Review: Gluten-free Bun at Cheeseburger in Paradise

Over three years ago, when I found out that Cheeseburger in Paradise had gluten-free French fries, I went into to have bun-less burger with shoestring fries and the food was really good.  However, the restaurant is not convenient for me to get to and with so many places in Atlanta serving gluten-free buns; I could not see a reason to go back to CIP, unless the place started offering gluten-free buns.

Imagine my delight when several weeks ago, I was asked to review the new gluten-free bun at Cheeseburger in Paradise!  Finally, the most logical chain around figured out the importance of capitalizing on the gluten-free market.  That was very welcome news indeed, but if the bun wasn’t any good, it would not matter to the most finicky gluten-free customers, including me.

When no one would tell me what brand of buns Cheeseburger in Paradise was serving, I was a bit perplexed.  It was clear that the company was not planning on revealing where the buns were coming from.  That was kind of annoying since if the bun they serve is inedible (to me), there was no reason to rush right over for the review meal.

Finally, I decided if the bun was not any good, I’d just have another bun-less burger and be thankful that I wasn’t paying for it.  As it turned out, just a few nights before my review meal was scheduled, a good friend of mine told me she had tried the new bun at Cheeseburger in Paradise and she didn’t think I’d be disappointed in it.

We arrived at the restaurant early on a Sunday night and the place was not busy at all.  That is the way I like it so I was glad we’d chosen an appropriate time to go in.  The manager came out and introduced himself and explained that the bun they are serving was developed over a very long period.  He also gave up the name of the company making the buns, since the corporate office quickly found out that not sharing that information with potential gluten-free customers was not a good idea at all.

CIP serves Redbridge gluten-free beer which is my least favorite, but it’s better than them not offering any options as all.  When my meal came out, I noticed that my and my husband’s bun were different which I took as a good sign since he’d ordered a gluten bun.  The fries aren’t the shoestring style anymore so that was a bit of a disappointment, but they were delicious none the less.  However, the only thing I really cared about (besides not getting sick, of course) was how the bun tasted.

First of all, the bun looks like a soft, white Wonderbread-type bun.  Knowing that there are many different types of gluten buns at the restaurant, I kind of got concerned, especially when I touched the bun and it was as soft as it looked.  In fact, in over five years of test tasting most every gluten-free sold in the U.S., I’ve never come across one with the perfect gluten bun texture that the bun at Cheeseburger in Paradise has.

My husband reminded me that since the manager was overseeing my meal, the bun was very likely gluten-free or else they would not care for my review of the meal to say the least.  So, I delved into my burger and the white, fluffy bun took me by surprise in an amazing way.  It was what I’ve been looking for in a gluten-free bun for over five years!  There are other excellent buns on the market and I’m happy to have them.  However, none of them pretends to be a soft, cloud-like bun because none of them are that.

Don’t get me wrong, not everyone is looking for this type of bun so it’s not going to float everyone’s boat, but for those who want a “cheap” type white gluten bun with a lot of air in it, this creation by French Meadow Bakery fits that bill.  Now all we need to do is find out when and where we can buy this masterpiece bun!  Not everyone can get to a CIP so hopefully, the company knows what they’ve got on their hands and will make these buns available to anyone who wants them.

Prior to the posting of this article, I contacted four people at French Meadow Bakery, but never got to speak to a live person.  All I could do was leave v-mails  and to date, no one from the company has gotten back to me regarding the availability of the new gluten-free bun.  If I eventually hear back from the company, I’ll let our readers know what I find out.

The upcharge for the gluten-free bun at Cheeseburger in Paradise will be $1.  In my opinion, this is a huge bargain for the pleasure of having such a “real” tasting bun.  Check the locations page on the CIP website to see if there is a location hear you.  Like the saying sometimes goes – you won’t believe it’s gluten-free!

UPDATE 6-29-11: I did hear back from someone at French Meadow Bakery regarding the availability of the new buns.  Apparently, my emails went to people who were all out of the office for several days.  It seems that the company will be rolling the product out in the retail market eventually, but currently it’s only available for food service companies.  That is certainly welcome news!

*The meal for this review was provided to me at no charge.  As always, the opinions expressed are my own and have not been influenced by any outside sources.