The Gluten Free menu

A great place for blind coeliacs!

When I first heard that a restaurant called Carlos O’Kelly’s had a gluten free menu, my American friends all laughed. They told me it was a Tex Mex restaurant and they would never have expected them to cater for Coeliacs. Luckily for me, they do and their gluten free menu has lots of tasty things to choose from!

My first (and so far only) experience of Carlos O’Kelly’s was during Ragbrai when myself and a few friends ate dinner at the one in Waterloo, Iowa. A sign on their door said ‘Braille and Gluten Free Menu’s available’. A blind, coeliac’s dream and pretty good news for me too!

I called the restaurant prior to going to reserve a table and to ask whether they prepare gluten free dishes separately from non gluten free meals. I was told that they did.

Their gluten free menu is pretty varied and includes starters, taco salads, fajitas and enchiladas. The gluten free sides which come with most of the dishes are black beans, corn or a dinner salad. All of their chips and salsa are gluten free and lots of this comes free with your meal.

Chips and salsa

Shredded Beef Enchiladas

I ordered the shredded beef enchiladas, which are made with corn tortillas topped with chili con queso, cheese, sour cream and chives and a side of black beans. When our server brought my friend’s meals she informed me that the kitchen had accidentally put rice on my plate and were starting over again. I’m guessing the rice is not gluten free as it wasn’t one of the options for me so I was happy to hear that they were preparing me a fresh and safe meal. My enchiladas were quite the cheese fest but a very tasty treat and completely gluten free.

The Red Avocado

I’d been meaning to try The Red Avocado for a while but we always seemed to be in the vicinity between the hours of 2pm and 5pm, when it’s not open. It’s a vegan restaurant in Iowa city and I’d heard that they do quite a few gluten free dishes too. I haven’t found too many gluten friendly restaurants in Iowa that also have personality so I was very excited to try this locally inspired, organic place.

I emailed the restaurant to find out about their gluten free options. They didn’t provide information on which of their dishes were gluten free as their menu is bi-monthly and focuses on local and seasonal ingredients. They did say however that a number of things are gluten free and others can be adapted to be. They also said to mention that I am coeliac when I call to reserve a table.

Vegetable Peanut Satay

Quinoa Fiesta

The red Avocado’s menu is awesome. There serve a wonderful variety of delicious sounding dishes, filled with interesting vegetables, grains and spices. It was extremely difficult to decide on what to choose as I wanted to try everything. After more pondering I decided on the Vegetable Peanut Satay, which came with tempeh and quinoa. Fantastic! My boyfriend ordered the daily special (also gf) of quinoa salad with corn chips and black bean hummus with a side of corn and coconut soup. Again, scrumptious!

It’s not the cheapest of restaurants but the organic, locally produced, fresh deliciousness of each of their dishes makes it worth the price. I can’t wait to return and try something else!

The menu

Corn and Coconut soup

The Gluten Free Registry Site

Today I came across a website that excited me very much!  Gluten Free Registry. It’s a huge, free, searchable database of gluten free restaurants, searchable primarily by State and then by City, the aim being  ’to put people and gluten-free friendly restaurants, bakeries, caterers, grocers and more together’ (mission statement) Their terms and conditions state that to appear on the registry restaurants must indicate gluten free selections on their menu, provide a seperate gluten free menu or offer gluten free replacement products. Caterers must have previous experience preparing gluten free food and grocers must clearly identify gluten free selections. The database contains a great deal of information for eating gluten free throughout the States but they also have a  fairly large variety of links to gluten free friendly businesses in various other countries.

Looking through the database I was so happy to discover the huge number of places that cater for Coeliacs throughout the USA, especially the larger cities. In a couple of weeks time I am travelling to, and willl spend the summer in, the United States and I will keep checking this fantastic source of information as I  move around the country. I am starting off in New York and Boston before travelling to Iowa, Minneapolis, Vegas and a variety of other cities and towns during the summer. With the help of Gluten Free Registry I will keep you updated on how I find gluten free travelling in the United States of America.