Gluten friendly restaurants

I just wanted to write a quick post about gluten-free restaurants. As I keep telling people, avoiding gluten-filled foods like pasta, bread, etc is really not the problem. That is the easy part. The hard part is dealing with cross-contamination, like when a cook stirs a bucket of rice with the spoon she has been using to stir the pasta. Or when she throws your eggs onto a griddle where they also cook pancakes. Also, a piece of grilled chicken is always suspect... soy sauce is a no-no and is unfortunately a very common marinade. It's very hard to know what is going on behind the scenes in a restaurant, which can make eating out difficult for the gluten-free.

There are a few websites like this one that list gluten-free restaurants in the area (scroll to the bottom). Many of these places have a special menu, a statement, a promise, etc- something to let you know that they will keep your food in a special area and that it won't come in contact with foods/pots/pans/bowls/utensils containing gluten.

So far, I've been very impressed with: Legal Seafoods, The Elephant Walk, Stone Hearth Pizza (yes, GF pizza!!).

I also just found out that Boloco is gluten-friendly. Before I found out I have Celiac I used to order a BYO burrito bowl (with just chicken, salsa, broccoli, and pinto beans) all of the time for lunch. I used their website to determine that all of those things are still safe for me(their chicken has no bad marinades). But on top of that, when I was ordering at the restaurant I mentioned being gluten-free and the woman at the register yelled for everyone to change their gloves. Awesome! I read online that Chipotle has a similar policy.

I also had some good experiences on Cape Cod over the 4th of July weekend- BZs Pizza in Dennisport was amazing- Dan even loved it so much he asked to go back the next day! Chatham Bars Inn was very accommodating- we called ahead and alerted them I would be coming for dinner. The chef called me back and told me to identify myself when I arrived and have my server help me pick out something that he could make GF.

I was very excited to find a breakfast joint up in NH where I can safely carbo load for a half ironman I am doing up there in a few weeks. Breakfast is by far the hardest meal to eat out since it is dominated by carbs in most restaurants, and I was really worried about how I would get in my usual day-before pancakes. So far this summer I've been able to make GF pancakes at home. But I'll be spending a few days up in NH for Timberman with no access to a kitchen. Heritage House offers gluten-free pancakes... SWEET!! Can't wait!

I'll keep posting on good GF places I find!