Sharky's Woodfired Mexican Grill Gluten Free Menu

Sharky's now has a gluten free menu. If you ask in the restaurant, there is a one page menu to order from.  It only appeared effective December 2012, so is very recent.  I have not located a copy on the website, but if you find it online please add the link as a comment.   They must have had a GF menu training recently...The cook was aware of cross contamination issues, he even mentioned that although the chips are made from corn, they are cross contaminated in the fryer....so are not gluten free. The corn tortillas are prepared on a different griddle than the flour to prevent CC. There is even an AJ burrito bowl on the GF menu that is not on the regular menu.  I was at the Simi Valley location...if you'd like to go to the place that seemed on top of things. The other locations are also supposed to offer and be aware of the GF menu items.

Here is the link to Sharky's Gluten Free Options

It is a PDF file.

McDonald's French Fries are not gluten free (and they even contain milk)

I have been operating under the impression that the french fries at McDonald's were gluten free because they have a separate fryer and therefore are able to avoid cross contamination.  However, I ate some fries on yesterday and didn't feel so great, so decided to do some research.  Lots of places online will mention McDonald's fries as being gluten free, but that is not the case.  Read for yourself on the McDonald's website on this link.
For those of you who believe I am capable of correctly doing a cut and paste from there, here is what it reads (as of the time of this post on Dec 5, 2012).

French Fries

Allergens: WHEAT AND MILK Potatoes, vegetable oil (canola oil, hydrogenated soybean oil, natural beef flavor [wheat and milk derivatives]*, citric acid [preservative]), dextrose, sodium acid pyrophosphate (maintain color), salt. Prepared in vegetable oil (Canola oil, corn oil, soybean oil, hydrogenated soybean oil with TBHQ and citric acid added to preserve freshness). Dimethylpolysiloxane added as an antifoaming agent.

CONTAINS: WHEAT AND MILK.

Therefore:  
I am not going to be eating any more of the fries. I know that beef flavoring was an issue for them in India, so if I travel to India I will investigate the possibility of eating the fries there...otherwise, no more golden arches fries for this celiac.

 

Gluten Free: Zankou Chicken...or Costco chicken?

Before I was diagnosed with celiac disease, I used to like the convenience of being able to go to Zankou Chicken.  Three or four of us would get the whole chicken with garlic, pita (eek. gluten), etc.

I drove past a Zankou Chicken that is opening soon in Granada Hills (@Chatsworth and Zelzah), so I decided to check if they have gluten free options (as more places become aware of GF needs, the options available are increasing). 

Lo and behold...gluten free options.  Obviously, you cannot get the pita wraps, but check the link to see what you can get....the chicken is the way to go in my opinion.  Their website has a handy PDF menu also.

The other place I noticed gluten free rotisserie chicken recently was Costco.  Cheap, well labeled, and GF...but you have to walk the quarter mile to the meat dept in the back of the store after surviving the parking lot. The chicken is not on their website, as it is an in store item...not something that they will send via UPS...use the website to find a Costco near you, then hunt in-store. (you do need to be a member..if you live somewhere other than the US and have never heard of Costco before).

In summary, if you are a masochist, you can save some money by getting a gluten free rotisserie chicken at Costco, but for convenience and flavor Zankou Chicken is hard to beat.

GF in SF (Jane on Fillmore)

I was up in San Francisco a few weeks ago for Memorial Weekend and had a great gluten free breakfast at Jane.

gluten free muffin from jane (see texture)

They make everything in house from scratch and always have GF options available.
The muffin I had was delicious, and they also have excellent coffee.  The muffin had good texture, chewiness, nice top, and great flavor.  If in SF, you should stop by and treat yourself...

jane gluten free muffin and coffee

The address: 2123 Fillmore Street  San Francisco, CA 94115
It is in Pacific Heights (for those of you who know your SF neighborhoods).

jane sandwich sign on fillmore st

Gluten Free in the OC

I'm spending a few days in Orange County.  These are some reminders for myself of gluten free places I should check out or perhaps avoid.

Check Out.
Paul Martin's American Bistro- in Irvine Spectrum. Looks good but rather pricey. 
Original Pancake House - Orange and Anaheim locations only.  Gluten free pancakes, waffles, crepes, and soon french toast.  Not sure if they cross contaminate with cooking surface. Ask first.
Pei Wei Asian Diner - GF menu here.  I'm excited about the GF sweet and sour chicken.  1302 Bison Avenue, Newport Beach, CA. (near MacArthur and the 73).  
Also in Terminal C of John Wayne airport (now with limited GF options at airport as of 8/21/2013)
Sensitive Sweets Bakery - in Fountain Valley. Looks like babycakes (see my GF in New York postings), but with more muffins.  Custom cakes are a small fortune, but the rest seems reasonable (for GF).  Closed Sunday and Monday.
118 Degrees - Raw food place in the Camp in Costa Mesa. Folks claim lost of GF stuff (including beer, brownies, pizza...) but their website is less than revealing. They mention wheat free. Make sure they know that some things not called wheat also contain gluten.
Z'Tejas - in South Coast Plaza mall. Menu here, separate GF menu at store.
Taco Mesa - gf options delineated on the menu above the counter.  Hole in the wall vibe with modest prices.  $1.25 tacos on tuesdays. Four locations.
Rutabegorz - Fullerton, Orange, Tustin. Word on the theoretical street is that they have a separate GF menu upon request. Not sure, so don't go there when starving.  Or, call the location ahead of your visit.
Stonefire Grill - Irvine and Fountain Valley locations.   GF options listed here.  They have a lot of CYA language which makes me sketchy.

Don't forget to check out my previous posts about Orange County for other options.
        example: Newport Rib Company, BJ's, Red Brick Pizza, Chipotle, PF Changs, Outback,





Avoid
Z Pizza - I have asked at different locations. All locations have admitted openly that they "like, totally, cross-contaminate."  Good to know. Too bad they can't take some steps to prevent that.  They use same utensils, sauces, pans, etc.  I wish there was a Garlic Jim's in the Newport Beach area (Garlic Jim's is my GF pizza of choice...haven't written them up yet as I was waiting for a place with tables....I digress.)

Green's Gluten Free Beer Review - Magically Delicious

Green's Gluten Free Beer (3 types).

I was given 3 Green's Gluten Free Beers to try for my birthday a while back.  They were a bit of an extravagant treat, as I usually would not have spent so much on a bottle of beer.  Now that I have tried them, I am willing to pay to have them again, as they were quite different (and pretty darn strong).  They are each 500mL, so larger than a normal beer (if that allows one to justify spending more money on them).  If you care, they are a Belgian import.  You can usually find them at BevMo or Total Wine.  Here is their North American site.

I will give them each a brief review ordered by descending alcohol content...Notice the large Gluten Free text on each bottle...puts your mind at ease.

Green's Tripel Blonde Ale (gluten free)

1. Green's Tripel Blonde Ale (8.5% ALC/VOL).  Potent. Yellow gold. Tangy kick. Lot of head. Consider adding lemon or orange slice.

Green's Dubbel Dark Ale (gluten free)

2. Green's Dubbel Dark Ale (7% ALC/VOL). Dark. Nutty brown. Fizzy. Like a less sweet Newcastle (if you ever tried that before becoming Gluten Free).

Green's Amber Ale (gluten free) - sorry it's a bit blurry...

3. Green's Amber Ale (6% ALC/VOL). Sweet. Dark cranberry red. Frothy. Little fizzy.  Good with piece of chocolate...random, I know.