Gluten-Free Negotiations with Managers & Chefs at Old Chicago

(Editor note:  I updated Old Chicago’s information in a new post in February 2014.  Click read that article for more updated information.)

So tonight our family is meeting up with close friends for dinner before heading out to an improve place called ComedySportz. Our friends are already planning to dine at Old Chicago. I thought before I make the decision to eat at home or somewhere else, I would check with the restaurant to see if they could accommodate!

Asking all the questions

I called Old Chicago, which as you may know is known more for its pizza than anything else. Since pizza is out of the question, I called and asked them about their hamburgers. I made the call just before they opened for the day at 10:55 a.m; a time when I knew they wouldn’t be too busy. The chef I talked to said the burgers there do get seasoned so he wasn’t sure on the gluten-free status of the seasoning.

I also threw out to him my back-up question of whether they would cook noodles in clean water for us if the burger option wasn’t possible and he said yes, and they have done that before for other customers. So knowing all of that, I felt good about our conversation. So he took my name and number and talked through options with his kitchen manager when he got in about an hour later.

Getting the answers

I got my phone call back and they said they could grab a hamburger before the seasoning is put on it and they would bake it alone in the oven to avoid cross contamination. He gave me the name of the manager who will be on duty tonight. And he told me he would spread the word in the meantime. I also mentioned the approximate time we would be there.

How will it turn out? Good question…I’ll have the answers for you in a post on Sunday.

Tags: accomodation, gluten-free, Old Chicago