This is the last installment of our gluten-free fast food series. Over the past few weeks, we’ve shared the gluten-free “scoop” on the top 50 fast food chains in the United States.
We hope you’ve enjoyed it, and that this will serve as a good resource if you ever find yourself in a situation where you need to find something safe to eat on the road.
You’ll notice that we saved Domino’s for last. Well, that’s because we have a very, very good story to tell about Domino’s gluten-free pizzas that were stirring up so much controversy last year…
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Domino’s Gluten-Free Menu
Domino’s has edged out Pizza Hut as the first large-scale pizza delivery chain to offer gluten-free pizza in the United States. As of May 2012, gluten-free pizzas were available in all of their nearly 5000 stores. Domino’s immediately claimed that the pizzas were not intended for people with celiac disease, since they could not guarantee that the pizzas wouldn’t become contaminated. As expected, the celiac and gluten-free community was pretty upset by all this.
At the CeliAct Blog, we decided to use the resources available to us and actually had Domino’s gluten-free pizzas from three different regions of the United States sent to our lab for gluten testing. The results were very interesting!
You can read the full results of our Domino’s gluten-free lab test here.
Long story short though – 2 of the 3 were completely gluten-free and the third pizza contained 7 parts per million (ppm) of gluten. Most celiac experts agree that anything less than 10 ppm is safe, and the FDA is actually considering defining “gluten-free” as meaning less than 20 ppm. While we can’t endorse every Domino’s out there, these 3 particular stores certainly passed the test!
As far as toppings go, be sure to avoid the Alfredo sauce, boneless chicken and Philly meat. It’s not a perfect solution for those with celiac disease, but it’s definitely a step in the right direction.
Chipotle’s Gluten-Free Menu
If you’re craving Mexican, Chipotle is the gluten-free place for you. Virtually everything on the menu is gluten-free except items made with the large and small flour tortillas. Stick with the crispy corn tacos and corn chips. Cross-contamination is still possible, however, since workers do handle wheat tortillas all day long. They will happily change their gloves at your request, but this does not 100% guarantee no gluten contamination, so for those who are extremely sensitive it might not be the best choice. For most people avoiding gluten – it’s fiesta time!
Dunkin Donuts Gluten-Free Menu
After offering nothing but coffee for customers avoiding gluten, Dunkin’ Donuts is cautiously testing some new gluten-free muffins and donuts in restaurants in the Boston and Miami areas. The muffins are blueberry and reported to be sticky and crumbly, but quite tasty, and the donut is cinnamon-sugar flavored. The two tasty offerings are reportedly part of a test project, which is expected to be expanded in early 2013 with a full nationwide rollout the following summer. Until then, just stick to the coffee, as management, when questioned, cautions that, “Nothing at Dunkin’ Donuts is gluten-free.”
Del Taco’s Gluten-Free Menu
Gluten-free breakfast items at Del Taco are hash brown sticks, lunch items are crinkle cut fries without chili or cheese, and dessert items are vanilla, chocolate and strawberry milkshakes. Everything else on the menu is listed in Del Taco’s nutrition guide as containing wheat.
White Castle’s Gluten-Free Menu
Everything at the beloved White Castle burger palace contains wheat, according the nutrition guide, except for the Angus Steak chili and all of the various sauces – excluding the cheese sauce in the Nashville and Louisville regions – for some reason that one contains wheat. Beverages are all gluten-free, to wash down your chili, and top it off with a milkshake for dessert, chocolate, vanilla or strawberry. Items are not listed separately, so it may be possible to get a bunless slider, but really, I’m not sure you would want to.
Krystal’s Gluten-Free Menu
Gluten-free choices at Krystal include bunless Angus burgers, bacon, French fries, grits, Potato Kryspers, bunless Pup franks, sausage, sunrise sausage, whole eggs, Blitz Energy Freeze, Blitz Energy drink on the rocks and a variety of other flavors of Freezes, milkshakes and hot and cold beverages. As always, however, check with management as to whether or not they have a dedicated fryer before consuming any fried items.
Culver’s Gluten-Free Menu
Famous for their Butter Burgers and feel good home cooking, Culver’s does not offer a specific gluten-free menu. Your best bets at Culver’s are the grilled chicken cashew salad, cranberry bacon bleu salad with grilled chicken, any dressings except sesame ginger and thousand island, Baja chicken enchilada soup, coleslaw, green beans, mashed potatoes, all condiments and sauces except malt vinegar and steak sauce, all ice cream dishes, banana splits and ice cream sundaes, apple sauce, shakes and floats (not malts), and chocolate flavored concrete mixers.
Bojangle’s Gluten-Free Menu
Everyone’s favorite Bojangle’s chicken lists a small selection of items on their menu as being gluten-free, with the usual warnings about having common preparation areas. Items not containing gluten are the grilled chicken salad, garden salad, roasted chicken bites, Bo-Tato rounds, Cajun pintos, coleslaw, picnic grits, seasoned fries, and all beverages, sauces and dressings. As always, check with management as to whether or not they are using a dedicated fryer before consuming any fried potato items to avoid cross-contamination.
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