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Philadelphia may be famous as the City of Brotherly Love, but as far as gf
folk are concerned, it's the City of Ritts-erly Love! Mr. Ritt's Bakery is
neither a cafe nor a restaurant, yet high praise for this gluten-free
enterprise was just about unanimous as far as responses to my request for
Philadelphia restaurant tips were concerned.

Also getting a "thumbs up" from more than one respondent was the Mexican
restaurant Zocalo - especially when chef Jackie is around.

The summary follows.

*

From "JOSPRUNG" --

We live in Philly and are fortunate to have a large number of
restaurants/chefs who are very accommodating.  You didn't say what type
of food and price range you are considering so here goes.....

THE VERY BEST (AND MOST EXPENSIVE)
The Fountain at the Four Seasons - French/Continental - We have eaten there
many times without any problems.  The chef is very accommodating.

La Campagne in Cherry Hill (a 15 min drive from Center City) - Country
French - they specialize in caring for customers with special needs.  We ARE
having a multi-course GF meal for 10 people there this month.

Jakes in Manayunk -  We haven't been there in a while but when we went the
chef would mark up the menu to show which meals are gf.

The Palm - Great steaks.  Most of their side dishes are GF too.

Pasion - South American cuisine - wonderful ceviche and grilled meats.  Most
of their dishes are prepared with corn products

STILL GREAT RESTAURANTS THAT ARE A BIT MORE MODERATE
Siri's in Cherry Hill (a short drive from Center City) - French Thai - Many
dishes made without soy sauce. The Pad Thai is GF and fabulous.

Tre Scalini - Italian in South Philly - (one of the best) - wonderful veal
chops and risotto.

Zocalo - Traditional Mexican - go when Jackie is cooking.  She'll even use
fresh oil to fry the corn cake appetizers.

Primavera - on South Street - Italian with lots of grilled fish.

Sagami - Sushi - the best in the area

INEXPENSIVE RESTAURANTS
Johnny Rockets on South Street - they cook the burgers separately and the
fries are GF too.

Zorbas - in the art museum area - good greek.....almost everything is GF.
The chef has a relative with CD so they are very familiar with our needs

And, of course, Mr. Ritt's Bakery .....don't forget to visit.  Call ahead to
order.

**

From JERRY--

It's been hard for me to find GF restaurants here, and virtually next to
nothing is on the internet to help celiacs in Philadelphia.  I've been a
little afraid to eat in restaurants, but here are the ones I've eaten at and
have not gotten sick:

Zocalo
3600 Lancaster Ave.
215-895-0139
I've been to Zocalo's twice, the first time was great, the food and homemade
tortilla chips were very good. The second time some things tasted a bit
stale. The server and chef were very helpful about checking ingredients.
Both times the corn tortillas were the best I ever tasted.  The appetizers
are better than the main courses.

Passage to India
1320 Walnut St.
215-732-7300
GREAT food, I gave the server my restaurant card and had no problems.

Samosa Vegetarian
1214 Walnut Street
215-545-7776
They serve an affordable all-you-can-eat Indian buffet. They are very aware
of "allergies", just ask the buffet attendant and they'll tell you if there
is any gluten in a dish.

Abilene
429 South St.
215-922-2583
I've eaten their nachos appetizer, without meat, with no problems. I've
never tried anything else on the menu.

I can't remember the name of the place, but in Reading Market there is a
Middle Eastern food stand that makes GF falafels. They will also sell the
mix to you. Don't order the falafel plate, because it comes with a tabouli
salad that contains bulgar wheat. I've never actually eaten the falafel
prepared there, I just buy the mix (and YUM, it's good).

It's a bit nerve-wracking to recommend restaurants to others with celiac
disease. So much depends on who the server and the cook is at the time.

I'd be very interested in hearing about any other restaurants in Philly I
could eat in.  I think it would be great if the Philadelphia celiac group
here could work with at least 1 restaurant in town so that there could be
somewhere safe to go out to eat. It is especially hard when you have to meet
people for business dinners, a very awkward situation.

**

>From JOAN--

I have eaten at Southeast, a restaurant in Chinatown. They are great. I
bring my own soy sauce and they make my order with this, instead of the
Kikkoman which they generally use. I stay away from the obvious deep fried
(batter dipped) items and the soup and egg rolls. But there's still plenty
on the menu to choose from. I did not check on the broth, but I have not
gotten sick when I have eaten there. They do not use MSG.

Also I have eaten at Thai Pepper. They do not use soy sauce and they
checked on the fish sauce for me and it does not contain wheat, etc. You
can eat spring rolls there, they are made from rice wrappers and they
have a great banana dessert wrapped in rice paper. (I really pig out
when I go there!) Neither Southeast nor Thai Pepper is overly expensive,
either.

I have also eaten at a sushi place in Germantown, House of Jin (not sure of
the spelling). They made my entree with sea salt instead of soy sauce. I
brought along my soy sauce and added that after they brought it to the
table.

Of course, people should call and ask questions for themselves, since there
may be issues/questions which listmates have not thought to ask.

PS:  I'm sure you probably already heard about Mr Ritt's Bakery - all gluten
free!

**

>From BETTY--

While you're in Philly, you must go by Mr. Ritt's Bakery, which is a totally
gluten free bakery.  Everyone raves about it.

**

>From JACKIE --

I too would be interested in hearing about any response since my brother
lives in Philly and I am there quite often. It makes it easy for me to get
treats from Mr. Ritt's.

Mr Ritt's Bakery:   http://mrritts.com/ (215) 627-3034

I know there is an Outback just before the Delaware border (which is about
20-30 minutes away) They offer a gluten free list if you email them. There
have been some arguments that the preparation can lead to contamination but
I have never gotten sick from one of the restaurants.

**

>From PAUL KELTY OF MR. RITT'S BAKERY --

We currently have no gf luncheon options, because we still haven't been able
to get into larger quarters, and 600 square feet just isn't enough to do us
much good this way.

I have a few suggestions, but you will definitely have to be clear and
notify the people of your needs.

There is a restaurant on South Street, the south side of the street between
2nd and 4th streets, called the Knave of Hearts.  Ask for Tai, the owner,
and tell him that you "have the same thing Jax has".  He is familiar with
celiac through her, and can help you out.

Typical south street fare includes McDonalds, but they are not very
accommodating at this location, and you wind up following the suggestions
list members have made for them.

I could also recommend YO! Grilladelphia at 6th and South.  If you take a
fresh hoagie roll in from us (be sure to order fresh rolls so we have them
and not frozen), they will put your sandwich on the roll.  Just be sure to
ask them to not use the grill they toast rolls on (I haven't seen them do
this, but just to be sure).

I have been given a list of upscale restaurants in our area that work with
people on gf diets, but they aren't in this area.  I have been trying to
work with some of the restaurants.  I haven't had much luck yet, other than
the above, but I may be able to help out others who contact me in the
future.

Paul Kelty
Mr. Ritt's Bakery
709 East Passyunk Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19147
215-627-3034, 1-877-677-4887 fax 215-627-5340
WEBSITE:  http://MRRITTS.com

*

So how did I [David again] put these tips to use?  I didn't have time (or
the super-stomach) to go everywhere, so I had to be selective and pragmatic.

I made it a point to go to Mr. Ritt's as soon as possible.  I must have
followed in the footsteps of countless other first-timers when I entered and
asked, "So where are the gf foods?" and then felt my spirits soar when Paul
answered that *everything* in the establishment was gf.  I sampled a variety
of goodies and spoke with Paul and baker Richard Gallo before moving on to
put together a sandwich at the Italian Market.  (As a result of an advance
call, two hoagie rolls had been waiting for me upon my arrival at Mr. Ritt's.)

Later, I went to Zocalo -- making sure I was there at 7:30, when Jackie was
on duty.  (I had called and visited in advance to ascertain the time that
she would be there.)  Even though I had previewed the menu by fax, I was
elated when Jackie came out to go over it and identified the wide gf
selection.  Although my companion and I hadn't yet received Jerry's tips
about appetizers (see above), we solved our choicemaking dilemma by grazing
appetizers (including delicious guacamole and fresh chips) and sampling
drinks (including the house Bloody Mary and Sangria) before finishing with a
wedge of buttery flan.

The other restaurants we sampled were the Italian restaurant Panorama and
Philadelphia Fish & Company, both of which I had contacted in advance.  In
both cases, we received a warm welcome and special attention that made me
feel assured that I was selecting safely.

In fact, a consistent positive trend was the friendliness of everyone I
contacted.  This includes the phone people at the Knave of Hearts (where
I was told Tai works at night) and the White Dog Cafe.  Even the phone
person at my one disappointment, the Museum Restaurant, was friendly --
the problem was that she first neglected to fax me a menu, and then she
faxed me two sets of blanks.  With the service I was getting from the
other restauranteurs, it was therefore easy to drop the Museum
Restaurant from my itinerary.

Happy Eating!

David