bardbabe

Every year I go to the Stratford Festival in Ontario, Canada, the largest repertory theatre in North America. It is one of my favorite places on earth. But when I went looking for postings about gluten-free restaurants there, I found only a few menus and a lot of out of date articles. And last year, i had a rough time figuring out what I could eat. But things are MUCH improved now. So I decided to add current info here.

Here is what I found a number of local places:

- The Annex - gluten-free pizza and pasta, made in a gluten-free environment - many pizza options, knowledgable staff and their creme brulee is fantastic - start here!

 - Fellini's - Italian place that does have quinoa spaghetti, though they do warn you that it falls apart, so I ended up eating it with a spoon - still yummy, though! Their steamed mussels and salads are gluten-free, and they have a flourless chocolate cake that is to die for.

 - Rene's - the owners are friends of mine and they make top notch food. The only place in town where I was served gluten-free bread, which is a rare treat. They have excellent mussels, too, and the chef even made me his seafood mac and cheese with gluten-free pasta - it has no flour and is rich beyond imagining.

 - Foster's - another good spot, also has gluten-free items for brunch on your Sunday. Their burgers are all gluten-free, and they will substitute anything you need. I had a salmon salad, as well, which was quite good, maybe not great.

The Stratford Festival itself has become more aware of celiacs and our dietary needs - if you eat at the Festival, there is always a gluten-free option, though not much selection.

Bentley's is a mainstay in Stratford, having been there for over 30 years. They do have a yummy Thai Noodle dish, but not much selection otherwise, just a couple other things. The owner promises they are working on it.....

Down the Street is another popular haunt, but their kitchen is small, and I had their yam fries last year before realizing they only have one fryer. Even if they have dishes they say are gluten-free, they do not have the space to deal with cross-contamination.

Finally, I would mention that there is a Natural Food store in town called Gentle Rain, that has lots of organic, gluten-free and natural foods - not cheap, but if you want local food, organic, non-GMO, healthy, etc., take a walk around there.

Servers are much more knowledgable than they used to be about gluten-free needs, but do ask about prep, cooking and storage if those are concerns for you. Just knowing the ingredients is sometimes not enough!

I know this town like the back of my hand, so if anyone is going there and has gluten-free questions, send them along - happy to help!!

Be wary of Pret!!!

They were handing out free oatmeal in Manhattan today and the worker tried to tell me that it was gluten-free because it was organic. Not so, in fact, as I called their headquarters and was told that it was not.

Then they tried to tell me that they had sandwiches made with gluten-free rye bread, which as far as I know, doesn't exist.....

So be VERY careful going there,, and know that their lists of "gluten-free foods" may not be correct.

May want to consider aking contact with them and getting them better information.

Be careful out there, fellow celiacs!!