Gluten Free In NYC

Saw this today in the New York Times. Sounds like it may be worth a trip for those who cannot tolerate gluten. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/25/dinin ... ?th&emc=th

[Robin Garr]

Saw this today in the New York Times. Sounds like it may be worth a trip for those who cannot tolerate gluten. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/25/dinin ... ?th&emc=th

Good article, Will, thanks for posting it!

I thought it was interesting that people come right from the airport for this place. Seems there is a need for more places that are gluten free.

I recently dined at Pappas Bros steakhouse in Dallas. Now, I didn't notice any special notations or prompts on the menu regarding GF entrees or special requests, but as soon as I said "No thank you...I can't have it"...to the offering of bread, the server said, "Oh, you must have diet restrictions. I will send our manager over to discuss your dining options so we can safely serve you". Needless to say, I was shocked!

Indeed, they do take diet restrictions very seriously. Apparently the kitchen staff are trained in food prep for all types of food based allergies. No cross contamination there! So, I too hope that more of our local chefs take on this approach. That said, I have learned just how difficult that undertaking is.

We at Ready for Dinner always have substitutions available whenever a customer needs them. It helps a lot that one of our staff members has children with gluten allergies, so she knows immediately what to susbtitute.

A good friend of mine has gluten issues, and I never realized the extent of trouble she has just going out for a meal. She had to ask a ton of questions to the server as to how the food was prepared, what brands they used, etc, that I never would have thought about. It seems like a issue that is just starting to come to the forefront in the past few years, even to the point that they have several gluten free beers that are brewed for this condition as well. We started carrying different versions of the gluten free beers last year, and I was caught by surprise on how much of it we have moved through once people learned we carry the products.