Gluten Free Restaurants

[red sky]

Locke doesn't use green font to indicate whether he is trying to be sarcastic, it is just a given. At this point, Locke should actually be using green font when he is being serious.

[Coach]

Originally Posted by oilers_fan

I'm sure Locke was just joking.

My dad is a recently diagnosed celiac, and when looking around for a restaurant in which to get him a gift certificate, I was surprised with how many offered gluten free foods. I'm sure you've done it, but it can't hurt to call any place that you want to eat at, and ask them if they offer a gluten free menu.

Some food for thought (no pun intended), apparently something like 1 in every 100 some of us will have celiac disease, but only 1 in 3000 or so people know thy have it.

ya its really common....supposedly as humans we're not supposed to eat wheat because its hard to digest

[Ducay]

Ya, my fiancee's entire family has it, except her (thank god). The whole gluten-free thing is getting a lot better recently. Once the new packaging rules come into effect, itll be even easier for them (as all foods will have to be labelled if they contain gluten).
A lot of restaurants are starting to do GF as well.

Where they like:

-La Piccola Napoli , in Avenida (Bonavista). They used to go to Chianti's, but now they never go there after discovering the Gluten free options.


Also, people with Celiac's DON'T FORGET TO CLAIM IT ON YOUR TAXES.

[Bobblehead]

Originally Posted by MattyC

ya its really common....supposedly as humans we're not supposed to eat wheat because its hard to digest

I knew a guy in university who was diagnosed with it (around 1990) and had never heard about it before.

Then in the last 5 years I hear about all these gluten free foods and started wondering WTF. Now it is common?

[Ducay]

Originally Posted by Bobblehead

I knew a guy in university who was diagnosed with it (around 1990) and had never heard about it before.

Then in the last 5 years I hear about all these gluten free foods and started wondering WTF. Now it is common?

I personally know at least 6 people who've been diagnosed within the last 5 years.
I think its more of a thing that people just live it with unknowingly and people are just starting to get tested for it; hence the huge surge in diagnosis.

[c.t.ner]

Wow. Crazy to see a little small community of Celiac afflicted people on the Calgary Puck network.

My girlfriend was self-diagnosed last year (January to be exact) with Celiac Disease. It's been one hell of a ride, filled with numerous trials and tribulations. I ahve grown to dispise Modified Corn Starch (which seems to be the thing that triggers all of this allergy)

We've found a slew of restaurants in town that have Celiac friendly menus. Here's some of the Gems. (Many have been mentioned already, but some have not)

- A Tasty Menu
- Chianti's (offers Gluten Free Pasta)
- The Coup
- Chili's (has a glutenfree menu)
- The Marda Loop Nellie's Caters to Celiacs
- Nectar in Inglewood
- Cheese Cake Cafe (has a dessert)
- Joey tomatos has a Gf menu

To top it off we recently launched a blog. www.glutastic.com. My girlfriend writes it and it details her struggles with living with Celiac's disease in Calgary. She updates it every couple of days, with product reviews (BUY JUDY G's PIZZA), restaurant reviews and facts for people dealing with it and live with people with Celiac Disease.

We've been able to meet some cool people through it, including Judy G (maker of Judy G's Pizza).

Btw I'll give all you guys a tip who live with a celiac. There is a little bakery in cochrane called GF Passterrie in Cochrane (there's a link on glutastic) and it sells GF cupcakes with Bernard Callibeu icing choclate.

If you ever want to get in the good books, make the trip out there and purchase a half dozen.

You can thank me later.

[Locke]

I think its a huge medical conspiracy to undermine the godlike power of the Canadian wheat board.

[SoCalFlamesFan]

Originally Posted by Bobblehead

I knew a guy in university who was diagnosed with it (around 1990) and had never heard about it before.

Then in the last 5 years I hear about all these gluten free foods and started wondering WTF. Now it is common?

Its pretty common. Some say its the most common genetic disorder. What's changed since the 1990's is the awareness of the problem. Also, over the last century wheat has been bred to contain more and more of the protein that causes the reaction, because it is also the protein that gives bread its elasticity. Wheat was bred to contain more of the protein simply because it was better for bakers etc. Another thing is that its often hard to diagnose as symptoms can vary wildly between people.

A scary thing is that some food products are now being experimented with to ADD gluten to them. Tomatoes are one such food. The idea is that this will extend the life of these products and make them less susceptible to bruising etc. Not helpful if you are a celiac or have problems with this allergen.

[SoCalFlamesFan]

As someone who was diagnosed as a Celiac almost 8 years ago and as someone who eats out often I can recommend a few places.

My fave is actually in Edmonton. Chinese is especially hard to eat out because soy sauce is such a common ingredient and most often is made from wheat instead of soy (fermenting both creates the same taste, and wheat is so much cheaper than soy)... So I recommend OPM in south Edmonton. It has a GF menu and the seven flavored beef might be the best thing in the world.

In Calgary I've had a lot of good experiences at the more expensive restaurants rather than the chains such as Earls. These places usually have great chefs and pride themselves on good service. My favorites amongst these categories where they've been very helpful include: River Cafe, Muriettas, Mercado, Catch,

Vietnamese is great although be careful to avoid anything that might contain soy sauce or ingredients such as spring rolls.

I love sushi, which like vietnamese is mostly GF, again avoiding soy sauce or anything with tempura (although you should ask as some restaurants might use only rice flour).

If you like Indian there are a lot of restaurants that make their curries without flour (used as a thickener in some).. my fave is Maurya in Kensington. Rajdoot on 4th Street is also great.

I also love eating at the King and I where the manager, staff and kitchen are very helpful and many of the Thai dishes are naturally GF. Great for lunch during the week although it can be very busy.

One of the things that help me when eating out is learning a lot of the basics of cooking.. so I know to avoid certain foods that contain gluten where it is not obvious, like the soy sauce, or sauces and gravies in general.

Calgary Celiac Society has this great link:

http://www.debdebdeb.com/celiacdb/re...aryceliac.html

[Dan02]

Originally Posted by NickYoung

My fave is actually in Edmonton. Chinese is especially hard to eat out because soy sauce is such a common ingredient and most often is made from wheat instead of soy (fermenting both creates the same taste, and wheat is so much cheaper than soy)... So I recommend OPM in south Edmonton. It has a GF menu and the seven flavored beef might be the best thing in the world.

I love sushi, which like vietnamese is mostly GF, again avoiding soy sauce

Couldn't you bring your own actual soy, soy sauce?

[Coach]

wow c.t.ner that's awesome for you guys, and very helpful. Its just that its very annoying to eat out especailly for her to have to explain it to every waiter/waitress. Its nice to just know that something is gluten free and not always have to order the patented "greek salad". And thanks for the hint on the cupcakes. She LOVES cupcakes and misses having crave so bad. Its a good thing I live west of the city, driving to Cochrane is actually closer than most places in the city. Everyone has been very helpful...keep the ideas coming! Always trust CP

[SoCalFlamesFan]

Originally Posted by Dan02

Couldn't you bring your own actual soy, soy sauce?

You can. I used to do this when going to sushi. Now I've got used to it without.

Also - if you ever travel to the US (or live there) - try Red Bridge beer - made by Anheuser Busch. www.redbridgebeer.com I'm drinking it right now watching the Flames v. Montreal.

In Canada you can try La Messagère... I've bought it all over town though watch for the expiry dates.

[c.t.ner]

Originally Posted by MattyC

Its just that its very annoying to eat out especailly for her to have to explain it to every waiter/waitress. Its nice to just know that something is gluten free and not always have to order the patented "greek salad".

I know how you feel. The worst is when you go to a restaurant, the staff assure you it's gluten free and then the accidentally poison your meal. You might as well just quarantine our table and put a giant SARS sticker on my girlfriend's head, because the level of service just insta-plummets.

And thanks for the hint on the cupcakes. She LOVES cupcakes and misses having crave so bad. Its a good thing I live west of the city, driving to Cochrane is actually closer than most places in the city. Everyone has been very helpful...keep the ideas coming! Always trust CP

No worries man.

My girlfriend loved Crave cupcakes and almost celebrated her birthday with a Crave cupcake, but realized she would be upchucking it before finishing the icing. So she wnet nuts when she found GF Pastisserie. (they also have a slew of other products)

http://www.gfpatisserie.com/

[Tower]

Originally Posted by Dan02

Couldn't you bring your own actual soy, soy sauce?

Believe it or not Safeway brand soy sauce is wheat free!!! And yes you can bring it into a restaurant!

[Regulator75]

^^^^^^^^^^
So is VH brand soy sauce.

[c.t.ner]

Originally Posted by NickYoung

A scary thing is that some food products are now being experimented with to ADD gluten to them. Tomatoes are one such food. The idea is that this will extend the life of these products and make them less susceptible to bruising etc. Not helpful if you are a celiac or have problems with this allergen.

That is unfortunate, but very informative news. This will just make organic food that much more important to our diet and that much more of expense. Thank god for the tax deduction/relief.

[Regulator75]

Oriental Palace in Parkdale has many Gluten free menu items, it's nice to have Chinese food options again.

http://maps.google.ca/maps?f=q&hl=en...&z=16&iwloc=r0

I believe the long time owners may be Celiac as over 60% of the menu can be made Gluten free.

I have been there twice and the food was Gluten free food was excellent.

[c.t.ner]

I posted this in the iPhone apps thread, but might find it intresting for others. My fiancee stumbled upon a new iPhone app for Celiacs called - is that GLUTEN FREE? (her post about it is here)

Anyways, i'm sure there are some iPhone people who could use this app. Here's the link that gives a bit more fo a review. http://glutenfreepost.com/?p=1462

[TheSutterDynasty]

Bumping this old thread - does anyone have any current / updated suggestions for a nice gluten-free restaurant? (Or a nice restaurant with a good gluten-free menu)?

[blankall]

Milestones has a descent sized Gluten Free menu:

http://www.milestonesrestaurants.com/gluten_free.php