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We had a great time in San Diego.  I want to thank all of you for you help 
and information.  Here is a summary - with our comments on what we tried.  San 
Diego is a great city.  We stayed in Old Town.  The restaurants there are 
mostly Mexican… easy to figure out what we could have.  When we travel we usually 
do a large breakfast… snacks… and then a large dinner.  
These are all the letters I received … I've added comments to the places we 
visited.  Thank you all!!!  You made our trip easier and much more enjoyable.

San Diego Support Group
Contact: Jeanne Murdock
San Diego Celiac Sprue Association (CSA)
4218 Mt. Voss Dr.
San Diego, CA., 92117
Tel: (858) 715-0068 
E-mail: [log in to unmask]
Contact 2: William & Helen Foreman
7112 Lantana Terrace
Carlsbad, CA 92009
Tel: (760) 931-7809
E-mail: [log in to unmask]
Pat

There is a Whole Foods that I frequent when I visit S.D. It is off the
freeway closeby to Balboa Park.
HH

La Jolla has a Whole Foods Market. They also carry Fabes freshly made
gluten free pumpkin pie. Enjoy!
Linda

I saw your request on the Celiac listserve re: natural food markets in San 
Diego.
There are two Whole Foods Markets in San Diego. One is in a neighborhood 
called Hillcrest/Uptown which is not too far from downtown San Diego and would be 
the closest to Old Town. There is another one in La Jolla, which is north of 
Old Town.
 ***We went to Hillcrest… it's on 'University' not even 10 minutes from our 
hotel in Old Town.   The store personnel told us of a great café…. Hash House A 
Go Go…  www.hashhouseagogo.com.  We ate breakfast there twice. 
 
There are some local markets that have some gluten-free foods. One local 
chain is called Henry's Marketplace. There are several locations, but nothing in 
Old Town. There is one in Pacific Beach which wouldn't be terribly far from Sea 
World if you go there. There is another chain of two health food stores 
called Jimbo's, but not near where you'll be. There is another chain of stores in 
California called Trader Joe's. They are not technically a health food store 
but carry many fresh and natural foods items. They even have a pamphlet in their 
stores listing their gluten-free foods although it's a bit out of date. They 
are located throughout San Diego so you could ask your hotel to recommend the 
closest one.
I think your best bet is the Whole Foods Market in Hillcrest.Try finding the 
address on their website. If you can't find it, let me know and I'll track it 
down. It's not listed in my San Diego phone book because I am in a part of the 
city too far from there.
Good luck!
Jill

I understand you'll be visiting San Diego soon! This is something I 
wrote to someone else on the list recently. I hope this is helpful:

Welcome (soon) to our beautiful city! You'll love it here unless, of
course, you hate sunshine, gorgeous beaches, the beautiful blue Pacific, 
and very friendly people. 

As for specific restaurants, I can't say that we have any that are
"guarantee" GF. But I just put together a list for someone visiting from
Texas, and here's what I told her: Well, we don't get out much, so it's sort 
of hard for me to re-create that list -- but let me try. Here are some 
celiac-friendly places in San Diego:

1. In-n-Out Burgers -- fast-food -- order the "protein-style" burger, which
comes wrapped in lettuce instead of a bun. The sauce is GF, as are fries.
EXCELLENT burgers, even by Texas standards.  
***We loved this one!!  We very very rarely eat 'fast-food'… we went back for 
seconds!!

2. Tony Roma's (national chain -- kid-friendly) -- they have a list of 
their GF foods. 800/286-7662 

3. Outback Steakhouse (national chain -- kid-friendly) -- they have a =
list of GF menu items. 813/282-1225.

4. Chevy's (regional chain -- kid-friendly) -- they don't have a list of GF 
items, but they "get it" when you call and ask. You need to check each
individual restaurant, though, because they each do things differently.
800/4-chevys

5. El Pollo Loco (regional chain -- kid-friendly -- fast food, but very

fresh and good) -- most of their items are GF. 949/399-2000

6. Because of our proximity to the border, you'll find lots of Mexican
restaurants -- the more authentic, the safer (and better), since most
Mexican food is GF (except, of course, flour tortillas, and other obvious
no-no's). You're usually safe with the shredded chicken or beef in a corn
tortilla, beans, Spanish rice. Beware of the enchilada sauce, although
usually it's safe too. The Spanish word for "flour" is "harina" (don't
pronounce the "h") -- the word for wheat is "trigo." If you say "no harina"
or "no trigo," they usually understand what you mean.

7. Because of our proximity to the Pacific Ocean, you'll find great seafood 
restaurants. Most restaurants here grill the seafood in a very light 
sauce -- usually GF. You can always request that it be drizzled with butter
and grilled.

You'll notice that some of those places are kid-friendly -- you'll especially 
love In-n-Out Burgers, because you won't get that stare as though you just 
asked for worms on your burger (when 
you ask for it without the bun). Protein-style is an accepted term. (I just 
learned that "animal style" means extra onions, lettuce, and tomato -- 
NONE OF THESE TERMS ARE ON THEIR MENU!)

I haven't been to the Zoo or Sea World lately, but just happened to call Sea
World this morning -- number is (619) 222-6363. I would call in advance
and let them know that you're coming, ask about menu items, etc. We used to
go every Friday when my kids were little, and I would always take food in.
***Our 'Whole Foods' trip was for goodies to take to the Animal Park and Sea 
World.  Yes, they check bags,… No, they didn't gripe about us bringing our own 
munchies.
They hate that -- they check bags at the gates -- but I would just say, "he 
has a restricted diet and can get deathly ill if he eats something with 
gluten in it" and that was enough to scare them into letting me go through
with my goodies. So you might want to stop at the nearest store and load up
on yogurt, fruit, string cheese, etc. and take it in with you.

While you're in town, you might want to stop at a Trader Joe's or a Henry's 
Marketplace (Owned by "Wild Oats")-- both are "healthy" stores (but they're not 
pricey like most) that
carry a lot of GF foods. There's also a Whole Foods in La Jolla and one in 
the Hillcrest District on University Avenue. that sometimes has freshly baked GF 
muffins.

Founder, Raising Our Celiac Kids (R.O.C.K.)
Author: "Kids with Celiac Disease: A Family Guide to Raising Happy, =
Healthy, Gluten-Free Children"
Author: "Wheat-Free, Worry-Free: The Art of Happy, Healthy, Gluten-Free =
Living"
www.celiackids.com
National Spokesperson, Celiac Disease Awareness

- Albert's Restaurant @ San Diego Zoo
- Whole Food's markets have extensive delis
- El Pollo Loco: whole bone-in chicken & tomato based salsa
- Seau's @ Mission Valley
- Brigantine on Coronado Island
- Boat House on Coronado island
- Croce's in Gas Lamp District
- Edgewater Brill (in Seaport Village area)
- The Fishmarket ( " " " " )
- Sally's ( " " " " )
- Buster's ( " " " " ) and other locations
- Royal Thai (Gaslight District)
- Fred'son ( " " )
- Greystone the Steakhouse (Gaslight District)
- The Food Park (Horton Plaza) 

Whole Foods in La Jolla is better, but there is one in Hillcrest near 
downtown.
Jimbo's in Del Mar has some gluten-free items. Henry's has several stores. 
They carry frozen gluten-free bread, and they have several locations. The one on 
Rosecrans is closest to Sea World. Trader Joe's is also great.

Thai restaurants and Mexican restaurants are good choices. Have fun in 
beautiful San Diego. I live here.

Thank you all! 
Martha, NM

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