Oregon is a great place to live gluten free. I know, I live just south of Portland. The best way to write about celiac friendly Oregon is to divide this article into three parts: (1) Portland, (2) the rest of the state, and (3)items that apply statewide.

   Your first step in understanding gluten free Portland is to study “Grain Damaged”, the blog published by  Portland Metro Celiacs. The blog lists 32 restaurants and stores and even plots them on a map. In the side bar, you’ll find links to other celiac support groups in the state as well as to many of the restaurants listed on the map. You may also study the restaurant list published by The Gluten Intolerance Group of Southwest Washington. Portland, Oregon / Vancouver, Washington, is actually one large metropolitan area and most of the places on the list are actually in Portland.

Here is some information about independently owned gluten free restaurants in Portland and vicinity:

Carafe. The availability of gluten free options was confirmed in an e-mail from the restaurant owner on 7/22/08. There is no indication of this on the menu.

Corbett Fish House. I love this place. Try their clam chowder and their French fried sweet potatoes. My hunch is that some of their customers live gluten free but that the majority go their for the great food..

  Hawthorne Fish House. This restaurant is operated by the same people. As a matter of fact, their menus are exactly the same except for the cover. Diners at both places order from the regular menu, with gluten free items clearly indicated.

Andina Restaurant. Click here for a review written by a person who loves this place as much as I do and gave me permission to publish her work. Click on the restaurant name for the gluten free menu and the restaurant location.

 Bob’s Red Mill. Some of the best gluten free fgrain products  in America originates here. The Mill also has an excellent restaurant and will prepare any of their fabulous sandwiches on gluten-free if you request this service.

Francis Restaurant. Click on the name of the restaurant to get the location. You can click on the same page to read the menu. The gluten free choices are listed at the end of the regular menu.

Grolla Restaurant. Their system for preventing cross-contamination is simply to have no gluten-toxic flour anywhere on the premises. Scroll to the bottom of the page to find the restaurant's address.

Picazzo’s serves marvelous pizza and this is their first restaurant located outside Arizona.

Mississippi Pizza.Pub. Their gluten free pizza is superb and they even provide pizza crusts for home use, complete bake-at-home pizzas, and gluten free beer.

Old Wives Tales Restaurant. This is one of the most popular celiac-friendly restaurants in Portland. The link will take you to a page giving the address of the restaurant and also talking about their ability to deal with persons needing a gluten free diet.

Here is a quote from an enthusiastic patron of the Blue Moose Cafe:  "Blue Moose Cafe on Fremont, a vegetarian restaurant that states on their menu that they can help you with gluten-free options (and they do–yum!). Click on the restaurant name for a map leading you to the restaurant location.

New Cascadia Traditional Bakery. I recommend their gluten free sourdough bread.

Piece of Cake Bakery. Click here for the location.

The Coffee Plant. Gluten free bake goods and coffee. Note that The Coffee Plant has two locations but only this one is gluten free. It is right next to Corbett Fish House (see the first item in this list) so you can really celebrate gluten free in this area

Mi-Famiglia (in the Portland suburb, Oregon City), A pizzeria that is ready and willing to meet our needs.

Monteaux’s Public House (in Beaverton, a Portland suburb) Click here for the gluten free menu. Click on the restaurant name and scroll down for the location.

The Garlic Jim’s Pizza Chain recently introduced gluten free pizza in all its outlets in the Portland/Vancouver area. Click here to read a press release on that subject. Click on the pizza chain’s name for i locations.

Vita Cafe. This restaurant emphasized vegetarian and vegan food, but items that can be prepared gluten free are asterisked on the regular menu. Click on the restaurant name for the location. This restaurant seems to be very child-and-family friendly.

  I am aware of four gluten free restaurants in Oregon outside the Portland area:

In Salem, try the Marco Polo Global Restaurant. Click here to read their gluten free menu. These same people operate Marco Polo Tea Time. Click here to read a review of  this celiac-friendly restaurant.

Bella Cucina, with locations in Bend and Sun River. Click on the restaurant name and decide which location you prefer. Then follow the directions on the screen.

Angeline’s Bakery and Café in Sisters. Click here for the gluten free options that are available.

  Shopping for gluten free food? You’ll probably find what you need at  Whole Foods Market or Trader Joe’s. Here are some other possibilities:

If you’re in the Portland area, try New Seasons.

Angeline’s Bakery sells its excellent gluten free products at many locations in Washington and Oregon.

Gluten free foods are available at The Health Food Mart in Medford

The Living Earth Bakery sells its gluten free baked goods at several locations in Corvalis. You will probably need to scroll down to get the informtion you need.

These chain restaurants serve delicious meals in Oregon. Keep in mind that chain restaurants invariably have web sites that make finding them easy to find and standardized quality control procedures that insure that you will have no unpleasant gluten–toxic surprises. If you are interested in any of the restaurants on this list, click here to find the information that you need: Chic-Fil-A, Chili’s Grill and Bar, Claim Jumper, Outback Steakhouse, P.F. Chang’s China Bistro, Romano’s Macaroni Grill, Wingers.

 On a personal note, I  noticed while preparing  this article that is the best item on this blog. Why? Because I live in a suburb of Portland so my writing is based  on personal experience as well as internet research. Some day I would love  to tour the country sampling gluten free restaurants. Until that time, I will have to rely on people like you for first hand information. Please leave a comment at the bottom of this (or any article) or use the button in the center column to send me an e-mail.

Information added 10/01/08