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Hello, I've just subscribed to this list.  I'm the husband of Chris
Spreitzer ([log in to unmask]).  I and our three daughters
have Celiac disease; Chris does not.

Last week I went on a business trip to downtown Toronto.  Outbound, I
took United flight 3216 from San Francisco Int'l airport (SFO) to
Toronto's main airport, Pearson Int'l (YYZ).  Return was on United 3215
from YYZ to SFO.  I booked my air travel through my company's travel
agency, and later confirmed directly with United.  I told both that I
wanted GF meals.  Those flights are actually Air Canada flights,
"code-shared" with United.  When meal time came on the outbound flight,
there was no GF meal for me.  The stewardess suggested I speak directly
with Air Canada.  I did so during my stay, and there was a GF meal for
me on the way home.  As far as I can tell, it really was GF too.  Some
of the items in the meal were labeled; some of the labels mentioned
ambiguous ingredients, but none mentioned clear "no-nos".  The
unlabelled items looked appropriate for a Celiac diet.  However, I was
having a bit of mild gastric distress all that day; there was no
noticeable increase in distress after that meal.  When I *do* have a
noticeable reaction, it is usually within an hour of eating; however, I
don't know how reliable an indicator of gluten my "noticeable" reactions
are.

Thanks to Chris's sleuthing beforehand, and some generous help from
members of this list and the Toronto chapter of the Canadian Celiac
Association, I had some clues of where to get GF groceries and meals in
Toronto.  On other trips (to other places) I've tried some plausible
restaurants, and had noticeable gluten reactions more often than not,
despite the staff being very cooperative and thinking they had done all
that was necessary.  So I was very cautious; I wanted only restaurants
that already had specific awareness of Celiac disease.  Two were
recommended.  One, Bangkok Garden, is owned by a Celiac; the other, Il
Fornello, is a chain that has a menu page for Celiacs.  I tried them
both.

At Bangkok Garden, the waiter was very cooperative and confident he
could help me.  He didn't already know the term "Celiac disease".  He
did say that the owner can't eat a lot of things, and mentioned some
that are not normally due to Celiac disease.  Thai cuisine has little
use for wheat, and the waiter assured me I could get a GF meal.  I went
with a group of 7, and we ordered about 8 dishes (all of which the
waiter said would be GF) and shared them.  Afterward, I had a mild
reaction, not like my usual gluten reaction; it may have been because of
the spiciness (some of our chosen dishes were hot).

I went to the Il Fornello at 576 Danforth St. (I mention this because
the menu says "each of our restaurants is unique").  Il Fornello
specializes in pasta and pizza, and their Celiac menu page is no
exception.  Every item uses either spelt or amaranth.  I tried the
"Celiac Pasta", which uses amaranth.  I had no noticeable reaction.

Mike Spreitzer ([log in to unmask])