Outback-no More Gluten Free Menu?

[Lauren M]

Hey Lauren, ask your manager for the email from the corporate office. My Outback locally even brought out the email to show me and asked if Cross Contamination of the Cornmeal was even that big of a deal!!! I can tell that this particular outback is trying really hard to understand gluten-free...... so that makes me feel a little better, that they ask questions.

Glad to know we have an "insider" !!!!!!!

My Outback never carried that meal (the chicken w/corn cakes) to begin with, so maybe that's why I haven't heard anything "new" on the gluten-free front.

For the person who said their veggies sometimes get the butter anyway - definitely send them back. Outback is VERY customer oriented (the whole "no rules just right" thing) and really aims to please. I know at my Outback, if a meal needs to be gluten-free, they are VERY careful to get it right, but that doesn't mean that every Outback location is the same way.

Just an example - the other day a customer requested their veggies without butter or seasoning. Our kitchen manager asked the server to find out if that meal needed to be gluten-free, or if it was just a special order. Even though the person was getting a "gluten-free" meal - they still wanted to make sure they changed their gloves, etc. if it was supposed to be gluten-free.

- Lauren

[Rikki Tikki]

I am kind of confused. Does their butter have gluten in it? I plan on having it on my baked potato

Is the butter gluten free?

[Sierra]

I ate at our local Outback a couple of days ago. I'm a gluten-free newbie, but I took my printout of the menu with me. It's a good thing I did too! I asked the hostess for a gluten-free menu to look at while I waited (for 45 minutes!) and she just looked at me and brightly said "All of our menu items at gluten free!" I stared at her and said that no, in fact they are not al gluten-free. I mentioned the french fries because those were what came to mind first, but I mean, heck, they have pasta on the menu! No, it's not all gluten-free. Luckily the server made up for the hostess's ignorance and knew all about their gluten-free menu and knew the dressings, etc, off the top of her head. I had a lovely house salad with ranch (no croutons), Victoria filet with a jacket potato. I don't think I had any issues, but I'm still learning how to tell.

[Guhlia]

Is the butter gluten free?

Their seasoned butter is NOT gluten free. They may however have gluten free butter in the back that they could bring out for you. I'm not sure on this.

[Rikki Tikki]

Their seasoned butter is NOT gluten free. They may however have gluten free butter in the back that they could bring out for you. I'm not sure on this.

Thank-you so much for answering that. I would imagine that the regular butter is just plain and then they have the seasoned butter of which I didn't even know they had

I will be eating there tomorrow night! Can't hardly wait!!

[Lauren M]

Thank-you so much for answering that. I would imagine that the regular butter is just plain and then they have the seasoned butter of which I didn't even know they had

I will be eating there tomorrow night! Can't hardly wait!!

Yes, you can have plain butter with your baked potato!

With the veggies - they premake little "butter balls" that have seasoning in them, and cook the veggies (individual orders) in the butter. However, you CAN order the veggies without the butter/seasoning balls. You could even order them with PLAIN butter. I just order them without any butter or seasoning b/c it's less confusing, less chance for mistake, and I think it tastes better.

Sorry to be longwinded - the moral of the story - have some butter with your baked potato

- Lauren

[ebrbetty]

I emailed them this morning thanking them for the wonderful gluten-free meals, and said I will be enjoying many more, this was my reply....

Good Day,

Thank you for your kind e-mail.

Just an FYI - we have three other restaurant concepts that have a gluten-free

menu:

Carrabba's Italian Grill @ www.carrabbas.com

Bonefish Grill @ www.bonefishgrill.com

Cheeseburger in Paradise @ www.cheeseburgerinparadise.com

Thanks for dining with us,

Michelle

PS - Don't forget our Chocolate Thunder From Down Under is gluten-free - we dust

the pan with sugar not flour!

[ebrbetty]

thank god i can still get my alice springs chicken love it!!

[tiffjake]

I am kind of confused. Does their butter have gluten in it? I plan on having it on my baked potato

What they told me at my Outback is that it is a Seasoned Butter that they put with the veggies. The regular butter is fine. But the veggie butter is different, and is NOT gluten-free.

Yes, you can have plain butter with your baked potato!

With the veggies - they premake little "butter balls" that have seasoning in them, and cook the veggies (individual orders) in the butter. However, you CAN order the veggies without the butter/seasoning balls. You could even order them with PLAIN butter. I just order them without any butter or seasoning b/c it's less confusing, less chance for mistake, and I think it tastes better.

Sorry to be longwinded - the moral of the story - have some butter with your baked potato

- Lauren

Yeah! Thats it! (Just saw your post, LOL)

[Lauren M]

thank god i can still get my alice springs chicken love it!!

People just LOVE that stuff. I'm a vegetarian (haha, I know, ironic that a vegetarian works at a steakhouse), but I've been almost tempted to try the Alice Springs, just b/c everyone raves about it!

What they told me at my Outback is that it is a Seasoned Butter that they put with the veggies. The regular butter is fine. But the veggie butter is different, and is NOT gluten-free.

Yeah! Thats it! (Just saw your post, LOL)

Haha, yeah I was back in the kitchen one time, and I saw this tray full of what looked to me like "dirty" butter balls (haha). So I said (loudly, being a pretty loud person) "Eww, what happened to these butter balls!?" Our kitchen manager said, "Those are the veggie butter balls - the ones you can't have."

Who wants butter balls that look like they're "dirty" anyway

- Lauren

[sspitzer5]

Hey all, just wanted to let you know what was going down with Outback! I work with my local Outback (teaching the servers about CC and how to avoid it) and the drama is this :

The Bronzed Chicken with Corn Cakes was (is) gluten free, but the corn meal, used in the cakes, is made in a facility that also processes wheat. When Outback discovered this, they pulled this menu option from the gluten-free menu (in theory though, not actually printing out new menus yet). They are now going back through all of the menu options and making darn sure that they are gluten-free (and that there is minimal gluten exposure).

NicoleAJ- The alfredo sauce was never gluten free (but perhaps your Miami location is a franchise? and they make their own??) The gluten-free menu that Outback publishes says to avoid the Alfredo sauce on the Hearts of Gold Chicken. I hope you are not getting sick!

I am not a Outback spokesperson, but I do go to my local Outback at least twice a week, and I work with the managers and the owner to make sure the servers are aware of Celiac and know what gluten-free means. I have had every dish on the gluten-free menu, and if you follow the directives (no blue cheese, no croutons) then you should be fine (that is, if your manager and server are being careful about CC).

Hope that helps!!!

Hi Tiffany, just curious how you got into teaching the servers about CC at Outback? Are you employed by them to do this? My local Outback is pretty good, but they don't seem overly aware when it comes to gluten free. I would definitely volunteer to spend some time training the servers.

S

[tiffjake]

Hi Tiffany, just curious how you got into teaching the servers about CC at Outback? Are you employed by them to do this? My local Outback is pretty good, but they don't seem overly aware when it comes to gluten free. I would definitely volunteer to spend some time training the servers.

S

Oh no, and I don't want to sound like I am a professional or anything!!! I got so excited when I found out that they had a gluten-free menu that I went there to eat (literally) every night for 2 weeks. I got sick almost every night, and ended up in their bathroom for HOURS everynight (I react very quickly, sometimes within 10 minutes, throwing up.....sometimes it takes 20-30 min for the D).

They got tired of me camping out in the bathroom, and started asking more and more questions. And I started paying much better attention to what was going on. I thought, in the beginning, that if a place has a gluten-free menu, then they know what they are doing! Boy, was I wrong!

I would print out stuff from this site, and take them dining cards for the servers to keep in their bill presenters (the black folders). I talked to EVERY server about CC (spesifically with my food, but made a point to explain other people's food too).

I talked to EVERY manager there. I know them all by name now. And they know me. They ask me questions and when I don't know the answer I send them here (or print out and bring them the info from the web).

It is amazing how much they care when they SEE how sick I get!!!! But let me stress that I have been "working" with them (and I mean learning with them, growing with them, etc) for 8 months now! And there are always new servers who look at me like a dear in headlights when I ask for the gluten-free menu. But I keep asking, because even though I know everything on that menu now, I want the servers to be in the habit of getting one, reading it, answering questions from it, so that if another Celiac goes in (like I did in the beginning) and thinks the server knows what they are talking about, I don't want that person to get sick like I did!!!!!

I would ask your local outback if you could talk to the managers. And then maybe to the servers (at one of the monthly training meetings). I stressed to my Outback that since they have a gluten-free menu, they NEED to KNOW what they are doing! Take them info from Celiac.com and dining cards. (And always answer questions on the safe side, like "no, not even a crumb" because though YOU might be able to hande some gluten, if you tell someone in service that, the will not take it as seriously!)

[sspitzer5]

I would ask your local outback if you could talk to the managers. And then maybe to the servers (at one of the monthly training meetings). I stressed to my Outback that since they have a gluten-free menu, they NEED to KNOW what they are doing! Take them info from Celiac.com and dining cards. (And always answer questions on the safe side, like "no, not even a crumb" because though YOU might be able to hande some gluten, if you tell someone in service that, the will not take it as seriously!)

Thanks Tiffany! I will definitely talk with them about doing something similar to what you have done.

Susan

[wozzy]

My local Outback has really improved.

My mom got carry out from there a few days ago, which made me nervous because I usually have to make sure that they don't put crutons on the salad, etc. But my mom said that they "consulted with the Celiacs" and I must say, they are much improved.

There weren't any crutons on my salad! I swear, every time I go in there, I ask for the gluten-free menu, I order a salad and forget to say no crutons, and they put them on anyway.

I also didn't get sick.

[jknnej]

You know, it REALLY pisses me off when a Celiac goes into a restaurant, gets sick, then calls and complains.

We always take a risk; even if the menu has gluten-free items; Outback even has a disclaimer on their menu.

I wish some Celiacs would stop ruining good dining for everyone else; if you get sick, deal with it. It is a risk of our illness and that's it.

Everytime someone calls to complain the restaurants reconsider offering anything gluten free, and that just plain sucks.

I realize it sucks to get sick and that it sucks that eating out is dangerous, but that is the hand we were played in life and if we choose to risk it, we should look to ourselves for blame and not the restaurant. They specifically state at the bottom of their menu that cross contamination is possible and that their wait staff is NOT trained about Celiac disease (although all of the servers I've had at Outback have known exactly what it was and what to do). I don't know how much clearer they could make it.

I REALLY hope Outback doesn't change their gluten-free menu.

BTW I'm not speaking of anyone on this board!! Just the person who complained! Of course I think restaurants should strive to make our dining experience as good as they can, and to learn as much as they can, I just don't think we can blame them if they make a mistake.

[tiffjake]

You know, it REALLY pisses me off when a Celiac goes into a restaurant, gets sick, then calls and complains.

We always take a risk; even if the menu has gluten-free items; Outback even has a disclaimer on their menu.

I wish some Celiacs would stop ruining good dining for everyone else; if you get sick, deal with it. It is a risk of our illness and that's it.

Everytime someone calls to complain the restaurants reconsider offering anything gluten free, and that just plain sucks.

I realize it sucks to get sick and that it sucks that eating out is dangerous, but that is the hand we were played in life and if we choose to risk it, we should look to ourselves for blame and not the restaurant. They specifically state at the bottom of their menu that cross contamination is possible and that their wait staff is NOT trained about Celiac disease (although all of the servers I've had at Outback have known exactly what it was and what to do). I don't know how much clearer they could make it.

I REALLY hope Outback doesn't change their gluten-free menu.

BTW I'm not speaking of anyone on this board!! Just the person who complained! Of course I think restaurants should strive to make our dining experience as good as they can, and to learn as much as they can, I just don't think we can blame them if they make a mistake.

Well, depending on your definition of "complain", I would have to respectfully disagree. I think that it is important to say SOMETHING because if we don't, then they may not know that they are doing something wrong (like not understand CC with fryers or crouton pieces near the salad dressing). If they say the salad dressing is gluten-free, then many celiacs trust that it is safe. When really, it WAS gluten-free that morning, and by evening, it is not!

I DO think that if they have a gluten-free menu, then at least the kitchen staff has a DUTY to know what that is and what it means for us. If they do not, then there is no reason to have it. Many people have had the experience where when asking about wheat in their food, the place says "no, totally wheat free" when there is white flour in it. Having a special menu means that you have put special thought into it, and therefore should KNOW what that menu is and what it means.

I think if it is a constructive discussion between the customer and the management staff, then it can be very beneficial. But if you mean complain, as in call and b**** someone out, then I agree, that is not the best way to get them "on our side" so to say.

[Canadian Karen]

I also think it's all in the way it is handled. If someone points something out in a kind way saying "I just wanted you to know for future reference........" is one thing. It's quite another to have a customer go off on a tangent yelling that they are going to sue because they got sick...... (This is always a worry to me as restaurants will just say "Screw You" and not offer anything gluten-free)........

[jkmunchkin]

Hi all,

I went to Outback tonight, and my waitress said even though they don't have the gluten free menu right now she would make everything was ok, and she wrote gluten free next to my order.

She was really sweet, honestly one of the best servers I had there. I had a delicious gluten free dinner even without the official menu. I was sure to leave her a nice big tip.

[tiffjake]

That is sooooo cool!!!!!!!

[sspitzer5]

Hi all,

I went to Outback tonight, and my waitress said even though they don't have the gluten free menu right now she would make everything was ok, and she wrote gluten free next to my order.

She was really sweet, honestly one of the best servers I had there. I had a delicious gluten free dinner even without the official menu. I was sure to leave her a nice big tip.

This is the same thing the manager said to me at my local Outback. He said they pulled the menus because they found some problems with it but that it will be back when corrected. He said if I'd ordered it before and not had problems, to keep ordering the same thing. They would make sure it was safe. He was very nice.

S

[Rikki Tikki]

I have to agree with a little bit of what everyone said. I have been a strong advocate of The Outback because it is always so nice to have a restaurant where we can eat that actually has a menu. I ate at the one in Chico California last weekend and for the first time got sick after eating there. I chose not to call and complain because I don't want them to eventually get sick of the complaints and then just stop catering to the disease. I think it is a chance we take when we go out to eat. I also think that I should of gone with my gut in that they were way too busy, the waiter didn't seem to know what I was talking about and I should have left, really should of left when I saw crouton crumbs on the top of my salad. I think they were so busy the food itself was not that great, for the very first time. But I stayed, it was my choice, I did not call to complain but was somewhat irritated that it happened. So while I think we have a lot of personal responsibility I do get irritated when these things happen and do feel that with caution it should be safe if they are going to offer it. That's my two cents

[Guest ~jules~]

I just called my outback and they have the gluten free menu, sweet. So is it accurate and whats good?

[tiffjake]

I just called my outback and they have the gluten free menu, sweet. So is it accurate and whats good?

You just want to REALLY talk to the managers about cross contamination....and the menu is accurate, it is reviewed by GIG and their stuff is checked out.

I REALLY like the Alice Springs Chicken, and the ceaser salad (it is nice to know most of the salad dressings are gluten-free, just make sure they haven't been sitting "on the line" near the croutons all day. I always ask if they will please get my dressing from the "walk in" so they are fresh). And I love the grilled lobster! Yum! Oh, and the chocolate thunder from down under! Whippee!

Enjoy your visit! Hope all goes well!

[Rikki Tikki]

I always stary out with their shrimp on the barbie, then have a salad with ranch, then the chicken with their baked potato and top it off with either the sinful sundae or the thunder from down under ummmmm

[KaitiUSA]

The ones up here I know have a gluten free menu and I would hate if they took that away from us...how stupid would they be to mess with a ticked off celiac lol