I contacted the Natick, MA location to inquire about measures taken to decrease the chance of cross-contmaination. I was told that the pizza is prepped on a clean, separate surface and is placed on a pizza-sized foil sheet so it never comes into contact with the oven surface. These crusts are prepackaged and the seal remains intact until an order is placed.  The ‘regular’ pizza  is pressed into the pan as opposed to being tossed in the air, in hopes of decreasing the presence of airborne wheat flour.  Also, specially designated utensils and pizza cutters are used for the gluten-free pizza. 

In addition, we’re waiting to hear more from the California Pizza Kitchen corporate office in regards to the issue of potential cross-contamination of toppings and shared pizza sauce ladles.  At this time, I was told that they are “working on their kitchen procedures in regards to gf pizza”, and that I should “stay tuned”!  Well, let’s hope to hear back from them soon.

We recently had the pleasure of visiting the American Girl Bistro located in the Natick Collection in Natick, Ma.  By making reservations online, we were able to specify the need for a gluten and nut-free lunch. While there is no menu to view ahead of time, upon arrival, we were pleasantly surprised to find that gluten-free pizza (crust is also dairy-free) was offered!  Also, a nice surprise was the fact that the kitchen was tree nut and peanut-free!

The gluten-free appetizers included Fresh Fruit Plate (must omit the mini muffins) with yogurt dip, Salad Skewers, and the Veggie Platter with Ranch Dip and a Dill Dip. For entrees, there was the Roast Salmon with Potato (must substitiute potato for orzo), Chicken Lemon Caper with  Garlic Mashed Potato (must have chicken prepared without flour coating), and of course, the pizza. To designate the gluten-free dishes, two American flags were placed on top of the food.

The dessert menu was large (with lots of cupcakes, brownies, cookies, etc) but the gluten-free choices were limited to mostly ice cream.  A variety of milk shakes, an Ice Cream Sundae, a Banana Split and a Raspberry Sorbet with Fresh Fruit were available.

Overall we had a great experience. The food was tasty and the staff was phenomenal in their effort to accomodate food allergies. We appreciated how our tenacious server made numerous trips to the kitchen to verify menu ingredients and potential substitutions.  The only desire I have is that they take advantage of the ever increasing number of  local gluten-free bakers. In this day and age, there is no reason not to have a gluten-free muffin, brownie, cookie or bread on a menu!

Ice Cream Sundae

A recent girls’ getaway to the Big Apple led us to some gratifying gluten-free grub!   Always appreciative of NYC late night dining hours, we were looking for a place to indulge after viewing a play.  An easy walk from the theater area is  Nizza, which has a gluten-free menu and is endorsed by the Gluten Intolerance Group.  This menu offers antipasti, entrees including numerous gluten-free pasta dishes as well as ‘pizza’.

For the antipasti we tried the Eggplant Involtini. The tender unbreaded eggplant was filled with herbed sheep’s milk ricotta and covered in a marinara sauce. We also chose the Vegetariana Bianca Socca.  Similar to a pizza, but made with a chickpea crust, the socca  was topped with artichokes, spinach, red peppers and mushrooms. We really enjoyed the light crust and slight chickpea flavor. 

 A variety of gelato and sorbet is available for dessert.

Nizza is open for lunch and dinner until midnight, with late night dinner hours on Friday and Saturday (1 am).  Weekend brunch is served from 11 am to 4 pm.

Our next dining experience took place at Ruby Foo’s which has a fetching atmosphere and an enticing gluten-free menu (easy to go dairy-free here too).  This menu is also listed with the  Gluten Intolerance Group. The restaurant is in a handy location right in Times Square. 

To start, we ordered the Grilled Chicken Salad Wrap.  This was wrapped in rice paper and served with a spicy chili sauce. Be sure to use the sauce, it transformed the dish from adequate to spectacular!   

Our chosen entree was the Mongolian Orange Chicken with a side of Vegetable Fried Rice.  The Vegetable Rice contained carrots, broccoli, scallions and some unexpected asparagus!  The portions were generous and everything was pleasureable and satisfying.   So much so that there was no room for dessert!  Though it was nice to see a gluten, soy and dairy-free  Brownie (contains eggs) with Fruit Salsa and Warm Crumb Cake (contains eggs and butter)  offered on the menu. 

Burger on a Gluten-Free Bun

The Ninety Nine restaurants have started serving  delicious gluten-free buns to accompany their steakburgers. These buns are made from a mix of rice and tapioca flours and are free of dairy (contain eggs, soy and yeast) and are manufactured in a gluten, tree nut and peanut-free facility.

On our visit,  I was planning to order a salad, but as soon as the server mentioned that they now carry these buns I just had to give them a try. I’m so glad that I did.  The bun was warmed perfectly and not a bit crumbly.   Another surprise was to find that the fries (contain soy) were cooked in a dedicated fryer!  I dined at the Wilmington, MA location so if you plan to order the fries elsewhere, please make sure to ask if your location has a dedicated fryer. 

The Ninety Nine’s has had a gluten-free menu for sometime now as well as a great Allergen Info chart on their website (increase magnification of this chart for easy viewing).  This chart is helpful to find other allergens that may be lurking in items on the menu. For instance, the mashed potatoes, not surprisingly, contain milk but they also contain soy.

When looking at the chart , I noticed some items were gluten-free but not listed on the current gluten-free menu.  For example, the Chocolate Molten Lava Cake (contains soy, dairy, eggs)  is free of gluten but not available on the menu. My server did confirm that it was indeed gluten-free but she was not comfortable offering this to me because she wasn’t sure the staff had been properly trained about plating it and wanted to ensure minimal risk of contamination, which I appreciated. I contacted the corporate office for more information and they confirmed that the Chocolate Molten Lava Cake is gluten-free, however, it is processed in a facility that is not a dedicated gluten-free facility. When I inquired about the discrepancy between the items on the gluten-free menu and those items on the Allergen Info list that were free of gluten, I was told that these items are being reviewed in anticipation of a new and improved gluten-free menu to debut in the early fall of 2010.  And yes, the Chocolate Molten Lava Cake will be featured!

 Update:  The gluten-free menu now includes a child-sized burger with a gluten-free bun.

Shopping has just become more enjoyable.  Nordstrom’s  Blue Stove and Cafe Bistro will deliciously and affordably accomodate gluten-free diners!

When we went to Cafe Bistro at the Nordstrom’s in our local mall, I was not expecting to have anything more than my ususal “safe” salad but was pleasantly surprised to find that they had a menu marked with gluten-free choices.  And the choices were abundant!   My dining partner and I thoroughly enjoyed our meals. I chose the braised short ribs & polenta which consisted of tender boneless beef short ribs, roasted mushrooms, natural jus and creamy white cheddar polenta.  My sister had the Roast Chicken Pommes Frites and the ‘Frites”, or fries, were cooked in a dedicated fryer!  The food was so delicious and ordering was uncomplicated.   

Other gluten-free items on the Cafe Bistro menu; Blue Cheese & Pear Salad , Warm Asian Glazed Chicken Salad (skip crisp wontons), Cilantro Lime Shrimp (skip tortilla chips), Caesar Salad with Roasted Chicken (skip croutons), Nicoise Salad with Salmon, Vine Ripe Vegetable Salad, Chicken Artichoke & Goat Cheese Salad, Bistro Steak Pommes Frites, Roast Chicken Pommes Frites, Salmon with Gazpacho Salsa and Oven Roasted Scallops.                                             

Another mall visit led us to the Blue Stove, also located at (a different) Nordstroms.  This restaurant serves many mini-plates, or tapas.  Upon entering, I inquired about a gluten-free menu and although there was not one premarked, the hostess knew what my needs were and immediately brought a menu to the chef.  He painstakingly reviewed the menu and noted which items were safe options. Again, I was impressed with the abundant choices.  We started off with the Crispy Parmesan Polenta & Arugula Salad.  Crispy coated, melt in your mouth cubes of polenta shared the plate with shavings of parmesan cheese and a tangy dressing that offset the slight bitterness of the arugula.  To follow, we had Black Pepper Caramel Chicken Wings and they were spicy!  To ameliorate the delightfully burning sensation left on our palate, we chose to sample the Chocolate Banana Creme Brulee. This included a small pot of warm chocolate sauce to drizzle over the dessert.  Exquisite!

Some of the other gluten-free items on the Blue Stove menu;  Frisee Salad with Manchego Cheese & Quince Vinaigrette, Chopped Vegetable Salad with Sherry Vinaigrette, Seared Tuna Loin with Napa Cabbage Slaw, Caramel Clay Pot Chicken (soup), Crisp & Spicy Dark Cherry Glazed Beef, Roasted Garlic Chicken with Corn & Arugula, Lemon Scented Risotto with Seared Scallops & French Beans,  Strip Steak with Romesco Sauce (nuts) & Balsamic Roasted Onions, Lemon Caper Glazed Shrimp, Brussel Sprouts with Spanish Chorizo, Seared Wild Mushrooms & Grilled Asparagus with Lemon Zest, Fresh Grilled Corn Sauteed with Lobster, and Grilled Risotto Cakes with Roasted Oyster Mushrooms.

Please keep in mind that these menus are seasonal and may vary by location. Enjoy!

On a recent visit to The Melting Pot we enjoyed an event held every Monday called  Girls Night Out.  Besides enjoying displays of jewelry and  handbags for sale, and a visit to a Tarot Card reader, we spent a lovely, slow paced and relaxed evening dipping tidbits of food into delicious fondue.  Having heard that the Melting Pot in Littleton, CO, is very accomodating, I called my local franchise (Bedford, MA) to discover the same.  The staff prepared for my visit by using cornstarch instead of flour and skipped the beer, both normally used in the cheese fondue.  Also nice was the fact that the server made the fondue in front of us and made a point to explain each ingredient as it was added to the hot fondue pot.  While my friends dipped crunchy hunks of bread and vegetables into their fondue pot, I was given an extra serving of veggies.  I must admit that those crunchy vegetables were tasty, but it would have been nice to have a piece of gluten-free bread for dipping!  Later for dessert we chose a heavenly chocolate fondue called the Flaming Turtle.  It was made of milk chocolate, caramel and chopped pecans and was flambeed right at our table!  The server, again, was very cautious about food allergies and kept the pecans in a separate container until everyone agreed they could eat the nuts. This dessert fondue came with fresh strawberries, ripe bananas and pineapple, as well as cheesecake, Oreo coated marshmallows and chocolate cake.  But they were all on the same  plate touching each other!  So needless to say, I didn’t get to indulge in the fruit but I will admit to spooning some of the Turtle Fondue onto my plate to get a taste and it was divine.  

It was still an overall enjoyable time. I didn’t get sick and I would definitely go again, but just better explain my needs.  I did follow up with the manager who tells me that they are working on gluten-free bread and dessert options.  Hopefully, in the near future, I will update this blog to report an even better experience.

Update  The Melting Pot has implemented a gluten-free menu  in conjunction with the Gluten Intolerance Group of America!

Flourless Chocolate Dome

PF Chang’s China Bistro is very accomodating when it comes to special diets such as gluten-free, dairy-free, vegetarian and other food allergy needs. They have a gluten-free menu and upon request can print out a dairy-free one.  Some of the dishes are naturally gluten-free while others must be modified.  This, of course, makes it very important to alert your server or even ask for the manager to be sure you get the correct recipe. 

Some PF Chang franchises use square plates vs. round to make it easier to differentiate between the gluten containing and the gluten-free dishes.   Listed on the gluten-free menu are appetizers, soups, entrees and noodle dishes. Some that are gluten and dairy-free are the Singapore Street Noodles (can be ordered without shrimp and egg), Philip’s Better Lemon Chicken, Lettuce Wraps and the Dali Chicken.  PF Chang’s gluten-free sauce contains garlic, ginger, rice wine, Sichuan powder, salt, sugar and wheat free soy sauce.  The marinades for the chicken, shrimp, scallops and calamari are gluten-free but contain cornstarch.  A most rich and delicious Flourless Chocolate Dome (contains egg and dairy) is offered for dessert.  And gluten-free beer is available too!

We have eaten at the Peabody, Ma. location a number of times and appreciate the servers attention to our food concerns.  My kids love the Chang’s Spicy Chicken which is very spicy with a sweet and sour sauce. This dish can also be made less spicy.  Another good thing is that we can order brown rice or white rice. 

Stay tuned for more gluten-free items to be added to the menu in March of 2010!  Some of these additions include Beef with Broccoli, Mongolian Beef, Hong Kong Beef with Snow Peas, Pepper Steak, and Fried Rice.