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

Use common sense and ask ques=
tions about whether or not they mix pancake batter into the omelet to make =
it fluffy.  Mental health and physical health go hand and hand and you need=
 to do what works for you.=0A =0A-- Good point or question! I think many of=

  I always say I have a severe allergy to flour--wheat flour.  I cannot have
anything even with a tiny bit like dusting the fish or thickening the
sauce.  I tell them I can have corn starch.  I avoid things that would be
deep fried but if I ate them, I would ask if there is a dedicated fryer to
potatoes or if everything is fried in the same oil.

Honestly, I dot not request that the chef put on clean gloves or use clean
utensils.  I have never had a problem with that.  If I bring my own pasta, I
do request that they use clean water and I realize in advance it will take
my order a little longer.  No croutons in salads and nothing with breadcrumb

gluten-free, and specify no
flour, bread crumbs, breads, sauces. And if Italian restaurant...no pasta,
no pizza.) I point to something on the menu that I think I'd like and I ask
them to check with the chef to be sure it can be made plain (yes, I'm
willing to eat things plain. Some people aren't.)...that means no marinade,
no sauce, no residue from a breaded thing next to it. Be sensible. They
can't make something fried shrimp or veal parmigiana or beef Wellington
gluten-free. You get the idea. (Oh, and no shredded or grated cheese in
Italian restaurants if they mix flour in it to keep it from sticking. You
might have to ask.)

If it's lunch, I'll usually get a salad (no croutons). If they have
tuna...you're better off getting it straight from the can. (The mayo isn't a
problem, but if you get tuna salad, the spoon they use may have touched
bread and gone back in the salad.) If they swear that their burger is
totally all meat, I'll order a plain burger.

If it's dinner, I get a plain baked potato or sweet potato, steamed veggies,
and plain chicken, fish, or steak. Side salad, no croutons or cheese.
Honestly, breakfast is the hardest, since most eggs are made on the same
grill as pancakes, French toast, etc. But I will get a lox platter, if it's
available. Or fruit salad with cottage cheese. Or you can ask if they'll
make an omelet in a pan for you. Depends on how crowded it is and how
accommodating they want to be.

Expect your friends and relatives to be uncomfortable at first.  Don't let
it bother you. You need to ignore the ones who don't understand your diet.
Eventually, when you're comfortable with the process, you may even forget
something...like making sure to tell the waiter not to put a breaded onion
on your steak or a pastry or dumpling garnish on your platter, and your
friends and relatives will chime in and speak up for you. It takes time, but
even my 9 year old granddaughter now comes up with warnings that I've
Hi Jody,  I look at the menu and try to find the most likely item, say a
steak, baked potato and steamed veggies.  I inquire about marinade,
seasonings, etc.  If I get a salad, I get oil and vinegar or balsamic
dressing.  At chinese restaurants, I ask for meat and veggies without soy
sauce, maybe a little white sauce so it won't be dry and white rice (not
fried rice).  I very, very seldom get sick because of restaurant food.  Fish
with rice and steamed veggies are usually a good choice; say salmon grilled
without seasonings except salt and pepper.  I think being an experienced
cook helps because you understand more how food is prepared.  I sometimes
have to resort to a couple of McDs cheeseburgers without the bun when
traveling, or Wendy's chili works too.

I have found that if I take two aspirin before the meal, I have no symptoms.
This is NOT so I can eat bread or large amounts of gluten, but I'll do it if
I know or suspect there is a small amount of gluten in the food, and the
only way around it would be to starve and make everyone else uncomfortable.
I got this info from a book by a MD on allergies.  She also has a pretty
precise protocol for people with serious or multiple food allergies who just
want to have a night out and not worry about it.  It involves digestive
enzymes before and after the meal, probably the aspirin as well.

The better the restaurant, the easier it is.  For chain restaurants, you can
get lists of GF foods from the internet, such as the yahoo group I belong
to, Silly Yaks.  Outback has a GF menu.

For other restaurants, I usually tell the waiter/waitress my issue and have
them ask the chef what they recommend.

Generally speaking:  I've found the more upscale the restaurant, the safer
the food.  Four star restaurants with real trained chefs that prepare meals
from scratch know what gluten is & how to cook GF.  But less expensive
places that hire just about anyone with a food handler's license to heat
pre-prepped entree items are very risky (chain restaurants such as Denny's,
Mr. Kokomo's, etc.).  It's possible to eat GF in those places & even fast
food joints, but you have to know exactly what's in the specific menu item
(such as Wendy's chili, or Dairy Queen's ice cream, or McDonald's fries,
etc.) And, you have to quiz the wait staff & chef's extensively to figure
out what's safe.  I've done that but hated doing it.  (I never like drawing
attention to MY DISEASE in public.)

Please know there is no SURE thing when you are celiac and eat out.
Mistakes happen even when people are anxious to please.  Large kitchens
where lots of food is prepared by many people are very "iffy".
My daughter works in a small restaurant and one slow night the head cook
suggested he make me a plate of "something different" than the plain meat
and baked potato.  Half way through a lovely and delicious dish (I thought
I'd died and gone to heaven" I found a piece of ziti and further down,
another.  I believe either he used a spoon that had been in a pot of pasta
with pieces adhering to the bottom, or perhaps the pasta dropped into my
dish when someone was straining the pasta.  I will never know and neither
did he.
Here was an instance where the chef wanted to do it right and still it came
out poorly!  What happens when the kitchen help is not motivated?
You are aware that steamed vegetables are often heated up in simmering pasta
water, substitutions are often made when specific brand ingredients run out
and a bus boy is sent to the store to replenish for the evening rush (and in
many areas these young men and women do not speak much English) and a dish
may have been described to you as GF but a sous chef walked by or was
cooking that night and added his own little special touch--might be a gluten
containing ingredient.  Everyone meant well and yet you end up sick and
never know why.
This is the reality of eating out and we must be aware.  Do it with your
eyes open.  Do not walk in to a restaurant on a busy Sat. evening and begin
asking about a "safe" meal and also tip generously for a meal that the staff
went out of their way to prepare to please you and if you receive great
assistance, please let the manager know who served you.

 GF menus are something else; But if I'm going to a restaurant, I always
call ahead and talk to "someone who knows about special diets", or "Someone
who can help me because I cannot eat anything with wheat in any form" and
that "that I need to know if they have food I can eat".  Most major
restaurants are now familiar with celiac requests.  Often they will say,
"Oh, you must have Celiac Disease.  We know about that.  I'll tell you what
we are serving tonight that you can eat."
For group meals, I call ahead and explain my situation and ask if I can have
a separate meal such as grilled chicken, baked potato and steamed
vegetables' or a beef patty, baked potato, etc.  No restaurant has ever
turned me down, and I've often gotten a better meal than my fellow diners.
     Don't go to a restaurant which specializes in pasta dishes unless you
are sure they have something beside undressed salad you can eat. I wen to a
reunion brunch and was told what they were serving.  I could eat the eggs
and bacon, but I brought two slices of GF toast (wrapped in a plastic bag)
with me.  It was cool, but so were the eggs by the time I talked to old
friends at the reunion.

Call ahead, ask to speak to a manager, kitchen manager, or chef.  Ask what
they might be able to do to accommodate no wheat, rye, barley and oat.
Calling ahead and 'warning' them has never failed me in the last 8+years.

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