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Old 10-07-2013, 02:49 PM
 
36 posts, read 76,543 times
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Hello! My husband and I moved to St. Louis about three months ago from Denver and are finding a LOT to love about the area. However, due to my Celiac disease, I can't eat any gluten whatsoever and we haven't been too lucky finding many casual restaurants that can support my needs. I have googled the topic to death and really haven't found much of anything by using Yelp, Urban Spoon or Gluten-free finder.

Before moving out, we knew that the restaurants wouldn't cater to special diets the way we were used to in Denver, but we did do some research, asked around and were assured that there were A TON of options for gluten-free dining in Denver. Unfortunately, not only am I finding that very few restaurants have gluten-free menus, but restaurant service staff is also incredibly ignorant about it as well. Now, don't get me wrong, I don't expect to go to a dive and get a gluten-free menu, nor do I expect wait staff to understand everything about Celiac disease, but I do expect to find educated staff and at least have a few well-thought out options in one of the city's most prized neighborhoods - CWE, where we live. Most of the time my polite request for gluten-free options is either met with a confused look, eye roll, or am told I can just have the salad - without dressing. I'm so bummed because I was really excited to find some great restaurants in our area!

Does anyone have firsthand experience with this or know of specific places that have gluten-free options and know what they are talking about? We would love to find a variety of places in our area, or close to us, that can cater to my dietary needs. In Denver, we had our go-to places for Italian, Mexican, Asian, Sushi, pizza, and pub fare. Also, do any sports bars serve gluten-free beer? We have noticed that is hard to come by as well.

Thank you!
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Old 10-07-2013, 04:23 PM
 
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I haven't had to pay attention, so I won't be much help, but I do remember seeing that Pi Pizzeria
has a gluten free thin crust pizza. And they have a location in the CWE.
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Old 10-07-2013, 04:32 PM
 
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Thanks KarenElissa! We have actaully been to Pi, and their gluten-free pizza was pretty good. It's on our list of favorites .
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Old 10-07-2013, 07:21 PM
MJ7
 
6,221 posts, read 10,679,547 times
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how bad is your celiac?

if its not deadly, then id say you should fair well at almost any place, just order stuff without gluten, thats mainly what i do, but then again i dont have full blown celiac, just a gluten sensitivity, but i avoid it like the plague.
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Old 10-07-2013, 08:04 PM
 
36 posts, read 76,543 times
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MJ7 - I have Celiac disease, which means I have to avoid gluten on a molecular level, as in even the smallest amount causes my body to have an autoimmune response and it prevents me from being able to absorb ANY nutrients and causes major stomach pain, among other things. Just because it doesn't cause immediate death doesn't mean that it's not incredibly unhealthy and potentially dangerous for me to eat it. It's different from, say, a peanut or wheat allergy where people can go into anaphylactic shock and die right then and there.

I guess part of my problem has been that most people (including restaurant staff) in St. Louis that I have encountered do not understand this. And, as it's becoming more common, I think it's something that should be at least understood at a basic level. And, yeah, I get that it can be annoying and a lot of people think it's a load of hooey (sp?), but it is a very real condition and no more annoying, I would think, than a picky restaurant patron.

I hate it that this is the case for me, but it is. I have actually had wait staff tell me "if it looks like it's gluten-free, then it probably is." That tells me nothing, because I've learned that a lot of unexpected foods contain wheat/gluten. I have also had staff at sushi restaurants tell me that sushi is gluten-free because it is just rice and fish. I then had to point out that soy sauce is made from wheat, and a lot of the fish in rolls is marinated in a soy sauce mixture. Even if the place has wheat-free Tamari, there is still a limited amount of gluten-free items on the menu. One person even told me that french fries were gluten-free because potatoes are gluten-free...I then had to point out that they were fried in the same fryer as made non-gluten-free breaded items. It's just frustrating and I was hoping someone one here would have some firsthand experience! So far I've found people in little ol' Jefferson City are way more in tune with Celiac disease then those in St. Louis. Can anyone help?? I love this place and really want to enjoy the city as much as possible!
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Old 10-07-2013, 08:17 PM
MJ7
 
6,221 posts, read 10,679,547 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DachsieLover View Post
MJ7 - I have Celiac disease, which means I have to avoid gluten on a molecular level, as in even the smallest amount causes my body to have an autoimmune response and it prevents me from being able to absorb ANY nutrients and causes major stomach pain, among other things. Just because it doesn't cause immediate death doesn't mean that it's not incredibly unhealthy and potentially dangerous for me to eat it. It's different from, say, a peanut or wheat allergy where people can go into anaphylactic shock and die right then and there.

I guess part of my problem has been that most people (including restaurant staff) in St. Louis that I have encountered do not understand this. And, as it's becoming more common, I think it's something that should be at least understood at a basic level. And, yeah, I get that it can be annoying and a lot of people think it's a load of hooey (sp?), but it is a very real condition and no more annoying, I would think, than a picky restaurant patron.

I hate it that this is the case for me, but it is. I have actually had wait staff tell me "if it looks like it's gluten-free, then it probably is." That tells me nothing, because I've learned that a lot of unexpected foods contain wheat/gluten. I have also had staff at sushi restaurants tell me that sushi is gluten-free because it is just rice and fish. I then had to point out that soy sauce is made from wheat, and a lot of the fish in rolls is marinated in a soy sauce mixture. Even if the place has wheat-free Tamari, there is still a limited amount of gluten-free items on the menu. One person even told me that french fries were gluten-free because potatoes are gluten-free...I then had to point out that they were fried in the same fryer as made non-gluten-free breaded items. It's just frustrating and I was hoping someone one here would have some firsthand experience! So far I've found people in little ol' Jefferson City are way more in tune with Celiac disease then those in St. Louis. Can anyone help?? I love this place and really want to enjoy the city as much as possible!
Seems like you have a lot of angst when it comes to dealing with it?

Anyways, I rarely eat out anymore, there are plenty of things you can do that does NOT revolve around eating in restaurants. I usually eat at home then go out.

Not saying it wouldn't be annoying to not enjoy a meal out every once in awhile, but that's just the nature or the disease and the marketability of gluten free restaurants.

Good luck

Last edited by MJ7; 10-07-2013 at 08:25 PM..
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Old 10-07-2013, 08:19 PM
MJ7
 
6,221 posts, read 10,679,547 times
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St. Louis Gluten-Free Friendly Restaurants | Urbanspoon
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Old 10-07-2013, 08:30 PM
 
36 posts, read 76,543 times
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Sorry, guess I'm just frustrated. Was only hoping to find someone who had some experience with it in St. Louis, as I'm new here and haven't had much luck.

I do cook a lot at home and enjoy it. I understand that I won't have as many options at restaurants as others, but it's still nice to go out to dinner, especially when work schedules can be demanding and crazy. My husband and I are both early birds and get to bed pretty early, so an evening out for us, especially during the week, usually means dining out then coming home. On the weekends we have time to go out and explore, etc.

Thanks, I'll keep looking around, but sounds like I should stick to my stove for most things
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Old 10-07-2013, 08:39 PM
MJ7
 
6,221 posts, read 10,679,547 times
Reputation: 6606
Quote:
Originally Posted by DachsieLover View Post
Sorry, guess I'm just frustrated. Was only hoping to find someone who had some experience with it in St. Louis, as I'm new here and haven't had much luck.

I do cook a lot at home and enjoy it. I understand that I won't have as many options at restaurants as others, but it's still nice to go out to dinner, especially when work schedules can be demanding and crazy. My husband and I are both early birds and get to bed pretty early, so an evening out for us, especially during the week, usually means dining out then coming home. On the weekends we have time to go out and explore, etc.

Thanks, I'll keep looking around, but sounds like I should stick to my stove for most things
I hear you, that link I provided above has many options available. Cooking is fun, but I understand the want to get out and do a normal thing like eat out, socialize and enjoy a nicely cooked meal...I'm new here as well, only 2 months, so I'll stay tuned to this post and try some of those posted on urbanspoon.
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Old 10-08-2013, 10:39 AM
 
Location: St. Louis, MO
4,009 posts, read 6,825,479 times
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Have you tried Frida's Deli in UCity? It's a vegetarian cafe but they have a lot of gluten free items and specify which on their menu ;

In my experience, the Vegetarian restaurants often are far more knowledgeable than 'regular' restaurants when it comes to understanding what GF means.

Here is a link to Frida's Deli-

Frida's Deli Menu

Also, I know that a Gluten Free menu is available upon request at PF Changs.
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