27 Aug
Well… BJ’s is now, without question, my number one chain restaurant for gluten free foods. They have provided pizza and Redbridge beer for quite some time now, but I just had their new gluten free pizookie and it is great.
Enjoying pizza, beer and a cookie for desert all in one place was once a thought that didn’t seem probable. Now, it is possible.
12 Aug
Le Papillon is one of San Jose’s premier food establishments known for their French specialties and fantastic steaks. Executive Chef Scott Cooper was kind enough to partake in an interview about accommodating for gluten free diets in his kitchen.
(RK= Me, Ryan Kern. SC= Scott Cooper)
RK: How often do you have to accommodate for gluten free customers and how difficult can it be?
SC: During a typical business week, we receive at least 5-10 requests for gluten free meals. Advance notice of gluten free meals gives us the opportunity to anticipate our guest’s needs more appropriately, especially on busy nights. Otherwise, it can be challenging to accommodate special request on short notice. We can give the guest a much fuller dining experience if we can prepare in advance for any special request whether it be gluten free, vegan, low carb or whatever.
RK: When were you first made aware of gluten free diets and when did you start seeing a need to accommodate for them regularly in your restaurant?
SC:I have been aware of gluten free diets for at least a decade or so as the daughter of a good friend was diagnosed with celiac disease. In the last 12 to 24 months the requests for gluten free meals has grown exponentially. It appears that it is many more persons than actually have been diagnosed with celiac disease that are now requesting gluten free meals.
RK: What ingredients do you have to remove and/or replace most frequently for gluten free eaters?
SC: The most common gluten thing to be removed from dishes, especially the Amuse Bouche that are given to guest at the begging of the meal, is bread. It is part of the dining experience at Le Papillon that each guest receives a few small amuse bouche/ and hors d’oeuvres t begin the meal before the order is taken while they may be enjoying a glass of wine and looking over the menu. Much of the hors d’oeuvres are served on or with some bread element. With advance notice we can prepare an alternate for the gluten free guest. The other main substitution that frequently needs to be made is the exclusion of soy sauce. Although we are not an Asian restaurant we believe that soy sauce and other ingredients rich in umami can be important additions to our food. And importantly, they can be somewhat “hidden” and not visually obvious to the diner. This is when it is important for the diner to discuss his or her allergies with the server if they have not already done so when making the reservation.
RK: What other precautions do you take to ensure that gluten free meals are not contaminated?
SC: The other precautions mainly revolve around cross contamination issues such as making sure utensils, knives and cutting boards, etc. do not come in contact with any food destined for anyone with any allergy… Whether it be gluten, shellfish, nuts, or anything.
RK: With the rise of the diet as a trend and a necessity, is it possible that someday you would offer an actual gluten free section on your menu?
SC: I doubt that we would ever offer a section of the menu to be gluten free. We will, of course, continue to make the best food possible for our guests that are gluten free. It is my belief that trend/fad diet adopters of the gluten free diet will find another fad diet to latch onto. Of course, there will always be the people who are truly allergic to gluten and we want to prepare them the best meal we can possibly make, but it appears to me that the new adopters of the gluten free diet are the same people who used to be on the Atkins diet and will move on to another diet as time goes on. This seems to be the nature of our nation and should not be taken as slight to the celiac sufferers who will need to be gluten free for the rest of their lives.
Check out Le Papillon online here.
A huge, special thanks to Irne Gonzalez, Maitre d’, who made this interview and post possible. You’re the best!
23 Jun
I went to a family friends house (the Burke family) the other night for a pizza bbq and bocce ball. For their parties, they take crusts and make specialized pizzas on the bbq outside for everyone there. Fortunately, they prepared for me to come.
They went to Willow Street to get all their crusts, a local bay area pizza chain that has locations in Los Gatos, Willow Glen and Westgate. The gluten free crust they use comes from French Meadow Bakery, a Minnesota based company with products sold all around the country.
For my pizza, I essentially made a bbq chicken pizza with pepperonis. I have raved about BJ’s gluten free pizza as the best one I have yet to find, but this Willow Street pizza was just as good, if not better. They also have gluten free pasta on the menu if you would like the full Italian experience.
Like I said, it was great. I have not yet gotten a gluten free pizza made from Willow Street themselves, but once I do ill let you know how it is. I can image it will be great seeing how their crust is as well.
15 Jun
I normally wouldn’t discuss a product that is already naturally gluten free (like potato chips usually are), but this one is the bomb. I just discovered these chips and they are delicious because it is just what they claim it to be; crunchier and tastier. Also, they say that no product can be truly called gluten free unless it specifically says “gluten free” somewhere on the packaging. This product ensures this as well.
1 Jun
My friend informed me about Erik’s DeliCafe on market street in downtown San Jose. They are a deli that will make any sandwich with gluten free bread. I got the Turkey Walnut Pesto sandwich (without the walnut pesto spread because I am allergic to nuts). It was pretty good, I will be going back soon for another one because not only did I enjoy it but thought the store was very nice and service was quick and excellent.
26 May
I went to a family friends house, the Burke’s, for dinner in Saratoga the other night. For desert, we had cupcakes from Sprinkles, a cupcake shop in Palo Alto. Two were, of course, gluten free and were delicious. The chocolate one was pretty good, but the red velvet cake cupcake was amazing. I don’t know if it was because I have had no velvet cake for a couple years or not, but I would recommend it to everyone. Thanks Mark and Jerese!
21 May
Here is a picture of a Gluten Free Brownie Mix bag that is sold at Trader Joe’s. The first picture is the original photograph in a large format. The next one is filtered through photoshop. I played around with filters in the program until I came across this ‘fade’ that I really liked. The last one is the original as well, only sized down to a smaller version. I also used photoshop to do this.
3 May
I had a friend who went to Coors field recently for a game. She saw their gluten free stand and, just like every person who has my contact information, sent me a picture. Don’t get me wrong, I am not complaining. I love when people see something and send me a picture of it. Most of the time I am already aware of it, but I most likely became aware of it initially because someone already sent it to me previously.
I immediately looked up the menu and found it to be the best one (I have found) in professional sports. Just like the others, they have hot dogs, chips and redbridge beer. In addition, they have hamburgers, chicken sandwich, cookies and brownies! This is above and beyond people. I know Petco in San Diego has good things going on down there, but I doubt they have all the options that Coors Field in Colorado now has.
Can’t wait to get there for a game sometime, I don’t see myself leaving there without trying EACH individual item they have to offer.
For the record, this does not mean I will be rooting for the Rockies. Go Dodgers.
19 Apr
As promised, here is a picture of the hot dog I got when I went to the Giants game last week. I apologize for how disgusting this looks as the ketchup spilled out uncontrollably.
I have to admit, eating a hot dog at the game was almost the best part of the game. It has been a year and a half since I was able to do so, but felt like much longer. It did taste a little funky, but all gluten free bread tastes slightly different.
I have gotten many messages regarding other ball parks with gluten free beer and hot dogs (like Petco Park and Angels Stadium) so maybe Dodger Stadium will make hot dogs available soon as well!
Going Without Gluten 
