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

My sincere and abundant thanks to all of you who replied to my request.
(Original post:  "My son is getting married in Fort Worth, TX, and I am
looking for a restaurant in the vicinity of the Botanical Gardens or in the
Ridgmar Mall area where we can have a celiac-safe rehearsal dinner.  Our
party will include about 50 guests.  Does anyone have suggestions?")  I was
amazed to receive responses so quickly.  Here are the suggestions, followed
by my own observations:

Listings from the 2006-2007 GF Restaurant Guide:  I looked up your request &
found
   1. Angelo's BBQ, 2553 White Settlement Rd 
   2. Caro's Mexican, 3505 Bluebonnet Cir 
   3. Del Frisco's Double Eagle Steakhouse, 812 Main St 
   4. Don Pablo's, 5601 S. Hulen 
   5. Mi Cocina, 509 Main St 
   6. Mimi's Cafe, 5858 S.W. Loop 820 
   7. Outback, 4608 Bryant Irvin Rd 
   8. P.F. Chang's, 400 Throckmorton 
   9. Pappadeaux's Seafood, 2708 W. Fwy 
   10. Pei Wei Asian Diner, 5900 Overton Ridge Blvd 
   11. Railhead Smokehouse, 2900 Montgomery St 
   12. Silver Fox, 1651 S. University Dr 
   13. Spring Creek BBQ, 8628 Camp Bowie W. 
   14. Texas Roadhouse, 5250 Endicott Ave 
Which ever you pick, I'd check with the waiter/chef to make sure they are
still in a "GF Frame of Mind."

Blue Mesa Grill is near the Botanical Gardens and we can have the guacamole,
Baja shrimp, red chile crusted salmon, fish of the day, adobe pie, three
chile enchilada sauce, chipotle cream and tomatillo.  

Caro's Mexican restaurant is also near that area.  The owner is very
familiar with celiac disease and will make sure what he fixes is safe.

Joe T Garcia's Mexican food:  A famous downtown place that is a favorite of
everyone, especially tourists.  I can have the enchiladas, rice and beans,
but not the nachos, chips or tacos.  Many wedding receptions, showers and
graduation celebrations are held here.  It's that big and has a beautiful
outdoor eating area surrounding a pool and beautiful plants.  They book up
months ahead because it's the most sought-after place downtown. Joe T's in
the north side has the best facility for large groups that I know of, and
most of their offerings are GF except the obvious ones.

Outback Steakhouse:  On 20 and Bryant Irvin, there is an Outback Steakhouse
that has a GF menu and a GF trained staff.  When they get a GF order, they
change all of the utensils and wipe down the grill.  They are very
meticulous, and I have never had a reaction eating there.

Pei Wei:  Pei Wei's is a subsidiary of PF Chang's, and they also have a GF
menu.  It is very good, and located at 20 and Bryant Irvin.

PF CHang's:  A restaurant downtown called PF CHang's is REALLY good.  They
have a GF menu, and are good at taking direction.  It is a higher end
restaurant, but very, very good.
 
Steak 'n Ale:  They have been very accommodating to cook meat without
seasoning, clean grill.  They have baked potatoes, sweet potatoes, a very
nice salad bar.  They are located on Camp Bowie West near183 not far from
Ridgmar Mall.
 
Texas De Brazil is also downtown and it's managed by the son of one of our
members.  He's also very well versed in the GF diet.

Worthington Hotel downtown:  They have an especially nice restaurant called
Kalamata's, and they take very special care of me.  It's a fine dining
place.

Central Market:  There is a place called Central Market, that is a high end,
specialty grocery store on 30 and Hulen.  Their bakery has a cake called a
'victorian flourless' that is made with almond flour, and it is to die for.
They also have specialty platters (fruit, veggies, etc.) that are
practically works of art.

My observations from visiting restaurants in the area July 1-2:

  Blue Mesa Grill has a gluten free menu already worked out and printed on
cards, a lovely room that can be used for special events such as ours, and
very accommodating staff.  The meal I ate there was very good.

  Mi Cocina:  In spite of being listed in the GF Restaurant Guide, the
manager with whom I spoke was completely unaware of the terms "gluten free"
and "celiac diet."  She said that since all their food was made from
scratch, they should be able to prepare it gluten free.  However, in the
course of conversation, I found out that she had no idea that ingredients
such as commercial chicken base or sauces such as Worcestershire may contain
gluten.  I then decided that it would take too much effort in education to
consider this location.  Furthermore, the room used for special events was
noisy, could not be closed off from the rest of the restaurant, and could
not have the furniture rearranged for group seating.

  Olive Garden (on 183 next to Ridgmar Mall):  For our Sunday dinner, we
went to Olive Garden.  I took my celiac restaurant card and the GF menu I
had printed from an earlier post to the Celiac/Coeliac Wheat/Gluten-Free
List ("Olive Garden Reply," 15 Aug 2005).  The manager was solicitous in
accommodating my diet, and my meal appeared to be prepared correctly.  As a
result of this happy experience, we explored this restaurant also as a
rehearsal dinner possibility.  The room used for special events can be
closed off from the rest of the restaurant, and the furniture can be used as
is or arranged in an L-shape.  Though the GF menu offerings are limited to
three choices, they do appear to be celiac-safe.

Several other restaurants that I checked were not suitable for a private
party since they did not have a separate room that we could reserve.

My sincere thanks again to all of you who took the time to help me with this
information

Deborah Holladay
Alamo Celiac Membership Database
http://alamoceliac.org

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