$2.69, which is a bargain for pre-fab GF foods. 4 oz, and not terribly filling. 220 calories, so definitely a dietary splurge. Pretty darn tasty, though I have to admit that I was expecting it to be, well, pizza-ier. The wrap wasn't even reminiscent of a pizza crust, but reminded me a lot of the tortillas on these little frozen tacos from the 1960's that my mom would serve up occasionally. Next time I'll get the burrito version, which will no doubt throw me into the way-back machine of flavors from my youth.
A friend of mine who is gluten free recently put me in touch with the service director at a five-star restaurant in Manhattan. My friend is a true connoisseur of service and regaled me with an amazing tale of impeccable care when she ate at this restaurant. It made me want to know more about exactly how fine restaurants navigate food sensitivities in a way that makes someone like my friend rave and rave.
The service director (she asked that I not include her name or the name of the restaurant, which puzzles me, but perhaps they need to maintain the mystique about the way they provide amazing service) gave me a behind-the-scenes peek into the world of customer care in fine dining: Here is what we do as a restaurant to help support our celiac friends and allow them to still have fun and experience the same level of service as guests without dietary restrictions: We ask every guest about preferences, allergies, and dietary restrictions as they are speaking with their Captain about the menu. This means that no individual guest is singled out while speaking about what they would prefer to not have during that meal. In the event that a guest lets us know that they have a gluten allergy, we immediately let the kitchen know and the modification is placed on every course through the computer such that everyone in the kitchen is aware of the allergy. The manager is also informed of the allergy. This allows everyone in the restaurant to be completely comfortable with our ability do follow through with preferences. Specifically for gluten allergies, we have four different gluten-free breads that we feature here. It is our belief that guests with gluten allergies should actually receive a better service (for bread) than their gluten-full counterparts. Guests who have our typical bread receive only one type of bread. Guest with gluten allergies receive four types of bread. Our gluten free bread comes from Everybody Eats. They are a fantastic company specializing in gluten free products. Often, guests who can eat gluten get a bit jealous of our gluten free bread service and end up trying some themselves. There you have it. Thanks so much to this outstanding service director, who took the time to write that all down and send it to me. I see why my friend is so taken with you! I'm not often a frequenter of 5-star restaurants (okay, maybe never), but I darn well want to know I'll be treated well if I'm going to make such a big splurge. I will definitely visit Lauren's restaurant for my next/first New York 5-star experience. Any other 5-star diners out there? What's your experience been? Do you have favorite go-to fancy eateries that handle the gluten thing with aplomb? Here are a couple of great YouTube links about things to always have in your freezer and fridge to make sure you make healthy choices with you are hungry and pressed for time. I realized while watching them that all of the suggestions were gluten-free. In fact, the presenter notes at the end of the second video that her husband has a wheat allergy. She makes a quinoa "tebuleh" that she keeps on hand.
It's solid advice, and I follow most of the suggestions. Check 'em out: Video 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtpxqDi6sF4 Video 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clGlNNQdAlQ I started a new MeetUp group: Gluten Free Delaware County. If you live in the west-of-Philadelphia suburbs (or like to drive out this way), join our MeetUp:
http://www.meetup.com/Gluten-free-in-Delaware-County/ We're heading to Uno Chicago Grille on Sunday, January 8th at 2 pm for our first get together. I haven't eaten at Uno's in years, and not since I got the celiac diagnosis. I note that they only have GF crust on the thin crust menu, not the deep dish side. I look forward to seeing how it stacks up to Carmen's, Peace a Pizza, and a new place I tried (and will blog about soon) Seasons. Until yesterday, if you'd asked me what happens to my system if I accidentally eat gluten was, "Oh, I'm pretty lucky. I just get a little gassy." And then I ate eggs at a diner for lunch two days ago.
The diner didn't demonstrate any actual knowledge of gf food handling, and there weren't too many interesting choices on the menu. I decided to risk it and have a spinach and roasted pepper omelette. This was the only meal I'd not prepared for myself for several days, so when my stomach upset began, I zeroed in on the omelette as the culprit pretty quickly. And the stomach upset quickly turned to diarrhea which turned into excruciating abdominal pain that had me doubled over, shaking, vomiting and crying. Oh. My. God. It was terrible. After a couple of hours, the episode passed, though I'm still feeling the lingering effects today. I don't blame the restaurant. I was careless and knowingly took a gamble. Now that I know just exactly what can happen, I will not make that mistake again. And, because I try to find the gift as well as the lesson in everything, this episode reminded me how lucky I am to have such a terrific spouse who took care of me and sat by me even when all there was to do was to put another blanket over me or rinse out the bedroom waste basket. I am truly blessed. |
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January 2024
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