Re: Front page G-F Restaurant Article in SF Chronicle

[Guest guest]

Nice list to choose from. When I went to the American Grilled Cheese Kitchen last month they told me they are not comfortable serving celiac's because of cross contamination. As always proceed to these restaurants with caution and being your own advocate!On Mar 24, 2011, at 7:17 AM, CalicoSue wrote:

Huge article on the front page of the Datebook section of the SF Chroniclel this morning (Thursday, 3/24). Going Gluten-Free is the name of the article.

The article mentions a lot of restaurants in San Francisco where the chefs are changing the menus to g-f menus (or at least adding g-f items). I saw a few restaurants I hadn't heard of before, including an Italian restaurant called Ristorante Bacco. Here's what the article says about this restaurant: Luca Zanet, manager at Ristorante Bacco, quit gluten cold turkey six months ago as part of a nutrition plan. That prompted him to revamp the menu at Bacco, where diners can order a plateful of rice or corn pasta dressed with any of the restaurant's sauces, from simple alfredo to a rich blend of tomato, cream, sausage, peppers and peas. Zanet also developed a house-made gluten- free bread. Customers have said they can't tell the difference. They're surprised to find an Italian restaurant that offers these options, Zanet says, adding that the consistency of the pasta is almost identical.

I was particularly interested in the American Grilled Cheese Kitchen that I heard about from this group. I called them and they even are offering g-f mac & cheese on most days because it's such a hit with the customers.

Here are the other restaurants they mentioned: Amici's, Cafe Gratitude, Dosa, Eagle Pizzeria, Extreme Pizza, Gracias Madre, Ike's Place at Lime, Minako Organic Japanese Restaurant, Moy, Pica Pica, The Plante Cafe Organic, Power Source Juice Bar, Saha, Tao Cafe and Zadin.

Enjoy!

Sue

[Guest guest]

I've eaten at Restaurant Bacco three times since being diagnosed with celiac, all within the last two months. The gluten-free pasta with whatever sauce you want from the menu -- absolutely delicious. The gluten-free bread -- well, as I told them, it is so great that they are trying, but it was incredibly dry and crumbly so they have a ways to go to perfect the recipe (I recommended simply getting their gf baguettes from Mariposa if a good recipe eludes them).

But I did have a big problem getting a straight answer about what other items on the menu are gluten free. Although each time, when making the reservation, I let them know I had celiac and needed everything I ate to be safely gluten free, there was no effort made to let me know what was safe (or could be made safe) on the menu when I was seated at the restaurant, and each time I asked about a certain dish, the waiter guessed if it was okay, then asked the chef or owner -- sometimes the waiter was right, sometimes not. But here's the worst of it -- the first time I ate there, after already getting the low-down on the gf pasta (yes, it's made in its own dedicated pot; yes the sauce I wanted was definitely gluten free), I asked if the sardines on the appetizer menu were gluten free. I was told yes. I asked very specifically about the stuffing and any coating/breading, and again was told a definite yes. I ordered it and ate it -- and had no noticeable reaction... However, the next time I went to the restaurant, I again asked about the sardines, and was told it was coated in flour and was thus off-limits to me. Hmph. The third time I decided to ask the owner directly about the sardines, and he very definitively told me the sardines were stuffed with wheat bread. Great. The recipe did not change -- the description in the menu did not change -- so why was I told the first time I ate there it was okay (and is it coated or stuffed or both)? I have no idea. I really don't know what to make of my experience. I am glad I didn't have a reaction to the sardines... and I use this as a reminder that asking over and over about ingredients etc. is necessary even in restaurants that claim to "get it."

:-( Tristan

Sent from my tin can and string. Please excuse mumbling and static.

-----Original Message-----

From: Robin Karp <robin@...>

Sent: Thu, Mar 24, 2011 1:15 pm

Subject: Re: [ ] Front page G-F Restaurant Article in SF Chronicle

Nice list to choose from. When I went to the American Grilled Cheese Kitchen last month they told me they are not comfortable serving celiac's because of cross contamination. As always proceed to these restaurants with caution and being your own advocate!

On Mar 24, 2011, at 7:17 AM, CalicoSue wrote:

Huge article on the front page of the Datebook section of the SF Chroniclel this morning (Thursday, 3/24). Going Gluten-Free is the name of the article.

The article mentions a lot of restaurants in San Francisco where the chefs are changing the menus to g-f menus (or at least adding g-f items). I saw a few restaurants I hadn't heard of before, including an Italian restaurant called Ristorante Bacco. Here's what the article says about this restaurant: Luca Zanet, manager at Ristorante Bacco, quit gluten cold turkey six months ago as part of a nutrition plan. That prompted him to revamp the menu at Bacco, where diners can order a plateful of rice or corn pasta dressed with any of the restaurant's sauces, from simple alfredo to a rich blend of tomato, cream, sausage, peppers and peas. Zanet also developed a house-made gluten- free bread. Customers have said they can't tell the difference. They're surprised to find an Italian restaurant that offers these options, Zanet says, adding that the consistency of the pasta is almost identical.

I was particularly interested in the American Grilled Cheese Kitchen that I heard about from this group. I called them and they even are offering g-f mac & cheese on most days because it's such a hit with the customers.

Here are the other restaurants they mentioned: Amici's, Cafe Gratitude, Dosa, Eagle Pizzeria, Extreme Pizza, Gracias Madre, Ike's Place at Lime, Minako Organic Japanese Restaurant, Moy, Pica Pica, The Plante Cafe Organic, Power Source Juice Bar, Saha, Tao Cafe and Zadin.

Enjoy!

Sue

[Guest guest]

In case you want to see the whole article....

This story will appear on SFGate.com on 12:01 AM on Saturday, March 26. To buy

an electronic version of the Thursday paper now, go to http://sfg.ly/9hZRui.

Print subscribers can go to http://sfg.ly/a0EgVK to sign up for free e-editions.

Read more:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/03/23/DDF31HJ7AV.DTL#ixzz1\

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>

>

> Huge article on the front page of the Datebook section of the SF Chroniclel

this morning (Thursday, 3/24). Going Gluten-Free is the name of the article.

>

> The article mentions a lot of restaurants in San Francisco where the chefs are

changing the menus to g-f menus (or at least adding g-f items). I saw a few

restaurants I hadn't heard of before, including an Italian restaurant called

Ristorante Bacco. Here's what the article says about this restaurant: Luca

Zanet, manager at Ristorante Bacco, quit gluten cold turkey six months ago as

part of a nutrition plan. That prompted him to revamp the menu at Bacco, where

diners can order a plateful of rice or corn pasta dressed with any of the

restaurant's sauces, from simple alfredo to a rich blend of tomato, cream,

sausage, peppers and peas. Zanet also developed a house-made gluten- free bread.

Customers have said they can't tell the difference. They're surprised to find an

Italian restaurant that offers these options, Zanet says, adding that the

consistency of the pasta is almost identical.

>

> I was particularly interested in the American Grilled Cheese Kitchen that I

heard about from this group. I called them and they even are offering g-f mac &

cheese on most days because it's such a hit with the customers.

>

> Here are the other restaurants they mentioned: Amici's, Cafe Gratitude, Dosa,

Eagle Pizzeria, Extreme Pizza, Gracias Madre, Ike's Place at Lime, Minako

Organic Japanese Restaurant, Moy, Pica Pica, The Plante Cafe Organic, Power

Source Juice Bar, Saha, Tao Cafe and Zadin.

>

> Enjoy!

>

> Sue

>