<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>

Below is a summary of the response for Portland, ME and what we found
when we went places.

1.  In Portland there is a natural food deli-type restaurant called Au
Naturals which has a gluten-free menu.  We have also eaten at several
Japanese restaurants in Portland with no problem.  there are also many
high end restaurants where the chefs are quite knowledgeable about the
gluten free diet.  

What we found -- The natural food deli-type restaurant is O'Naturals.
We would NOT recommend it.  We called ahead to be sure they had all the
supplies to make a GF lunch and were told yes.  What we found was a GF
menu with NO understanding of cross contamination.  You order right at
the counter so you get a real view of what is going on.  We selected 3
sandwiches from the GF menu and the order began with "We have run out of
our GF bread."  We said that was fine, we would just have it plated v.
on bread.  When they went to plate the meats (chicken salad and pesto
chicken) we noticed they were in deli sized bins.  They scoop right from
the bin onto GLUTEN bread and re-scoop if needed.  We do not believe
that there is anyway the meats could not have been cross contaminated
due to this double dipping.    They offered to go in the back and see if
there were spare containers of the meats we ordered but found none. 


2.  I do have a few suggestions for you in terms of restaurants.  There
is an Outback located near the Maine Mall.  However, if you are looking
to diversify your palate, may I suggest that you sample the cuisine at
O'Naturals, Bugaboo Creek Steakhouse, and UNO's Chicago Grill.  Bugaboo
and UNO's are located in the mall area while O'Naturals can be found at
two locations: In the "Old Port" on Exchange St. and on Route 1 in
Falmouth.  All of the aforementioned restaurants offer gluten free menus
on-line so that you can peruse their selections in advance of making any
reservations.  

What we found -- Again, we would not recommend O'Naturals to anyone
unless you are a regular and are lucky enough to get someone who
understands cross contamination.  How often that happens in a restaurant
where the counter help is entry level workers who are in high
school/college is unknown.


3.  Blue House Cafe, The Pepper Club, Outback. Super Nachos at the Great
Lost Bear minus the Chili.


4.  Someone, THANK YOU, provided us with a word document that of places
to eat and food shop in Portland, ME.  I am not sure how to post that to
the list.  If you would like it, please e-mail me directly at
[log in to unmask] with the subject message of GF Portland, ME.



5.  Bugaboo Creek in South Portland.  Outback in South Portland with a
gluten-free menu.  Chili's is also in South Portland, O'Naturals,
located on Exchange Street in Portland and Route 1 in Falmouth.  I think
you can also get a sandwich on gluten-free bread in the deli/cafe at
Wild Oats Marketplace (health food store) in Portland.

What we found- Again, we do NOT suggest O'Naturals.  Bugaboo Creek does
have a GF menu and we dined there twice.  Both times we asked the wait
staff to note next to the GF meals on the order slip that they were GF.
We find this helps to ensure the kitchen staff gets the message.  One
meal went well, no glitches.  The second had a minor glitch that we
caught.  They gave us the processed bacon v. the fresh bacon.  Had we
not eaten there the day before and had the loaded potato with fresh
bacon which comes out in whole pieces, we would not have realized the
next day that the bacon bits that came with our loaded potato were the
wrong type of bacon.


6.  Most importantly, the Chair/Secretary for the Portland Maine
Celiac/DH Support Group, Chapter #88 of Celiac Sprue Association, sent
me 3 pdf files that cover restaurants in Maine, GF Food in Maine, and
the Bugaboo Creek GF menu.  Again, I am not sure how to post that to the
list.  If you would like it, please e-mail me directly at
[log in to unmask] with the subject message of GF Portland, ME.

Thanks to all who responded.   This network continues to be a wonderful
wealth of information, support and great people.  

Sara, CT 

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