Qdoba at UCF

I had a quick stop at University of Central Florida today and had the need to feed. ^_^ Well a friend had recommended eating at Qdoba Mexican Grill. Well I always check out their menu and allergen information before going to a store. Granted they have Mexican food which one would think was Gluten-Free with the possibility of actual corn tortillas, tacos and salads. But I was greatly mistaking on this. They was a lot of cross-contamination and almost everything but their corn chips had gluten in it. I ordered their chicken nachos and was surprised when I saw the gentlemen behind the counter drop a flour tortilla in the salsa and just keep going. Sorry guys and gals don’t eat here if you are really sensitive to gluten.

^_^

Jason’s Deli in Altmonte Springs, FL

I have been checking out the website Gluten Free Registry to find some new restaurants in the areas around Orlando. I found one near the Altamonte Mall called Jason’s Deli this is a chain store. Now it is listed that they have Gluten-Free bread that is used for sandwiches along with a soup and a few other things that are Gluten-Free. So in my curiosity (or because I was hungry from shopping a few days before Christmas) I stopped in for a bite. The atmosphere is nice and open though as you walk in you seem lost since the counter to order at is way off to the right around a small corner. But this did not deter my hunger. I asked for a Gluten-Free menu after the 5 min wait. I order a turkey sandwich, with mayo, spinach and provolone cheese. I was surprised when the young women asked me again what kind of bread I wanted. Only after I said Gluten-Free did she brush it off and say “Oh yeah”. This gave me cause for uneasiness. Now I’m one to not let my eyes off my food if possible and this deli was set up so that you can watch your food being made. So I watched as a the young women making my food took it out of a secure bin with all the other Gluten-Free products. I also watched as she put it on a very visibly contaminated surface as she assembled it. I watched as she put the mayo spatula that was just used on regular bread on to my sandwich. And I’m sure she saw me utter a cry of shame as I watched my meal become garage at her hands. I took my sorrows to the management, they were kind and said that they would make it themselves for me. After some quick thinking I realized that everything in that place is contaminated and there was no chance I would get a meal that was Gluten-Free. I informed the management that I would not be taking that chance and was refund the money. The good news from this is that their ice teas are wonderful the bad news is I highly recommend that those with Celiac stay far away from Jason’s Deli.