Tijuana Flats Coming Soon To Raleigh

Tex-Mex restaurant chain Tijuana Flats is coming soon to Raleigh. This should interest fans of Chipotle, Moe's Southwest Grill or Qdoba (click each link for their respective GF menus).

Check out the Triangle Business Journal article here. The Raleigh store, located in the Quail Commons shopping center at the corner of Falls of Neuse Road and Millbrook Road, will open on September 21st. Look for 6-8 more locations coming soon to the Triangle.

Click here for the Tijuana Flats' Gluten information (located on Page 14). Seems like they are going to be subject to the potential cross-contact found in the other Tex-Mex places.

Reminder - Greater North Raleigh Celiac Support Group Meeting

Just a friendly reminder about this month's Greater North Raleigh Celiac Support Group meeting. The meeting is Thursday, September 16th at 7pm at Rex Hospital. This month, area resident, Thomas Munn, will be with us to talk about baking Gluten Free bread (including recipes with added fiber), using bread machines, giving us a recipe he has developed that "works," and a ready-made sample to taste.

Please email Pat Berger to request more information about the group or if you are interested in attending this month's meeting.

You can also check out the Support Group's Yahoo Web page here.

Gluten Free City Guide Updated

If you have not seen the Gluten Free City Guide, you can check it out here. It is a helpful tool if you plan on traveling to unknown areas of the USA/Canada. I designed the GF City Guide as a mashup of great Gluten Free blogs or Celiac Disease support group Web sites for various cities out there. These are the local folks in the know for their respective city. I would recommend reading their content and/or even contacting them in advance of your trip so that things can go a little more smooth. I get emails a lot from folks coming to Raleigh and they can easily refer to content on on GFR for their trip.

I spent some time recently updating it to make it a little more easy to use and navigate. Also, I updated some of the cities listed, removed bad links and added new cities. There are now 176 placemarks on the Gluten Free City Guide map.

The Gluten Free City Guide is includes placemarks on numerous cities throughout the USA & Canada. Placemarks have been added to cities where Celiac Disease Support Group Web sites and/or Gluten Free Blogs specifically about those cities exist. Find a city you want more Gluten Free information on and simply click it's placemark. Use the Gluten Free City Guide map to help with traveling to unfamiliar cities or to learn more about your city.

Please email me if you maintain a Celiac Disease support group Web site or are a blogger who writes about living Gluten Free in a particular city/state/region and would like to be added to the network.

Ted's Montana Grill - Gluten Free Menu Updated

Check out this great article from Celiac-Disease.com about Ted's Montana Grill and the recent changes to their Gluten Free menu and strategy.

Ted's Montana Grill's Gluten Free menu can be found here and turns out to be pretty extensive. Multiple choices for starters, salads, burgers/chicken sandwiches, entrees, kids menu, sides and desserts can be found.

French fries are also now on the menu but be sure to check each location has a dedicated fryer.

Raleigh has one Ted's Montana Grill which can be found at Triangle Town Center. The location's Web site can be found here.

I have not yet been to Ted's but will try to soon. If you have been, please leave a comment below about your experience.

Raleigh Trader Joe's Update - Opens 10/30/09

I first wrote about Raleigh's first Trader Joe's location last December. Tons of delays have happened since then but it looks like the official opening of the store will occur on October 30th, 2009.

Check out the New Raleigh article here.

FYI - The average Trader Joe's carries hundreds of Gluten Free products which will provide another grocery option which is never a bad thing.

Information
Trader Joe's Grocery Store
3080 Wake Forest Road (Wake Forest Road & I-440)
Raleigh, NC 27609
Trading Hours: 9 am -9 pm

Red Bowl Asian Bistro Coming To Raleigh

I've heard from many of you out there that an excellent Gluten Free meal can be had at Red Bowl Asian Bistro in Cary.

I personally have not been to Red Bowl yet but recently heard that a new location would be opening soon in Raleigh. Check out Sue Stock's article here from the N&O. Sue says "Also in North Raleigh, at BJ's-anchored Plantation Point off Capital Boulevard, Red Bowl Asian Bistro is under construction next to Mimi's Café and will open in early 2010."

From Red Bowl's Web site...

Originally started in Charlotte, Red Bowl Asian Bistro is brand new to the Cary area. The elegant, traditional setting is combined with a beautiful contemporary flair.

Red Bowl Asian Bistro is a traditional Asian restaurant with a full service bar serving Asian inspired dishes. Each distinctive dish is handcrafted to order using only the finest and freshest ingredients in our immaculate kitchen.

Our combination of Asian cooking techniques (Chinese, Thai and Japanese) allows us to create exceptional pan-Asian cuisine! At Red Bowl Asian Bistro, you will always discover more than you expect, from our create-your-own stir-fry bar, our award winning sushi bar and family friendly environment to our wide variety of Asian dishes.

Red Bowl Asian Bistro strives to preserve the best time-honored Asian cooking traditions while providing a fresh, flavorful alternative for today's food connoisseur.

Click here for Red Bowl's Gluten Free menu (scroll to bottom). Leave a comment if you've had good luck here and are excited about the new location.

Food Allergy Poster & Petition Update

Back in March I created an online petition to the City of Raleigh for a food allergen educational poster requirement for restaurants. The idea was to have a poster detailing the top 8 allergens (peanut, tree nuts, cow's milk, egg, wheat, soy, fish and shellfish) plus Gluten (wheat, barley, rye & oats) posted at each restaurant in the city in an effort to raise awareness of food allergies among kitchen staff. I believe a poster detailing what the major food allergies are along with common ingredients can go a long way in helping folks have safe meals.

Click here to see the original post & click here to see (and sign) the online petition if you have not already. There are currently 278 signatures on the petition - a huge thanks to everyone who is supporting this effort and leaving great comments. My goal was to present this idea to the Raleigh City Council once I received 300 signatures. It is now "Go Time".

I have officially filled out the request to appear before the Raleigh City Council on Tuesday, October 20th, 2009 at 1pm. I supplied a ton of supporting documentation about food allergies from (The Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network - FAAN and Food Allergy Initiative - FAI) as well as items about Gluten allergies and those of us with Celiac Disease. I expect to speak before the council around 2pm that day - if you want to come out and support this effort, please feel free!

Here is where I need your help!

1. Please sign the petition if you have not already. The more signatures on the petition when I go in front of the city leaders the better credibility we have as an organization.
   


2. I am launching a contest for my readers to create the actual design of the food allergy education poster. There are some out there I have already found concerning the top 8 allergens but none include Gluten and none have that special Raleigh flavor. I know there are some great design folks out there - here is your chance to get your design in every restaurant in the city while helping those 12 million Americans (3 million children) along the way. Come up with a design, put it in .pdf format and email it to me. I will collect all entries and present them here on this blog for the readers to vote on to determine the winner. Please submit your design via email by Friday, October 16th at 12pm. Please include all the top 8 allergens plus Gluten on your poster with some details about each allergen and what kitchen workers should watch out for. Please also include a process restaurant staff should follow when they encounter someone with food allergies to ensure they can have an educated choice about a safe meal.

Let's keep our fingers crossed that this idea can become a reality and the citizens and visitors of Raleigh can make a huge step towards having safe meals at restaurants. Currently, New York city is the only place in the USA with this requirement. Let's make Raleigh the 2nd!

More On Gluten Free Classes @ Rosie's Plate

I wrote yesterday about some upcoming Gluten Free classes being offered over at Rosie's Plate. I wanted to expand a little on these (especially the 2nd class - hopefully I can meet some more of you out there as I will be teaching this class).

• The first class being offered is called Basics of Baking Gluten Free. It will be held on Saturday, September 26th from 2pm - 330pm. The cost is $35 per person. The class will feature an up-close demonstration of how to make Rosie's buttermilk biscuits, sugar cookies and banana muffins. The class will actually take place in Rosie's kitchen with the excellent chefs behind the awesome food. The class will also feature a discussion on the basics of GF baking including the alternative flours available and how to make substitutions. The class size will be limited to only 6 people. Call 833.0505 to reserve your space before this class fills up.
  

• The second class being offered is called Gluten Free 101. It will be held on Saturday, October 3rd from 1pm - 3pm. The class will be a great resource for those who are just starting out on a Gluten Free Diet. The class will be taught by yours truly! More details to come in the near future about this class but just think of it as an Introduction to the Gluten Free Lifestyle. The wave of going GF has just hit you and knocked you down - this class will help you stand up and begin your journey to being healthy again. This class will be limited to 12 people and hopefully will become a recurring class in the future. A portion of the class fee will be donated to Celiac Disease research. Call 833.0505 for more details and to reserve your space.

Rosie's Plate Update

Here are several updates about some good stuff going on over at Rosie's Plate.

• The new September menu is now available at Rosie's Plate! Click here for the menu. Stop into Rosie's Plate on 9/3 or 9/4 for 10% off your order!

• FYI - Rosie's will be closed on 9/5 and 9/7 for the Labor Day Holiday.

• New Fall Hours - Weekdays 10am to 630pm, Saturdays 10am - 4pm.

• Rosie's has expanded their class offerings. In addition to their Wellness Class, they are also offering a Basics of Baking Gluten Free Class and a Gluten Free 101 Class for the new-to-GF people out there. Click here for more info and to sign up.
  

• Rosie's has also expanded their freezer selections and now offer Family-size Lasagna, Beef & Tomato Sauce and Beef Stroganoff Sauce (add your own pasta).

• Rosie's introduces naturally sweetened desserts with Agave Nectar - brownies, cookies, trail mix bars and more! Click here for more info.
  

Jules Gluten Free Update

I wrote last week about a change made to the size of the sample packet of Jules Gluten Free All Purpose Flour. Now that you've had a chance to try out a sample, here is a special offer on a bigger bag of flour.

Buy 1 Bag of All Purpose Flour, Get 1 Bag of Graham Cracker Mix for Free

Now through 9/9/2009.