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Regarding experiences at Outback and Carraba's both, we have never had a 
bad experience there, but I think it's important to remember that we 
can't just go into a restaurant and say, "Give it to me gluten-free" and 
expect that the wait staff and kitchen will understand that, no matter 
-where- we are. We do always request the GF menu so we can show an 
inexperienced waitress if we need to, even though we nearly always order 
the same things and know the instructions by heart. We always repeat the 
exact instructions given for the meal -- it takes a couple extra 
minutes, but it's worth it for the relaxing experience of eating out and 
enjoying good food. Yes, both the wait staff and the kitchen actually 
rely on those instructions, which when given and followed, result in a 
great gluten-free meal.

FWIW, I usually bypass the steamed vegetables completely and get either 
the garlic mashed potatoes or a sweet potato at Outback. The only bad 
experience we've ever had at Carraba's was having to send a salad back 
that came with croutons, for which they apologized profusely. We're 
highly symptomatic, so if we were getting cross contamination, we would 
feel the effects of it.

Honestly, I think the whole chain has done a remarkable service in 
giving celiacs places where they can go out and relax, and it just 
disturbs me to see them getting so much negativity.

Cheers,
Deb

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