Veloute wrote:Don't forget to eat those things that you only have a craving for a couple of times a year.

Like, um, White Castle?

Today I had granola pancakes at Uncommon Ground, and I realized I am missing a key item in my list: really magnificent pancakes. They must be fluffy, buttermilk-y, and come with decent syrup. But where?

Suzy Creamcheese wrote:Like, um, White Castle?

EXACTLY! It's those weird cravings that have a tendency to make me feel sorry for myself not the daily eating.

While there may be hard feelings on LTH from this weekend, if I were doing this, the one thing that I would not miss, it would be the quail egg ravioli from Schwa.

While there may be hard feelings on LTH from this weekend, if I were doing this, the one thing that I would not miss, it would be the quail egg ravioli from Schwa.

I'm going off on a tangent but I had a nearly-as-good version earlier this year in Disneyland, of all places. The rest of the meal was also very good. Won't be rushing back any time soon, but nice to know that I can still be pleasant surprised by a talking mouse.

This is kinda weird. If you have an intolerance of some sort like this - wouldn't you want to avoid this stuff because it hurts you in some way? If it's so mild that you are seeking out these things to binge on, I don't get it. Although I am not a medical professional in any way. I know a few ppl who have Celiac's, and they turn into insufferable mounds of sludge if they ingest gluten or wheat products. I'm not trying to be a prick at all - I'm just curious.
I have a mild lactose intolerance issue, but sometimes, I GOTTA have a malt, or I GOTTA have some pizza. I get a tummy ache, but it's worth it. Most of the time tho, I just avoid dairy.

seebee wrote:This is kinda weird. If you have an intolerance of some sort like this - wouldn't you want to avoid this stuff because it hurts you in some way? If it's so mild that you are seeking out these things to binge on, I don't get it. Although I am not a medical professional in any way. I know a few ppl who have Celiac's, and they turn into insufferable mounds of sludge if they ingest gluten or wheat products. I'm not trying to be a prick at all - I'm just curious.
I have a mild lactose intolerance issue, but sometimes, I GOTTA have a malt, or I GOTTA have some pizza. I get a tummy ache, but it's worth it. Most of the time tho, I just avoid dairy.

I am not a medical professional either, but apparently celiacs and those with wheat issues don't have dramatic reactions to gluten until cutting it out completely. Go off gluten, the intestines spring back to life, and inadvertent gluten consumption will cause a great unpleasantness instead of a low-level feeling of ill health. Also, it is important to continue to eat gluten - even a lot of gluten - prior to the biopsy so that it can be easily identified.

Since I have to eat gluten - for science! - for another month, I plan to make it count. Hence, this list.

Crossed off an easy one: White Castle. The waves of regret will commence soon.

I am a recently diagnosed (less than a month) celiac, and I was curious if any of you are gluten free and could offer some advice on eating out? I recently had dinner at Avec (Chef Koren Grieveson also has a gluten intolerance), and was disappointed when they could not offer me a rice cracker or even a raw vegetable to use as a vehicle to eat the brandade.

I am considering carrying GF rice crackers with me when eating out (I am a huge fan of pates and potted meats) but I am wondering if restaurants would look down on this? Even if they are incapable of offering an alternative to crostini or crackers?

My intolerance is not severe enough to warrant the kitchen changing cutting boards or anything like that, and I can navigate a menu enough to avoid obvious items, but I am curious to hear how other foodies have handled this disease.

Any tips, recommendations or warnings about eating gluten free in Chicago would be appreciated.

Thanks!

Venus is one of my favourite (alongside Santorini) restaurants in Greek Town and they have an entire gluten-free menu:
http://www.venuschicago.com/glutenfree_menu.php

Antonius

As you become more accustomed to your gluten-free lifestyle, you may find that your intolerance will become more severe...at least according to articles I read while finding info for a friend who was diagnosed with Celiac a few years ago. Apparently your body gets used to not having gluten around, and accidentally introducing some after a long gluten abstinence leads to a couple days of misery (in my friend's case, severe headaches & stomach issues...before her diagnosis, gluten only caused mild-but-annoying headaches & stomach irritation).

You'll definitely want to talk to restaurant staff before ordering to see if your favorite dishes contain wheat, wheat flour, and other gluten-bearing ingredients...if you've already built a good rapport with staff at certain places, then those might be easy, friendly places to start finding dishes you can safely order.

Do a Google search of this forum (here are some search results to start you off) and you'll turn up all kinds of places where people have had good experiences with GF meals.

Finally, taking a stash of GF crackers with you to restaurants where you know they'll come in handy isn't a bad idea at all. Our aforementioned friend takes a bottle of GF soy sauce with her whenever she goes out for sushi or Korean BBQ (where she eats the non-marinated meats only, of course), and no one has ever had a problem with it.

I think that most restaurants would understand you bringing your own crackers along because of dietary restrictions.

While I don't have Celiac there are a couple of places off of the top of my head that I've been with a friend that has need for a gluten free diet because they have items on the menu to meet her needs.

Marcello's Father and Son http://www.marcellos.com/
Vinci Restaurant http://www.vincichicago.com/menu.aspx?s=62
Shaw's Crab House http://www.shawscrabhouse.com/chicago/m ... n_free.pdf
Wildfire http://www.wildfirerestaurant.com/

Also, I can't confirm but you could call, my friend also told me that Ina's does a gluten free fried chicken dish monthly.

Hopefully someone else will be able to give you more ideas.

Kith & Kin's menu is very adaptable to gluten-free diners.

I have a friend with Celiacs and she love Campagnola in Evanston. Says they're great about making sure there's no contamination of her food and it's always delicious.

Campagnola
815 Chicago Avenue (South of Main St.)
847-475-6100


My friend also has a gluten-free food blog, mostly stuff she cooks herself.

A couple months ago, she was the blogger of the week on Gapers Block and in the interview she talks about Campagnola and some of the few other restaurants she trusts.

This post (Gluten-Free in the Loop... for lunch) has some good options: http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=25867

Also, Chicago Magazine published a list that is a nice resource: http://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/July-2009/Gluten-Free-Zones/Gluten-Free-Resource-List/

More and more restaurants are becoming aware of gluten-free dining. Calling ahead to make sure they can accommodate special dietary needs is always a good idea.

There are a few places that offer a gluten-free roll or have uncontaminated corn chips, but carrying your own is the best bet.

I just saw this via Ellen Malloy on Twitter: P.F. Chang's China Bistro Launches Expanded Gluten Free Menu

Also, last week Hellodali alerted me to the fact that Hannah's Bretzel now has the option of gluten-free bread for their sandwiches.

Thought I'd add a few places to the list:

From Dish this week: “We are the only sushi restaurant in Chicago that has gluten-free soy sauce and gluten-free tempura. We don’t use any wheat-based flour in our restaurant. All sweet rice and cornstarch. If there is another [gluten-free sushi] place [in Chicago], I have yet to find it.” –Charley Wanamaker, the general manager of Sushi Cherry, a tiny six-month-old sushi bar just off Broadway in Lake View

Also from Dish: Cassava, an all-natural bakery and smoothie shop from Jorge Flores, a native of Ecuador, will have gluten-free breads made with cassava flour.

The Francesca's group of restaurants all have gluten-free pasta and dedicated gluten-free menus. There are more than 20 Francesca's restaurants.

The Rosebud group of restaurants usually carry gluten-free pasta and can accommodate a gluten-free/Celiac diner. I would call ahead to confirm they have the pasta in-house if you are going specifically for that.

Big Bowl has also recently expanded their gluten-free menu.

Cooper's Hawk Restaurants (Orland Park, Burr Ridge, Wheeling, South Barrington) have a dedicated gluten-free menu.

Noodle Bar in Lake Bluff can comfortably accommodate a gluten-free/celiac diner. I'm not sure if they have a dedicated menu.

Here is a better link to the gluten-free dining list maintained by Chicago Magazine: http://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/Gluten-Free-Chicago-Restaurants-and-Stores/

Seems like more and more dedicated gluten-free menus are popping up all of the time. I'd love to hear about any you may have found.

Thanks!

Sushi Cherry
608 W Barry Ave
Chicago, IL 60657
(773) 935-5284
http://sushi608.webstarts.com/

Cassava
3338 N. Clark St
773-857-3039

Francesca's Restaurants
http://www.miafrancesca.com/index.asp

Rosebud Restaurants
http://www.rosebudrestaurants.com/

Big Bowl
http://www.leye.com/files/jenniferbell/bigbowl/Gluten-Free-SP.pdf

Cooper's Hawk Restaurants
http://www.coopershawkwinery.com/pdfs/gluten_free_menu.pdf

Noodle Bar
20 East Scranton Avenue
Lake Bluff, IL 60044-2543
(847) 735-8170
http://noodlebarlakebluff.com/

A couple more gluten-free options around town:

Takashi seems to have at least a couple of dedicated gf options:from the online menus:
Rice Noodles Wheat-Free Noodles with Wheat-Free Soy, Blue Prawns, Bok Choy, Cilantro
Rice Noodles with Vegetable Broth (Gluten-Free) with Tamari Soy, Prawns, Napa Cabbage, Bean Sprouts, Cilantro

Macondo Chicago offers gluten-free Colombian empanadas. I haven't given them a try yet, but am working up to making it there soon.

Takashi
1952 North Damen Avenue
Chicago, IL 60647-4565
(773) 772-6170
http://www.takashichicago.com/

Macondo
2965 North Lincoln Avenue
Chicago, IL 60657-4108
(773) 698-6867
http://www.macondochicago.com/

Recently we had dinner with an old friend. He mentioned that he'd seen gluten free pizza at one of the two pizza places he normally went to. He told us the names and I filed them away so we could call the next day.

The next day, Mr Views called Chicago's Pizza and they they have a new gluten free pizza. Apparently the owner of it hired a chef to figure it out- it took four months of trying recipes, locating products, finding out how to protect it from cross contamination, etc. They just introduced it recently.

The most interesting part from Mr Views' perspective is that they have a stuffed GF pizza, the only one we've heard of. We ordered it the very next day. Mr Views is thrilled with it and declared it almost identical to the last time he had a gluten one - over 13 years. They also have a thin crust, IIRC, but we have yet to try it. The cost is truly exceptional and I doubt if they make money on it as they only increase the price at the cost of one additional ingredient. The owner indicated they were looking into GF pasta, but had not yet done so.

To me the most interesting part is that Chicago's Pizza was not one of the two places our friend told us about. Hubby heard it wrong. The two places that our friend did suggest might have GF pizza? I happened to check both the same afternoon that hubby was calling the wrong place and neither had GF pizza, though one had a GF lasagna.

Must be GF serendipity.

It is only offered at the Lincoln and the Montrose facilities.

Chicago's Pizza
1919 W. Montrose
773-348-1700

Chicago's Pizza
3114 N. Lincoln
773-477-2777

If anyone would like to be on a GF email list of restaurants and food items offered, please PM me. There is a GF dining group that send out regular notifications of GF restaurants and organizes events and Mr Views sends out GF product and restaurant notifications.

Hi everybody, I am a lurker drawn out from the shadows by my recent Celiac sprue diagnosis. What kinds of things do I need to be careful about, especially in Chinatown or on Argyle? Are most curries safe? I'm still doing my homework to see what I can eat when going out, and I am *very* overwhelmed by all of the things I have to consider. I haven't yet met with a dietician, but I will be meeting with one in the next few weeks.

Unfortunately eating gluten-free in Chinatown and on Argyle is challenging due to the wheat based soy sauce, the seasoned woks and the language barrier.

I've sent you a PM.

Thank you for the reply! Fortunately, I'm are able to overcome that language barrier so that is an option I can explore and report back to everyone with my findings.

Re: this new GF diet I'm on: I never liked couscous anyway.

I found a place called Cassava on Clark that has good GF muffins and hot chocolate. I tried their chili today for the first time - they were out by the time I tried to get some after work last week - and it was very good, especially when paired with the tomato and basil cassava bread rolls. A good find in a convenient location even for those who don't have any dietary restrictions. He should hire someone to help him because he can take a long time to help one person depending on what they order, and I've seen interested people come in but leave because they were in a rush.

(long term lurker, infrequent poster)

Went to Rocco Ranalli's on Lincoln avenue last night as a result of their having a Groupon. I split the 11" gluten free pizza with my dining companion (who is not gluten intolerant). He said he couldn't tell the pizza was GF. I liked it better than the pizza at the nearby Marcello's.

The basic pizza was $11 or so + $1.25 for each ingredient. I will definitely go back there just for the pizza!

http://www.roccoranallis.com/

I'm especially looking for those that are totally gluten-free, or at least are known to be very careful about cross-contamination. A friend has celiac disease and I'd love to find places to take her where she can feel completely safe and still have a delicious meal. She's a good cook, herself.

Thank you for your help!

Try this one. I've been there and its nice.

They have a gluten free menu and other regular Italian items.

http://www.dalucianos.com/home.aspx

It is vegan but Borrowed Earth Cafe in Downers Grove is pretty tasty. The food is flavorful.

http://www.twomothersfoods.com/

I happened upon this place last week and it reminded me very much of my days in Eugene Oregon, and I mean that in the greatest way. The feel of the place and the food emanate a sense of purpose and humanity - read hippiesh. I tried a cheese pie, a couple appetizers and two soups. Everything came in ball jars and I was even given a tiny little jar for the side of cayenne to spice things up.

The menu was large and I was told that one should phone in most food orders ahead of time. The menu lists vegan, vegetarian, gluten free and I would imagine the owners would do anything you like.

I love this place and can't think of any similar establishment in Illinois.

Note on the menu at Ras Dashen says that with 24 hours notice, they will make gluten-free teff injera to go with your meal.

Demera Ethiopian also offers gluten-free injera...based on availability.

Also, I'm not the biggest fan of the following, but Quartino has a gluten free menu that you can find on their website linked here.