BEWARE of Restaurant French Fries

MaggieRedwings · Post by **MaggieRedwings** » Wed Jun 06, 2007 5:19 am

Morning All,

Please beware of them. Yesterday I had lunch at a new cafe and had a spinach omelet without the cheese and instead of home fries had French fries. Got conversing with my waitress who was diagnosed with Celiac disease a year ago and is soy intolerant to boot. Told her they were great fries but always wondered why the restaurant fries I get were not smooth they are always kind of bumpy and super crisp. We puzzled over it and she left my table and was back a minute letter grabbing the plate of fries and said you can't eat these or can I. She had gone to the kitchen and read the labeling on the bag and talked with teh owner after reading it. Seems about 90% of fries used in restaurant that come from restaurant suppy houses are dusted in flour to keep them from clumping.

I had eaten about a dozen and paid for it dearly. Immediate response and then nothing till around 9 PM last night - after I had a lovely conversation with Barbara - and it continued to almost 11:30 PM. Really never left the loo and it was so bad my stomach was cramping horribly, the colon lining was visible in teh toilet, my feet and legs were cramped from sitting so long.

Today I am worn out and wasted and will never have Fries out again.

So everyone who is GF please take this to heart. Another form of the horrid hidden gluten.

Love, Maggie

barbaranoela · Post by **barbaranoela** » Wed Jun 06, 2007 7:01 am

Maggie----how I wish *things* would turn around for U!!! I would luve to have the *magic* words to take all your *woes* away~~~

And I cant imagine how, in all thats holy, U can rise the next day and go to work---

I should have MISS CUPCAKE--

--call U and give U a good laugh--
well maybe a little *chuckle* cus a good laugh,@ this point, might not sit to well in your tummy--

Take care--- :bigbighug:

Barbara

starfire · Post by **starfire** » Wed Jun 06, 2007 7:46 am

So sorry Maggie, but I'm glad you found out at least. What a price to pay for the knowledge though.

Hope the reaction will soon be over.

Love, Shirley

Post by **tex** » Wed Jun 06, 2007 8:50 am

Maggie,

Sorry to hear of your reaction.

To be honest, I didn't realize that commercial fries were dusted with flour, but I've always, (since going GF), avoided them, because I read somewhere that most of them are pre-soaked in a solution that may contain gluten, (the solution is supposed to make them stay crisper, longer). Also, there's always the high risk of cross-contamination from the oil, due to the fryers being used for onion rings, and other gluten-containing menu items.

I hope the reaction ends soon - hopefully it's already over.

Love,
Tex

MaggieRedwings · Post by **MaggieRedwings** » Wed Jun 06, 2007 10:13 am

Well it is definitely gone now but it sure rocked my house for a loop. Another item dropped from the menu but heck, there is still a lot of good food left out there. Just have to appreciate it being GF.

Love, Maggie

annie oakley · Post by **annie oakley** » Wed Jun 06, 2007 5:12 pm

Sorry about the reaction.....I worked in resturants for awhile...I rarely eat the fries unless I know they made them there. Hope you are better soon Love Oma

Tessa · Post by **Tessa** » Thu Jun 07, 2007 12:02 pm

Sorry for your reaction, Maggie

I hope you are feeling much better now

Take care,
Love,
Tessa

Lucy · Post by **Lucy** » Fri Jun 08, 2007 12:17 am

Hi Maggie,

Yep, I've only found a few restaurants where the fries, of whatever variety, were homemade or else didn't list flour on the package they came in, if arrived frozen at the restaurant. Generally, I just have a baked potato if it's not presoaked in butter or some other type of potato, like new potatoes, if they use olive oil on them instead of any butter.

Occasionally, after a thorough interrogation, I find that select restaurants have safe ones cooked in dedicated friers or pan fried separately or something, but I have to be desparate to even ask about them.

Have been successful in finding gluten free frozen fries at Whole Foods and a few other groceries.
Think I found some safe ones in the organic line at an upscale store bought out by Safeway close to here -- on sale besides. Still, most of the store bought ones are supposed to be coated with flour.
Have you checked with celiac.com or any of those places recently to see if they have any recommendations for brands and places you might eat or purchase safe ones?

Some times ya just want a fry!!!
Yours, Luce