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Bella Monica in Raleigh (their gf pizza is in the frozen foods section of some supermarkets, too), Enrigo's in Waverly Place has gf pasta, Firebirds at Southpoint, Ted's Montana Grill, Zoe's Kitchen in Park West, Brasa in Brier Creek.
Not a restaurant, but there's a GF expo in Charlotte this weekend where you can try GF food from local restaurants/merchants. I heard there will be one in Raleigh later this summer but don't know the details.
Thanks! We're new at this! I'm surprised there aren't any totally gluten free restaurants in the area - or in most big cities it seems (searching the database). D saw there is one in Asheville. Seems like it might be a good business opportunity for someone!
There is no opportunity there. Why? Because the target market is too small and GF cooking is usually priced well above comparable foods. Thank you capitalism!
There is no opportunity there. Why? Because the target market is too small and GF cooking is usually priced well above comparable foods. Thank you capitalism!
Actually, I think there is a huge opportunity there but no one has ceased on it yet. A place totally gluten free where a person who has celiac or gluten issues could go knowing that there is zero chance of cross contamination and the staff knew exactly what it was and how to properly handle it. I think this area would do well with the proximity of all the other towns like Cary, apex, morrisville, etc. I think people with celiac would drive to a place like that. Granted, just my opinion but I think they would.
It also drives me crazy that the government in thier infinite "wisdom" has said that gluten free is anything with less than 5 ppm of gluten. I mean that defeats the whole purpose of the word FREE in gluten free. Not to mention it gives a false sense of security to someone like myself who cannot have ANY gluten whether it is less than 5 ppm or not. Cannot tell you how many reactions and how sick I've been from someone claiming something was gluten free and it was the governments version of gluten free. Ok, off soap box now, lol
There is no opportunity there. Why? Because the target market is too small and GF cooking is usually priced well above comparable foods. Thank you capitalism!
I think there is a big enough market-- while only 1% of the US population has celiac, nearly 25% of households in the US eat/buy gluten free. By 2015 the gf market is projected to be $5 billion.
About 10 years ago before moving to NC My husband was a food scientist. When he suggested they develop ingredients for gluten free food, he was told there wouldn't be a large enough market. Just a few weeks ago his old boss told him the company made a mistake by not pursuing it.
I also think the market is big enough. It would be nice to go out as a family and eat a meal where there is ZERO worry about cross contamination. I know other families who also eat gluten free and would go and support it as well.
My daughter is the one who needs the GF foods, but we cook that way all the time as there is no sense in making different meals for everybody. We cook mainly veggies, meat, potatoes and quinoa or brown rice. We use corn pasta for those Italian dishes..
We all feel better eating that way and find that the major hurdle is with pizza, baked goods, pasta, breads and pastries- and that is where the expense of the GF cooking would probably come in for a restaurant. The other stuff is easy- salad dressings, marinades and sauces can be made GF if you know what you're doing- but pizza crust, breads, muffins etc are touchy. They can be really, really good or really, really awful. We have had local GF pizza that folks raved about, but my daughter hated the crust... We did finally find a great place that she loves and will stick with it... (plug for Z Pizza!!)
Ethnic places are the easiest to eat at as they tend to cook fresh veggies and from scratch. We have found we like Pei Wei in Cary and some Thai places; also IHOP makes their omelets from scratch; Chik Filet has some great GF items too. The list gets longer every year, thankfully!!
Regular restaurants often have a tough time making it. A GF restaurant would be a certain money-losing proposition. All restaurants simply need to have more GF options.
25 percent of population eats GF when only 1 percent needs to? I doubt it!
There is no health benefit to eating gluten-free foods unless your system can't handle it. There is absolutely nothing "healthier" about it.
And thank goodness for Lily's GF pizza. The zPizza is thin and floppy (yuck!). Bella Monica frozen pizza is okay (also too thin), but it uses soy, which many people with food allergies (like me) can't handle.
Actually, I think there is a huge opportunity there but no one has ceased on it yet. A place totally gluten free where a person who has celiac or gluten issues could go knowing that there is zero chance of cross contamination and the staff knew exactly what it was and how to properly handle it. I think this area would do well with the proximity of all the other towns like Cary, apex, morrisville, etc. I think people with celiac would drive to a place like that. Granted, just my opinion but I think they would.
It also drives me crazy that the government in thier infinite "wisdom" has said that gluten free is anything with less than 5 ppm of gluten. I mean that defeats the whole purpose of the word FREE in gluten free. Not to mention it gives a false sense of security to someone like myself who cannot have ANY gluten whether it is less than 5 ppm or not. Cannot tell you how many reactions and how sick I've been from someone claiming something was gluten free and it was the governments version of gluten free. Ok, off soap box now, lol
Have you heard of Rosie's Plate in North Raleigh? They tried it for a few years and they did not even have the overhead of a restaurant. They cooked gluten free and allergy free foods but it was take out only. Everyone that ate their food loved it but it was more expensive and they could never make the margin wide enough for a profit.
Believe me, if we GF folks were exploitable the capitalists would have exploited us already.
Regular restaurants often have a tough time making it. A GF restaurant would be a certain money-losing proposition. All restaurants simply need to have more GF options.
I don't think so. It simply depends on the type of food you're serving in the first place. For example, I used to live somewhere that had a wonderful gluten-free salad restaurant. They didn't serve bread or have croutons, their dressings we're GF, and they have stuff like quinoa you could have added to your salad. It was great and they were always busy.
Hell, I'd love to have just a good salad restaurant around here. Maybe something like Sweetgreen
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