It’s all Fun and Games Until You Pull a Gluteny Spaghetti Noodle Out of Your Gluten-Free Spiral Noodles

Long subject line- I think so.  But it sums up our conundrum we had during our trip in DC.  A first for us– seeing a glaring error in our gluten-free order at a restaurant that we couldn’t stop before it was eaten.

Maggiano’s in Bethesda, Maryland.  July 28th.  We went there after a long day on the National Mall and we wanted a good meal.  Many months ago, I wrote about how my Maggiano’s meal in the Twin Cities was fantastic.  It started out that way here too….

A gluten-free system failure

We arrived and I asked the server to find out if the caesar salad was gluten-free if we “held” the croutons. She went back and confirmed that yes, it was.  We got our salads and Emma loved it!  Honestly I’ve never seen her eat lettuce like she just ate it at Maggiano’s. My hubby and I were so delighted!

Gluteny Spaghetti Noodle (circled right) Found in Gluten Free Pasta Dish

Emma ordered gluten-free noodles with butter. Our order came out– gluteny items first.  But a bowl of spaghetti noodles came out too– that wouldn’t have gone with our order– unless the server made a mistake. Although she never admitted the mistake, she took the noodles back.  It took a while for Emma’s noodles to come out.  And even longer for my gluten-free Alfredo with Broccoli to arrive.

Before I got my food Emma was eating the noodles like crazy — loving the entire Maggiano’s experience.  Then the discovery was made:  two small sections of regular spaghetti mixed right in with the gluten-free “fusilli”.  It was a moment that maybe can be compared to taking that bite out of and apple and only noticing afterward that a half of a worm was left in the apple. What do you do?  We first thought, “well maybe it’s gluten-free spaghetti”  so Joel and I split one piece wondering if we’d be able to tell. We couldn’t tell the difference.

So when my food finally came (after everyone was finished eating), I showed the server the problem and asked for the manager.  He came over shortly thereafter.  I explained that she found the piece of spaghetti in her dish. It was clear we didn’t plant anything because nobody had spaghetti noodles at the table.  The manager said — paraphrasing here although I think it’s pretty close — “If there was a spaghetti noodle found in her gluten-free meal, protocol in the kitchen wasn’t followed.”  He promised he would follow up.  To his credit, he comped our entire meal, gave me his card, asked if there were any other medical needs we had (I clarified this wasn’t an anaphylactic reaction), apologized for the entire restaurant and was very sincere.

What happened?  I don’t think a stray noodle just fell in her food because it was found inside the batch not on top.  I am concerned they reused some gluteny water to rush the order when the server messed hers (and mine) up.  But I honestly don’t know. There’s no way for me to know at this time what exactly happened.

As I said before, Emma’s never been the victim of such an obvious error where she’s  been right in the middle of a meal only to discover “the gluten”.  We’ve caught errors before eating (like a bun on a burger or bread on a plate). A true test will be the next few hours. Will she get sick? It will be interesting to watch.  We certainly hope not because we’re flying home Thursday.

Girls at the US Capitol

Well after about six months of thinking about it and three months planning (or at least having the trip booked) we finally made it to Washington DC on a family vacation. In fact as I write– I am sitting poolside, watching the kids swim.  Ahhh– vacation.

But sometimes it doesn’t seem so relaxing when you have to plan every detail– especially planning ahead at each restaurant –so you can be sure you get a gluten-free meal in a city that is completely unknown to you.  That takes a lot of time.

Part of the issue is our criteria:  we are very basic meat and potatoes people. We do like pasta and pizza too.  But we’re also a family.  Finding a different restaurant, wherever we happen to be (Georgetown, Arlington, National Mall) that’s gluten-free, kid-(and frankly budget-) friendly is tough.  There are a bunch of restaurants that have $$$$ next to them, when you look them up online.  Or they are very eclectic.  All of these issues narrows things down quite a bit. My next few posts hopefully will help families coming to DC on vacation.

Arrival Day

We arrived in DC before noon, got our bags and took the Metro to our hotel.  But the timing was not great for lunch, so we hit the nearest McDonald’s — I know– lame.    Then we eventually walked the four blocks from our hotel to the National Zoo;  Part of the Smithsonian– so it’s free.

With a heat index of 111 degrees, the zoo wasn’t the best experience.  Most of the animals weren’t out.  I don’t know if it was because of the heat or what but we probably only saw 40% of the animals that were there.  Luckily we got a break from the heat to see the Pandas inside a nice air conditioned facility.

While at the zoo, I took a  peek at the snack bar. It was closed so we couldn’t check it out, but on their website– a treasure trove of information.  The Panda Plaza Grille listed it’s gluten-free items (including french fries)! To look at all the food menu items, click here.

Dinner in Bethesda, MD

Kafta Kabob at Lilit Cafe

For dinner we headed up to Lilit Cafe in Bethesda.  It came highly recommended on the Washington DC Support Group’s website which lists a ton of gluten-free friendly restaurants in the area.  It was only 3 Metro stops up from our hotel and then an additional 10 minute walk.   It is a small neighborhood store/restaurant that really caters to the gluten-free lifestyle.

We had a very good overall experience.  We walked in, and the first thing the greeter asked us was whether we had any food allergies.  We instantly told him about our gluten-free needs and he gave us a menu. The menu is plentiful: salads, sandwiches, pizza, entrees, dessert.  They appear to have a nice breakfast menu as well.

Full 4-Person Meal at Lilit Cafe

Emma had her first caesar salad (with gluten-free croutons) EVER!  It was her favorite part of the meal.  Surprisingly since she hasn’t liked any other salad dressings until now. We also ordered a gluten-free cheese pizza and my husband and Emma both ordered the Kafta Kabob. The cheese pizza was good, but both my husband and Emma had trouble with the kabob.  It was way too spicy for our “plain Jane” tastes.  So the pizza ended up being the hit of the night.

We did end up buying some gluten-free muffins and pretzel sticks there though.  Their “pantry”, refrigerator and freezer sections of the store were packed with gluten-free food!  That was great to see.  It’s always nice to have a few snacks handy for vacation. They do have gelato that  is gluten free, but we were too full to eat any.

So now that we know the food is pretty spicy, we would still go there, we would just probably ask more questions about the “spice factor” and choose some of the more basic selections.

Next Post:  DC, National Mall, and More…

I don’t know about you, but I’ve worked hard to get my kid with celiac disease to eat not just gluten-free, but also healthy– but is it enough?  New research out of Canada says — maybe not.

A small study out of the University of Alberta found children who were already diagnosed with celiac disease tended to also have a low bone density. According to the news release it is likely because of “poor intake and absorption of vitamins and minerals.”

Vitamins K and D are the particular culprits.  “Children with celiac disease are at risk for poor bone health, but by adding vitamins K and D to their diets, it can help reduce the risk of fractures and osteoporosis,” said Diana Mager, professor of agricultural, food and nutritional science at the U of A, and one of the researchers on the project.  Less than 50 percent of the recommended amount of Vitamin K in particular.  Vitamin D was considered “low”.

One thing to point out that I haven’t seen regarding this study, is any sort of acknowledgment about whether the children studied here followed a strict gluten-free diet.  If not, in my view, the malabsorption of these vitamins would be likely — would it not?

So how do you fix the deficiencies and resulting bone density trouble??  Besides raising these levels with supplements or targeted food choices high in vitamin K like broccoli, kale, and vitamin D (found in milk, and some fish), Mager reminded people that exercise like walking and running is a great way to gain bone strength. Plus getting out in the sun will give you vitamin D.

I say it’s still summer so get your kids out, get some rays and get some exercise!  What a great — gluten-free — way to take back our bone strength and get some much-needed vitamins!

A few molecules in the gluten protein found in wheat, barley and rye could be the “troublemakers” — the ones causing damage — to the guts of celiac patients.  Now researchers hope to use this discovery to create a vaccine!

Research published this week in Science Translational Medicine found there are three key peptides (smaller molecules) in the gluten protein that are particularly disruptive to the system of someone with celiac disease.  By finding these peptides, scientists hope it will lead them to a vaccine for celiac disease.  The vaccine would allow celiacs to eat anything– gluten-free or not.

A story by US News & World Report Thursday, explained how researchers made the discovery:

“First they gave more than 200 celiac patients in Australia and Britain wheat, barley and rye in foods for three days. This mobilized immune T cells to mount an attack on gluten. The researchers used these T cells to measure the patients’ immune reactions to 2,700 compounds found in gluten. Using the new scanning technology [to sort out the more troublesome peptides and] to narrow the field, they found that while dozens of peptides elicited some immune response, three stood apart from the rest. One appears in a type of wheat gluten. Another is found in rye gluten. And a third peptide shows up on certain gluten proteins in all three cereals.” — US News and World Report

So now what?  A layman like me wonders how all of the gluten protein isn’t bad??  Now researchers hope to work on a vaccine. EWorldPost.com described it this way:

“What these experts aim is to introduce, instead of a virus (as other vaccines such as influenza, for example), these three pieces of gluten, to make the body not identified as toxic and, therefore, the patient with celiac disease can tolerate all foods with or without gluten.” –www.eworldpost.com

US News & World Report described it slightly differently, but says the same thing:

“The Australian team has begun an early-stage clinical trial using these peptides in a vaccine that aims to desensitize celiac patients and make them tolerant of the compounds.”

However you describe it, I don’t really understand how giving gluten in a vaccine to someone with celiac will keep them from having a reaction to it.  I do have a friend who once was involved in a study that was similar regarding peanut allergies — so I know this is done — but is it a realistic possibility?

USNW said the researchers expect to have preliminary safety results in later this year.  It will be interesting to watch this one develop!

Well, very soon we’ll be off and running to Washington DC with the kids — one of which of course is my 11-year-old daughter, who has celiac disease.  So I’ve been doing some research.  Hopefully this post will help you (and me) if you’re headed out there sometime soon.  Plus, as always, feel free to comment and offer other helpful advice if you’ve already been through it.

So far, here’s been my process:

First — I Learned about Commuter Rail Transit:  Our Hotel is not far from the National Zoo so I started with learning about the Metro Commuter Rail.  Basically I am wondering — how will we even get to a restaurant if I find one?  I think that is a major question here, because we’re not renting a car, but rather relying on public transit.  But from everything I’ve seen and heard, the Metro is easy to navigate and appears to be close to a lot of areas (unlike the weak light-rail system in Minneapolis — for the most part, you must have a car if you vacation here).

Second — I investigated the locations of some of the tourist/historical places we want to go.  Perhaps by knowing these, I’ll have a shot at figuring out a corresponding dinner or lunch location.

Finally — I searched and am still researching the web for gluten-free friendly locations.  Starting with the Washington DC Celiac Support Group web page and their Facebook Page.  The Facebook page is a great place to have a conversation with folks familiar with the area.  But the website has a nice listing of gluten-free friendly restaurants.  Other sites that have been helpful:  Celiac Handbook and Gluten-FreeRegistry.com.

I also have been in communication with our hotel, the Omni Shoreham, which has promised,

“…gluten free breads [are] available and [they] can create most any entree item in a gluten free format, with the exception of desserts and pasta. We have rice pastas available and can offer sorbets, ice creams, mousses and fresh fruits for desserts.”

That’s great — but Robert’s Restaurant appears to be a little pricey.  So I really want to look into other options.  I already am aware I must try Lilit Cafe. One look at their robust gluten-free menu and I know it cannot be missed — especially for breakfast!  Good Stuff Eatery looks yummy and appears to not be too far from the US Capitol.  It may be a destination for us on the day of our tour.  While the DC support group recommended it,  I couldn’t find a gluten-free menu (although the food looks pretty basic).  I have an email into that company to learn more.

But what I’m also looking for is family friendly — and preferably non-chain (although I don’t count Maggiano’s in that— I liked the one in Minnesota, until it closed!).  Please let the suggestions pour in!!! I could use them.