fast food for the gluten-free eater...

I'm not a huge fast food junkie, but being someone who works at home by myself, I like to get out of the house every now and then to grab an inexpensive meal to eat at home. Ergo, fast food.

Eating fast food on a gluten-free diet can be a little challenging, but not impossible. It just requires some knowledge and creativity.

1. Chipotle

Chipotle is by far my favorite fast food lunch. Everything on their menu is gluten-free except for the tortillas. Even before I learned about my gluten intolerance, I usually got a bowl: a taco salad of sorts with a rice base.

Plus, if you load up your bowl with the right things, it's not too terribly unhealthy of a meal. I like to get mine with chicken, no beans, and no dairy. Fairly healthy. I guess :D


2. Subway

The Boser is a huge sandwich fan-- he eats Subway for lunch nearly every weekday. About 800 Subways are currently test driving a gluten free bun, and all the DFW locations I've visited have it. The bun is small, but pretty tasty. Nothing phenomenal, but standard gluten-free bread fair and it gets Boser his beloved sandwich now and again.

3. Domino's

Several pizza places offer gluten free crusts (including Mellow Mushroom and Palio's, if you live in Denton), and Domino's added it to their menu yesterday. I haven't tried it yet, but the promise of awful-for-me style pizza after a stressful day is wonderfully alluring and trying one will happen sooner or later. I'll keep you posted.

The Boser is especially excited because they only offer the gluten free crust in a small, so we'll have to order two pizzas. So he can have a "real pizza" and I can have a "sickly pizza," as he so eloquently put it.


4. The Burger Hack

As you know, I am a huge burger fan. While it's hard to find a local burger joint with a gluten-free burger patty, let alone a bread option, the fast food industry is a little more understanding. Carl's Jr., Five Guys, and Mooyah all offer a "lettuce wrap" option to hold your burger patty, the patty of which is gluten free already. (Watch out for the shakes at Mooyah, though.) The Boser is a big Five Guys fan, so if we eat at the restaurant, I usually end up fork and knifing my lettuce wrapped burger because it's kind of a mess otherwise. But if I bring a burger home for lunchtime?

The Burger Hack:

Two slices of Udi's sandwich bread, lightly buttered and toasted. You almost forget it's not a bun. Almost.

You can buy Udi's burger buns, and buns from other gluten-free companies for that matter, but I haven't been that adventurous yet. Maybe someday.

Happy fast fooding!

Loves and Hugs,

Rachel Elise

burger review: the grape...

As I've mentioned before, the Boser and I are constantly on the hunt for our next favorite burger. So yesterday, our anniversary, seemed like the appropriate time to finally make it to The Grape and try what Texas Monthly crowned as the Best Burger in Texas.

The full burger list is no longer on Texas Monthly's website, but ever since the Boser and I found out that the #1 burger was in DFW, we had been plotting a way to get to it.

The only problem was that the burger is only served on The Grape's Sunday brunch menu. (It is now also available on Mondays, due to popularity.) Due to the limited availablity, Bo and I just hadn't managed to make it down there. Until yesterday.

In the excitement of eating my burger, I forgot to take a picture. But God bless Google Images. This is exactly what my burger looked like.


Sidebar: Yes, I am gluten intolerant. No, this burger was not served on a gluten-free bun. My condition is not life-threating, just uncomfortable, so I make exceptions in my gluten-free diet for the following reasons:


1. Being at an event with a specific menu (i.e. a wedding, Thanksgiving dinner, invited to someone's home for dinner, etc.)

2. Being out of town. (Local cuisine is a big part of travel.)

3. Eating out with a large group of people. (By the time everyone actually agrees on the restaurant, I don't care if I can eat gluten-free there or not. I'm just hungry.)


4. BURGERS.

Review: It was in fact a very delicious burger. I can see why Texas Monthly crowned it. It was a very Texas-ie burger. And the FRIES. The fries should have won Best French Fries in Texas from Texas Monthly. But I don't think that's a thing.

So was it the best burger I've ever had? It was really freaking delicious, but no. The Boser thought that yes, it was the best burger he'd ever had (and he supports my statement about the fries, as well). 

For me, the best burger still resides at Kenny's Burger Joint  in Frisco, Texas. (Yes, there are actually some good things about Frisco. Like Kenny's. And the Boser's employment).

Where's your favorite burger?

Loves and Hugs,

Rachel Elise

P.S. Free U.S. shipping in my Etsy shop now until Friday, January 27th. Use the code "SHIP12JAN" during checkout. <3