Fast Food Review - Chipolte Mexican Grill

I ate for the first time in a Chipolte Mexican Grill this weekend and loved it! I had previously visited their website and knew that most of their menu items were gluten and dairy free. When I got to the counter, I mentioned my dietary restrictions and the counter person handed me a small white card which listed all of their menu items and all of the allergens (both wheat AND gluten were listed). Only the flour tortillas and soft flour tacos contained gluten and only their two obvious dairy items (sour cream and cheese) contained dairy.

The store is set up like a Boston Market where everything is laid out infront of you at the counter. You have a choice of bowl, salad, crispy taco and (if not a celiac) soft tacos and buritos. Add to that your choice of meats (chicken, beef, pork), beans (black or pinto) and rice, as well as sides of chips and three different salsas or guacamole. Overall, it was a little spicy but excellent.

I'll definitely be going back.

Fast Food Review - Chick-fil-A

I recently learned that Chick-fil-A has a gluten free menu. I used to eat at Chick-fil-A quite a bit before realizing I had Celiac disease and truth be told was still occasionally cheating with their french fries. I checked their website and found their Gluten Free list (click on Nutrition & Health on the left side and then look for "Gluten Info" on the top menu bar on the resulting page).

As expected, their chargrilled chicken was gluten free (without the bun of course) and two of their salads are as well (the Chargrilled Chicken Garden Salad and Chargrill Chicken & Fruit Salad). What I was really excited to see was that their Waffle Potato Fries are GF too. Now of course, there are issues of cross contamination so I emailed them to ask about that.

It turns out that all of the breaded and fried chicken at Chick-fil-A is cooked in some sort of covered pressure fryer. The Waffle Fries are the only item fried in their Waffle Fry Fryer! Not willing to take corporate's word for it, I stopped by a Chick-fil-A in a mall on my way home and confirmed with the local store that this is indeed the case!

Ah, happy days, I can eat fast food french fries again! At least at Chick-fil-A that is.

Uno Chicago Grill is awesome!

I stopped for dinner at an Uno Chicago Grill last night after a basketball game (for those interested, Seton Hall lost in overtime.) I had recently visited Uno's website (http://www.unos.com) after having read on some other blogs that they are rapidly rolling out Gluten Free Pizza nation wide. (see article here.)

Unfortunately, they aren't rolling out Dairy Free Pizza nationwide so I had to skip it! They do however, have a touch screen computer kiosk in their lobby that links to their online nutrition information. This online resource not only lists the eight major allergens (the same ones required on groceries) but each entry also contains a link to a full listing of every ingredient in a menu item. That's right, no need to rely on asking what is in a certain sauce or side dish, you can easily look it up!

Before arriving at the restaurant I already knew that their Brown Rice w/ Craisins and Mango was GF and DF. I ordered a bunless burger with red onions and guacamole after using the kiosk to find that their guacamole is dairy free as well. Most restaurants put butter in their rice and have no idea what is in their guacamole so it was nice to order just a tad bit easier.

Yes it would have been nice to have had French Fries, but the rice was a really good substitution. I think this is my new favorite chain restaurant!

Has anyone else had a positive experience with Uno's?

I ordered a pizza for dinner last night!

I stopped by Pizza Fusion last night in Ridgewood, NJ and ordered a Gluten Free and Dairy Free pie. For those who are not familiar with Pizza Fusion they are a relatively new chain of franchised pizzerias based out of Florida but rapidly expanding across the US. They serve gourmet pizza using mostly organic ingredients and are heavy into recycling and energy efficiency. They offer a gluten free crust (which is becoming common here in NJ) but the really big news is that they offer a Vegan Mozzarella as well! For the first time in ~15 years I can order pizza in a Pizzeria!

All of the gourmet, organic and GF/DF ingredients (as well as renewable energy, hybrid delivery vehicles, etc) come at a cost however. Their food is a bit expensive and you pay significantly more ($8) for a GF crust and a bit more for Vegan cheese ($2). It should also be noted that it is an oval pie, not a round pie so it is smaller than the "large" size you would get at a regular NJ pizzeria. Also, it is not a traditional New York style pizza but rather what I believe to be a Neapolitan (islands of cheese in the tomato sauce, not a covering a cheese) style pizza - or at least the one with soy mozzarella was.

Overall it wasn't bad but unfortunately not worth the price. The crust contains bean flour which has a distinct flavor. I hear rumors that some people don't mind this flavor but, I for one am not a big fan. Coupled with the lack of cheese it just wasn't what I was hoping for. I am certainly glad there is an option to go out for pizza, especially somewhere with a trained staff and clearly marked ingredients but again, at the price and size it just wasn't worth it to take out or dine alone. Perhaps for a special occasion or to dine in with friends . . .

I did have half the pizza left over (shown in the photo on the right). I plan on reheating the remaining slices under the broiler later this week after first covering the bare spots of tomato sauce with some shredded Vegan Gourmet Mozzarella that I have in the freezer for just such an emergency!

Starbucks going Gluten Free?

It looks like Starbucks in considering offering Gluten Free menu items. They are currently soliciting opinions on their blog as well as test marketing a limited number of items in a limited number of stores. You can read all about it (as well as add your opinion) here.

And then Gluten Free Sesame Chicken for lunch today!

My GF tour of the Bergen County area continued at lunch today. I stopped by Peter Wong's Homemade Ice Cream & Asian Cafe in Montvale today. Unfortunately, the woman who greeted me at the front of the restaurant didn't speak English very well and had no idea what I meant when I asked about eating gluten free.

Luckily, before I left, the owner came in and assured me that there were a number of GF options on their menu. They are even working on an actual GF menu, but it hasn't been published yet. In addition to anything not breaded, one of the dim sum dumplings was made with rice flour and he mentioned that they could even make Sesame Chicken using a corn starch coating. I stopped him at that point as I was sold and ordered the Sesame Chicken for lunch. It was quite good and I can't wait to return and try some of their other menu items. (Note: the soy sauce on the tables has wheat but the take out packets are from WY Industries and do not.)

Here are some important details:
Peter Wong's Homemade Ice Cream & Asian Cafe
26G Chestnut Ridge Road
Montvale, NJ 07645
201-391-2797
(located in the strip mall with The GYM)
BYOB

Hours:
T-R: 11:30am - 9:00pm
Fri: 11:30am - 9:30pm
Sat: 12:00pm - 9:30pm
Sun: 12:00pm - 9:00pm
Closed on Mondays

Yet again, if you work or live in this area (or at some point are passing through) stop by and give them a try!

I ordered a sandwich for lunch yesterday!!!

I ordered a sandwich for lunch yesterday! No, I didn't just order the contents of a sandwich (as I usually do), I ordered an actual sandwich! I had roast beef with mixed greens and roasted peppers on Sunflower seed bread. It was pretty good and it was reasonably priced. It turns out that yet another GF option has opened here in Northern NJ. This one is a brand new GF sandwich shop/GF store in Westwood:

Livin' Gluten Free
419 Broadway
Westwood, NJ
201-383-0392
(there is a large yellow Livin' Gluten Free sign in the window and they are across Broadway from Iron Horse.)

Hours:
M-F: 10am - 6pm
Sat: 9am - 4pm
Sun: Closed

Unfortunately for me, all of the desserts in the display case had dairy in them (although they did have Arico Cookie Bars so lunch wasn't dessert free!). They do have a limited amount of gluten free groceries for sale as well, and assorted frozen items in a large white unlabeled freezer. For sandwiches they have a full line of Thumans products with a choice of different Schar breads and rolls (not sure what brand the Sunflower Seed bread was but all their breads were dairy free). Everything in the store is gluten free and quite a bit was dairy free as well.

They've only been open for about two weeks now and they still have some kinks to work out. The signs from the old Panini shop are all still up (including the main outdoor sign over the shop) and supplies do seem to be limited, as is the menu. However, they are trying and it can't be easy to run a sandwich shop that is completely gluten free.

I would recommend to anyone who lives or works in the area, do try to get over and check this shop out!

Restaurant Review: Janice's in Hohokus, NJ

A buddy of mine and I had lunch at Janice's in Hohokus, NJ on Friday. I've been to Janice's before and it is one of the only really Gluten Free restaurants in Northern NJ. They offer GF pasta, GF flour (for breading and sauces) and GF bread (which unfortunately isn't Dairy Free). Lunch was great, I had a grilled chicken sandwich (without bread) and GF french fries. I cheat like crazy on French Fries and eat them anywhere they don't add a batter coating (I know, I know, cross contamination). Janice's has a dedicated frier for GF foods so the fries are ok even for those who are symptomatic. I also had a cup of the lentil soup without worry of hidden flour or dairy.

I've been to Janice's before (I took a date there over the summer) and really like the place. The food is good and in addition to having a good number of GF menu items they also offered to make me anything I wanted from the regular menu or (daily specials) both GF and DF. (Unfortunately, the bread is baked in advance . . . ) The entire staff is very allergen aware and you don't get that typical blank waiter stare when you start to list your restrictions. I certainly like being able to order without a long drawn out explanation (especially after coming back from Spain where it was the norm).

They've got a menu on their website (http://www.janiceabistro.com/) but don't be deceived, at least for dinner, they had a long list of additional specials. If you find yourself in the NNJ area I would definitely recommend you check Janice's out! (I for one hope to be heading back for dinner there soon.)