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Max and Erma’s Gluten-Free Menu

Last Updated on by the Celiac-Disease.com Staff 1 Comment

Max & Erma’s has been a Columbus, Ohio staple for as long as I can remember. We moved to Columbus in 1985 when my dad got transferred for his job and one of the first meals we ate here was at Max & Erma’s on Henderson Rd. That location was one of the quirky restaurants I had been in, having rotary telephones on each table so that guests could call neighboring tables.

Once I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease and followed a gluten-free diet, the only thing I could eat at Max & Erma’s was a plain burger, plain salad, and plain baked potato. As gluten-free awareness spread and neighboring restaurants added gluten-free menus and options, I was disappointed that Max & Erma’s still only offered a few plain menu items.

When I received an email with Max & Erma’s Summer Menu this week, I headed to the website to check to see if they had added a gluten-free menu yet. I was thrilled to see they had! It looks like the menu was added last fall and has a wide variety of salads, burgers (sans buns), entrees, sandwiches (sans bread), and even ice cream for dessert! There are notes beside each menu item for modifications that need to be made to make the item gluten-free.

Santafe

(source) *gluten-free without breadstick, ranch, and tortilla strips

The Santa Fe Chicken Salad looks like a great salad and there are several dressing choices that pair well with the combo to sub for the ranch dressing. If you are a burger fan, the Sauteed Mushroom and Swiss Burger is one of my all-time favorites.

Max & Erma’s has locations across nine different states. Have you dined gluten-free at Max & Erma’s? 

*As always, dining out with Celiac Disease can be risky; each person should take whatever precautions are necessary for them to remain safe.

Review: Rudi’s Gluten-Free Cherry Almond Bars

Last Updated on by the Celiac-Disease.com Staff Leave a Comment

I finally got a chance to try the new Cherry Almond Bars made by Rudi’s Gluten-Free. The wonderful people at Rudi’s kindly sent me some samples to try and asked me to share my thoughts with you guys.

The Cherry Almond Bars are dairy and GMO free in addition to being certified gluten-free. Each bar contains 120 calories, 3g protein and 2g fiber.

Ingredients: Rolled oats, almond butter, honey, gluten-free flour blend (cornstarch, sorghum flour, sweetrice flour, potato starch, potato flour), almonds, canola oil, brown rice syrup, dried cranberries, dried cherries, puffed brown rice, ground flaxseed, vanilla extract, sea salt, natural almond flavor, cinnamon, ground nutmeg.

IMG 2256The most important thing, though, is how they taste. I loved both the flavor and texture of these bars. I love cherries and almonds, so putting them together makes me very happy! I loved the chunks of ingredients, as opposed to everything being ground up into tiny, unrecognizable pieces. The only negative comment I have about the bars is some of them had broken into pieces, which made it a little tough to figure out how big one bar actually was.

Look for Rudi’s gluten-free products in your local health food or grocery store. There is a nifty $1.00 off coupon right on the Rudi’s gluten-free website, so make sure to print that puppy out before you head to the store.

*The samples reviewed in this post were sent to me free of charge for review purposes. The thoughts and opinions shared here are mine and have not been influenced by anyone or anything.

Champp’s Gluten-Free Menu

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We have been dining at Champps for a long time. By a long time, I mean since our 18-year-old son was still in diapers. When I first began the gluten-free diet (2006), the server at Champp’s would bring me a printed piece of paper with a few gluten-free options listed on it. That menu disappeared for a while, then a new piece of paper showed up, though outdated, so Champp’s was not high on my list of restaurants to frequent unless I was meeting a group of people there.

Official Website Menu Information: Champps Gluten-Free Menu
Location Finder: Find a Champps Location Near You

I am meeting a few friends at Champp’s soon and I headed to the website to see if anything had changed with their menus I was thrilled to learn that they have added a gluten-free menu. I have to admit that I am not crazy about the name, as I think “gluten-free-Friendly” is the more appropriate terminology. Whatever, I was thrilled to see the gluten-free choices have grown.

The new menu offers appetizers, side and dinner salads, entrees, burgers, and sides. Long gone are the days of few options, one won’t feel deprived when dining at Chammp’s now. Before lamenting the lack of desserts on the “Gluten-Friendly Menu”, focus on filling up on the main course offerings, as Champp’s portions are notoriously large.

As always, dining out with Celiac Disease can be risky; each person should take whatever precautions are necessary for them to remain safe. Please remember to notify your server and manager on duty so that they can take precautions to help prevent cross-contamination.

As always, when dining out gluten-free, do your due diligence and make sure the staff understands your needs. There are very few restaurants that are 100% gluten-free, so cross-contamination is always a risk. If you don’t feel comfortable with what you are hearing from the staff, perhaps it is best to dine elsewhere.

For information about other gluten-free restaurants menus, check out our gluten-free restaurants page.

Have you tried the new gluten-free offerings at Champps?

Bertucci’s Gluten-Free Options

Last Updated on by the Celiac-Disease.com Staff Leave a Comment

It thrills me to see gluten-free options at so many restaurants these days. While there are a few restaurants that don’t get it, even though they offer a gluten-free menu, the majority seem to. Of course there is always a risk when dining out gluten-free, but the situation is much improved over the past five years.

Bertucci’s opened their first restaurant over 30 years ago in Somerville, MA. Today they have 89 restaurants from New England to Virginia. They have perfected the art of brick oven cooking.

Menu Thumbnails GlutenFree Entree Salads 0While Bertucci’s doesn’t have any gluten-free pasta or pizza options at this point in time, they do have many other gluten-free menu options ranging from starters to desserts. The gluten-free menu options have been identified with help from the Gluten Intolerance Group.

I haven’t had the opportunity to dine at Bertucci’s as there aren’t any here in Ohio. I have made a note to try them should I have the chance to do so.  Have you tried Bertucci’s gluten-free offerings? If so, please share your experience with us below.

List of Most Allergy-Friendly Restaurant Chains

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Many people who follow a gluten-free diet also have to avoid at least one other food ingredient. Dining out and avoiding gluten is hard enough; add in one or more other ingredients to avoid and dining out becomes even more challenging. AllergyEats is a free, peer-based website and smartphone app to help guide those having to avoid gluten and/or other food ingredients when dining out and just released the “2020 List of Most Allergy-Friendly Restaurant Chains”.

“Some exceptional restaurant chains who were leaders on the 2013 list are once again recognized this year, including Red Robin Gourmet Burgers (large chain), Bonefish Grill (medium chain) and Burtons Grill (small chain).  We congratulate two restaurant chains that are new to our list this year – Romano’s Macaroni Grill and Mellow Mushroom,” Antico continued.   “Statistics have shown that maintaining a more allergy-friendly restaurant leads to increased traffic, customer loyalty and, ultimately, profits.”

The Most Allergy-Friendly Restaurant Chains were grouped into three categories – Large (over 200 units), Medium (50-200 units), and Small (under 50 units).  Results were based on diner feedback from the AllergyEats website and app through December 31, 2013:

Allergy eats logoLarge (over 200 units):

  • Red Robin Gourmet Burgers (4.45 rating)
  • P.F. Chang’s China Bistro (4.43 rating)
  • Chipotle Mexican Grill (4.41 rating)
  • Outback Steakhouse (4.35 rating)
  • Romano’s Macaroni Grill (4.20 rating)

Medium (50-200 units):

  • Bonefish Grill (4.43 rating)
  • Ninety Nine Restaurant (4.28 rating
  • Mellow Mushroom (4.26 rating)
  • Uno Chicago Grill (4.24 rating)
  • Bertucci’s Brick Oven Restaurant (4.17 rating)

Small (under 50 units):

  • Burtons Grill (4.90 rating)
  • Maggiano’s Little Italy (4.73 rating)
  • Papa Razzi (4.68 rating)
  • Legal Sea Foods (4.67 rating)
  • Not Your Average Joe’s (4.66 rating)

Don’t forget to share your thoughts and experiences on AllergyEats so that others can benefit from your experience. Doing so helps others choose restaurants that can help them dine out as safely and as enjoyably as possible.