When docs identified Sean Workman’s spouse, Betsy, and son, Taylor, with celiac illness 12 years in the past, the household struggled to dine out. Missing clear choices for gluten-free eating places, they did not know what security precautions the kitchens had been utilizing, if any, and even essentially the most innocuous meals appeared dangerous.

My son loves fries, as do all children, says Sean, who opened the largely gluten-free Acovaa restaurant in Highland with Betsy in 2018. However we did not know what the risks of fryer cross-contamination could be.

Nowadays, households just like the Workmans face a special, a lot improved panorama. Most individuals know what gluten is, though should you want a refresher, it’s the protein present in wheat, rye, barley, semolina, durum wheat and lots of different grains and perceive that consuming it will possibly make somebody identified with celiac illness or a sensitivity really feel fairly unhealthy. with signs equivalent to abdomen ache, bloating and vomiting.

Fortunately, many restaurant homeowners at the moment are together with some gluten-free choices on their menu. However navigating the culinary scene can nonetheless be a problem for a lot of. Regardless of the perfect intentions, some kitchens use much less protected sanitary practices to maintain gluten separate from gluten-free choices than others. Additionally, some diners are extra delicate than their friends, so a restaurant that brings one particular person pleasure can go away one other feeling nauseous. (Unsure how you can inform if a restaurant’s practices are protected for you? Specialists provide recommendation right here.)

To attempt to make sense of all of it, we have rounded up a number of gluten-free eating places and breweries, the place cooks and homeowners are recognized to serve the celiac and gluten-intolerant neighborhood. We have additionally detailed a few of their kitchen security practices to assist readers make decisions that they (and their physician) be ok with.

Key

* There may be no less than one fryer reserved just for gluten-free meals.
^ The institution makes use of zero gluten crammed elements (however could promote beer in a sealed container).
~ The enterprise is a MyMeal member restaurant. Oregon-based internet developer Kayla King created the web site and app, which permits customers to enter their allergic reactions or dietary preferences, and types taking part restaurant menus by elements to let diners know which meals they’re protected. Different options of the app element every restaurant’s security precautions and notice whether or not a specific allergen is especially prevalent within the kitchen.

Acova/The Bumblebee *~

When the Workmans opened Acova, they got down to make it as protected as attainable for celiacs. The employees at Acovas makes use of solely gluten-free flour (particulate matter like wheat flour can grow to be airborne and contaminate different gadgets on the menu), and most dishes, just like the Braised Pork Havana Sandwich, are naturally gluten-free. gluten. These that aren’t are ready utilizing separate gear. Bonus: Lots of Acova’s security practices have crept into one other Workmans-owned restaurant, the Hornet, which leverages MyMeal to maintain visitors knowledgeable of security practices and gives all kinds of gluten-free specials.

Quiero Arepas *^

From its inception in 2010 at a farmers market, to its meals truck days, to its present two places, one on Pearl Avenue and the opposite in LoHis Avanti Meals & Beveragegluten has by no means appeared on Quiero Arepas’ menu. That is as a result of arepas use corn dough to cradle meats, cheeses, and different fillings. Proprietor Igor Panasewicz grew up consuming them in Venezuela, and whereas he and his co-owner and spouse, Beckie, make superb remixes just like the salmon and caper arepa, they preserve gluten out of their kitchens. We’re not reinventing the wheel, Beckie says. We had been simply re-creating my husband’s childhood recollections.

Simply be cooking *~^

A want to keep away from inflammation-causing meals led Jennifer Peters to open Simply Be Kitchen six years in the past this month and expanded to Denver Tech Heart final October. The employees makes use of zero gluten-containing elements and likewise avoids peanuts, legumes, seed oils, grains, soybeans and refined sugars. If it sounds joyless, assume once more. Wholesome consuming ought to be about abundance and achievement, not lack or sacrifice, says Peters. To realize that hearty really feel, she collaborates together with her workforce of hers to recreate consolation meals like beef bolognese and a hen and gnocchi dish featured on Meals Networks Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.

Marcos powered by coal

Brittle gluten-free pizza crusts, get out. Marcos Coal-Fired wizards in Ballpark and Englewood make chewy, gluten-free altars for cheese and salsa utilizing a gluten-free wheat-starch Italian flour (producers rinse the protein till it is deemed protected for celiac victims) . The ensuing dough could be stretched like conventional Neapolitan stuff, although that course of takes place removed from the place Marcos pizza cooks make common pizza. Bonus: Gluten-free truffles even have their very own oven.

Daughter Thai/La Mai Thai

Coconut milk. Palm sugar. Rice noodles. Rice itself. Many of those staple elements in Thai cooking are naturally gluten-free, says Orrapan Botthaisong, proprietor of La Mai Thai Kitchen in Edgewater and co-owner of Daughter Thai & Bar in Highland. For that reason, gluten-averse diners can really feel comparatively protected in Thai institutions, although they need to test that soy sauce, a wheat-containing ingredient, hasn’t sneaked right into a sauce. At Botthaisongs eating places, cooks will substitute egg noodles for rice noodles in some dishes, taking care to arrange the substitutions in sanitized pots and pans.

Very important Root *^

A part of a sextet of eating places beneath the Edible Beats moniker (Linger, Ophelias, El 5, and two Root Down places spherical out the bunch), Very important Root serves hearty gluten-free meals. Intelligent tips, like frying rice paper, imply dishes like cobb salad do not lack the satisfying crunchy croutons they sometimes ship. The opposite 5 eating places are good choices, if solely a bit riskier. They use elements with wheat and different triggers, however workers get in depth coaching on how you can keep away from cross-contamination, says director and chef Justin Cucci. A steel bar outlines the gluten-free and gluten-filled sides of the flat prime, and the servers particularly talk about any allergen requests with the cooks to make sure everybody understands visitors’ wants.

Espresso of rivers and streets *^

If you happen to’ve grown leery of staring sadly at gluten-filled pastries behind glass in espresso retailers, head to Rivers & Roads Espresso. Each muffin, candy bread, and quiche on the Curtis Park location is protected for these with celiac illness. The corporate’s second location in Metropolis Park serves a wider number of gluten-free dishes, equivalent to Mediterranean hash lined in spicy harissa sauce.

Lucina Restaurant & Bar *

Erasmo Casiano and Diego Coconati each grew up immersed in a mix of Mexican and Bolivian cultures for Casiano, Argentine and Puerto Rican for Coconati. Their year-old restaurant on South Park Hill celebrates the varied cuisines of their childhood by means of specialties that by the way lack gluten. For instance, alcapurrias, Puerto Rican pancakes full of braised hen stew, use floor yucca root, not flour. The pan (bread) nonetheless accommodates gluten, however the cooks bake it within the morning, then sanitize the kitchen to take away as many particles as attainable earlier than working with different elements.

City village grid

Easy methods, like storing gluten-free gadgets and gluten-free fillings in separate elements of the kitchen, assist the workforce at this beloved Indian eatery at Park Meadows Mall in Lone Tree forestall cross-contamination. Head chef and proprietor Charles Mani marries French cooking methods with dishes he discovered to make from his mom and aunts whereas rising up in Chennai, India, however avoids utilizing flour as a thickener in sauces like wealthy coconut paired with charred salmon.

Vacation Brewing Firm^

Proprietor and craft brewer Karen Hertz’s gluten-free foam could be discovered all around the nation. However if you would like the quintessential Colorado, post-hike taproom expertise, go to the Holidailys location in Golden for a malt jet and lemon sprint Favourite Blonde, Fats Randys Pine & Citrus IPA, and different classics. Or, for a celiac two-for-one, go to its new 2022 location within the Denver Tech Heart, the place it shares area with Simply Be Kitchens’ second outpost.

Debys Gluten Free ^

Monica Poole’s household determined to remove gluten from their food regimen after one in every of her twins was identified with celiac illness. She struggled to seek out protected and scrumptious merchandise and experimented with gluten-free flour mixes till she made a bread that her children liked. Quickly, nonetheless, followers of the bread far outnumbered her household, so she and her husband, Doug, started promoting it. At present, the Pooles function a devoted gluten-free manufacturing plant, grocery retailer and bakery close to the Cherry Creek Nation Membership. There they promote greater than 275 blends of flours, gluten-free breads, pastries and takeout meals, and baked items. and supply gadgets like cinnamon roll smores, served solely on Saturdays, which can be must-haves for retail customers and a wide range of native eating places.