Celiac Disease: A Restaurant-Goer's Success Story

BY Kate Heddings | POSTED AUGUST 18, 2008 AT 5:40PM EDT

A friend of mine, John, suffers from celiac disease, which in short means he can't eat any gluten. Before going out to eat, he calls the restaurant and alerts them, and they usually just make sure he orders safely and leave it at that. Recently, he shared a great story with me. His wife called the restaurant Gilt, here in Manhattan, and told them ahead of time that he'd be coming in and that he has this allergy. Once they were seated at their table, a waiter came over and placed a bread basket on the table. His wife reached for the bread, but the waiter gently pushed her hand away, telling them that the kitchen had prepared a special basket of gluten-free rolls just for John. For someone whose dietary restriction is more typically treated as a nuisance, this was exceptional. And the rolls were good! In fact, John says that he polished off the whole basket (who wouldn't in his situation?) and the waiter brought out more, then let him take some home as well. Has John been back? As many times as he can. Kudos to chef Chris Lee and his staff at Gilt.

Celiac Disease: A Restaurant-Goer's Success Story

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