Maggiano's -- A Rant

DianeR · **Joined:** Fri Oct 20, 2006 4:29 am **Posts:** 1276

Just to give everyone a head's up. Even places that folks say are celiac-friendly can screw up.

Last night we went to Maggiano's. We talked to the chef. I said I wanted GF pasta & a sauce of just veggies, with no dairy. My husband said he wanted the same sauce, but the pasta could have gluten. The chef wrote it down. He brought our pastas to the table. I was hungry and so immediately dug in. Then I thought, "This tastes like regular pasta. And I don't remember anyone making a GF farfalle." I look at hubby's food; he has farfalle that looks exactly like mine. Oh oh.

I called the waiter over, asking if he could confirm with the chef that what I got was GF. A couple minutes later the waiter comes back and takes my pasta away. The chef comes & apologizes. The manager comes & apologizes. They give us the meal for free, even say they will alert their insurance company to take care of any complications.

Perhaps I should have been understanding. But damn. I know how I react to a tiny amount of gluten. And here I had a number of forkfuls of regular pasta. Their apologies aren't going to make up for how I'm going to feel for who knows how long.

groundhogg · **Posted:** Mon Sep 24, 2007 5:36 am

Oh, gosh...that's terrible!!!! I can see how that could happen and catch you off guard if you were hungry and figured all that explaining amounted to something!!!!

I hope you don't get too sick!!!!

Ron Hoggan, the celiac researcher/writer, tells me (via a few personal e-mails) that as time off guten as progressed with him, his apparent sensitivity levels have dropped...and that he gets only mild symptoms at this point when exposed. We can all hope for that!!!!

DianeR · **Joined:** Fri Oct 20, 2006 4:29 am **Posts:** 1276

I haven't felt as bad as I had feared. I did do what I could once I got home to counteract the symptoms I would expect.

I was really worried about going to the opera yesterday afternoon. But I had this ticket and no way at that point of changing it. I made plenty of trips to the ladies room just to be sure (and had a pack of Immodium in my purse). But I made it through OK.

Everything gastro-wise seems to be hitting this morning. But, fortunately, I don't have to go anywhere. I have to get my car inspected, but ... I think I will wait until tomorrow :cool:

The brain fog is the worst thing. I've been taking aspirin & drinking coffee, which helps. I don't know how intelligent any of the posts I made yesterday turned out to be. I ordinarily would try to rough it out. But when I almost walked into a door jamb rather than THROUGH the door, I figured I needed to do something.

I need to get over this idea of trying not to be difficult in a restaurant, not wanting to insult the help, and so on. Asking the chef if something was gluten-free after he came to the table to take my order, wrote it down, and then brought it personally out to me seemed to be overkill. But apparently not :eek:

I guess I should have noticed my husband's food right off. But we had sat in a booth, both facing the rest of the room. I was people watching & shoveling food in my face before I had any suspicion.

I'm glad to hear about Ron Hoggan's symptoms dropping off.

groundhogg · **Posted:** Mon Sep 24, 2007 10:26 am

I'm just about too paranoid to eat out.

I've been doing SO GOOD lately ...I don't wanna press my luck by eating the wrong thing :eek:

--

I think maybe my gut is normal...although every other time I thought that, I saw vast improvement by another several weeks...so...anyway I am doing really well...19 months's gluten free now...about 9 months soy free...as of talking with Dogtor J, I'm on a corn free experiment and have also dropped rice, out of fears that I may be setting up some issues with rice the way I ate nothing but rice for the basis of my meals after going gluten free...eating so much rice during gut-damage time...gonna try to hold off on the rice for as long as I can stand it, and then just have rice 3 or 4 times a WEEK, rather than a DAY.

Popcorn/tortillas...don't know if I'll swear off of them forever...but Dogtor J quoted a study in whihc only 20-something%^ of celiacs who said they were symptom free had healed villi within 24 months gluten free...according to him, casein, soy and corn can all keep slamming those villi into mush...so...I've already gone this far gluten free, and now I feel I'll do whatever it takes to allow total healing.

Hope you aren't feeling too bad from your experience!

Fern · **Joined:** Fri Oct 20, 2006 6:45 am **Posts:** 240

Groundhog, I know you haven't really liked these but you might be more willing to try now. I love quinoa on it's own but I like it fluffy, not watery. It needs a little less water water than 2:1. So 1 3/4 cups water to one cup of rinsed quinoa. I like millet, but I like it wetter than called for

So I make it with 3 cups of water to 1 cup of dry millet.

But what I really like is 1/2 cup each of millet, quinoa, and white rice with 3 cups of water, maybe a little more. This can be a base for a hot meal or for a salad with lots of diced veggies and dressing.

groundhogg · **Posted:** Mon Sep 24, 2007 11:56 am

Thanks, Fern.

I have been thinking it's time for me to try to get to know these grains again.

I've been making lots of stuff with my sorghum flour, but I need something different. I plan to get some quinoa and millet and try again to learn something new!

thanks for the ideas.

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