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Hi all,

I just got back from a 2 week road trip and figured I'd tell folks about my
successes, and failures.

First off I should note, I'm GF/CF, diagnosed almost exactly a year ago, CD
and DH.  I do okay on Fritos, so I'm not too sensitive for those, though I
tend to be fairly sensitive.


Golden Corral:  nation-wide chain.  They were very busy when I went so I
only asked about a few specific items I had just taken a few bites of and
gotten worried about.  I have never had problems with the corn, they use a
casein free margarine last time I read the label -- a few months back, white
rice, and meat, lettuce etc. from Taco Bar.  I asked several months ago and
the nacho chips on the taco bar were safe, so usually I do a nice big taco
salad.

This time I decided to try the mash potatos (now made with MILK) the Bourbon
Street Chicken (wheat is in the Terriyaki sauce the pout a touch of on it at
the last minute.  It is not cooked with the meat though, and not a
preseasoned part, so I don't know if you could try and get some brought out
of the kitchen before Terriyakied) and the Steak.  Steak seemed to be GF/CF.

The manager was kind enough to give me the list of ingredients off the boxes
for each item... so I'll let people double check me here:

Mash Potatoes:  Milk, Margarine (Liquid Soybean Oil, Whey, Partially
Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Salt, Partially Hydrogenated Cottonseed Oil,
Vegetable Monoglycerides and Soy Lecithin (Emulsifiers)  Potassium Sorbate
and Sodium Benzoate (to preserve freshness),  Artificial Flavor, Phosphoric
Acid (acidulant) Vitamin A Plamitate),  Cream,  Salt, Whey Protein
Concentrate, White Pepper, and Zantham Gum.

Bourbon Street Chicken: Salt, Paprika, Spices, Dehydrated Onion, Dehydrated
Garlic.  Contains less than 2% of the following: Silicon Dioxide
(anticaking) and Soybean Oil (antidusting)  The Manager told me they add a
dash of Teriyaki sauce before serving it.

Steak:  Salt, Dehydrated Onion and Garlic, Natural Flavor, Worcestershire
Sauce Powder (Worcestershire Sauce {molasses, Vinegar, Corn Syrup, Salt,
Caramel Color, Garlic, Sucrose, Spices, Tamarind, Natural Flavor, Sulfiting
Agents}, Maltodextrin), Dextrose, Chili Pepper, Partially Hydrogenated
Soybean Oil, Dehydrated Parsley, and not more than 2% Silicon Dioxide and
Propylene Glycol added as processing aids.


Ruby Tuesday: I think this was my favorite success.  (Went to 2 Ruby
Tuesday's I was so happy!)  I got BarBQ Beef and Shrimp Skewers.  There are
two places you can find BarBQ skewers on the menu, one comes with fried
shrimp and fried chicken, the other with fried shrimp and something else.
In either case you can substitute all Beef or Shrimp, or mix, and the BarBQ
sauce was Gluten Free.  Skip the rice Pilaf as it has Gluten, but they'll
give you extra broc.


Steak n' Shake:  Someone already posted that corporate is no help.  I got
even less help in the one I went to.  They had no idea if the fritos in the
chili were flavored or not -- and told me all items come in a clear plastic
pouch and any cardboard box that they might have come in was long gone, so
there was no hope of finding ingredients if they were ever listed, and the
manager was sure they weren't.  I tried the chili and seemed fine... but I
had already been to GC and gotten some Gluten so I can't be sure.


Chilis:  I've read here that corporate is less than helpful, but I have been
to multiple Chilis in the past year and ALL said they post a detailed list
of ingredients in the kitchen, and had no problem checking for me.  The
Mushroom Jack Fajitas, no jack, works for me.  Some have corn tortillas to
substitute for the flour ones, but not all of them.  The spanish rice they
make contains butter -- and the fajitas have soy sauce and oil put on them
to make them sizzle, though the one I went to in Alabama had recently
switched to La Choy because they had heard fewer people have problems with
that brand.  I don't know if that is chain wide though.


Taco Bell:  I went there several times as I always do fine with a taco salad
no cheese (they have a button for it) no sour cream (they have a button for
it) no shell (they have to go tell the person making it to put it on a
nachos supreme plate... but if you ask nice they will.)  At least one of the
hot sauces contains distilled Vinegar and I've had issues with it, so I now
skip the sauces.

Those are the national chains I hit.


O'Charley's which seems to be a growing chain (just found their site -- 184
restaurants in 15 states), prevalent in the South East was another one I
tried.  They said most of the beef, all but the Rib Eye, and all the shrimp
came pre-seasoned, so chicken it was.  And plain vegetabls.  Not the
greatest meal I've ever had... but they were able to feed me.

As for local places:

We went to Carter Brothers BarBQ in Greensboro, NC (the one on main street)
twice, and they did well by me.  Ask about the Hush Puppies, the person
making them decides whether or not they are going to add wheat flour today,
so some days they are okay, others they are not.  The ham has never been a
problem.


After a while I got tired of trying to find food, and went back to finding
Homewood Suites hotels along the route, they always have a kitchenette, and
I was traveling with Mrs. Fearnow's Brunswick Stew with Chicken
(http://www.lov-stew.com) I've read the label many times, and it has come up
Gluten Free every time!  (I've just e-mailed to see if they can confirm it's
Gluten Free Status.)

As for snacks in the car, and when restaurants were hard to find, I took
Brown Rice Snaps and a jar of peanut butter and did very well.

So that's my successes and failures on the trip.  Steak n' Shake won't get a
return visit from me at this point, and I've e-mailed O'Charley's with hopes
of their suggesting a better item on the menu, but the rest worked out very
well for me.


kathleen



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