Eating Out Gluten-Free

I admit I used to love going out. I work full-time at a day job but also write both fiction and freelance technical writing at night so I don't often have a lot of time to cook (nor energy, honestly). Mr. Maura does a lot of cooking but he works full-time as well so he's not always got the energy either.

So pre-diagnosis, we would eat out maybe once or twice a week and I'd often eat in the cafeteria at work (we have a rather nice one). Sadly, I was also a consistent customer of the fast-food drive-thru for breakfast. I can't say I ate WELL but I had a decent amount of variety.

Then came my diagnosis of celiac disease. After a few days of worrying if there was anything in the world I could eat, I started to do some research and a lot of reading and found there were places I could eat out (a lot fewer, mind you) but that most fast-food was right out. Anymore I know off the top of my head a number of places I can eat but if I'm faced with finding a new one for some reason (most recently it was a work luncheon), I have a set of steps I go through to make a decision on whether I can eat in reasonable safety at any particular place.

Note the "reasonable safety" because there are no guarantees, really. Even if a chef and restaurant do their best, there's always room for error or issue. So never ignore it if you start to feel "glutened" during a meal - STOP eating and care for yourself.

If you find you are on a gluten-free diet and have to figure out where you can go out to eat, here are some tips that might help.

1. The first thing I do is Google the restaurant or chain name + the word "gluten". This will usually uncover either official policies from the restaurant or other people's posts about their experiences. Remember that recipes and such change constantly, though, so the results you get are clues, not cast-iron answers.
2. Then I call the restaurant and ask what they can do to accommodate someone who medically must be gluten-free. I sometimes have to resort to saying I am allergic to gluten in order to get your point across, by the way. Not many people know what celiac is or understand it. Every once in a while, even on restaurants where my Google search doesn't turn up much, I may be lucky and the restaurant may have a gluten-free menu or I may end up even talking to the manager or a chef. But I always ask NICELY if they can help me and advise me.

Based on the results of the first two steps, I decide whether I'm willing to walk in the door at all. If the web search is good and the staff seem knowledgeable on the phone, I'll give it a shot.

When I get to the restaurant, I explain again about not being able to have gluten because of a medical condition and when I order, I make sure the wait staff writes down my order as a special order. If at any time I feel in danger or don't like what I see or hear, I either leave or I just don't eat my meal. Seriously. It's better to go hungry than be glutened.

Now, I want to point out that going into any situation like this without preparation, acting like an entitled jerk to the staff or making life miserable for all around you are not something I espouse. In the case of special diets, it always pays to be a bit apologetic, not in a hurry, patient and courteous to the staff. The simple fact is that those of us requiring a special diet do make more work and headaches for the staff. Understand that going in and if you are well taken care of, tip generously and thank them all around. It goes a long way - both for welcoming you back and for any other celiacs they may have dine there.

More and more restaurants are recognizing the gluten-free diet is more common than ever and taking steps to accommodate those on it. I am looking forward to my choices in restaurants broadening but, alas, I don't think fast food breakfast sandwiches will ever be back on it.....