Casa de Bandini (Update 2.29.2012)
So one of the issues since I was diagnosed was mexican food. I have had a hard time finding non-contaminated food.
As for restaurants I stopped going for fear of cross contamination. For tortillas I found french meadow tortillas. Salsa I make on my own. For chipotles in adobo sauce I found San Marcos brand.
How happy was I to see a line at the San Diego GF Convention for food from Casa de Bandini. This was the first mexican I was taken to in San Diego when it was in Old Town. Magaritas, Mariachi Bands, good food and fun atmosphere make it a fun time. They moved to Carlsbad recently and it is doing well.
For us, they have a separate fryer just for the Gluten Free menu and the only thing that goes in that fryer is corn. They have a GF menu that you can view as a PDF on the website.
We tried it last night. GF menu - check. Waiter informed of allergy - check - no issues. Asked for the manager who was extremely helpful, reassured me about the separate fryer and that the kitchen is aware of the GF food and cross contamination - check.
They brought out special GF chips - cooked in the corn only fryer. Took a bit longer than the regualar basket of chips but they were hot, crisp and good.
I ordered their GF Rolls Royce Margarita which came with a shot of Pomegranate tequila which was so good we ordered a second shot. I am usually a beer guy with mexican but the waiter didn't know if they had any GF beer so I just went with the margarita.
I had their chicken tortilla soup with a hearty broth, chicken, avacado and carrots - good.
For dinner I had the tequila shrimp over a bed of rice. The plate had a tortilla bowl with the beans inside - manager please - yes, they cook them early in the day in the GF fryer and they are safe.
Dinner was good, no stomach issues and I'll definitely go back. I am happy I found a place for mexican food. In San Diego you can find a taco shop on every corner I am not comfortable eating at any of them anymore; Casa de Bandini fills my eating out void.
2.29.2012 We have been back a few times and not had any issues until tonight. I ordered from the GF menu, told the waiter I wanted the GF arroz con pollo (chicken and rice for the non-spanish speaking crowd). The runner caught it before I did - the cheese on the plate which I was informed is not GF. He said that the kitchen didn't know that it was supposed to be GF. The runner was on top of it, communicated with the kitchen and had a GF dish in front of me in a short period of time. I got the bill and no 'GF' in front of my order (it had always been there before). I spoke with the manager who said there are two ways for the waiter to input the order as GF. He said they take it seriously but didn't seem too concerned about the issue. I'll definitely order with the waiter and have the manager come over to double check the order and help communicate with the kitchen.
The Un-Gluten Guy
As for restaurants I stopped going for fear of cross contamination. For tortillas I found french meadow tortillas. Salsa I make on my own. For chipotles in adobo sauce I found San Marcos brand.
How happy was I to see a line at the San Diego GF Convention for food from Casa de Bandini. This was the first mexican I was taken to in San Diego when it was in Old Town. Magaritas, Mariachi Bands, good food and fun atmosphere make it a fun time. They moved to Carlsbad recently and it is doing well.
For us, they have a separate fryer just for the Gluten Free menu and the only thing that goes in that fryer is corn. They have a GF menu that you can view as a PDF on the website.
We tried it last night. GF menu - check. Waiter informed of allergy - check - no issues. Asked for the manager who was extremely helpful, reassured me about the separate fryer and that the kitchen is aware of the GF food and cross contamination - check.
They brought out special GF chips - cooked in the corn only fryer. Took a bit longer than the regualar basket of chips but they were hot, crisp and good.
I ordered their GF Rolls Royce Margarita which came with a shot of Pomegranate tequila which was so good we ordered a second shot. I am usually a beer guy with mexican but the waiter didn't know if they had any GF beer so I just went with the margarita.
I had their chicken tortilla soup with a hearty broth, chicken, avacado and carrots - good.
For dinner I had the tequila shrimp over a bed of rice. The plate had a tortilla bowl with the beans inside - manager please - yes, they cook them early in the day in the GF fryer and they are safe.
Dinner was good, no stomach issues and I'll definitely go back. I am happy I found a place for mexican food. In San Diego you can find a taco shop on every corner I am not comfortable eating at any of them anymore; Casa de Bandini fills my eating out void.
2.29.2012 We have been back a few times and not had any issues until tonight. I ordered from the GF menu, told the waiter I wanted the GF arroz con pollo (chicken and rice for the non-spanish speaking crowd). The runner caught it before I did - the cheese on the plate which I was informed is not GF. He said that the kitchen didn't know that it was supposed to be GF. The runner was on top of it, communicated with the kitchen and had a GF dish in front of me in a short period of time. I got the bill and no 'GF' in front of my order (it had always been there before). I spoke with the manager who said there are two ways for the waiter to input the order as GF. He said they take it seriously but didn't seem too concerned about the issue. I'll definitely order with the waiter and have the manager come over to double check the order and help communicate with the kitchen.
The Un-Gluten Guy
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