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The advice I received on e-mail about going to San Diego was almost
identical to that summarized by someone else on the list at about the same
time, so I'm not going to repost that information.

I did want to post about our successes/failures

First off, we were attending a convention at the San Diego Convention Center
on harbor blvd.  The catering department was not putting out meals for us,
rather the convention center had a variety of vendors around selling salads,
pizzas, standard stuff really.  After three days at the convention we heard
that the hotdogs might be GF.  They are Hebrew National
(http://www.hebrewnational.com/faq/default.asp#gluten,) and are gf and cf.
So the only "issue" was getting one before the staff had stuffed them into
buns.

Second, we went to in-and-out for an animal protein style burger.  it was
GREAT! Animal style got us onions and pickles, and protein style meant it
came wrapped in Lettuce.  Thank you to Danna Korn for knowing the code!

Las Fajitas on 5th street near market.  They are WONDERFUL!  Our concierge
called ahead to make sure they could seat us, it was Saturday night just
after 30,000 people left the convention center, and told the person who
answered the phone that we had food allergies and would need help.  The
waiter was AMAZING!  They use a wheat free soy sauce to flavor their
fajitas, and he and the chef figured out some VERY MINOR adjustments to the
recipe and we had the BEST fajitas I've had in a long time.  I can not say
enough about how easy they were to deal with, so understanding, and
perfectly willing to make multiple trips to the kitchen to make sure
everything came out right.  (I had a CSA card with me on GF/CF eating, and
the waiter read it over and said no problem.)  He even brought out one label
for us to read just to make sure it was going to be okay as he was a tiny
bit nervous about it.  (It was the soy sauce, which we had told him is
frequently a problem.)  Given we went with a friend who is also a "business
connection" as well it was nice to order in under 5 minutes with no
embarrassment factor.

The Mongolian Grill at Horton Plaza.  (I think the exact name is Great
Khan's but I could be wrong.)  There again, what WONDERFUL people!  We went
twice, and I asked both times when I ordered if they could clean the grill
before cooking our food, and make sure no soy sauce of noodles went anywhere
near our food.  Unfortunately both times there were minor problems.  The
first time they forgot to clean the grill and we noticed after the food was
already on it, the second time they cleaned the grill beautifully, used
water to start cooking the food, and out of habit reached for the soy sauce
to add moisture before I could scream out and stop them.  (Which would have
been embarrassing anyway.)  Each time I asked the girl by the cash register
if she could check on our food, I was concerned there had been a problem.
Each time the cook realized his mistake, and we were given a fresh bowl to
refill -- the grill was cleaned and our food was cooked before the people in
line after us.  They were WONDERFUL about setting things right, never asked
"what harm will it do" or anything like that.  They simply apologized for
being creatures of habit -- which I totally get, and fixed it.  :)  So, I
highly recommend this one, with a note to keep an eye on your food just to
be safe.

Chili's.  We went to two different chili's, and got Mushroom Jack Fajitas
both times.  (We are casein free as well as gluten free, so minus the jack,
sour cream, and cheese.)  They had corn tortillas instead of the flour ones,
and we asked they not use soy sauce to make it sizzle.  That is a "secret"
ingredient chili's adds right before bringing the fajitas out to make them
sizzle for show.  It is a soy sauce and oil mixture.  I'm told some
locations have switched to a wheat free la choy soy sauce as they are aware
the wheat is a problem, but not all have.  And the la choy brand has lactic
acid, which I find I have a casein reaction to.  (My understanding is the
casein is hard to separate from Lactic Acid and Lactose... but my
understanding is shaky at best.)  The first chili's did great by us,
unfortunately the chef at the second chilis decided to use the soy sauce oil
for the onions, and we had a gluten reaction afterwards. :(  The waiter told
us that the chef had used "sizzling oil" on the onions, but I was very tired
that night and did understand his meaning until I got sick.  :(  I believe
if I had understood and complained they would have recooked our food.

 :(  A disappointment, through and through:

Tio Leos, in Mira Mesa.  Before being diagnosed with Celiac I lived in San
Diego, and I LOVED Tio Leo's.  We made a point of going there on all return
trips to San Diego because we enjoyed it so much.  I doubt I will ever go
there again!  It took 45 minutes to order, and the manager was less than
helpful.  ("My glasses are in my office, and I really don't feel like going
and getting them -- how much does this really matter?"  Was one great quote,
my other favorite was, "I really don't feel comfortable serving you."  As I
recall she either said, or came close to saying, "We don't want to be
sued,")  The concerns from the waitress, the chef we never saw but were told
was being consulted in the kitchen, and the manager, centered on everything
being cooked in lard -- even the corn chips.  Though it was unclear where
their fear of the lard was coming from, so we deferred to their knowledge of
their ingredients.  (Though I was a tad concerned when the manager tried to
persuade us that white all-purpose baking flour was not a wheat product.)  I
think the concern with Lard was equivalent to not cleaning pans between
dishes, but just throwing in more lard so nothing would stick, and
everything would "taste good" but like I say, I am unsure.  After 45 minutes
the chef came up with a beef dish, basically flavored ground beef, mixed
with egg plant, to be loaded into lettuce wraps.  I didn't care for the
taste -- and the frustration / lack of help -- especially with two friends
watching (one of whom had brought a girlfriend for me to meet for the first
time) was embarrassing to the Nth degree.  It was so bad one of my friends
suggested we simply walk out.  I think if it had been just the three of us
we would have, but the other two liked Tio Leo's just as much as I used to.
In those 45 minutes, with multiple trips to the kitchen, the manager never
once got her glasses -- and after managing to find something to serve us we
were ignored for the rest of the meal, as though we were troublemakers.   I
think it would have been a bit less upsetting if it were not one of my
favorite restaurants.


So, several wonderful successes and recommendations, and one disappointment
that was, for me at least, worse than most disappointments I've had since
going Gluten/Casein Free.


kathleen

Until you walk a mile in another man's shoes... you don't know why he has
blisters.
~Kay Kellam

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