Guest guest Posted August 29, 2009 Report Share Posted August 29, 2009 A couple of weeks ago, I had the pleasure of eating dinner with my five-year-old son at Estaban's in Monterey. From start to finish, it was a fantastic experience, celiac or no. I had made a reservation via Open Table, and had noted that I had celiac disease, and included the standard info about what gluten is and issues of cross-contamination, etc. When I called the day of my reservation to see if I could move the time up an hour, I was told that they understood my need for a gluten free meal and that I would be taken care of. Was I ever. First of all, the hostess upon checking us in noted my special needs and assured me the server and chef would take care of me. Then the server made note of my needs. Then the chef himself came out and went through the menu with me. Much of the menu is naturally gluten free, though the mackerel is usually made with a sprinkling of croutons (easily left off), and the papas fritas are cooked in oil that is occasionally used to cook battered fish for children. The one glitch that fortunately was caught: the chef told me the potatoes would be fine, even though I had specifically asked if anything with gluten was cooked in the same oil, but the server noted caught the mistake. My son and I don't eat meat or chicken, and there was plenty on the menu to accommodate us. They do have a children's menu, the typical fried fare, but my son was happy eating off the adult's menu of small, shared plates. The potato confusion reminded me that even the chef can make an honest mistake, that I need to ask and ask again all the people serving me if what I am receiving is gluten free, and that eating out is always, always, always a risk. But because this particular restaurant seems to encourage all its staff to work together as team, and everyone understood my health issues (and weren't just pretending to, as sometimes is the case), I was able to eat safely. And the food was delicious! --Tristan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 29, 2009 Report Share Posted August 29, 2009 I have really enjoyed Estebans. My first experience they brought me gluten free bread in a basket because they knew I was coming. I would recommend giving them a call before hand so that they can be prepared for you too! Tania From: "TrVerb@..." <TrVerb@...> Sent: Saturday, August 29, 2009 11:59:17 AMSubject: Re: [ ] Monterey: Estabans A couple of weeks ago, I had the pleasure of eating dinner with my five-year-old son at Estaban's in Monterey. From start to finish, it was a fantastic experience, celiac or no. I had made a reservation via Open Table, and had noted that I had celiac disease, and included the standard info about what gluten is and issues of cross-contamination , etc. When I called the day of my reservation to see if I could move the time up an hour, I was told that they understood my need for a gluten free meal and that I would be taken care of. Was I ever. First of all, the hostess upon checking us in noted my special needs and assured me the server and chef would take care of me. Then the server made note of my needs. Then the chef himself came out and went through the menu with me. Much of the menu is naturally gluten free, though the mackerel is usually made with a sprinkling of croutons (easily left off), and the papas fritas are cooked in oil that is occasionally used to cook battered fish for children. The one glitch that fortunately was caught: the chef told me the potatoes would be fine, even though I had specifically asked if anything with gluten was cooked in the same oil, but the server noted caught the mistake. My son and I don't eat meat or chicken, and there was plenty on the menu to accommodate us. They do have a children's menu, the typical fried fare, but my son was happy eating off the adult's menu of small, shared plates. The potato confusion reminded me that even the chef can make an honest mistake, that I need to ask and ask again all the people serving me if what I am receiving is gluten free, and that eating out is always, always, always a risk. But because this particular restaurant seems to encourage all its staff to work together as team, and everyone understood my health issues (and weren't just pretending to, as sometimes is the case), I was able to eat safely. And the food was delicious! --Tristan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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