Gluten-free Penne Alfredo and Pizza
In the summer of 2008, a friend of mine, Kerry (GF dinner club Organizer), started taking gluten-free pizza crust into her local pizza “joint” in Duluth, GA. She went over cross contamination issues with Phil – the owner of Pepperoni’s and investigated ingredients in the sauces, dressing, cheese and toppings.
Once Phil devised a way to cook the gluten-free crust safely in his conveyor pizza oven, Kerry was able to serve her family of four (three of which are gluten intolerant) gluten-free pizza that tasted as good as “normal” pizza! Eventually Phil figured out that there was a need to accommodate gluten-free patrons and started buying gluten-free crusts from a local restaurant distributor that sells Domata gluten-free crusts.
Pepperoni’s had a family that went in regularly and ordered pizza, but the child ate only food they’d brought in for him. The parents explained the child had food allergies. After Phil got the gluten-free pizza ball rolling so to speak, he thought to ask the parents of the “food allergic” child if their son happened to be allergic to gluten. As it turned out, the child in fact, had celiac disease. Phil made them a gluten-free pizza that night and the rest is history. When the family goes into Pepperoni’s now, the parents get about a piece of pizza each and their son enjoys the rest!
Pepperoni’s stocks either the 10” or 12” gluten-free crust, depending on what the local distributor has in stock. This is the only pizza place that we know of (in the Atlanta area) with gluten-free Bar-B-Q sauce and the Bar-B-Q chicken pizza is outstanding. One of the best things about Pepperoni’s is the Italian red sauce – it’s really exquisite!
Recently, Pepperoni’s began offering gluten-free pasta. The rice pasta can be ordered with several safe sauces. Protein such as chicken or shrimp can also be added. We always get the Alfredo sauce because it’s one of the best versions in town!
Gluten-free offerings at Pepperoni’s:
- Pizza – various offerings
- Pasta – various offerings
- Salad (order no croutons or bread!)
- Bard’s Tale gluten-free beer
There is no gluten-free menu at Pepperoni’s. If you go, confirm the sauce you want is gluten-free in case the ingredients have changed. The meats were all gluten-free at last check, as were the cheeses. The salad dressings are made in house and all are gluten-free.
As a courtesy to the staff, we avoid showing up in the middle of the Friday or Saturday night dinner rush. Extra precautions have to be taken to prepare our food safely, so it’s only fair we respect that fact.
Does your local pizza “joint” offer gluten-free pizza? If so, please tell us about it in the comments below.
If you can’t find gluten-free pizza in your area, here’s a crust recipe to make at home!
im taeler im 17 and i have celiac disease, i've know for about a year, and am researching more about ...
I found Heartland pasta at my local WalMart and bought the fusilli. I cooked it up and combined it ...
Dr. Osborne,
Thank you for sharing that. That makes a lot of sense and explains why I can tolerate it ...
Thanks Shirley! If I go to the event, I hope to enter something with pumpkin it it...just haven't worked out ...
There’s a few I’ve found so far around the Des Moines (IA) area that have a GF Pizza option. Godfathers (not a big fan of their GF option, too small and crust is not great) and Felix & Oscars which is in DSM only. So far, F&O have been the best tasting with the crust being nice and crispy with a nice crunch, and from what I’ve gathered in the limited times I’ve gone I can have almost every ingredient offered, sans Doritos on the Taco Pizza. I just tell them to leave those on the side and my non-celiac’s can have them.
Kudos to Pepperoni’s for carrying Bard’s!
I went to a gluten free pizza place for lunch in Tempe, Arizona and had a wonderful experience. I confirmed with the waiter that the pizza was gluten free before I ate it, which I always do as a precausionary measure. The pizza was delicious! However, when I went back to that same restaurant for dinner and ordered the gluten-free bread and eggplant parmesan, they accidentally placed regular bread on my plate. I irresponsibly ate a piece of the bread and commented on the delicious taste and texture to my son and he said, “Mom are you sure that your bread is gluten free? It looks so much like regular bread.” I said, yes, I ordered gluten free and this restaurant has the Celiac Sprue symbol on their door, so I’m sure it is, but to appease my son, I asked the waiter if he was sure that the bread on my plate was gluten free…and he got a very strange look on his face and said, “Oh my gosh, no that’s not gluten-free bread!” I was devastated, not to mention extremely concerned. I had a reaction several days later…I have DH and it flared up badly. The moral of the story….always, always confirm that your food is gluten free before you partake…even if the Celiac Sprue sign is on the door. I’m not going to say the name of the restaurant because they were so sorry for what had happened and I’m sure it taught them a huge lesson, too. I wouldn’t want to ruin the reputation of this restaurant because their food is really very good. We all need to take the necessary precautions to make sure this doesn’t happen. I wish you safe and happy gluten-free eating!
Jon – thanks for letting us know about Felix & Oscars…love that name! I have heard that the glutne-free crust at Godfather’s was not good but they don’t have locations in Atlanta anymore so I haven’t tried it.
S. Lynn – very good advice! If you’re a regular at a place, you know what the gluten-free food should look like. The first time you go some place new however, asking a lot of questions is essential. The only exception to the rule is if you’re dining at a 100% gluten-free restaurant. Such places are far and few between, to say the least. One thing is for sure – the more of us that go out to eat, the better off we’ll all be in the long run. Staffs can not improve service that they paractice infrequently.