Restaurant Review: Little Shanty (Warren, NJ)

They don't have a dedicated fryer . . . they have three!



Gluten Free Burger, Gluten Free Onion Rings, and
Gluten Free Fries at Little Shanty in Warren NJ

I had heard a rumor that Little Shanty (14 Mt. Bethel Road, Warren, NJ 07059) offered gluten free fries but needed to check it out for myself. I called them and they told me that they had four separate fryers in the restaurant and that three of them were for gluten free items, including . . . . gluten free onion rings! Of course I had to try them for myself (ah, the things I do in the name of research) so on a recent Saturday I took a drive to Warren.

The restaurant is a quick serve burger place where you order at the counter and they bring your food to the table. When I got to the counter and placed my order, as I always do I started by announcing that I have to be both gluten and dairy free.  The owner quickly rattled off everything that could be gluten free and even mentioned that their three gluten free fryers are dedicated and safe.

They offer Udi's gluten free hamburger buns for  any sandwich, gluten free wings, chicken nuggets, and three types of GF fries (only the sweet potato fries aren't gluten free)! As you can see I had a burger (on a bun!) and both gluten free fries as well as gluten free onion rings!

Other articles you may be interested in:

Full list of restaurants with gluten free fries

Full list of gluten free fast food and chain restaurants

Full list of NJ gluten free restaurants

Are Burger King's New Satisfries Gluten Free?

So what if they're lower fat, are they gluten free?

No gluten ingredient Burger King Fries and Satisfries

Burger King announced today new lower fat french fries or Satisfries. According to the press release the new fries have 40% less fat and 30% fewer calories than the leading (McDonald's) french fries. [Note: this is based on weight, not menu size - small, medium, large, King, etc.] [A little back-of-the-envelope math from the BK nutrition page leads me to believe the Satisfries contain 20% less fat and 20% less calories than BK's regular fries.]

But lets face reality, we're much less concerned about fat and much more concerned about gluten. For that, it mostly comes down to cross contamination. Just like Burger King's regular fries the new Satisfries contain no gluten ingredients. If your local restaurant has a separate fryer and safe handling procedures then the fries should be gluten free. Here are the ingredients from the BK website:

SATISFRIES™: Potatoes, vegetable oil (contains one or more of the following oils: canola, soybean, cottonseed, sunflower, corn), tapioca starch-modifies, contains 2% or less of corn starch-modified, paprika extract (color), rice flour, salt, sodium acid pyrophosphate (to maintain natural color), turmeric extract (color), xantham gum.

I stopped at a Burger King on the way home tonight and purchased a small regular fries and a small Satisfries (pictured above). [The satisfries were $.30 more by the way.]  Personally, I thought the new Satisfries tasted better and were fluffier on the inside.

In the end it really comes down to the cross contamination in the fryer and after they are fried (the BK I stopped at didn't but most share a warming bin for the onion rings and fries with just a metal divider between them). With so many other dining options now, I don't often risk a stop at Burger King.


For more thoughts on gluten free french fries, including a list of which restaurants and chains offer them click here: Gluten Free Fries!

And click here for more Gluten Free Fast Food / Chain Restaurants!

Food Truck Review: The Green Radish (vegan with gluten free options)

A vegan burger so good, I'd consider giving up meat!

The weekend before last, I attended the annual summer Montclair Jazz Festival in Nishuane Park.  I had found out about the Festival from a press release announcing a new vegan food truck: The Green Radish. Being dairy free and mostly egg free, vegan food can often be quite safe (unless there is a lot of wheat gluten used as a meat replacer).  

Vegan Black Bean Burger on Gluten Free bread
from The Green Radish

When I arrived at the truck, I was a little concerned that the menu doesn't mention gluten free at all.  A quick inquiry revealed that not only were a number of their menu items already naturally gluten free, they offered gluten free bread for all of their sandwiches as well!

[Just a quick note, since I'm not vegan and my issue with eggs is minor, I only confirmed the bread was gluten and dairy free, I did not confirm it was egg free as well.]

For lunch, I had the Black Bean Burger.  This was by far the best burger (beef or vegan) I have had in years (and possibly ever)!  The bread held together nicely and the vegan chipotle mayo was incredible (I can't handle mayo made from egg so this was a nice change).  I was actually too full afterwards to immediately go back for dessert.

Being both dairy and gluten free means I almost never get dessert.  There are two gluten free / vegan desserts at The Green Radish: Grilled Seasonal Fruit in a Vanilla Sauce and a Chocolate Peanut Butter Crunchy Quinoa Cup (which I did get to try later in the day). It is a vegan chocolate candy about the size of a large marshmallow with a hard outer chocolate shell studded with quinoa and a soft peanut butter and mint center [no not mint flavor, actual fresh mint leaves].  Their other two desserts currently contain gluten but they have trialed them using gluten free flours and hope to change over at some point in the future.

Diners lining up for some amazing
vegan fare from The Green Radish!

And now for the downside - the Green Radish is a brand new food truck and they are still working out the details of where and when you can catch up with them.  From their facebook page it appears they've been out and about for a couple of weeks now.  Hopefully their website/facebook/twitter will be filled with appearances soon!  

I'm already stalking them here: The Green Radish on Facebook and here The Green Radish on Twitter and hope to eat from them again soon!



If you're looking for some other great take-away vegan / vegetarian food in NJ try the Nectar Cafe (review) in Glen Rock. For sit down dining I've flagged the vegan friendly options on my list of NJ Restaurants with Gluten Free Menus as well.

Restaurant Review: Red Mango Frozen Yogurt (nationwide including 25 locations in NJ )

After my recent dinner at Opa’s in Wayne (review), one of my friends and I decided to stop by Corrado’s and check out their gluten free section. Unfortunately, they were closed already, but we noticed a Red Mango frozen yogurt shop. I had been seeing Red Mango pop up on some other gluten free restaurant lists but never investigated assuming that they wouldn’t have anything dairy free. Boy was I wrong.

It turns out Red Mango offers two sorbettos which are dairy free: raspberry and dark chocolate. These are in addition to their rotating menu of dairy containing frozen yoghurts. All of their frozen yoghurts are gluten free (even the cookies and cream flavor) but be careful as not all of their toppings are GF. Each serving station label contains the gluten free status of what is loaded there as well as other information about the flavor (kosher, added sugar, etc.).

Gluten Free / Dairy Free Sorbetto at Red Mango

The nutrition information on their website is outstanding and very easy to use. Each entry has a listing of allergens and even a specific entry for Gluten Free (flagged yes/no). It also details which probiotics are present in each item. This information is also broken out by 1oz serving, ½ their small cup, a full small cup and a full large cup. [Although their small container isn’t that small, their dairy free offerings are still only 50-80 calories for a full container!]

The toppings bar is an area of concern as it is self serve and the gluten status of items are unlabeled. However, we observed that it is refilled from containers kept under the counter. If cross contamination is a concern, you could probably ask the staff to provide you toppings from there and cut down the risk. [I say cut down because there is no telling what their procedures are when they prep the toppings so they could already be contaminated.]

Since there are already about twenty five of these in New Jersey, I suspect I’m going to have dessert all summer long!





There aren’t many other places with GF/DF desserts but you could try:

Gluten Free at Papa Ganache

Don't forget to check out my list of stores selling gluten free, my list of gluten free bakeries and even my gluten free fast food / chain list!

Gluten Free Fast Food / Chain Updates

I’m working my way down the list of parts of this site I need to update. I’ve finished the Gluten Free Store update, the Gluten free Restaurant update, and even an update to the Gluten Free Fries list! So today I finished off the updates to my Gluten Free Fast Food / Chain / Quick Serve list.  There are thirteen new chains (eight with locations in NJ), four fast food / quick serve additions (three with NJ locations), and a couple of updates.

Here are the latest updates:

Chains:

Bensi (10 NJ locations and one in VA) – has a short gluten friendly menu of grilled items with grill vegetables and salad.

Bristol Seafood Grill (KS, MO) –Each location has a gluten friendly menu with shared kitchen warning. (Sister chain of Chequers and Devon Seafood Grills.)

Chart House (AZ, CA, CO, FL, GA, MA, MD, NV, OR, PA, SC, TX, VA and two in NJ: Weehawken, NJ and Atlantic City, NJ) – has large gluten friendly menu.

Chequers Seafood Grill (GA) – Each location has a gluten friendly menu with shared kitchen warning. (Sister chain of Devon and Bristol Seafood Grills.)

Chickie's and Pete's  (183 US Highway 130, Bordentown NJ 08505 and 6055 Blackhorse Pike, Egg Harbor Twp NJ 08234, and multiple locations in PA) – Has a gluten friendly menu (burgers without buns, seafood entrees, etc) but although they advertise gluten free fries, their disclaimer states they use a shared fryer (although there are rumors of this changing soon).

Devon Seafood Grill (FL, IL, PA, WI) – Each location has a gluten friendly menu with shared kitchen warning. (Sister chain of Chequers and Bristol Seafood Grills.)

Dinosaur Bar-B-Que  (CT, NY and Newark, NJ) – has allergen information for their full menu (buried on their ‘Contact Us’ page, year old). Shows gluten, dairy, nuts, tomato, garlic and shellfish. I grabbed take out there once and would want to try dining in before passing judgment.

Firebirds Wood Fired Grill (AL, AZ, DE, NC, NE, OH, PA, TN, VA but none in NJ as of yet) – has a sizable gluten friendly menu.

Ground Round (IA, ME, MI, MN, MO, ND, NY, OH, PA, SD, WI and 2 locations in New Jersey)- offers a gluten friendly menu (salad no croutons, burger no bun). I haven’t been since I was a kid.

Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville Restaurants (AZ, CT, FL, HI, IL, LA, MS, NV, OH, SC, TN and coming soon to Atlantic City, NJ) – offers gluten free buns, gf entrees, a gf brownie and a dedicated fryer for gluten free fries! No word on other allergens in the buns or brownie.

Miller’s Ale House's new location is now open in Paramus: 270 route 4 east, Paramus, NJ 07652.

Rodizio Grill (Voorhees, NJ as well as locations in CO, CT, FL, MA, MN, OH, PA, TN, TX, UT, WI). They list their GF items on their online menu. Dairy should be easy to avoid here. See full review by Michael at Gluten Free Philly (warning he isn't dairy free).

Ruby’s (CA, HI, NV, PA, TX and Newark, NJ) [WARNING: the Newark NJ location is in the airport behind security.] – this diner chain now offers Udi’s gluten free hamburger buns.

Silver Diner (Cherry Hill + more) has expanded their GF menu. Unsure of other allergens.

Yard House  (AZ, CA, CO, FL, GA, HI, IL, KS, MA, NC, NV, NY, OH, TX, VA, WA, coming soon to ID and OR, but none in NJ) – offers a gluten sensitive menu on their website that details how to modify their existing dishes to make them gluten friendly. They also offer gluten free beer (depending on the location). I’ve eaten here and felt quite safe.


Fast Food / Quick Serve:

Gluten Free at Boston Market

Boston Market (27 states nationwide + multiple NJ locations) – has a listing of the eight major allergens plus gluten on their website (be prepared for the local restaurant to have no idea about this). Both the chicken and turkey are gluten free and dairy free as are a number of sides and best of all, three of their sauces including the standard gravy (again double check with your local store).

Deux Aux Natural has closed.

Eat'n Park (OH, PA, WV) – they offer a gluten friendly menu and gluten free sandwich buns (most items are made gluten friendly by substituting this bun).

Muscle Maker Grill (multiple NJ locations and AR, CA, FL, IL, MO, NY, OK, PA, TX) – has a limited gluten friendly menu with some dairy friendly options. Read my review of Muscle Maker Grill.

PB and U has closed in Wayne, PA, but their NJ location is still open.

Pure Tacos has closed.

Red Mango (Nationwide including 25 locations in NJ) - this frozen yogurt chain also offers gluten free / dairy free sorbettos. (Review coming soon)


Be sure to check out the full Gluten Free Fast Food / Chain / Quick Serve list and if you are in NJ the Gluten Free New Jersey Restaurant List.

Gluten Free French Fries Latest Update

It’s time for another update to my gluten free french fry restaurant list. I’ve added eighteen new locations: some here in NJ, a couple that I’ve personally tried in NY, and then a couple of national chains. As always, be sure to double check with the restaurant before ordering. Procedures and recipes sometimes change and their fries may not still be truly gluten free!

NJ Restaurants:

6 Brothers Diner in Little Falls, NJ – they have a dedicated fryer for gluten free fries (and gluten free chicken fingers)!

Alumni Grill in Wildwood, NJ – has gluten free fries and gluten free sweet potato fries!

Biddy O'Malley's in Northvale, NJ – last I was here they were looking into installing a dedicated fryer. No word on if that is done yet.

The Cozy End in Upper Montclair, NJ – they have a dedicated gluten free fryer for lots more than just gluten free French fries! These are some of the best fries I’ve ever had.

Gluten Free Greek Fries at Opa Greek Cuisine in Wayne, NJ

Kind Burgers in Sea Bright, NJ – offers gf fries.

Little Shanty in Warren, NJ (more coming soon) – has multiple fryers and offers gluten free french fries and gluten free onion rings. Warning: their sweet potato fries are NOT gluten free.

Opa Greek Cuisine in Wayne, NJ – has a dedicated fryer for their gluten free greek fries. (review coming soon)

Your Way Cafe in Westwood, NJ – they have a dedicated fryer for gluten free French fries and gluten free chicken fingers. (review coming soon)

NY Restaurants:

97lake in West Harrison, NY – they have gluten free onion rings and gluten free fries. As a matter of fact their kitchen is mainly gluten free, they just bring in gluten containing bread for other diners! Read my review of 97lake here.

Mama’s Italian Restaurant in Oakdale, NY (Long Island) – has a dedicated fryer for gluten free fries and a multitude of other gluten free fried items. (Review coming soon.)

Market Cafe (NYC, NY) – has a dedicated fryer for their gluten free seasoned fries. (Review coming soon.)

Perfecto Mundo in Commack, NY (Long Island) – they have a dedicated fryer for all of their gluten free options (potato frites, sweet potato frites, yuca frites, chips for salsa and guacamole, etc.) (Review coming soon.)

Chain / Fast Food Restaurants:

Burger21 (mostly in FL, but expanding) - they offer gluten free french fries and gluten free sweet potato fries!

Glory Days (no NJ locations) – has a dedicated fryer. (review coming soon)

Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville Restaurants – offers a dedicated fryer for gluten free fries!

Joe's Crab Shack - I'm removing this one from the master list. They used to list french fries on their gluten free menu but have removed them. I've eaten here and the boiled potatoes that come with their steam pots are gluten free but we all know potatoes were meant to be fried not boiled!

Mon Ami Gabi (no NJ locations) – they have gluten free French fries at this French Bistro.

Red Robin – some locations now have a dedicated fryer.

Ted’s Montana Grill (no NJ locations) – has gluten free fresh cut fries! (review coming soon)

White Chocolate Grill (no NJ locations) - they have gluten free shoestring fries. I ate at their AZ location years ago and enjoyed it quite a bit.


These were just the updates, see the full list here: Gluten Free Fries.

Restaurant Review: Muscle Maker Grill (Multiple NJ locations and AR, CA, FL, IL, MO, NY, OK, PA, TX)

Over the past couple of years, I've been seeing more and more Muscle Maker Grills popping up. Recently, I was out with some friends and we needed somewhere to grab a quick bite. There was a Muscle Maker Grill nearby so we decided to give it a try.

Gluten Free / Dairy Free at Muscle Maker Grill

They have an in store Nutrition and Dietary Guide pamphlet which contains a fairly brief gluten free menu (three entrees, three salads). The staff however was able to identify which sides were gluten (and diary) free and also pointed out that all of their salad dressings are gluten free. They also offer four different 100% fruit smoothies.

Being both GF and DF and not being able to digest lettuce left me with the grilled chicken, steamed broccoli and brown rice. [Although, I probably could have gotten The Godfather entree without the cheese.]

Overall the food was good . . . as good as grilled chicken, steamed broccoli and brown rice can be. It was also well priced for the large portion size. I certainly like the option of healthy gluten free quick serve food and would stop back again if I found myself somewhere near a Muscle Maker Grill without a plan and in need of a quick meal.




Other Gluten Free Quick Serve Restaurants I've reviewed:

Gluten Free at Energy Kitchen

Gluten Free at Chipotle Mexican Grill

And don't forget my full list of Gluten Free Quick Serve Restaurants.

Gluten Free Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia

I recently got back from a whirlwind trip trough Maryland, Northern Virginia and the eastern tip of West Virginia. I had gone down for the 150th Anniversary of the Battle of Antietam and extended the trip to tour a number of other national parks (I ended up visiting 13 of them, 10 I had never been to before).

Antietam National Battlefield

Before leaving on the trip, I took my own gluten free travel advice and mapped out the places I would be able to eat as well as the grocery stores along the way that cater to the gluten free community. I even brought along my toaster (although I ended up having Kinnikinnick donuts for breakfast most mornings).

My route took me from NJ through southern PA to Hagerstown, MD, I was in that area for three days then headed down to Manassas, VA for three days, before heading to Harper’s Ferry, WV for a day and finally back to the Hagerstown/Frederick area of MD.

I’ll be writing restaurant reviews over the next couple of days but wanted to list out some of my finds, including a handful of places I didn’t get to go:

Maryland / Virginia / West Virginia Gluten Free Supermarket / Grocery options

Common Market (Frederick, MD) – great GF selection and they even had Bavarian Toast Bread (which I haven’t seen in years!)

The Natural Marketplace in Warrenton, VA

Eden’s Natural Market (Gainesville, VA) – large health food shop with a good GF selection.

Healthway (VA/WV) – I didn’t get to stop here but this chain has a handful of locations across these two states.

Martin’s (MD, PA, VA and WV) – fairly sizeable GF section at this large supermarket chain.

MOM’s Organic Market (only in MD/VA) – good selection of GF products.

Natural Marketplace (Warrenton, VA) – small natural food store with a second floor juice bar/sandwich shop. Review coming soon.

Wegmans – I didn’t stop here but I suspect they are much the same all over.

Whole Foods – I also never stopped in a Whole Foods (they're only in eastern MD but I was near some in VA as well)..

Independent Gluten Free Dining options

Alcacia (Frederick, MD) - Bistro that flags GF items on their menu. Unsure on DF options. I almost ate here but they fell victim to me traveling alone. I decided to not eat out alone again that night and instead got take out. It looks like a great restaurant though.

Gambas al Pil Pil at Isabella's in Frederick, MD

Castiglia’s (Winchester, VA) – Italian restaurant with extensive GF menu, including GF bread crumbs, GF bread (manufacturer states bread may be contaminated), GF pizza, and GF pasta. Review coming soon.

Isabella’s Taverna and Tapas Bar (Frederick, MD) – the absolute highlight of the entire trip! Review: Gluten Free at Isabella's Taverna.

My Thai (Frederick, MD) – listed on other sites as having a GF menu. They don’t. However they were extremely accommodating. Review: Gluten Free at My Thai.

The Wild Tomato (Harrisburg, PA) – great GF menu at this Italian takeout restaurant. Sadly, no DF cheese.  Review coming soon.


Maryland/Virginia/West Virginia Gluten Free Chain Restaurants

Chick-fil-A – ate here a couple of times I needed a quick meal. (See my previous review here: Eating Gluten Free at Chick-fil-A)

Glory Days Grill – A mostly gluten friendly menu but they do have a dedicated fryer for gluten free fries! Review coming soon.

Logan’s Roadhouse – gluten friendly menu. Review coming soon.

Red Robin – serving GF / DF hamburger buns and some locations have a dedicated fryer. Review coming soon!

zPizza – pizza chain with both GF pizza crusts and DF cheese. I one night I was going to try them, it got too late for me to get there before they closed. I think they just opened (are about to open) a location or two in NYC. I’ll have to check them out soon.

There are also numerous locations of major chains we have here in NJ that I didn’t try during the trip (but it was nice to know they were there if I needed them): Bonefish Grill, Boston Market, Buffalo Wild Wings (almost nothing here is both GF and DF), Don Pablo’s, Longhorn, Outback, Pei Wei, Ruby Tuesday, and Uno Chicago Grill.

Gluten Free Bakeries

Better Choice Bakery (Brunswick, MD (small town on VA border, near Harper’s Ferry)) – small dedicated GF/DF bakery. Review coming soon.

Jireh Bakery Cafe (Centerville, VA) – I didn’t get to try here.

Triple Oak Bakery (Sperryville, VA) – dedicated GF bakery. No mention online of DF options. I didn’t stop here.

Ok, time to start cracking on those nine new reviews!

Updates for Gluten Free Fast Food / Chain / Quick Serve List

I'm planning a trip to Maryland / Virginia in September and in preparation I've been scouting out my gluten free dining options.  Along the way I found a number of chain restaurants offering gluten free dining options.  Most of these are chains that we just don't have here in NJ.  After I had found all I could in the area I am heading, I was on a roll and expanded my search to nationwide.  When I'm back from my trip I'll be sure to post some reviews of the restaurants I've tried.  

(I've added all of these to my Gluten Free Chains / Fast Food / Quick Serve Restaurant List already.)

Chains:

99 Restaurants (CT, MA, ME, NH, NY, RI, VT, only NJ location is closed) – has a number of gluten friendly entrees and gluten free hamburger buns. No gf fries but they do have potato chips instead. Lists eight major allergens (gluten instead of wheat) and MSG on their nutrition page.

Abuelo’s (AR, AZ, FL, IN, KS, KY, MI, MO, OH, OK, SC, TN, TX, VA, WI, no locations in NJ) – this Mexican restaurant chain has an average sized gluten free menu including soft corn tortillas for fajitas and soft tacos.

Austin Grill (DC, MD, VA) – this tex-mex chain has a small gluten free menu. Dairy free may require extra care.

Biaggi’s (CO, IA, IL, IN, NE, MN, MS, NC, NY, OH, UT, WI, no locations in NJ) – has gf spaghetti and penne. Has a number of non-pasta GF entrees as well.

Big Bowl (IL, MN, VA) – has a good sized Asian gluten free menu.

BJ’s Restaurant and Brewhouse (AZ, CA, CO, FL, IN, KS, KY, LA, NV, OH, OK, OR, TX, WA but none in NJ) – extremely small gf menu but also lists 8 major allergens (+ sulfites and MSG). DF might require extra work here as well.

Bugaboo Creek Steakhouse (CT, DE, MA, MD, ME, NH, NY, PA, RI, no NJ locations) – good sized gluten friendly menu.

Claim Jumper (AZ, CA, IL, NV, OR, TN, WA) – has a gluten free menu but take caution as they butter their grilled items.

Don Pablo’s (15 mostly eastern states + 2 in NJ: Deptford and Moorestown) – has multiple warnings on their site and gf menu about expected cross contamination, shared fryers and untrained staff.

Eddie V’s Prime Seafood & Steak (AZ, CA, TX) – large gluten friendly menu.

Glory Day’s Grill (MD, VA, WV only) – has a gluten free menu and dedicated gluten free friers.

The Greene Turtle (DC, DE, MD, VA) – bar/restaurant with a gluten friendly menu.

The Grill (CA, FL, IL, TX) – this chain has a good sized gluten friendly menu.

Hoss’s Steak and Sea (PA and WV only) – lists gluten friendly items on website.

Mama Fu’s (AR, FL, NC, TX) – gluten free sauce not in all locations yet (check with your local restaurant before going. Has a nice sized GF asian menu.

Mitchell’s Fish Market (CT, FL, IN, KY, MI, PA, OH, WI) – can prepare any of their fresh fish in four different gluten friendly ways (grilled, blackened, in a salad, and steamed with ginger and scallions). Has a good number of other gluten friendly options on their GF menu as well.

Mon Ami Gabi (MD, IL, NV, VA) – fairly large gluten free menu including gluten free french fries at this French Bistro. (Note: dairy free may be a bit of a challenge.)

O’Charley’s (18 states across the mid-west, great lakes and south) – they offer an allergen menu that list six allergens (they combine nuts/peanuts and fish/shellfish) and MSG.

Ocean Prime (AZ, CO, FL, GA, IN, MI, PA, OH, TX) - offers gluten friendly menus.

The Old Spaghetti Factory (AZ, CA, CO, HI, ID, IN, KY, MN, MO, OH, OR, TN, UT, WA none on the east coast) – offers gluten free pasta for $.75 more. Has limited GF menu.

Stir Crazy (FL, GA, IL, IN, MI, MN, MO, NY, OH, WI) – offers two gluten free sauces for make-your-own stir fry with rice or rice noodles but make sure wok is thoroughly cleaned between stir fries. May have other GF options but they aren’t listed online. I’ve eaten at the NY location once but am not overly sensitive.

Ted’s Montana Grill (CO, CT, FL, GA, IL, IN, KY, MA, MT, NC, NY, PA, OH, RI, TN, VA, but not in NJ) – has a gluten friendly menu (order without bread, etc) and gluten free fresh cut fries!

Village Tavern (AL, AZ, CO, FL, GA, NC) – has a good sized gluten free menu with numerous grill items, gf pasta and gluten free pizza (but no df cheese).

White Chocolate Grill (AZ, CO, IL) - They have a good sized GF menu and even have gluten free French fries. I ate at their AZ location years ago and enjoyed it quite a bit.

Wildfire Steaks, Chops, & Seafood (IL, MN, VA) – offers full gluten free menu including gluten free hamburger buns (unknown other allergens), gluten free pizza (no df cheese) and more. Fries are not gluten free.

Wildfish Seafood Grille (AZ, CA, TX) – large gluten friendly menu.

Z’Tejas Southwestern Grill (AZ, CA, TX, UT, WA) – gluten free is listed on the specialty menu.

Quick Serve / Fast Food:

Burger 21 (FL, coming soon to NJ) – uses French Meadow gluten free hamburger buns and lists gluten free French fries and sweet potato fries on their menu.

Costa Vida Fresh Mexican Grill (AZ, CA, CO, ID, MO, NM, TX, UT) – no gluten other than their tortillas.

In-N-Out Burger (AZ, CA, NV, TX, UT) – will serve their burgers ‘protein style’ wrapped in lettuce. Their only fried item is French fries so there’s no cross contamination (and their fries are already gluten free).

Jason’s Deli (28 states but none in NJ) – has a limited GF menu mostly containing soups, baked potatoes, and salads.

Noodles & Company (locations in 23 states, but not in NJ) – the list the eight major allergens but very few items are both gluten free and dairy free.

Rubio’s (AZ, CA, CO, NV, UT) – This fish taco/mexican chain has a chart of the 8 major allergens. DF will require a little special ordering.

zpizza (AZ, CA, CO, DC, GA, HI, MD, MN, MO, NC, NV, NY, OH, SC, TX, VA, WA, no NJ locations) – offers gluten free pizza crust and vegan cheese. Crust is vegan too.

Gluten Free Map of NJ and Latest Restaurant List updates (15 Restaurants, 2 casinos, 3 chains, and one quick serve)

I’ve made two big changes to my Gluten Free NJ Restaurant List. First up, the list has grown so big that I decided to split it into two pages. All of the independent restaurants stayed on the original page whereas the second page is for Gluten Free Fast Food, Quick Serve, and Chain Restaurants.

The second big change is at the bottom of the original restaurant list. I’ve created a map of all of the independent restaurants, small markets and gluten free bakeries! I did include a handful of chains/quick serve restaurants. Mostly those that have actual gluten free items (i.e. aren’t just gluten friendly) and are small enough that I wasn’t adding too many locations. The map is still a work in progress but hopefully you’ll find it useful.

So without further ado, here are the updates!

Independent Restaurants:

6 Brothers Diner (475 Route 46E, Little Falls, NJ 07424) – they have a gluten free menu but it is not online. I stopped in late on a Tuesday evening when they would be less busy and the waitstaff had very little GF knowledge and even less interest in being helpful. Most of my dairy free questions went unanswered.

Biddy O'Malleys (191 Paris Avenue, Northvale, NJ 07647) – flags GF on their menu. Has eight menu items that are naturally gluten free and many others that they can modify to be so.  Everyone I've spoken to who's eaten here raves about it. I just ate here tonight and it is great.  DF required a little extra work but well worth it.  Review coming soon.

Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa (One Borgata Way, Atlantic City, NJ 08401) – they've added gluten free menus to a number of their restaurants: izakaya, Fornelletto, The Metropolitan, Bobby Flay Steakhouse, Roma, and N.O.W. (Note: a hand-full of their other restaurants can accommodate but don't have specific gluten free menus.)

Castalia (997 McBride Avenue, Woodland Park, NJ 07424) – has gluten free pasta.

Crust and Crumble (658 Cookman Avenue (or 633 Lake Avenue), Asbury Park, NJ 07712) – has both gluten free pizza and dairy free cheese for said pizza!

Double S Diner (Rt23, Wantage area) - to re-open in summer of 2012.

Harrah’s Resort (777 Harrah’s Boulevard, Atlantic City, NJ 08401) 7 eateries at Harrah’s have been certified via the GREAT program. These are Bill's Bar & Burger, the Diamond Club, Dos Caminos, Luke Palladino, Sammy D's, The SteakHouse, and the Waterfront Buffet. Unfortunately, all this means is that their staff has been trained to deal with gluten free diners. As of yet, none of the seven have created a gluten free menu, nor have they posted the specifics of how they accommodate.

Jefferson Diner (5 Bowling Green Parkway, Lake Hopatcong, NJ 07849) - has very brief, combined gluten free / vegetarian menu and not all of the vegetarian items on it are gluten free.

Kind Burgers (coming soon) (1064 Ocean Avenue, Sea Bright, NJ 07760) – pre-opening articles promise gluten free fries and gf/df buns.

La Bottega (14 Oak Street, Ridgewood, NJ 07450) – offers gluten free soups, salads and panini’s (panini’s $2.50 more). Menu items have small gluten free symbol on them. WARNING: Panini’s made with bread that contains dairy.

Puzo’s Family Restaurant of Ridgewood (16 West Ridgewood Avenue, Ridgewood, NJ 07450) – has both gluten free pasta and pizza.

Red's Jersey Mex Café (11th Street and Haven Avenue, Ocean City, NJ 08226) – has an extensive gluten free Mexican menu. Dairy free may require some care. I haven’t been yet.

Rocca (203 Rock Road, Glen Rock, NJ 07452) Lists gluten free pasta.

Rudy’s Italian Restaurant (300 South Avenue, Garwood, NJ 07027) – Garwood location ONLY has gluten free menu. Menu offers pasta and many gluten friendly choices.

Salute Bistro (173 Glenridge Avenue, Montclair, NJ 07042) – has gf pizza and gf pasta both for an additional $3.

Serpico's (307 Main Street, Allenhurst, NJ 07711) - has a gluten free menu with pizza and pasta. Dairy free is fairly tough, but they do offer a gf/df brownie and pasta with garlic and olive oil.

Washington Inn (801 Washington Street, Cape May, NJ 08204) GF flagged on menu, DF might be a bit of a challenge here.



Gluten Free Chains:

Bertucci’s – (10 Mid-Atlantic/New England States plus 7 in NJ) has a good sized GF menu which they recently expanded. Interestingly they don’t offer gluten free pasta or pizza. It’s hard to tell from the website how difficult or easy dairy free would be here. Now that their menu is a bit larger, I may just try them out.

Brio Tuscan Grille (19 states plus NJ: 901 Haddonfield Road, Cherry Hill, NJ 08002, 500 Rt. 73 South, Marlton, NJ 08053 and coming soon to 3710 Route 9, Freehold NJ 07728) - has separate gluten friendly menu on website; unknown other allergens.

Chevy’s - (AZ, FL, IL, MD, MN, MO, NV, NY, SD, VA + 3 in NJ:Clifton, Morris Plains, and Linden) - has added a gluten free menu. They have corn tortillas for soft tacos, enchiladas and fajitas. Sadly, their chips are not gluten free.

Ground Round (IA, ME, MI, MN, MO, ND, NY, OH, PA, SD, WI + NJ: Bradley Beach and East Windsor)- announced they are adding a gluten free menu soon.

Iron Hill Brewery - will open a location in Voorhees winter 2012/2013.

Miller’s Ale House will be opening a location in Paramus.

P.F. Chang’s - added 7 more menu items. (Review coming soon.)


Pei Wei - recently opened a third NJ location near Paramus (83 West Spring Valley Avenue, Maywood, NJ 07607)   Read my: Pei Wei Review from their Moorestown location.

Season 52 - will open a second NJ location in Edison in spring 2013.




Gluten Free Fast Food / Quick Serve:

Fins Tropicali (120 Main Street, Bradley Beach, NJ 07753; 1930 Route 88, Brick, NJ 08724; 2100 Route 35, Sea Girt, NJ 08750) - has a gluten free menu with soft corn tacos/tortillas. Sadly, their chips are fried in a shared frier.

Fresh City is now inside St. Barnabas Medical Center (94 Old Short Hills Road, Livingston, NJ 07039).


As always, if you see a restaurant in NJ that I'm missing and they have their gluten free menu online, please let me know via the Contact Me form on the left.  Thanks!

Updated Gluten Free French Fries List

I’ve updated my list of Restaurants (Independent, Chain and Fast Food) that offer gluten free French fries. I started by consolidating the last update article into the original article here: Gluten Free French Fries so you no longer need to read both articles. I then added these six locations:

Grilled Chicken on Gluten Free Bun
with a side of Gluten Free French Fries

Applebee’s – No, the fries here aren’t safe even though they are on their gluten free list. The fries themselves are gluten free but are fried in a shared fryer (double check with your local Applebee’s).

Energy Kitchen – gluten free crinkle cut fries are baked not fried so no concerns about shared fryers here. Review of Energy Kitchen.

In-N-Out Burger – they don’t have any NJ locations but they have a loyal gluten free following in the states where they are. The only fried item on their menu is their fries.

Joe’s American Grill – I just ate here and found out that they will pan fry potatoes to avoid cc issues. (At least they offered this at my local Joe’s be sure to double check with yours.)

Pop Shop – I read recently that this Collingswood, NJ restaurant has installed a fryer to make gluten free chicken fingers and gluten free fries.

Shake Shack – they aren’t in NJ yet either but have a number of NYC locations. Their fries are gluten free and fried in a dedicated fryer, however, they warn that their oil recycling may introduce cross contamination.


That’s it for now, are there any restaurants that I’m missing? If so shoot me a quick email using the Contact Me form on the left.


Looking for somewhere to eat?

Gluten Free NJ Restaurant List (includes those serving GF fries)

Restaurant Review: PB & U (Moorestown, NJ and one location in PA)

I had read about PB&U a couple of months ago on another gluten free blog (I'm not sure but most likely Gluten Free Philly). PB&U is a quick serve peanut butter sandwich shop (I don’t say peanut butter and jelly as grape and strawberry jelly are only two of their 20 or so toppings!) PB&U uses Udi’s gluten free sandwich bread for their gluten free customers [note – not all of their toppings are gluten free].

Gluten Free Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich at PB&U

I finally got a chance to stop into one recently on my way home from the Celiac Awareness Tour: Philadelphia. The dine in area has tables in the shape of peanuts, like other quick serve restaurants all of the prep is done right in front of you so you can watch and their peanut butter is fresh ground in the store and comes in three varieties (creamy, chunky, in between).

For gluten free diners they use a dedicated gluten free toaster, make the sandwich on top of a fresh paper to-go wraps, use a plastic knife instead of the regular spatula and cut the sandwich with another plastic knife. The only red flag I saw was that they used the same bucket of peanut butter for GF as well. Since they fresh ground their peanuts I don’t think it should be an issue to ask them to use different peanut butter if you are that sensitive.

Overall, I enjoyed the sandwich and hope they continue their expansion. It was certainly a nice diversion and I would certainly consider returning the next time I am in an area that has one.



Other restaurant reviews you may want to check out:

Pei Wei Asian Diner (Moorestown and Cherry Hill, NJ)

Five Guys Burgers and Fries (multiple NJ locations)

And of course, the full list of NJ Gluten Free Restaurants as well as the list of Gluten Free Quick Serve / Fast Food.

Latest Gluten Free NJ Restaurant List Updates (21 updates!)

Here are the latest additions to my List of New Jersey restaurants that can handle both gluten free and dairy free dining:

Anna’s Ristorante (67 Union Place, Summit, NJ 07901) – has a separate gluten free menu with gluten free pasta, gluten friendly entrees, and gf pizza. I haven’t been yet.

Arlene’s on Asbury (624 Asbury Avenue, Ocean City, NJ 08226) - has gluten free bread and gluten free wraps for sandwiches (unknown other allergens). I've never been.

Buds and Bowls (2691 Main Street, Lawrenceville, NJ 08648) – A florist/cafe (yes you read that correctly) who's menu is entirely gluten free (although gluten containing bread and rolls are available for wheat eaters). Their menu changes daily. They have both gluten free buns (dairy free, by Schär) and homemade gluten free bread (contains dairy). I haven't been yet.

Cielo (168 Passaic Avenue, Fairfield, NJ 07004) – has gluten free pasta for $2 more. I haven’t been yet.

Drew's Bay Shore Bistro (28 East Front Street, Keyport, NJ 07735) – Menu notes: G = GF naturally and G* = can be made GF. They use a lot of butter which might be a little tough for those of us who are dairy free. I haven't been yet.

Good Karma Café (17 East Front Street, Red Bank, NJ 07701) - closed Sundays. This fully vegan restaurant *’s items on their menu that are gluten free. See my review here: Good Karma Cafe Review

McLoone’s Asbury Grille (1200 Ocean Avenue, Asbury Park, NJ 07712) – while they don’t have a gluten free menu they do state on their website that most menu items can be prepared gluten free and that they will work with you. Unsure of their ability to handle dairy free. I’ve never been. (Note: there are other McLoone’s restaurants across NJ and MD but the two listed here are the only ones that list gluten free.)

McLoone’s Rum Runner (816 Ocean Avenue, Sea Bright, NJ 07760) – flags the gluten friendly items on their menu and states they will work with you on other items. I’ve never been. (Note: there are other McLoone’s restaurants across NJ and MD but the two listed here are the only ones that list gluten free on their websites.)

Panda Asian Fusion (335 West Main Street, Freehold, NJ 07728) – claims 95% of their menu can be made gluten free. I’ve only ever had a gluten free egg roll there as a snack. See my review here:  Gluten Free Egg Roll at Panda Asian Fusion

The Pop Shop (729 Haddon Avenue, Collingswood, NJ 08108) – has gluten free bread (unknown other allergens). I hear rumors they are installing a gluten free fryer for gluten free fries and chicken fingers. Also have vegan cheese and vegan ice cream. I've never been.

Riverside Brick Oven Pizza and Cafe (517 River Drive, Garfield, NJ 07026) - this new restaurant was opened by the owners/managers of La Piazzo in Little Falls in the same store front as the now closed River Cafe.  I recently ate here and will be posting a review soon.  They are still transitioning (training new staff, getting used to a smaller kitchen, etc) and for now only have gluten free pizza and gluten free pasta on the regular menu. 

Spoon & Sprout Café (378 South Branch Road, Hillsborough, NJ 08844. This vegetarian café states that they have both gluten free and vegan options on their menu. However, the only item on the online menu flagged as gluten free is the Apple Crisp and nothing is flagged as vegan. From reading the items, there do appear to be a number of dishes that should be naturally gluten free and easily made vegan.  I haven't been yet.

Stage House Tavern (1719 Amwell Road, Somerset, NJ 08873) – flags their gluten friendly items on their menu. I haven’t been.

Stage House Tavern (366 Park Avenue, Scotch Plains, NJ 07076) – flags their gluten friendly items on their menu. I haven’t been yet.

Sun Tavern (15 South Ave, Fanwood, NJ 07023) – has gluten free ravioli (dairy) and gluten free gnocchi (unknown). I haven’t been for dinner.

Temple Gourmet Chinese (91 Broad Street, Red Bank, NJ 07701) – a little blue square on the online menu denotes gluten free. I haven't been yet, but a friend of mine went and enjoyed it.

T.S. Ma (199 Bellevue Avenue, Upper Montclair, NJ 07042) - has wheat free soy sauce. I haven't been yet.

Umburto Italian Restaurant (583 River Rd, Fair Haven, NJ 07704) - has gluten free pasta and pizza. I haven’t been yet.

PA:

A reader reported that all dining options at Shawnee Mountain have gluten free options.  There is no online menu but she mentioned buns, chicken nuggets, pizza, etc.



Chains:

Osteria at Whole Foods Millburn, NJ (2245 Springfield Ave., Vauxhall, NJ 07088). Has Gluten Free pasta and an open kitchen (so you can watch for cc issues). This is one of only three Whole Foods to have an Osteria.




Quick Serve:

Energy Kitchen (96 Hudson Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030 and 14-A Chestnut Ridge Road, Montvale, NJ 07645) - has both a gluten free menu and a listing of the eight major allergens. Fries are baked so no cross contamination issues. Read my review here: Energy Kitchen Review.



As always, if you see a restaurant in NJ that I'm missing and they have their gluten free menu online, please let me know via the Contact Me form on the left.  Thanks!

Restaurant Review: Energy Kitchen (Hoboken, NJ and Montvale, NJ plus 11 locations in NY and 2 in FL)

I spent quite a bit of time in NYC with some cousins visiting from Spain in December and noticed more than one location of a new quick serve restaurant: Energy Kitchen. I stopped in quickly at one point and found out that they had a gluten free menu. I never did get to try them during those two weeks but was pleased to find out that they had a Hoboken, NJ location.

Sirloin Burger on Canyon Bakehouse Gluten Free Bun
(brought my own) with Gluten Free Fries at Energy Kitchen

Last week I decided to look up the Hoboken address and finally give them a try. I was shocked to find that they had recently opened a location in Montvale (14-A Chestnut Ridge Road, Montvale, NJ 07645) about a mile from my office! Needless to say this has quickly become my new favorite lunch place! [There really aren’t many GF options near work so I bring my lunch almost every day – still it’s nice to have the option to go out!]

They have both a Gluten Free Menu and an allergen chart listing the 8 major allergens as well as which items are vegan in each store. Neither menu is online. Both lists appear to be a work in progress (for example, French fries are new and not listed yet), but this is better than most restaurants.

According to their website none of their menu items contains more than 500 calories and their menu is chock full of healthy options. (When was the last time McDonald’s offered you a black bean and mango salad? Brown Rice? Edamame? Yeah, me neither.) Energy Kitchen even bakes their French fries! (So no contaminated fry oil, they just spray the fries with Canola oil and bake them.) [They have snack bags of Pirate's Booty too, but sadly only dairy containing flavors.]

Overall, the food is good and good for you. The chain is centered around NYC for now, but they appear to be expanding out into the suburbs and also have a couple of locations in Florida. I hope they continue their expansion as it’s nice to have another fast food/quick serve option when out and about.




Other gluten free fast food / quick serve reviews you may be interested in:

Gluten Free / Dairy Free at Chipotle

Dairy Free / Gluten Free at Elevation Burger

And of course, my full list of New Jersey Restaurants with a Gluten Free Menu, my list of Quick Serve / Fast Food / Chains with a Gluten Free Menu, as well as my list of Restaurants with Gluten Free French Fries!

Gluten Free Super Bowl Weekend!

Wow, what a weekend! It’s been years since I started a weekend on a Thursday night but that’s where this one started when I finally started using my twitter account. I set the account up a week or two ago but wasn’t 100% following the intricacies of using it. I had dinner with a younger cousin Thursday night and he answered the few remaining questions I had. On Friday, I integrated it with my facebook page and I added a feed of my most recent tweets to the left side menu here on Gluten Free / Dairy Free NJ. My twitter is gfdfnj or you can click “Follow me on Twitter” at the bottom of the feed.

Chick-fil-A's New Gluten Free Grilled
Chicken Nuggets and Gluten Free Waffle Fries

On Friday night I was commenting online that Chick-fil-A now has gluten free grilled chicken nuggets. I wrote that I hadn’t tried them yet and as I did, a light bulb went off. I pass a Chick-fil-A on my way home from work every night. I stopped in Friday night. It turns out they sell them in an 8 pack as well as in their kids meals (3 or 6 piece). It was tough to not start on the gf waffle fries in the car on the way home, but I wanted to get a photo first. Eating gluten free at Chick-fil-A is pretty easy as you can see from my previous article.

On Saturday I was planning on meeting a friend of mine at Europa South in Point Pleasant for dinner (more on this later). I figured since I was heading down that way anyhow (it’s about a 75 minute drive) I might as well make some gluten free stops along the way.

My first stop was at Fallon's Gluten Free Bakeshop in Fords.  They are a small dedicated gluten free bakery.  They had a number of items in their display case but if you want dairy free you have to order in advance.  Everything looked delicious.

Gluten Free Egg Roll at Panda Asian Fusion in Freehold, NJ

I stopped off to try the Gluten Free Egg roll at Panda Asian Fusion (335 West Main Street, Freehold, NJ 07728). They don’t have a website so I didn’t have much information going in. The Egg Roll is wrapped in a very thin bean curd wrapper and was very crispy. A bit different from a gluten containing egg roll but it served its purpose – to carry the egg roll innards and my favorite part that orange colored dipping sauce to my mouth! [Full Review coming shortly.]

I stopped at the Wegmans in Englishtown. They had many of the same products I’ve come to expect at a Wegmans but sadly no Sweet Sin desserts. The only new item I saw were Go Raw cookies. GF/DF and raw/vegan. I decided against getting any even though they had interesting looking flavors: Lemon, Carrot Cake, and Chocolate.

Top Tomato in Freehold, NJ seemed to have a large selection of gluten free shelf stable items but didn’t appear to be much if anything in the freezer case. I only stopped in briefly but it appears that their other locations carry gf as well. (Brick, NJ, Freehold, NJ and 4 stores in Staten Island).

And then, right before dinner I hit the jackpot - Dean’s Natural Food Market in Ocean, NJ (also in Shrewsbury, NJ). They have an amazing selection of gluten free brands and items. The highlight of which was that they had Feel Good Foods Gluten Free Egg rolls! This is the first store I’ve seen these in so I bought a box (see below for how amazing they were!) In addition, I also bought Alternative Baking Company cookies, Ian’s GF/DF battered onion rings, and Olive Valley Gluten Free / Vegan Falafel.

Gluten Free Paella at Europa South in Point Pleasant, NJ



And that brings us to Europa South for Saturday’s dinner. Traditionally, Iberian (Spain/Portugal) cooking doesn’t contain wheat or dairy. Europa South flags their GF items on their menu and the two dishes I asked about both were dairy free. I ended up trying the GF Bacalhau A Lagareiro (salted cod fish) which was good. We also had the GF Shrimp in Garlic which was out of this world! [Full Review coming shortly.]

On the way home I stopped at a Whole Foods and found that So Delicious now makes a Coconut milk Greek style yogurt. I never had dairy containing Greek yogurt (not sure it was even available 22 years ago) so I can’t say how authentic or not it is but, if you miss it, it now exists. Personally, I prefer Silk Live Soy Yogurt.

Feel Good Foods Gluten Free Egg Roll



For lunch on Sunday I baked one of the Feel Good Foods Vegetable Egg rolls that I had gotten at Dean’s Natural Food Market the night before. It baked up nice and crispy (but kind of blew out the side a bit as you can see in the photo). I’ll write a longer review later but for now I highly recommend them (and yes, they are good enough that you should ask your local Gluten Free store to carry them!) [Since these come frozen I recommend you purchase them locally, if you can not, then they are available from the Gluten Free Mall here: Feel Good Foods Gluten-Free Egg Rolls, but remember: shipping will be expensive.](One egg roll is hardly lunch so I had some more of my left over Karina’s Chicken Chili with Sweet Potato White Beans and Lime to tide me over until the Super Bowl Party.)

Gluten Free Soft Pretzels (salted and unsalted)

And finally, I decided to bake some gluten free soft pretzels for the Super Bowl party I had been invited to. I used the recipe out of Annalise Roberts’ Gluten-Free Baking Classics.It was already dairy free and I omitted the egg wash (partially to keep them egg free, mostly because I didn’t have any eggs). They look every bit as good as they tasted and everyone at the party loved them – not uncommon praise for Annalise’s recipes. If you don’t already have her baking cookbook I do highly recommend it.




Links to related reviews:

Gluten Free Review of Europa South (Point Pleasant, NJ)

Gluten Free Review of Panda Asian Fusion (Freehold, NJ)

Product Reivew of Feel Good Food's Gluten Free Egg Rolls

NJ Gluten Free Bakeries

NJ Gluten Free Restaurants

NJ Gluten Free Stores

Restaurant Review: Five Guys Burgers and Fries (various NJ locations)

One of the hardest parts of following a gluten free diet is being out somewhere and looking to grab a quick bite to eat on the go. My go-to quick serve restaurants are Chipotle (review), Chick-fil-A (review) and Five Guys Burgers and Fries. [Yes, I’m a huge fan of Elevation Burger (review) but with only 2 locations so far it is just too tough to just find the nearest one and pop-in.]

Burger (that I put on an Udi's Gluten Free Bun)
with Gluten Free fries from 5 Guys Burger and Fries

The big upside to Five Guys is that they only have two gluten containing items on their menu: hamburger buns and hot dog buns. So that means their French fries are fried in a dedicated fryer by default. Their hot dogs are all beef (I can’t tolerate pork). They will gladly make both the hamburger and hot dog bunless (if I’ve planned ahead or do take out I use my own bun). Another aspect that I like is that the kitchen is open to the dining area so I can stand and watch them prepare my food.

The downside is that they are set up like an assembly line and there is quite a bit of opportunity for cross contamination while they prepare your meal. I like to ask that they separate my foil wrap from the others they are making so crumbs from the other buns don’t get on it. They also are willing to change gloves as needed. (If you’ve read my Elevation Burger review you’ll see that EB is much more careful and has procedures in place already.)

One final warning: Five Guys serves peanuts in their dining area (in the shell) and cooks with peanut oil. I wouldn’t even walk past a Five Guys if I had a peanut allergy!



And don't forget to check here for other Restaurants with Gluten Free Fries or here for a list of other Gluten Free Quick Serve Restaurants.