Drafting Room is a nice local restaurant/bar for your beer enthusiasts. Obviously, as a Celiac, those beers are a no no (they don’t carry any GF beer to date) – but who knows what the future holds. My friends and I like to frequent the bar side on Tuesday nights to enjoy Pub Trivia. While none of the appetizers are gluten free as displayed on the menu, I can bring in my own sealed bag of tortilla chips and they will make the nachos for me (with all the cheese and fixin’s) using my chips.  I’ve never had a problem with them and I’ve had those nachos about a dozen times now. The waitresses are more than happy to work with you on food allergies (wonderful upbeat attitude), but be cautious about everything here. The first time I was ordering I was told she could make the nacho’s gluten free but it would take longer than a regular order of nachos. When I asked for clarification cause I couldn’t understand why – it turns out they were going to pick out all the wheat chips out of the wheat/corn mix. Obviously for anybody with a severe wheat/gluten allergy that’s a big no no. I made sure she realized that it would still make me sick, and that’s when she suggested to bring my own. There’s a Wawa right down the street, so just make a side stop and grab a bag!

I think some of the meals would be gluten free, you just need to work with them.

 They also have Woodchuck – Granny Smith in bottle form for those who are over 21

 Note: This is only for the Spring House branch. I’ve never been to the Exton branch. 

 Last night, in a Shop Rite over in South Jersey I discovered a GF Cookie Dough Ice Cream made by Turtle Mountain!!

 http://www.soydelicious.com/products/purely_decadent_cookie_dough.html

 It is currently sitting in my freezer waiting for me to try it. It’s dairy free for those of us who have lactose problems as well. Not for those who have a problem with Soy, as that is the main ingredient.

More to post once I’ve tried it! 

This weekend I had the pleasure of trying out Bliss. A restaurant that was mentioned in the local paper for being very accomodating of Gluten Free needs.

All in all, it was a very pleasant experience. Located on the Avenue of the Arts, Bliss definitely takes the cake on ambiance. The waiter was very friendly and checked on each item for me that I asked about.

For starters, I had the cucumber soup which was rather good. It was very creamy and rather heavy – but had a very yummy taste.

I then enquired about the pistacio crusted salmon and if I couldn’t have that, I wanted the crispy ginger chicken. Well, the waiter came back and briefly informed me I’d be having the salmon without the crust. Which after a minute took me aback cause the reason I wanted the salmon was Because of the pistacio crust. Well, I dealt – the salmon (while pistacio’less) was still pretty tasty.

For dessert my friend and I shared the vanilla creme brulee. After reporting it was gluten free, it came out with a nice piece of biscotti overtop the creme brulee, so you have to make sure to remind them.

It was a little pricey I thought for the food offered (tax and tip, it came to $50). I think I’d rather go to Pod or Buddakon for those prices. But it was still a nice experience and I think a lot of other people would like it.

I know that there are people out there who like to get updates but really don’t feel like checking my blog frequently. For those of you who fit that category, please feel free to sign up for the new Google Group.

http://groups.google.com/group/phillyceliac

It is an open group so anyone can add in their own reviews from restaurants, but at the very least it will contain all updates to this blog.

http://www.99restaurants.com/

With the knowledge that 99′s website identified items containing gluten, I went there with high hopes with some girlfriends of mine. I had identified some menu items beforehand I was interested in trying, and when the waitress came to take my order I explained my food allergies. She did the wonderful thing and went to double check with the manager who came out to talk to me with two copies of the printed out Nutrition/Allergy list (one of which he left with me). He helped me identify them as gluten free and told me to ask for him if I had any questions. So I ordered, with strict instructions that the biscuit that came with my meal should not be on my plate.
Well, the food came out and low and behold there was my biscuit… touching my salmon. So I politely sent it back with the person who brought it out and when our waitress came to check up on us, she was absolutely devastated that they messed it up. She swore up and down that she put ‘no biscuit’ and they just didn’t listen to her. Unfortunately, I didn’t get my Gluten Free meal until my friends had finished eating. But the waitress felt so bad that she actually took my meal off the bill.
While I wasn’t too impressed with the meal itself and the delay in getting my meal was disheartening, the staff did really care and it showed. I’d be happy to go back there again and give them another try.

Ridge Pike
Conshohocken, PA

http://www.unos.com/kiosk/nutritionUnos.html

This is another chain that can now boast a gluten free menu (which is wonderful news!). I must send out a huge warning though to not let your guard down.

I went to Uno’s one Saturday night and was upset to find two people in a row had no idea what the Gluten Free menu was and had to search it down. Once they were able to find it, I had a bit of a hard time understanding the menu itself. I found myself interested in the BBQ Grilled Shrimp and I noticed on the GF menu it read “BBQ Grilled Shrimp and two sides”.  However on the regular menu it is described as BBQ grilled shrimp served over rice with a side of steamed vegetables. One thing to note is that the rice is not on the GF side options. So I’m fairly certain the rice is not GF, but there was no explicit note on the GF menu to avoid the rice when ordering the BBQ Grilled Shrimp (like the Outback menu does).

The food was rather greasy, but I’ve come to expect that from Uno’s. The taste was definitely good. They will identify gluten free items for you, but you do need to explain to the wait staff (you can’t count on them knowing beforehand). If you’re very cautious about how you order, you should do well here!

The first thing I learned on my dinner excursion is that my blog is actually helping people! At least one person has found their way to Pasta Pomodoro in Voorhees after reading my review (which makes me VERY happy!). Hopefully I can keep expanding the places I go to and helping people find restaurants that allow you to eat gluten free with a peace of mind.

The second thing was that my favorite restaurant was clearly a hit amongst Philadelphia as well! Recently, there was the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness Gluten Free Cooking Spree in Philadelphia. I had heard all about it but sadly could not attend due to the high cost and my modest budget. Surprisingly, I had heard nothing about the winner… that is, until Saturday night when Pasta Pomodoro’s chef Pat and owner Skip were very proud to serve their Award Winning Coconut Crusted Chilean Sea Bass (a very big deal at the restaurant – for good reason!).

To top off the meal, my friends and I indulged in two gluten free desserts. The GF Brownie and GF Chocolate Banana Cream Pie. Doesn’t the sound of the last one just make your mouth water? The brownie was good, but if dairy isn’t a problem it would probably taste best with vanilla ice cream (it was also tasty the following day). The Chocolate Banana Cream pie didn’t last until the next day though, it actually didn’t even last 5 minutes. It was devoured and I think I can safely say its one of the best pies I’ve ever tasted (comparable to Mr. Ritt’s, who is also worth a try if you haven’t been to his bakery).

To be fair to our gluten eating friends and family, all my friends greatly enjoyed their glutinous meals as well. The men polished off their plates and while the women all took home leftovers, they were consumed for lunch the next day. 

Stay Tuned: Review of Stephen Starr’s Pod

New location in Newtown, PA opening in October ’07
(Edit 7/17/07): New location in Flemington, NJ opening in July ’08.  

Last weekend, my boy and I took the 30 minute one way trek to get me pizza – and boy was it worth it!

We’d gone before, and I got some fancy topping gluten free pizza. It was a veggie pizza with arugula, mozzerella, garlic, tomatoes, and some other stuff. I wasn’t a huge fan of the chunks of mozzerella, so I spent a considerable amount of time picking them off and putting them on a plate where my boy then put them on his glutinous pizza.
This time, however, I got a plain GF pizza with pepperoni, mushrooms and green peppers. Let me tell you YUM. While I couldn’t finish a medium pizza (the only size you can get GF) by myself, I made a sizable dent into it.

The crust is thin (as the name of the pizzaria suggests) and crispy and delicious. The only downside is it does cost a pretty penny. One GF medium pizza, one large regular pizza and two sodas cost over $40 (wowzers!). But we both had leftovers that reheated very well in the oven (directions on the bottom of the To-Go box) so really it counted as two meals.

They also offer frozen dough to take home for $6 that you defrost an hour before baking then roll out to the medium pizza side. I bought two, but have yet to try and make them so I’ll keep you posted on how they turn out.

As a dessert treat, they offer some prepackaged GF Good Eatz baked goods – such as cookies, brownies, and rice crispy treats. I tried the Chocolate Chip cookies and the brownies and I enjoyed the brownie more.

I wish I was closer to this place and I would probably be a regular patron. As is, it is an every couple month treat

To be honest, after the ordering process in Champps, I was ready to cry. For one, it took asking my waiter twice and then asking another waiter to get the manager to the table. Then, trying to find something I could have that I’d want felt like beating my head against the wall.
Yes, the nacho chips are corn, but they are fried in with breaded stuff. The potato skins and fries too. Everything is done ahead of time and they are unable to fry anything in clean oil.
Apparently there was a waitress there who also had Celiac and they assured me she had the buffalo wings without having a reaction. To which I was a little indignant (as any semi-careful Celiac would be) and responded that people have different tolerances and I’d need more assurance than that. The waitress who was Celiac finally came over to let me know I could definitely have the buffalo wings just double baked instead of baked then fried. She also informed me that I could have any of the more expensive meals (well duh, they’re all steaks and the like!)
Also important to note – their mashed potatoes have flour in them. Stay away!

Needless to say, this is one of the restaurants I will be avoiding from now on. The mudslide I had (as we were there for happy hour/light food) wasn’t even that good. But I have had better mudslides from Champps, so they could have just been sub-par that day.

I went to Bahama Breeze twice – the first time I called ahead and the second time I didn’t, and I feel like it made a huge difference.

The first time I called ahead and talked to the head chef. I explained my food allergies and he let me know it would be no problem accomodating. Just let the waitress know what I was allergic to, pick a couple menu items, and he would make what he could for me. So I went and had some delicious chicken kabobs. (I didn’t have any sort of reaction afterwards)

About 5 months later, I went back for the same delicious kabobs. When talking to the waitress and explaining the food allergies, she went back to the chef and then came back saying they wouldn’t feel comfortable serving that to me and the only thing I could have would be the shrimp appetizer (without the bread), and the fresh fish entree’s, but only with simple seasonings. I got the Mahi Mahi simply grilled and it was just that – simple. It didn’t taste bad per-say it just didn’t really taste. I think the best part of my second trip to Bahama Breeze was the super tasty drinks. If you like the fruity drinks, this is the place to go. I’m tempted to call ahead again and speak to a chef about GF menu items as it may work better.