I met some co-workers at Macaroni Grill for dinner last night. In order to make sure I'd have a safe meal, I had to do some research ahead of time. First I went online and checked out their menu. I skipped past the obvious glutenous offenders, which was all the pasta dishes. I found some wonderful items on their Mediterranean Grill menu, including Aged Beef Tenderloin Spiedini. Angus beef grilled with fresh rosemary, served with colorful roasted vegetables. There it is! Sounds delicious and perfectly gluten free. After all, vegetables are naturally gluten free and they're roasting them. I'm safe!
Let's hold our gluten free horses here. Perhaps I'd better check another site to see if everything is truly gluten free. I was pleased to see that Macaroni Grill has a site that lists all allergen concerns, including (but not limited to) eggs, peanuts, dairy, and wheat/gluten items. I checked the dinner that I had selected, and found that the meat is safe, but not the vegetables. I was so thankful I checked ahead of time! I would have most certainly ordered the complete dinner, very unaware of the hidden gluten in the vegetables. I don't know what glutenous ingredient is in the vegetables. I will need to check with someone at the restaurant that is knowledgable in their menu allergens.
I did learn that the Caesar salad dressing was safe, so I ordered the salad without croutons along with the beef tenderloin without the vegetables. The server asked me if I'd like to have a side of pasta since I wasn't getting the vegetables. I said no, I can't eat wheat. He then reviewed my order, verified that I wasn't getting vegetables, was I sure I didn't want a side of pasta? Yes, I'm very sure. He said that croutons came on the Caesar salad, so I reminded him I didn't want them. Just to state for the record, I am not slamming the work of this server. I'd rather repeat my order and make sure they really "get it". He was a good server and the order was placed correctly.
The dinner was good, but I came home still a bit hungry. I was disappointed that the Caesar salad wasn't considered a replacement for the vegetable sides, and had to pay extra for the salad. It was pretty pricy for a salad and about 5 ounces of beef. I'm disappointed in myself that I overlooked the safe sides (grilled asparagus or spinach & garlic) when looking at the gluten free menu. Next time, I'll know better.
It is vital to do your homework ahead of time when dining out. Go online and search for the name of the restaurant and include the words "gluten free". You can design a dinner from their online menu, exchanging glutenous items for safe items. Make sure your server really understands what you want to have.
Awareness is growing all the time and more and more restaurants are offering gluten free items and informing us of which things on their menu is safe, and what to avoid. It takes some research, but it's worth the time.
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