Zagat Survey Discussions

When Tom Kaplan, owner of Hugo’s in Los Angeles, had a customer get sick after eating his white fish piccata, the seafood wasn’t to blame. It was the gluten in the bread-crumb coating that set off a week-long bout of intestinal distress in the customer, who suffers from a genetically inherited, autoimmune disorder known as celiac disease.

Gluten is a protein found in wheat, rye and barley. It’s what gives bread its elasticity and structure. When people with celiac ingest gluten, it sets off an immune system response, which damages the villi of the small intestine. Once thought to be extremely rare, celiac is now believed to affect almost 3 million Americans, although up to 97% are undiagnosed. Eventually, it can lead to nutritional deficiencies, osteoporosis or gastrointestinal cancers. The disorder has no cure or treatment other than the elimination of gluten from the diet.

Gluten is ubiquitous in American cuisine – wheat flour is used as a thickener in sauces, a coating on meats and as an additive in soy sauce, salad dressings and even ketchup – and few restaurateurs have worked to offer alternatives on their menus.

But Kaplan is one of the happy exceptions: “The time seemed right to make a commitment to getting rid of all hidden glutens in our restaurant,” he recalls about his decision to develop an extensive, exclusively gluten-free menu at Hugo’s that includes french fries cooked in an uncontaminated fryer, and a variety of pancakes and desserts.

Vanessa Matlin, Director of Programming for the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness believes chefs shouldn’t view gluten-free cooking as a great challenge. “There are hundreds of ingredients that chefs can use in their dishes,” says Matlin. Her group provides training programs to help restaurants implement gluten-free practices in their kitchens, such as encouraging chefs to “store gluten-free ingredients above regular ingredients, use separate cutting boards and keep food prep areas clean.”

While restaurants that offer gluten-free options are usually conscious about avoiding contamination, in a hectic kitchen, things can happen. Someone who knows a thing or two about the risks this creates is Betty Alper, chef-owner of The Balanced Kitchen in Chicago, an entirely gluten-free, all-vegan restaurant (it’s currently doing catering and events only until it reopens in the eco-friendly business center Green Exchange this fall). A celiac herself, Alper says, “I’m really sensitive and always get sick when I eat out, so I don’t do it anymore."

A graduate of the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY, Ms. Alper experiments with different flours and oils to find combinations that approximate the taste and consistency of conventional baked goods. Her greatest successes have come from using brown rice flour, tapioca starch and various nut flours: “I made graham crackers the other day using teff, and I also made funnel cakes.”

Restaurants that serve only gluten-free fare are paradise for celiacs. However, many eateries find it more practical to offer both a gluten-free and a wheat-intensive menu, to suit both celiac customers and their gluten-loving companions.

At the regional Italian restaurant Rialto in Cambridge, chef-owner Jody Adams says, “We plan the menu, so that all of the dishes will be adaptable in some way.” This includes ensuring that a dish contains no hidden glutens, and that any obvious ones (such as pasta or bread) can be easily omitted.

Meanwhile Opus in New York offers celiac diners a dozen pasta dishes made with corn-based penne or spaghetti, but non-celiacs can still order traditional, homemade pasta. Brothers Enzo and Guiseppe Lentini also serve an array of main plates, beers and desserts, half of which are gluten-free. “We do this for people who say they haven’t had a good pasta dish or a good cheesecake in years,” says Enzo.

– Liz Curry

The following Los Angeles restaurants either offer gluten-free menus (or celiac-friendly substitutes): California Chicken Cafe, Hugo’s, P.F. Chang’s, Real Food Daily and Veggie Grill.