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Review: Gluten-Free at P.F. Chang’s China Bistro

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

P.F. Chang’s is somewhat known for their gluten-free menu. Celiacs count on P.F. Chang’s because they are a nationwide chain with restaurants in many major cities. Traveling celiacs can search for the nearest safe chain restaurant when visiting friends, family, or traveling for work. Check out these favorites from P.F. Chang’s China Bistro.

The egg drop soup is a lightly seasoned soup with mild but good flavors. The soup is thicker than one might expect, more like a thickened broth than a thin, watery soup. This is a great treat for lunch on a chilly day. Have a cup before the meal or a bowl to share with friends, either way, it is a nice treat.

friedriceforDE

Fried rice is a new addition to the gluten-free menu at P.F. Chang’s. Like most Chinese restaurants, fried rice can be ordered with your choice of meat. The veggies are a nice addition, as are the fried egg pieces. This dish is a great reminder of the days with traditional Chinese food before gluten was something to worry about. P.F. Chang’s has gluten-free soy sauce for dishes like these, and for the table, so you can add it to your favorite dishes as you wish.

The Singapore Street Noodles is a great dish, made with thin, gluten-free rice noodles, chicken, and shrimp. The noodles are a great treat for celiacs who are used to skipping noodles at commercial restaurants. The sauce is mild and flavorful, with a light spice and sweet note.

pfchangs

The Chang’s Spicy Chicken is a favorite. The chicken is lightly dusted with gluten-free flour and fried. This dish is actually naturally gluten-free, meaning it is always gluten-free, even on the regular menu! (I order it with broccoli, it does not normally come with broccoli). Also, note that the dish has P.F. Chang’s logo stamped on the edge. The “regular” or gluten-filled dishes are served on plain white dishes. Gluten-free meals are served on these dishes with the P.F. Chang’s logo. This is just another way to be sure you are getting the safe, gluten-free version of the dish you have ordered.

The chocolate dome is a fantastic dessert unique to P.F. Chang’s China Bistro. The dome is served chilled, and is a flourless, almost fudge-like dessert, with no cake-like texture. It is more like a rich, sweet fudge mold. The dish is garnished with berries and raspberry sauce. The sour sauce is a great compliment to the sweetness of the chocolate fudge. This dessert may look small, but the rich flavor makes it more than enough for one, and maybe more than enough for two! If you do share, be sure to cut it in half and avoid eating after someone who has not been gluten-free at the meal. It is terrible to contaminate your own meal with the shared dessert at the end!

You can check out the P.F. Chang’s China Bistro gluten-free menu.

Not All Gluten-Free Menus are Created Equal – Even Within the Same Chain

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

In the past, I’ve had incredible gluten-free meals at the Margaritaville locations in Orlando and Panama City Beach, FL. When down in PCB last weekend for a wedding, I was thrilled to find out that the Margaritaville there finally had a gluten-free menu. We were meeting friends for dinner and the evening was more about catching up with them, than having a fabulous meal. Still, I thought it would be nice to have a burger with a bun and fries at the least gluten-free friendly area in the entire Southeast.

The joke about Panama City is that they are five years behind the rest of the world. This is fine if you don’t have to eat gluten-free and want to live in a very laid-back place that has no change of seasons. Personally, I can’t imagine not having seasons, after having moved away from the Florida panhandle over twenty years ago. And since I do eat gluten-free, this is the last place I’d choose to go on vacation. We were there to attend a wedding and I can survive a weekend not eating like gluten-free royalty for one trip a year.

I usually do my homework and thought I’d covered my bases before arriving in Margaritaville. We were so excited to see our friends that we made it to the table without asking for a gluten-free menu. My husband went back up front to get one and was told to ask the server for it. The server said they didn’t have a gluten-free menu. I let him know that according to three people we’d spoken with, they did indeed have one and to ask a manager to help him find it.

The confused server returned with something that looked like they might have just written and printed up in the back on the spot. I say this because there was a typo on it, and under “Nachos” it said – no queso, no sour cream. Here is a hint – if you find a place listing dairy as unsafe, they might not know what gluten-free means. In this case, we could not get to the bottom of the sour cream question because we didn’t want to ruin the evening by holding up ordering in the busiest restaurant on the beach.

I ordered a cheeseburger with no bun, which was not even on the gluten-free menu. The server was able to confirm it was gluten-free, without a bun. When our meals finally arrived, there was no cheese on my burger so it had to go back. I passed on the server’s offer to bring the cheese on the side – I think he must be new to the service industry. My meal was fine and most importantly, it was indeed gluten-free. The fries at that location are not safe but the dirty rice is.

So, I had the most boring meal of the three-day trip that night, which was fine as we were not there for a dining experience in the first place. It should be said that the others at our party all enjoyed their meals. I’d recommend the PCB Margaritaville location if you don’t have any dietary restrictions – no doubt!

After a fun visit with old friends, we parked in the overflow lot across from our hotel and noticed the Boar’s Head sign about twenty yards away. When we visited Panama City years ago, we loved eating at the Boar’s Head. It has been there for over 30 years and has always had exceptional food. In other words, it’s unlike most tourist trap places in the area. Because I’d not found a safe dessert throughout the trip, I suggested we stroll on over and find out if the Boar’s Head had any gluten-free desserts.

To our great surprise, the hostess knew off the top of her head that both the chocolate mousse and lemon creme brulee were gluten-free. We were seated in the fairly dead restaurant and decided on the mousse for me and bread pudding for my husband. Both desserts were excellent it was the perfect end to a nice trip that wasn’t overly exciting in terms of gluten-free dining options.

The moral of the story for me is that I should not assume that every location of a chain with a gluten-free menu has the same gluten-free menu. If no doctors know how to diagnose celiac disease in an area, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a gluten-free knowledgeable community – especially in the dining scene.

The next time we’re in the area, we’ll be having dinner at the Boar’s Head. We would have been much better off going there, where there is no gluten-free menu, than going to Margaritaville which had one not worth offering.

This is the first time we’ve experienced the same chain offering different gluten-free menus at different locations. Please let us know if you know of other places that do the same.

Applebees Gluten-Free Menu

Last Updated on by the Celiac-Disease.com Staff

Applebees restaurants are everywhere these days, so it has always been frustrating to see that their corporate office will not commit to anything on their menu being gluten-free. With that said, that does not mean that you can’t eat a gluten-free meal at an Applebees restaurant! Major companies are often hesitant to confirm anything is gluten-free due to cross-contamination concerns, but they still have many gluten-free options available on their menu. You’ll just have to work a little harder and make sure your server is aware of your gluten-free needs.

Official Website Menu Information: Applebees Gluten-Free Menu
Location Finder: Find an Applebees Location Near You

According to my research and experiences dining at Applebee’s, there are a few fairly safe items that are gluten-free on Applebee’s menu. Here are the items which are more than likely safe if cross-contamination is avoided:

  • Garlic Herb Chicken
  • Chicken Caesar Salad (make sure they know not to use croutons)
  • Fiesta Lime Chicken
  • Chips with Salsa

Make sure you educate your server on cross-contamination concerns so they can be sure that croutons aren’t added and then removed from the salad, for example. Typically when your server realizes the severity of your diet they can accommodate you without any problems.

Applebees also offers a “to-go” service, so knowing that there are a few okay items at Applebees can be useful when traveling. Just make sure you educate the person over the phone about your dietary needs when you place your order!

Have you eaten a gluten-free meal at Applebees?  Let us know your experience (positive or negative) below in the comments!

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.

Ted’s Montana Grill Gluten-Free Menu

Last Updated on by the Celiac-Disease.com Staff 8 Comments

Several years ago Ted’s Montana Grill created a gluten-free menu. Some locations did fine with gluten-free service and some did not. We can not expect the gluten-free service at every location of a chain restaurant to be equal, though it would be nice if we could.

Official Website Menu Information: Ted Montana Grill Gluten-Free Menu
Location Finder: Find a Ted Montana Grill Location Near You

Ted’s Montana Grill was founded by media giant and environmentalist Ted Turner and acclaimed restaurateur George McKerrow Jr. The menu features classic American grill entrées including beef, bison, chicken, shrimp, and fish. The atmosphere is decidedly masculine, invoking thoughts of a rustic retreat in the middle of Montana.

Previous visits to the Ted’s near us (Atlanta area) have gone well, though it was annoying that there was no real gluten-free menu. The booklet that contained the safe gluten-free menu selections was often hard for the staff to find so I just printed the menu from Ted’s website and took it in to save time and aggravation for all.

During a recent visit to Ted’s, we found out that our location now has one bound gluten-free menu. You still have to cross-reference it with the regular menu for descriptions and prices, but to my delight, I saw French fries listed on the menu in “sides”. Some companies are actually not aware of the cross-contamination issues regarding fryers that cook gluten-containing foods. Therefore, I never order anything fried without confirming there is a dedicated fryer first – no matter what the menu says.

Sure enough – Ted’s Montana Grill has a dedicated fryer  – at least at the Lawrenceville, GA location. Their fries are simply made from real potatoes and are excellent! Unfortunately, Ted’s corporate office could not confirm which locations have dedicated fryers at this time. They ask that people call their local Ted’s Montana Grill to inquire about the issue. They also warn customers who can’t eat gluten not to order French fries at Ted’s without confirming they have a dedicated fryer.

You can view the complete gluten-free menu here. You’re going to see French fries listed but please heed the request above to order safely. With or without fries, there should be something to satisfy everyone’s tastes at Ted’s. The only gluten-free menu limitations are the dessert options. Ted’s can certainly step up their game there. Even something as simple as chocolate mousse with fresh whipped cream (that everyone can enjoy) would be a nice addition.

So the food at Ted’s Montana Grill is made with real ingredients, is very tasty, and gluten-free options abound. That alone is worth giving the restaurant a try if there is one in your area. But there is a bigger picture going on at Ted’s. Their serious commitment to the environment led them to implement the following standards in all their restaurants:

  • Each location is 99% plastic-free – they even use paper straws.
  • To-go cups are made of cornstarch that bio-degrades in just 50 days.
  • Menus are printed on 100% recycled paper.
  • Take-out food goes in Bio-Plus Earth Containers, which are high-quality, bio-degradable containers that are microwavable.
  • Low-wattage lighting is used at all locations.
  • Regardless of the state laws where they operate, all Ted’s Montana Grill restaurants are non-smoking.

The first Ted’s opened in January 2002 in Columbus, Ohio, and has grown to over 50 restaurants in 19 states. If every location had dedicated fryers, they would do well to add more delectable gluten-free options in the future. Gluten-free onion ring anyone?

My absolute favorite item at Ted’s is the “Chicken Brick” entree. If you’ve been to a location near you, please tell us what you enjoy at Ted’s in the comment section below!

Note: It is possible that not all Ted’s Montana Grill locations already have the new menu, so please call ahead first if you plan to visit one in your local area to confirm the menu is available.

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.

Boston Gluten-Free Restaurant Menus

Last Updated on by the Celiac-Disease.com Staff

Looking for some gluten-free restaurant menus in the Boston area? There are a growing number of gluten-free options throughout Boston, and many have some incredibly tasty options.

As we are known for doing, we’ve gone out and tried to create an all-inclusive resource for Bostonians which is printer-friendly.  This page will be continue to be updated as new gluten-free restaurant menus are discovered, so feel free to bookmark or link to this page directly from your website!

Boston Gluten-Free Restaurant Menus

P.F. Chang’s China Bistro – Located near Boston’s Theater District, this Chinese bistro offers a dedicated gluten-free menu with dishes like garlic snap peas, Moo Goo Gai Pan, and wild Alaskan salmon steamed with ginger. There’s even a flourless chocolate dome!

Stone Hearth Pizza – This thin-crust, Neapolitan-style pizzeria recently introduced a gluten-free menu. With locations in Cambridge, Belmont, and Needham, Stone Hearth Pizza focuses on premium organic and sustainable ingredients. It was also named Boston of Best by Boston Magazine in 2007.

The Elephant Walk – This French-Cambodian restaurant has three Boston-area locations (the Beacon Street branch is pictured above), all with a special gluten-free menu. Menu options include pan-roasted haddock, shrimp curry, trout marinated in lime juice, and roasted bone-in chicken breast. The sunny, exotic decor lends itself to a special occasion.

Wagamama – A favorite among Europeans, this nifty noodle stand migrated across the pond and opened its first North American location in Boston’s Faneuil Hall a few years ago. Now there are other locations in Harvard Square and Prudential Center, and many of its menu items are available sans gluten.

Zing! Pizza and Roti – This Porter Square pizzeria also offers gluten-free pizza. The menu offerings change frequently, but their website has the most up-to-date info. GF diners can also specify if they would like bleu cheese or feta. The pepperoni is all-natural beef that is gluten and casein free.

Zocolo Cocina Mexicana – Most of the gluten-free options seem to be Asian-influenced, but this colorful, casual Brighton restaurant actually servces food from Oaxaca and Veracruz, Mexico. They offer vegetarian and gluten-free menus.

Note: For your reference, you can also find an interactive map showing other Boston gluten-free restaurants specifically for the Boston area at BostonCeliac.com!