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

Hi, everyone,
My department went to a Chili's Monday for our holiday celebration. I had
an old post saved that called it a gf friendly place, but couldn't find
any specific food items recommended in the archives, which found nothing
on Chili's at all. Accessing the restaurant chain's website
   http://www.chilis.com/
gave me the current menu, which had some possibles, but I realized I
wouldn't know for sure until I got there.

Well, our young waiter was very helpful and attentive. He didn't know what
was in their chili, so I wanted the nacho platter without it. He went back
to the kitchen and checked, and the nacho chips have *wheat* in them!
He suggested a salad plate.

Most of the meats are grilled, and I was pretty sure they grill the flour
tortillas too, so I didn't fool with them. I ordered the smoked chicken
salad, no dressing. It came with something clearly coating the chicken
pieces, which the waiter claimed was not the honey-mustard dressing, so I
asked to have chicken with nothing on it. He came back with my plate, and
said the coating was mayonnaise, lemon juice, and something I forget but
that was a basic gf ingredient (salt maybe). The mayo worried me, but it
was a full-fat mayo and not with starch fillers, and I don't react to the
vinegar used so I ate it. The waiter was very helpful, and I left him an
extra tip.

I didn't have a typical gluten reaction afterwards (tummy noises, pain,
and gas) but I did have mild nausea that afternoon that could have been an
allergic response to nitrites in the smoked chicken. I took some Metamucil.=
 I had a violent attack of lower intestinal pain, gas, and diarrhea about
36 hours later anyway, similar to what I get from lactose. I reacted to
something, for sure, but I'm not sure it was to gluten.

Bottom line--excuse the expression!  ;-) is that the waitstaff and kitchen
staff are pleasant at the Chili's I visited, but not that familiar with
all the ingredients of their foods. I was lucky that they knew about the
nachos! However, the kitchen must be a pretty gluten-filled environment,
what with all the breads, flour tortillas, breaded items, and so forth, so
it might be dangerous to eat there even if your particular entree had no
intentional gluten. It reminds me of the recent post about the kitchen
where the food preparer clapped her hands and sent clouds of flour over
everything!

BTW, two of my colleagues are vegetarian, and were dismayed to see that
they also had very limited choices. There's a grilled tuna sandwich, and
some shrimp things, and vegans could ask for salads with meats removed.

Good luck and good health!

Bobbi in Baltimore