for people age 18-35, living in the Edmonton area, looking for good restaurants to eat gluten free

Sunday, July 30, 2006

Pizzeria Prego

Jenny, Jason, Nick & I finally made it down to Pizzeria Prego to check out their gluten free pizza, and it was fabulous. They do make regular pizza, but have a dedicated area of their kitchen where they prepare GF in order to prevent cross contamination. The gluten free pizza is available in the 10" size only and costs an extra $2.00, but it is so worth it to be able to eat delicious pizzeria pizza rather than having to make it yourself. The staff was very knowledgeable about what was safe for Celiacs and what wasn't. We can eat most of the toppings, excluding the pepperoni, sausage (although if you are OK with Spolumbos this shouldn't be a problem), alfredo sauce and pasta. If the pizza you wanted has these toppings, they will gladly substitute with a GF alternative for you (e.g. back bacon instead of pepperoni). It is always a good idea to double check with them before you place your order though. Other fabulous news is that they deliver!! It is free if you are within their zone and $3.00 if you are out of their free boundaries. Jenny was so excited to get pizza delivered she decided to order some the very next day!
Nick & Jason are both non-celiacs, but in support of us Celiacs, they willingly ate the GF pizza, and loved it! Nick even ate my leftovers! For both Jenny & I it had been a long time since we had eaten pizza out (7 years for me and 4 for Jenny). We were so excited that it probably took us twice as long to figure out what we wanted than it normally would have. Jenny is a severely sensitive celiac, and I would pretty much consider her a litmus test for gluten. Neither she nor I got sick at all.
The bad news is that Pizzeria Prego is not really a sit down restaurant. They have several tables for 2 for dining in, and were able to put 2 tables together for the 4 of us, but they could not really accommodate groups of more than 4 people, thus I will probably not be organizing any more dinner clubs there. However, if anyone is interested and doesn't want to go by themselves, I am a very willing companion!

Pizzeria Prego is located at 5860 111 Street NW in Lendrum Place Mall in Edmonton, AB. You can call them at 780-439-7734. They are open Mon-Thurs 11am-9pm, Fri-Sat 11am-11pm, and Sun 12pm-8pm.

Sunday, July 23, 2006

Seal Yak



Monday, July 10, 2006

Dinner Anyone?

I was hoping to have the first meeting sometime in August. I was thinking either The Dish & the Runaway Spoon or Pizzeria Prego, but am open to suggestions.

Stay tuned for specific info.

Welcome

Hi New Member,

Welcome to gluten free dining. I am hoping that the GF Dinner Club will be able to meet approximately once every 2 months, or even more frequently. The idea is that before we meet, I will contact the restaurant and meet with them to discuss which foods are safe, which are not, and how to avoid cross contamination. I will also try to get a list of gluten free menu options from them. If there are any restaurants or types of food you would like to try, please feel free to make a suggestion, and I can look into it. It can be difficult as a celiac to eat out at restaurants and this is a great way to find new places that are more accommodating to our food sensitivities. It is also an opportunity for the celiac association to get the word out about celiac disease and educate the food industry about gluten intolerances.

This club is a great opportunity to meet other celiacs in our age group, and lets you get involved more with the celiac community. Many of us find it beneficial to have peer support, someone to talk to who has had similar experiences. Some of us have supportive people in our lives that we bring with us and you are always welcome to bring guests, but all guests must eat gluten free too. They can have gluten anytime, but with us they can really experience yummy gluten free food too. Everyone eating gluten free also helps to prevent any confusion, mix ups or cross contamination for our orders. It also prevents you from feeling like yet again you are limited. This is probably the most fiercely defended "rule" of the club. Everyone likes to know that the whole table is safe.

I want everyone to try new things and gain confidence in their ability to have a normal social existence and go out to safe restaurants where their needs are understood. I hope you will join us at as many dinners as you can.

See you soon!

Carolyn