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Even
in restaurants that offer a Gluten-Free menu, it is best to talk
to the manager when you arrive to make sure they know you are ordering
a GF meal. This is an important step to help avoid cross-contamination.
Most of the time you will find that the wait staff is not well-informed
about the Gluten-Free menu. It is unfortunately quite common for
people to feel that they are having a gluten reaction after a restaurant
meal. These links are offered as a service for those who want (or
need) to eat out...but home cooking is usually the safest.
Free
online training materials for restaurant employees:
These materials, developed by the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network,
do a thorough job of discussing the issues such as cross-contamination.
They are oriented towards food allergies, but also include Celiac
Disease. If you know of anyone who might be interested in materials
to train restaurant or food service employees, please let them know
about this great resource!
Food
Allergy Training Video
A 30-minute video in five parts
Training
Manual "Welcoming Guests with Food Allergies"
The training manual includes three short quizzes, each one over
about 15 pages of material
Training
manual in Spanish
Posters
for Restaurants in English and Spanish
FAAN's
page describing this program
Online
Gluten-Free Menus
These are Indianapolis-area restaurants that have online GF menus
or usable allergen information. The
links provided may take you to the page before the gluten-free
menu. This helps to prevent being inadvertently linked to an out-of-date
GF menu.
In-house
(not online) Gluten-Free information available
You may want to contact the restaurant before you go
to get the most current information
Other local restaurants recommended
by our members as accomodating
to the GF diet
National listings - including Indiana
locations
A great resource for traveling, there are two online lists: the
Gluten-Free Restaurant Awareness Program and a Wikicities page
Dining
card to help explain cross-contamination
Dining
cards in 48 languages that can help you communicate with restaurant
staff in ethnic restaurants or while traveling
Good cards and restaurant listings are also available from Triumph
Dining
Lots of other dining cards are listed here
The
following are restaurants that have been recommended by our local
members as being accomodating to the GF diet. Please check with
the restaurant for the most current information:
Aesop's
Tables
At Aesops Tables the staff was knowledgeable and there were so
many gluten free options I couldn't remember them all. I was pointed
to 6 or 7 dishes on the menu that were gluten free or easily made
that way by substituting rice for the pasta. That didn't include
the salads or the sandwiches (without bread) that added another
10 or so options.
BD's
Mongolian BBQ
Two
locations:
Keystone/Clearwater: 3838 E. 82nd St.
Indianapolis, IN 46240
(317) 585-0700
Carmel/Westfield: 2430 E. 146th Street
Carmel, IN 46033
(317) 846-8700
BD's
is a great place to be safe, because you are in control. You select
ONLY items you want (from a sort of smorgasbord of small bins)
to put into your stir fry -- and then make a SPECIAL request to
have them cook it in the back, in a special cooking pan they keep
completely clean, to use for people with shellfish, gluten and
other food allergies. Do NOT allow them to cook it on the main
wok, which would be contaminated with all kinds of things you
can't eat. Since everything is freshly cut (also nflavored/unseasoned)
vegetables, fruit or meat/poultry/fish, the only thing to watch
out for is anything that might be next to the cooked pasta bin.
Sometimes they have "krab" (that is, crab-flavored/textured
processed white fish) -- this has wheat starch in it, so steer
clear -- but other regular "real" fish should be OK.
They have a host of sauces that are not suitable for people with
celiac disease (virtually all have soy
sauce), so don't touch any of them. It is also unknown if any
of their spices are gluten-free -- so each person has to decide
if it's worth the risk according to your sensitivities. However,
you can spice up your dish with Worcestershire sauce (they carry
Lea & Perrins brand) and Tabasco (brand), and they will even
let you bring your own soy sauce or spices, and use that in your
own dish. Even though the servers are often young and the turnover
is quite high, they "get" the contamination thing (as
corporate seems to have
trained them on this point), and are usually extremely friendly
and accommodating.
The
Bosphorous Cafe
935 S. East St., Indianapolis
317-974-1770
A Turkish restaurant, located near Eli Lilly downtown. They have
a number of unusual dishes, many of which are naturally GF. Highly
recommended are: NAVY BEAN SALAD (PIYAZ) (Navy beans, onions, tomatoes,
parsley; tossed with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and lemon juice)
and SPINACH CHICKEN (ISPANAKLI TAVUK) (Chicken breasts grilled with
asparagus and served with sautéed spinach). Beware of dishes
with tomato sauce, however, as they use wheat flour to thicken it.
Classic
Kitchen
610 Hannibal Street
Noblesville
(317) 773-7385
A bit pricey, but great for a special occasion. Owner and chef Steve
Kneipp not only helps toserve, but speaks personally to every guest
and works with you to make sure dishes are suitable. If you are
able to eat dairy products, Classic Kitchen's homemade ice creams
are the best on the planet. Happens to be one of David Letterman's
Mom's favorite places -- she celebrated her 80th birthday there.
Cobblestone
Grill
This is a nice, intimate Zionsville restaurant with steaks, fish,
salads etc. They have an extensive wine list for those interested
as well. They do not have a formal gf menu but provide many options
through the knowledgeable staff. Their food and service is very
good.
The
Hamilton
933 Conner St., Noblesville (317) 770-4545
Owned
and run by husband and wife team (Chef Clyde & Vonita Worley).
Excellent, high-end gourmet foods at mid-range prices. Owners care
a lot about their customers, and will take time to make sure a meal
is prepared safely.
Jasmine
Thai Restaurant
4825 E 96th St
Indianapolis, IN 46240
(317) 848-8950
As
with most Thai restaurants, the regional cooking techniques and
ingredients are friendly for people with celiac disease. If
authentically prepared, soy sauce and wheat flour are seldom used.
The only things to steer clear of in this restaurant seem to be
anything with the soup (they use a prepared soup that contains soy
sauce) and the spring rolls, which are made with wheat-flour
wrappers. Other than that, enjoy most any dish on their very
extensive menu. I usually send a hand-written card into the kitchen
that says I cannot eat anything with soy sauce, wheat noodles, MSG
or
wheat flour, and that I CAN eat rice, rice noodles and corn starch.
This seems to cover about 98% of what they serve. Lunches are a
nice
bargain!
Kincaid’s
This
is a nice relatively upscale restaurant with steaks, fish, salads
etc. They do not have a formal gf menu but all the staff encountered
has been very knowledgeable. They are happy to make a gf meal, based
on your specifications or the menu. I’ve had a great experience
here every time.
Maggiano's
They now serve GF corn pasta. TIP: this is a very busy restaurant,
and you will do better if you go during less busy hours. The manager
comes to the table when they know you are ordering a GF meal.
Meridian
Restaurant
Very
nice upscale restaurant with fresh seasonal food, some local. This
restaurant is located in the renovated house previously occupied
by Dodd’s Steakhouse. There is no formal gf menu, but the
restaurant can make gluten-free. Executive chef is Dan Dunville;
his wife has Celiac disease. The food was very good and the staff
I encountered was knowledgeable. When I went the executive chef
was out of town, but you could check in advance if desired. The
atmosphere of the restaurant was great as well…this place
is definitely worth a try.
Nothing
But Noodles
(2 locations)
Precedent-Funnybone Center, 3625 E 96th St., Indianapolis, 317.848.8957
Lockfield Commons, 903 Indiana Ave., Indianapolis, 317.638.0340
A
CAUTION: we have learned that you must always ask to speak to the
main MANAGER at this restaurant to order your food; also, while
they are very accommodating for a fast-casual restaurant, your order
will take special care and we recommend that you try not to go during
the height of lunch or dinner traffic at this very busy restaurant.
This
restaurant is a quick-serve place, but they have an extensive salads
and noodles menu, and they cook everything from scratch. You can
order any of the noodle dishes with Asian RICE noodles in place
of egg or wheat noodles. The manager can share all recipe ingredients
with you, to make sure the dish contains no gluten. Salad dressings
contain unknown ingredients (e.g., "natural flavors"),
so you might want to bring your own, or just get plain olive oil
and vinegar. Also check out the low-carb menu, with many dishes
including vegetables instead of noodles. IMPORTANT: this restaurant
pre-cooks their noodles. To be sure that your RICE noodles are not
contaminated, ask to have them cooked fresh, and in fresh water.
This may take a few minutes to do, so be sure the rest of your party
knows your meal may take a bit longer.
The
Tamale Place
5242 Rockville Rd.
Indianapolis , IN 46224
317-248-9771
Open
Mon-Sat 3a-6p, closed Sun.
Map
This
is a CARRY-OUT only place. When you walk in, you see big bags piled
up behind the counter that contain WHOLE CORN. They cook then grind
corn from scratch, and they do not grind any other products other
than corn. Their tamales and tortillas, made from this corn dough,
are really wonderful -- very rustic (not so finely ground). On Saturdays
(and only on Saturdays), one can buy freshly made (pure) white corn
tortillas. Fresh tamales, soft tacos (which are GF) and chicken
wings are all available during the week. They do not make the same
tamales every day, and they also typically run out by 3p-4p every
day.
DO
NOT ORDER: fried pinwheels (made from wheat), fried tortilla chips
(fried in wheat-contaminated oil), empanadas (contain wheat flour).
They are very forthcoming with what ingredients they use -- and
just about everything is GF.
Thai Cafe
1041 Broad Ripple Ave., Indianapolis, 317-722-1008
Most Thai dishes are naturally GF -- though you will need to ask
that no soy sauce is used in any dishes, just to make sure. Thai
Cafe is a Broad Ripple institution and local favorite.
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