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.
