Links: Restaurant Finders

Two Guides Lead the Way to Making Dining Out a More Pleasant Affair

Dining out remains one of the biggest challenges for people with celiac disease.

Discussion forums, a key source of restaurant tips, are hit-or-miss affairs.

Now, though, there are two reasonably good resources for finding restaurants that offer GF menus, or are at least familiar enough with celiac to make dining more pleasurable.

  • Best Bet: Gluten-Free Registry

    Finally, there's a (reasonably) comprehensive online listing of restaurants that offer GF menu options.

    The Gluten-Free Registry lists over 12,400 restaurants, bakeries and other outlets nationwide that cater to folks with celiac disease.

    You can search for restaurants, and read and make customer comments for free. You also can purchase GPS directions, if so inclined.

    All-in-all, it's a terrifically handy tool for the traveler following the GF diet.

  • Essential Gluten-Free Restaurant Guide

    The 2007-2008 edition of this book by Triumph Dining contains more than 3,900 restaurants in the U.S. recommended by people with celiac, including over 1,200 independently owned eateries.

    The book is organized alphabetically by state. The listings include notations to indicate whether a GF menu is available, along with other helpful tips.

    The price is $24.95. Triumph Dining is based in Arlington, Va.

  • GlutenFreeRestaurants.org

    This web site is the closest thing there is to a national on-line database of celiac-friendly restaurants. It is operated by the Gluten Intolerance Group of North America (GIG), a national support group based in Auburn, Wash., just south of Seattle.

    That said, the site is far from complete. It relies on people with celiac disease, or restaurant operators themselves, to post entries. The vast majority of the listings are of well-known restaurant chains.

    Still, when traveling, it's handy to have. It can be searched by zip code, city, state, and style of cuisine. And the price is right: it's free.

    The listings also indicate the extent to which the restaurants participate in GIG's Gluten-Free Restaurant Awareness Program. The program's goal is to increase the number of restaurants that provide safe GF dining.