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

Thanks to everyone who replied for all your helpful tips and information.
The interview went well and I *think* I successfully avoided ingesting any
gluten.  After being GF for two years, I don't seem to react to gluten as
much as I did immediately before and after diagnosis.  This message has
interview advice and info about getting gluten free meals on United.  I'll
send out specific restaurant info in a subsequent message.

Dawn

ORIGINAL MESSAGE:
A good friend of mine has invited me out to eat at Fiesta del Mar in
Mountain View, CA. The web site is:  www.fiestadelmar.com.  I didn't find it
mentioned in the recent summary on SF area restaurants.  I did find a
mention of it at SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA RESTAURANTS WITH GLUTEN FREE ITEMS
-last updated 2/9/05
(http://celiacsupport.stanford.edu/restaurants/restaurants.htm) It states
"Fiesta Del Mar, two locations in Mountain View. Lots of Mexican dishes.
Homemade sangria."

Does anyone have experience getting GF food at Fiesta del Mar?  Can you
recommend any specific dishes?  Do you know if their margarita mix is GF (my
friend is effusive in her praise of their margaritas)?  I plan to call the
restaurant before flying out, but I'd prefer to have some info in hand
before I do so.  :)

The second meal will be with the folks I am interviewing with will be for
lunch on Monday.  I haven't heard any info on the restaurant yet.  In fact
I'm trying to figure out how to steer them towards a local restaurant with a
GF menu (perhaps PF Changs).  If any of you have ideas on how to do that
without going into detail on CD, gluten free diet and casein intolerance,
I'd love to hear them!!  I'll summarize.

INTERVIEW ADVICE
I got some very good tips.  I ended up eating at an Indian buffet that was
very close to their office building.  I ate Channa Masala, Saffron Rice and
Cucumber Salad.  That seemed very likely to be GF and was tasty.  And, I
didn't have to make a big deal about my diet in front of my interviewers....
  :)  Below are the tips I recieved:

"I would just go and order a salad (and sneak a snack in my purse just in
case) for a job interview.  First impressions are important and you don't
want people thinking you're a pain, even if it isn't true.  The good news is
that there are tons of Indian and Asian restaurants that have lots of GF
foods around there for the future."

"I think it would be most difficult to steer your interviewing people to PF.
Changs.  You can order a salad or a hamburg without a roll in ANY RESTAURANT
IN THE US.  Just say, "no croutons, please' and "No roll please".  A great
majority of Americans are on the Atkins diet, which would require the same
suggestions.  If they ask about your diet I would say, "I have a WHEAT
ALLERGY",  which is a lot simpler than explaining what celiac is.  If you
get the job they can learn about it gradually and it will be a lot simpler
on everyone.  Good luck with the interview.  Celiacs make exceptional
workers because they have developed such good coping skills dealing with the
diet."

"Just wanted to say that our family uses the low carb diet approach with
most people and everyone seems to understand that (although the reality is
that they don't really have a clue what that is either, but they have at
least heard of it)."

UNITED AIRLINES
I flew United from Portland, ME to San Francisco.  I could purchase a meal
on one leg of my outbound trip and received a free meal on one leg of my
return trip.  I visited United's web site and found Gluten Free meals
described at:  http://www.united.com/page/middlepage/0,6823,1058,00.html
Meals for Purchase can NOT be gluten free, but free meals can be gluten
free.

You must call United to have a free meal that is gluten free.  Call 24+
hours before your flight: 1-800-United-1 (1-800-864-8331).  If your flight
has a free meal, the agent will probably tell you that there are no gluten
free meals.  Tell them as of 1/6/2005 you can order a gluten free meal, it
just isn't in their little pop up window yet.   Tell them they recieved a
memo in December 2004 and they need to look up the number for a gluten free
meal.

The one gluten free meal I got was fantastic!  It was a crustless veggie
quiche, boiled red potatoes, steamed fresh broccoli, and fresh cantelope.
Since I am also casein intolerant, I couldn't eat the quiche but it smelled
great.  I had brought plenty of my own food, so I had the rest of the gluten
free meal with a banana muffin.   I will fly United whenever possible!  :)

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