled chicken sandwich, and not to be difficult, take off the bread when it gets to your table. The bread has contaminated the chicken and it is no longer safe. In a restaurant there is so many opportunities for cross contamination. Gluten free food requires attention to details. Sometimes the food is safe and the server puts the bread on the side of the plate on its way to your table. Do not just eat around it…. send it back. This happens a lot with salads and croutons. Send it back. Be kind, polite and understanding, but send it back.

I know that this is a lot to take in and means that some of your favorite foods will now be off limits, but this can be done. There are some bright spots. There are chain restaurants that are taking our limitations seriously and have taken great efforts to provide safe gluten free food for diners. One is PF Changs, they have a dedicated area that they prepare GF food from, just make sure you server knows you are GF. Also, Red Robin has GF buns and a dedicated fryer so you can eat their French fries!. Outback Steakhouse has a great dessert, Thunder Down Under that is gluten free and the Melting Pot is also very careful with GF and not only has a GF menu, but provides special gluten free treats for the chocolate course. Yumm that Sushi in Florence Alabama and Phuket’s in Providence are also two choices that are really careful.

I will post more on Gluten free restaurants later.

Tomorrow we will talk abut communicating concerns to the serves, managers and chefs