Ever since I figured out gluten bothers me, I’ve been on a mission to figure out what I can safely eat at restaurants in my town of Athens, Ohio. This became even more important when my oldest son also was found to have gluten problems.
I’m always trying to expand this list, especially since my Husband wishes we could eat out more often. He gets bored of the same ‘safe’ places to eat. If you have any comments or info on what you have found safe please feel free to comment!
Restaurants I eat at regularly with no issues
Here I always get a rolled enchilada. I love their chicken with rice filling with mild salsa on top. I just let the person waiting on us know. They all so far have been very knowledgeable about what of their salsas have gluten in them because some do! (like the roasted red pepper)
They also use safe tortilla chips by Shagbark Chips.
When eating out at mexican restaurants, you have to be careful of the chips! Usually they are gluten free and even cooked in a dedicated frier, but when they are warmed right before coming to your table, they fry them in a common frier! At Casa they do not fry their chips.
You can find Casa’s gluten free menu here.
Here I can eat their bowls. I’m always nervous about them using the same gloves to handle the burritos as my bowl but so far I’ve not had an issue.
I always get a chicken bowl with a little bit of white rice, fajita veggies, green salsa, cheese and lettuce.
Brown rice used to bother me when first going gluten free so I don’t even risk it anymore. I think the hull that is left on is harder on my damaged system than the white rice.
So a surprising one to me was Applebees. Note that I’ve only eaten here once since going gluten free, so I’m not sure if they are consistently OK yet. They did have a list of items that should be gluten free if you ask but of course they can’t guarantee it due to cross contamination possibilities.
I kept it simple and had just a ribeye steak, baked potato and their veggies. I seemed to have no problems though after eating there.
Restaurants that should have Gluten Free options but I have issues with sometimes.
So here I get a chicken bowl and have them substitute the Shagbark chips for their bread. I usually can eat here OK but there has been a few times that I have had issues. I’m guessing it’s cross contamination. Possibly the chicken is grilled on a grill that had gluten on it. I’m not sure. I plan to talk to the owners soon about it as they are pretty easy to talk to.
So here they have a fully dedicated gluten free menu. They seem very knowledgeable with gluten. I’ve eaten here several times without issue and a few times with major issues. I’ve always eaten the same thing. I think it’s the ‘Chicken Jalfrezi’, but I’d have to look at the gluten free menu to be sure.
I think what may be happening here is they are using a wok that previously had a soy sauce dish in it and wiped it clean but not enough to get all the gluten out. Unfortunately I’m one of those that’s super sensitive to gluten. I know the owner pretty well so I plan to ask her about it next time I’m there. She’s very kind and accommodating. So I hope I can add this to my regularly safe selection soon!
Great hot dog place in Athens Ohio! One thing I love about it is their fresh cut fries and they have a dedicated frier! So their fries are safe. I’ve sometimes had no issues with their hot dogs (no bun!) and sometimes I have had issues. They weren’t super bad side effects so I may still go here until I can figure it out. I hope to see the owner in there soon to ask him about the ingredients on the hot dogs as they can have gluten in them sometimes.
Restaurants I’ve yet to try that I’ve heard can be accommodating
China Fortune
So I’ve heard from a friend that you can bring your own un-opened gluten free soy sauce here! They will even keep it for you for when ever you eat. I plan to talk to the owner Sandy soon to see if she can also have the staff use a clean wok to minimize cross contamination for me. I just found out about this and I’m super excited as this was one of my favorite places to eat!
I hope this is helpful! Feel free to comment if you have experience eating out Gluten Free in Athens, Ohio!
Be sure to check out Part 2 of Dining out Gluten Free in Athens Ohio and Part 3 of Dining out Gluten Free in Athens Ohio!
Hi, Carrie. This is great that you’ve started compiling a list of GF places in Athens! Here are some of my favorites:
1. Zoe — the staff and chefs are incredibly accommodating about GF diets. They get it. Since everything is made fresh to order, there’s rarely an issue adjusting a sauce, suggesting an alternative preparation or subbing a different side dish if needed. Plus they’re big on variety on their menu anyway, so there are always choices.
2. Gran Ranchero (& really most Mexican places) — as long as you steer clear of flour tortillas, you can have just about anything. Also, they are happy to sub corn tortillas for flour if you ask clearly.
3. Chipotle — They have better allergy training than most, and if you specify, they’ll change their gloves happily.
4. Salaam — One of their owners is GF I think; they have a separate GF menu and Bard’s GF beer.
5. Jackie O’s has Redbridge GF beer, and they’re developing a GF pizza crust and bun.
6. Domino’s & Abrios/Vera Cucina — best GF pizzas around. Avalanche and Donato’s also have GF crusts.
Thanks Rachel! I was thinking after I wrote this that I forgot about Salaam and I’ve not tried Zoe’s. Good to know! I think I need to make a Part 2 as I have comments on a few more restaurants that I forgot that you’ve brought to mind! I didn’t know Abrios had GF pizza crust.
Lake Hope Lodge is great too. We had called ahead to ask some questions, and when one of the chefs found out there were two little kids with celiac coming he made GF mac and cheese for them. They loved it.
He also came to our table and explained the menu and their kitchen procedures so we would know what was safe. Plus the food is just really good.
Awesome to hear! I will likely try that soon! Thanks for the great tip!