Gluten free at The Cracker Barrel

While traveling this weekend we stopped at the Cracker Barrel. We figured we could get some eggs and maybe bacon for Gracie. When we got there we discovered they have a gluten free menu! There were several things on the menu she could have - she picked bacon and eggs :)

I have looked online I could not find an "official" gluten free menu for Cracker Barrel so I called the company. I spoke to a lovely lady named Sandra and she emailed me the following:

"Thank you for taking the time to contact us here at Cracker Barrel Old Country Store. We appreciate receiving your inquiry and we do understand your concern.

The following is a list of menu items that do not contain wheat, barley, or rye products as an ingredient(the modified food starch in the fried apples is from corn). However, we have an open kitchen where biscuits and dumplings are made from scratch several times daily. Many of our grill items do not contain glutens but are prepared on the same equipment as products that do. There is always a chance that cross-transference may occur.

Please inform a manager of your sensitivity when you visit one of our stores to ensure that every effort is made to prevent the accidental transfer of glutens via the handling and preparation of your meal.

Grill Items: grilled chicken tenders, hamburger steak, ribeye and sirloin steak, grilled catfish, grilled trout, grilled pork chops, country ham, city ham, bacon, eggs, pork sausage, turkey sausage

Side Items: carrots, cole slaw, corn, fried apples, green beans, mashed potatoes, baked potato, pinto beans, turnip greens

Excluding the fried chicken tender salad and chunky chicken (homemade chicken salad) salad, salads ordered without croutons would not contain glutens. See the ingredient statements below for our salad dressings choice.

The vinegars used in the salad refined distilled grain vinegars. According to the American Celiac Disease Alliance, "Distilled alcoholic beverages and vinegars are gluten-free. Distilled products do not contain any harmful gluten peptides. Research indicates that the gluten peptide is too large to carry over in the distillation process. This leaves the resultant liquid gluten-free."

Buttermilk Dressing: cultured buttermilk, soybean oil, water, egg yolk, distilled vinegar, salt, corn syrup, sugar, spices, lactic acid, xanthan gum, guar gum, onion*, potassium sorbate and sodium benzoate added as preservatives, garlic*, disodium inosinate, disodium guanylate, calcium disodium EDTA added to protect flavor. *DEHYDRATED

Peppercorn Dressing: soybean oil, water, sour cream solids, egg yolk, distilled vinegar, salt, spices, dehydrated garlic, xanthan gum, potassium sorbate and sodium benzoate added as preservatives, natural flavor, calcium disodium EDTA added to protect flavor.

Honey French Dressing: high fructrose corn syrup, soybean oil, corn-cider vinegar, distilled vinegar, tomato paste, salt, paprika, spices, xanthan gum, onion*, honey, invert sugar, beet juice concentrate, garlic*, natural flavor. *DEHYDRATED

Honey Mustard Dressing: soybean oil, water, high fructrose corn syrup, distilled vinegar, honey, egg yolk, mustard seed, sugar, salt, spice, white wine, natural flavor, xanthan gum, citric acid, tartartic acid, artificial color (including yellow #5), calcium disodium EDTA added to protect flavor.

1000 Island Dressing: soybean oil, water, pickles, sugar, tomato paste, distilled vinegar, high fructrose corn syrup, egg yolk, salt, spice, sodium benzoate, and potassium sorbate added as preservatives, natural and artificial flavors, onion*, bell peppers, garlic*, calcium disodium EDTA to protect flavor, xanthan gum, guar gum, polysorbate 80. *DEHYDRATED

We look forward to having the opportunity to serve you again soon.

Sincerely,

Sandra Vance
Guest Relations Representative
Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc."

I appreciate that they state specifically that they make biscuits an dumplings daily and there may be an issue with cross contamination. Of course this is true for any restaurant - but it is good to be reminded. When we were there the sweet, young waitress was really helpful and understood gluten and our need to stay away from it.

We all had a great lunch and everyone got what they wanted - everyone was happy. I had the lemon pepper fish and it was perfect!

Happy traveling!

Uno Pizza - Gluten free menu!

Someone recently told me that Uno Chicago Grill (forever known to me as Pizzeria Uno) has a gluten free menu! I was excited and checked it out online - here is the link:

http://www.unos.com/kiosk/nutritionUnos.html

I called the Ft Worth restaurant and spoke to a manager - he said the crust was made out of rice flour and they take care to prevent cross contamination using different shelves, tray's and paddles to pull the pizza out of the oven.

There were several toppings that were gluten free for the pizza - mostly veggies but they also have pepperoni. The pizza is about $11 - more than I really want to spend for pizza for one small person but would be nice for a sometimes treat and we can take home the leftovers.

I wish I had gotten the guys name - he was really helpful. He said he had tried it and it was pretty good - didn't taste off. I would love it if anyone has tried it "in real life" and can give their review.

A (semi) local find!

T0night we went to Go Go Gumbo in Boyd TX. Boyd is a very small town so we were very surprised to find such WONDERFUL food! I called ahead and spoke w/the Chef/Owner Craig and he was familiar with Celiac and we discussed several choices.

We got there and it was VERY casual and very family friendly. There were games for the kids to play (board and video) as well as a basic kids menu. I was presenting the options to Grace and since they don't have flounder she didn't want fish. sigh. She decided on a plain salad - no dressing. What impressed me was their willingness to be accommodating and we received excellent service.

For those who can eat gluten I recommend the TV dinner - a type of sample plate - perfect amounts of perfect food. It really is some of the best food in Wise County. For those who can't eat gluten they have salmon always on the menu as well as shrimp and a fish of the day and some great salads.

Added bonus - the FANTASTIC Vanilla bean creme brulee was gluten free. Heaven.

Pei Wei - another Good Thing.

We went to "town" tonight and found ourselves at dinner time - many places to choose from but which would be gluten free? We went to Rosa's Tortilla Factory thinking the Mexican would be good - they fry their chips and taco shells w/the flour tortillas so we decided to pass. We went to Fresco's - which has a gluten free menu - however since we didn't give 48 hours notice Grace couldn't have the chips - which is what she would want - plus there was a long wait. We then saw Pei Wei - I remembered they had a gluten free menu.

We went in and I asked for a manager. After asking about their gluten free menu he immediatly pulled out a card with some choices - it looked like this : www.peiwei.com/pdfs/glutenFree.pdf He said they take care to prevent cross contamination and it states "gluten" free in the kitchen.

I was unsure if Grace would like any of the choices but decided to get her the Sweet and Sour Chicken. I asked if we could get it as a kids meal and they said yes ($3.75 instead of about $7 - still more than she could eat.) I decided to get the Pei Wei Spicy Chicken so Grace could try that as well. They made it "mild" and it was really good - fresh and light.

Grace liked both but liked the orange better. She ate every bite of chicken! This from a kid who doesn't eat much meat.

Needless to say we will be going to Pei Wei more often. Thank you Pei Wei!