Ike's Place
John's 'Spiffy Tiffy'
On Sunday John and I whilst on one of our uber-long walks around the city decided to head in the direction of Ike’s. Our stomachs were telling us that it was getting close to lunch time, John had heard great things about this place and I had noticed on their website that they did gluten free sandwiches so we were off to The Mission dreaming of a tasty and satisfying lunch.
We arrive to find a line out the door. Obviously quite the popular place! I soon discovered why. The sandwich menu is extensive and they have a separate gluten free menu which is not at all lacking in variety. Everything sounded so yummy it was difficult to choose but in the end I went for the ‘Name of girl I’m dating’. Halal chicken, honey mustard, avocado and pepper jack. Yum! John chose the ‘Spiffy Tiffy’ which was halal chicken, mushrooms, avocado, pesto, provolone and pepper jack. Quite the sandwich and perhaps a little too many ingredients for the smallish slices of gluten free bread. There was a lot of overflowing but it tasted great so we had no complaints.
I explained when ordering that I was celiac and made sure that all of the ingredients within the gluten free sandwiches were completely gluten free. They are. And that my sandwich would be prepared in a separate area, with different utensils to avoid any chance of cross contamination. I was told they could and would but it didn’t appear to be the normal way of things. I felt happy that they were taking the necessary care as whilst I waited and again when I was handed my sandwich, it was confirmed that it was prepared carefully and in a safe, clean area.
Sandwiches cost $9-11 which I thought was pretty expensive. When I discovered this covered a bag of chips it sounded like a better deal.
My gluten free sandwich was made with four small slices of gluten free bread rather than a baguette as I first expected. The bread was good but nothing spectacular. The delicious ingredients which over flowed from the bread were what was worth writing about. This was one really yummy sandwich….probably the third best sandwich I’ve had since my sandwiches became gluten free. Numbers one and two were both from Philadelphia in case you were wondering.
I definitely plan to return to Ike’s to try one of  their other gluten free sandwiches. Make sure if you do check this place out that you double check when you order that your sandwich will be made in an area free of cross contamination. Tell them you’re celiac and that it’s really important and they will hopefully take extra care with your order as they did with mine.
UPDATE: I’ve been to Ike’s a number of times since writing this post and each time I was satisfied that the staff have known what they are doing and are taking the necessary precautions to keep me safe. On my visit yesterday I was excited to hear, and then enjoy, the new gluten free bread which Ike’s have started using for gluten free sandwiches. They are now using bread from the 100% gluten free bakery in Oakland, Mariposa. Good choice Ike’s, this new bread works very well with your delicious sandwiches!
New and delicious Mariposa bread!
charmaine
Jul 2nd, 2011I have been reading your blog for a while, and I have been waiting for someone to do a review of Ike’s GF for a while, so this worked out really well for me! I kept hearing that Ike’s had GF bread, but no one said if it was any good or not. My mother, my three daughters, and I are coming to San Francisco for a vacation next week. Three of us have celiac, two are vegetarians, and three are allergic to dairy and eggs…this requires a lot of planning. Your blog has helped me a lot, thank you!
Laura
Aug 29th, 2011Glad I could help..Ike’s is really good! Hope you enjoyed your trip to SF and that you found lots of good gf goodies!