What restaurants are safe for people who live gluten free? There is no one-size-fits-all answer to this. It depends on each persons individual answers to these questions:

♦  Are you willing to eat in a restaurant that serves some foods that are not gluten free? Cross contamination is always possible in such a situation.

♦ Are you willing to eat in a restaurant in a restaurant that has a written “gluten free” menu or food list posted in the restaurant and/or on-line?

♦ Do you talk with waiters, chef, or managers before making a decision about a particular restaurant?

♦ Do you accept the recommendations of your gluten free friends and/or comments that celiacs have posted on-line?

My policy on this site is to list every restaurant that advertises gluten free options on-line, makes a gluten free menu available to its patrons. or has informed me in writing that it provides gluten free options.

As I stated on the front page of this site: “My mission is to provide information, not to give advice. All decision are left with you.” In keeping with that statement, I present all the possible options to you, thus enabling you to make the choices that are best for you.

This week I was able to add “New Seasons” and “Fresh and Easy” supermarkets to my article “Supermarkets with Gluten Free Lists” There are now eighteen supermarkets on this list and in each case there is a link that will enable you to find a convenient store location as well as a list of gluten free products.

I also added the Coquette Creperie in Manitou Springs, Colorado and Tully’s Gluten Free Bakery in New York City. For details, please see my articles on Colorado and New York City.

The St. Patrick’s Day celebration has two essential components: beer and food! Fortunately, people living gluten free are welcome at the festivities.

♦ Redbridge Beer is the most widely available gluten free brew since it is made and distributed by Anheuser Busch. Other brands include Ramapo Valley Beer, Bard’s Tale, and New Grist. There is a good possibility that at least one or two of these beverages are available at your local Whole Foods Market.

Keep in mind that there are lots of wheat free beers available. The “bad guy” here is barley. Until recently, bottlers were not allowed to use the word “beer” to refer to a beverage that was not brewed from barley.

♦ RecipeZaar.com indexes 3455 recipes under the terms “gluten free” “St. Patrick’s Day”. Hopefully, that should be enough for your St. Patrick’s Day feast.

REMINDER: We are currently conducting a survey to see what “real people who live gluten free” actually do when they attempt to read an ingredients label that causes more problems than it solves. Voting ends this Saturday, February 27. If you have not yet voted, please click here to complete the survey.

Gluten free pizza is now available in restaurants nationwide. There are at least four restaurant chains that serve celiac-friendly pizza and two firms that provide gluten free crusts that enable local restaurants to serve gluten free pizzas.

I recently updated my article on gluten free restaurant pizza. Here is the article in its entirety:

Garlic Jim’s, whose pizzas have been certified “safe” by The Gluten Intolerance Group (GIG). The locations page gives you the option of limiting your search to places that serve gluten free pizza. Click here to read the gluten free menu.

Uno Chicago Grill offers three types of gluten free pizza at each of its locations nation-wide.Click here for nutrition information and then click on the button in the middle of the second column.

Pizza Fusion provides gluten free pizza at all its outlets. Click on the restaurant name for locations and/or click here for information about their gluten free offerings.

Z Pizza. Click to find a location and then click on that location and hope to find “Gluten Free Crust Available” in the box at the upper-right corner of the page. Keep in mind that the term “gluten free crust” may or may not mean that the entire pizza is gluten free and has not exposed to cross contamination. Defensive dining is definitely required when you are eating here.

Still Riding Pizza. This is not actually a restaurant chain but a company that sells gluten free pizza crusts to restaurants. They also provide guidance to those restaurants but can’t guarantee anything other than a gluten free crust. Click on the name to read their list of 100+ restaurants that they supply.

Gluten Free Bistro. This company provides gluten free pizza crusts to restaurants in Colorado. Here again, be aware that a pizza is not gluten free simply because it has a gluten free crust.

U.S. News and World Report characterizes the gluten free diet as “a cure for some, a fad for most”. Calling it a “fad for most” seems a bit severe, but many experts agree that many (if not most) of the people living gluten free are fad dieters. Here is a quote from Cynthia Kupper, director of The Gluten Intolerance Group: “surveys show that about 15 to 25% of customers report looking for gluten-free products, apparently far eclipsing the number put on the diet by their doctors….While there’s no firm evidence that the diet is helping them, most nutritionists say there’s nothing known to be risky about it either.” I disagree slightly with that quote. The gluten free diet is inconvenient and expensive. People should think very carefully before they attempt it, particularly if they are doing so with the sort of a physician.

I certainly agree with this part of the article: “For those who have a clear medical need for gluten free products, the surge in options is a boon,…Now…gluten free options abound…. the plethora of new products makes adhering to doctor’s orders easier.” Amen!!!

USA Today recently published an article with the same point-of-view but placing more emphasis on the the down-side of the gluten free diet. In my opinion, this is must-reading for anyone who is considering going gluten free without competent medical supervision.
Finally, I recommend this article published by Celiac.com. It continues the words “With every new trend comes controversy, but ultimately, the growth in interest in a gluten free diet will mean more research, more diagnoses, and more food options.”

What does this mean for us? There are certainly thousands of people who are using the gluten free diet for the wrong reasons. How we deal with them is a matter of personal ethics so I will not deal with that. The increased interest in the gluten free diet certainly benefits us but it also requires us to shop and dine more defensively. For example: many restaurant managers have discovered that advertising gluten free pizza crusts is good for their bottom line. These people may or may not understand that preparing a gluten free pizza involves much more than providing a gluten free crust. Be careful my friends!

P.S. added March 2: This article has generated lots of interest. Be sure to read the comments at the bottom of this article. They shed light on this rather complicated subject.

DISCLOSURE: The comments that appear in blue are my personal opinions based on ten year’s living gluten free and eight years writing on the subject. I have no credentials as a physician or dietitian.

REMINDER: Our current survey has to do with the hassles that occur when we are reading ingredient lists. If you have not already completed the survey, please click here. Voting ends this Saturday.