Caution: Orange Leaf frozen yogurt

We were told the "red velvet" frozen yogurt was gluten free and then recently we found out they put real batter in it.  STAY AWAY!

The Best Gluten free grocery stores in Wichita

I have been asked about this by several people so I thought I might share in a post.

1.  Food For Thought -
This place is by far the best. They have an amazing frozen section that has GF corn dogs, muffins, fried chicken, pies etc.  It is of course expensive but if you want a treat that no one else has, this is the place to go.

2. Green Acres- They are expanding and they already have an awesome section where they make fresh baked good. They are expensive but very good.

3. Whole Foods association- Before we moved to Wichita, my wife and I checked if there was a Whole Foods and were so excited.  They have great frozen bread.  Of course when we arrived we found out it was not the Whole Foods chain we knew.  This place is fine, just not what we expected.

4. Dillion's marketplace-  Make sure you go to the larger ones like the store on Central and Rock.  They have some better prices and a pretty okay selection.

5. Super Target-  They have a few things randomly throughout the store.  They have annie's gluten free mac and cheese for only $2.

6.  Walmart- I have been told the one on the west side has a section or something.  The East side does not.

If you know of other places, make sure you post them for us all.

Fruity Pebbles and Coco Pebbles are gluten free

I realize this is a children's cereal but I love it.  We bought it a few times and it is another "I almost feel normal" moment for us.  Make sure you get a new box that actually says gluten free on it.

On another note we talked to a GI children's doc and she said we should start giving our 20 month old gluten so they can test her when she is three.  I am sure others have thought through this as well but we were miffed until we talked to her.

Hog wild pit BBQ

Last night my family went to hog wild BBQ.  BBQ is something I have really missed.
I know we have Jack Daniels BBQ sauce and Chili's ribs but it's not authentic.  Hog wild was really good.
They knew about the allergy and said they served lots of celiacs.   They seemed to know what they were doing.
I did have a concern about the modified food starch in the BBQ sauce but I feel fine the next day.  I had amazing  ribs and brisket.  My mouth is watering remembering.  The baked beans were also awesome.

On another note, how awesome is it to live in Wichita and have celiac?  We really do have a ton of options.

We have about 4 stores for groceries.  We have tons of places to eat.  We just need a bakery!

Jason's Deli

My wife and I recently went to Jason's Deli.  They have a gluten free menu and even gluten free Bread for the sandwiches.  It is not too crumbly or dry.  It mostly tastes like bread.  Make sure you give them a try.  I really enjoyed it!

And seriously you can't go wrong with the ice cream at the end.  Well...um...if you can have milk. d'oh.

Five guys on the East side

There is a new five guys burgers and fries.  They fry the fries in a dedicated vat.  They can give you a burger with no bun and its super tasty.  I have gone 4 times in the last two weeks.

New gluten free mac and cheese

Annie's has a new gluten free mac and cheese.

When  I heard my wife bought it on sale I was so fired up!  It looked just like velveeta.
Sadly it tastes just like it.  I would pass on this one since it is so expensive.


In other news I just realized how little I update this.  I have a ton of awesome stuff and will be better at updating.
thanks,
-Dale

Hu Hot safety advice

Hey guys,
We went to Hu Hot (Mongolian grill) yesterday and learned that they have rice noodles in the back.  One of our biggest fears there is how often the gluteny noodles fall in the with the rice noodles but if you tell them you have an allergy then they are awesome to bring out fresh ones just for you.

The rest is at your own risk but this helps.

Rubio's fish taco's made from home gluten free

Ok, I love Rubio's fish tacos and I had to find out how to make them or I would die of reverse lead poisoning. I found this recipe on http://restaurantrecipesbook.com/ but tweaked it for the celiac patient. If you are a Kansas person you may tell me, "Dale, you are a freak, that sounds gross." My response is "You are gross and once you try it you will love it and crown me king of something." By the way If you want to make these like Rubio's you have to buy the awesome tortillas by "Porklyand" at MexGrocer.com.

RECIPE:

12 pieces (1.5 oz each) of mild tasting fish (Rubio’s™ uses Pollock but any cod will work.  I am cheap so I used cheapo tilapia which was okay)

12 Corn tortillas

Vegetable oil for deep frying. Amount will vary depending on your fryer.

1 Cup all purpose flour (I use gluten free pantry.  It's cheap)
1 Cup beer. (Use Bard's gluten free or redbridge)
Garlic powder/onion powder to taste. Start with less and add as you like.

Black Pepper to taste. Start with less and add as you like.

1 Cup of Rubio’s™ White Sauce  (Half mayo and Half yogurt)

3 Cups of finely shredded cabbage/ or lettuce

INSTRUCTIONS:

1.Combine the flour with the garlic powder and black pepper. Mix this with the beer and let it sit for an hour.
2.Wash the fish in water with a bit of salt or some lime juice then dry it completely.

3.Heat the vegetable oil to 375 degrees. You can check the oil temperature by dropping a 1″ cube of bread and watching for it to float. If it takes a while to float it’s not hot enough. Don’t overheat the oil or your batter will burn and the fish won’t cook.

4.Vigorously whisk the batter before dipping the fish. This will help make the batter lighter and crispier.

5.Dip the fish into the batter and immediately into the hot oil. Cook until golden brown, turning as necessary.

6.While your frying the fish, begin warming your tortillas. The best way to do this is to heat them on a dry hot skillet until hot. Place the hot tortillas in a tortilla warmer and keep covered. (seriously though, the microwave is fine.)

7.add salsa. (I like to blend together tostito's salsa to make it more like Rubio's.) 

ASSEMBLY:

1.Place a warm tortilla on your plate.

2.Place a piece of the fish on the center of the tortilla.

3.Spoon a small amount of the white sauce over the fish. Be liberal with it, but you don’t want it to drip out while you’re eating. You can add cheese too.

4.Spoon some of the salsa over the fish.

5.Put a small handful of the cabbage on top (I prefer lettuce)

6.Squeeze a wedge of lime over the top

8.Fold up the tortilla and enjoy.  Seriously if you don't like this your taste buds are made of stone and you are an idiot.    :)

Five Guys burgers and fries! It's amazing, no lies.

I had this for the first time in North Carolina and was excited to hear they were coming to Wichita. 
I had been told in the past they could make a wrap for you, however, they were unable when I got there.  However that does not stop me from telling you to throw down whatever trash you happen to be eating right now and eat at five guys right now!  The meat is amazing, you can pick the toppings which are all free sans bacon. 

However the real kicker is the fries.  They are made in a dedicated frier and are gluten free. They have mega portions and sweet tea.  Please go there and request one on the east side of town.  They told me they will hope to build one on the East side sometime at the end of this year.  Hooray!

Red Robin left me whistling

I have eaten at Red Robin a couple of times recently and have been suprised at how well they treat me.  They know about celiac and they are very careful.  They don't do anything crazy like making gluten free buns, but they are still kind and knowledgable.  They use a dedicated frier for the fries and the burger wrap was pretty well done.  Fries.  Seriously.  I love fries.  Just make sure to ask for no seasoning on the burger or fries. 

Also we have struggled going out recently because of our daughter, Faith and finding a baby sitter.
If you like loud places, or have kids its perfect.  If you would like a nice quiet evening, go elsewhere.

Also, I will soon pot a recipe I tried out to make for Rubio's Fish Taco's.  I miss them some thing terrible and so attempted to make them myself.  It could not have turned out better.

Mcalisters deli

They now have a gluten free menu.  I saw a little print out at the front that was OK.  However a friend has since told me that they have a whole gluten free binder that you need to ask for in the back.  Hmmmm.  Awesome.  Also the sweet tea is really, really good.

French's style: gluten free fried onions

This was my first try and since Thanksgiving was coming up, I figured I might as well try it.  Sorry my pictures don't look great but I only think to take pictures last minute and I use my phone.  I am not a chef and I don't really measure.  I'm too lazy for that.  So if you still wanna try this after my warnings, give it a go!

What you need:
1 can O' Gluten free corn flake crumbs
2 eggs
1 sweet onion
canola oil
garlic powder
salt & peppa (not the music group)
Corn starch (optional)

Step one:
Cut the onions very thin and add them to a bowl with two raw eggs and stir them all around till the onions are covered in gunk.

Step two:  add a little garlic powder and as much of the flake crumbs as you like.   If you want, add a little corn starch to make it prettier and some salt and pepper.  Then heat a pan of oil on the stove and get it hot.

Step three: add the onions and let them sizzle.  Turn them over after about 2 minutes.  Make sure to break up anything that is stuck together. 

Step four:  Remove onions and let them dry out on a paper towel.  Add salt generously. 

Step five:  Try not to eat them all before you get to use them for cooking.  I am going to try and use these for green bean casserole on Thursday.  Hopefully all goes well!

Chili's

I was excited to go there with my friends since they have a gluten free menu.  However the one on Rock and Central actually had a different menu.  For some reason the ribs were not on it.  I was dissapointed and ended up having potato soup.  Boo...
I feel like Chili's is only taking more and more OFF their menu rather than adding.  For Shame.  Oh well.

Gluten Free Pizza at Godfather's

I have been calling Godfather's pizza for about a year, pleading with them to introduce gluten free pizza in Wichita.I have sent annoying emails and now they finally offer it and my first response is...meh.

First I will start with the Pros:
They have a nice sticker that says precautions for those who are needing gluten free.  They also have signs which speak to the danger of cross contamination.
The pizza is around the same price as the regular.

Cons:
Not great.  Very thin and not filling.  I ate the whole pizza and was still hungry, which is not great for 9.95.  I am also not a big fan of the over-spicing they do.  Whatever happened to subtlety?

I really want to encourage companies to make gluten free so I hope you will go and try it for yourself.  If you like it, please post that on here.  We really need to show companies that we are loyal, even if it is mediocre we should give them a try.  I also will say that they told me it would take 30 minutes to make it and I showed up around 25 and it seemed to have been ready for a while.  Maybe it is better hotter. 

For now, I will stick to my frozen crusts.  Also Godfather's is far from our house so hopefully another company like domino's or papa johns will give gluten free a try. 

What was your favorite pizza place in Wichita before your diagnosis?  Lets figure it out and call them till they make it gluten free!