Is a gluten free diet is new to you? If so, don’t be afraid to dine out. Just educate yourself and go out armed with questions.
If you dine out at all, you know there are vast differences in the knowledgeability of wait staff regarding gluten. At some restaurants, YOU are educating the wait staff about foods that contain gluten while other restaurants may have a well-informed, well trained staff that might teach you a thing or two.I usually begin my dining experience by explaining to my server that I have a gluten allergy. If they seem to understand what that is, I continue by saying that I’d appreciate their help guiding me through the menu. A server well versed on GF, will show you immediately which menu items are gluten free and which menu items can be modified. When I get a blank stare after announcing my allergy, I explain I can’t have anything that is made with wheat flour. Sometimes that jogs their memories. If not, my knowledge of hidden glutens is helpful.
A menu at first glance, tells you a lot. Breaded Chicken Fingers? Obviously, a big NO. But what about Chicken Piccata? Questionable. Chicken Teriyaki? Questionable. You may wonder why those menu items would be questionable? Hidden gluten. It’s not always easy to tell what menu items contain gluten. Over the years, I’ve learned how to navigate a menu and pick out hidden gluten.
Listed below are a few things that may contain hidden gluten. I question my servers about all the items on this list. This is by no means a comprehensive list. As a matter of fact, if you know of hidden gluten that is not mentioned here, I urge you to let me know. Maybe we can start a running tally for our readers!
One final word on wait staff. If you doubt your server’s GF knowledge, avoidance is best. Stick to a menu item that you are sure is gluten free.
Hidden Gluten (ask your server about these items):
Salad dressings: Any creamy dressing may use thickeners that contain gluten. Vinaigrette dressings are generally GF, but I ask to be safe.
Tortilla chips: Not all tortilla chips are made with only corn flour. Some restaurants have tortilla chips that are made with a combination of wheat and corn flour.
Candied nuts: Wheat flour can be used in candied nuts to help the spices stick to the nuts.
Soy sauce: Soy sauce contains wheat flour, and it is high on the list of ingredients when you read a soy sauce label. Tamari sauce is a great substitute for soy sauce, and you can purchase it at most grocery stores. If you are dining at a sushi restaurant, ask for tamari sauce. If soy sauce is used in the preparation of a dish, and you can’t substitute with tamari, you’ll want to avoid it.
Sauces: Sauces are tricky. Many use wheat flour as thickening agents.
Pan fried meats: Meat is often dredged in wheat flour before pan frying. You can’t always tell by reading the entrée description.
Fried foods: Anything that is fried in oil may contain gluten if the same oil is used to fry foods that contain gluten. For example, if a restaurant fries potatoes in the same oil as chicken that has been breaded with wheat flour there will be gluten in the oil. Granted, it may be a trace, so it will depend on your level of gluten sensitivity. If you are highly sensitive, I would stay away from fried foods unless the restaurant has a designated gluten free fryer.
French fries: Sometimes French fries have a light batter on them. The batter usually contains spices for flavor, but there can be wheat flour in that mix to help the spices stick to the fries.
Cocktails: Bartenders/Mixologists are so creative today. It is interesting to see what ingredients are mixed together to make the final drink. Most of the time you are safe, unless the drink calls for beer as an ingredient. Most distilled spirits are distilled enough times to remove the gluten, but beer is a no-no. Unless you can get the bartender to substitute GF beer. Note there are many GF beers out there, and in general, hard ciders are almost always GF. Malt beverages are not.