Done yesterday (20100422 Th)

[mdlbear]

0422 Th
  % BPH :(
  * up 6am; W=198.4; drugs, nose
  @ thread about Wheelin'
  * walgreen's: pantsu.  YD found an Emerson electric razor for $10.
  * clean up ~steve on Barnard; pack for shipping.  [ chg p/w to Xyzzy1 ]
    rm -rf .mozilla .pidgin Private public_html/*
  @ Embracing the digital book
  @ The iPad in the Eyes of the Digerati - NYTimes.com
  * walk: 3x around pond.  warm.  decent pace.
  ~ large ziploc bags and  * plastic bins for contents of dressers
    Colleen says Cosentino's has them. -> Colleen
  * date night: Red Robin.  Not so great.
  * pay bills.  Colleen's cash transfer now automatic weekly.
  * set up auto-pay for Colleen - $750 2x/month
    * 1031 the technique is to add it to "accounts", then schedule transfer(s)
    * 1103 either the web form is broken, or I don't know the acc't #
    = note: the account # is 8 digits; web wants 10.  Prepend 00
    * verify account# because name doesn't show 
    ~ 0422 set up the transfer ->350 weekly
  * post about Saturday's work party; sig-boo for J.
  * Thankful Thursday
  * bed 11:30ish

A reasonably productive day at work, at least if you count meetings as being productive. A nice walk, at a pretty good pace.

We went to Red Robin for dinner. Not much that was bearable, but OK. St/rolled around the El Paseo de Saratoga shopping center, and went for a bit of a drive afterward.

Got a few things done at home, too. Links under the cut, as usual.

Comments

[acelightning.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the link to my LJ!

Red Robin is fine for omnivores - the one time I've eaten in one of them, they were very good about accomodating my weird food allergies. I've had better burgers, but I've also had a lot of worse ones.

[mdlbear]

You're welcome!

With a gluten sensitivity, everything involving bread (including all the deep-fried goodies) is off limits. Cuts the selection down considerably, though not by any means all the way.

[acelightning.livejournal.com]

Red Robin's website (http://www.redrobin.com/) provides a PDF with specific gluten/wheat allergen information (http://www.redrobin.com/pdfs/Wheat_Gluten_Allergen_Menu.pdf). It appears that any burger may be ordered without a bun, and without various condiments and garnishes that may contain wheat or gluten ingredients; there are also a few grilled chicken breast items that are gluten-free (and can likewise be ordered without additives).

[mdlbear]

Good point. I usually order either the chili or one of the grilled chicken items. And, yeah, I could have had a burger without a bun. What I really wanted was the fish and chips. :(

[acelightning.livejournal.com]

Well, I'm sure someone makes fried fish with gluten-free breading, but I don't think Red Robin does. And I've had gluten-free chicken cutlets - by mistake, because the brand I buy comes in both varieties; they were so revolting that we both threw them out after the first bite. But I think I could make a tempura-like batter based on rice flour and/or cornstarch that would be nice and crisp when fried. (Hmmm...engaging Google-Fu...yep, rice flour is what you want (http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1617,128187-252192,00.html).)

[mdlbear]

Yup. There are plenty of gluten-free "breadings" and batters -- I'm sure we have dozens in our collection of gluten-free cookbooks. It's just hard to find one in a restaurant.

[acelightning.livejournal.com]

This might help (http://www.glutenfreerestaurants.org/find.php)...

[mdlbear]

Not so much. The only things it finds within 25 miles of my zipcode are instances of Outback Steakhouse; going to 50 miles only gets one other restaurant, also part of a chain. Don't know where their database comes from, but it's obviously not getting any entries at all from the Bay Area.

[acelightning.livejournal.com]

(Edit: LiveJournal doesn't seem to like the long URLs produced by Google searches any more.)

I started with a Google search for "gluten-free restaurants". Make that +"gluten-free restauraunts" +"bay area" to narrow it down somewhat.

I remembered one thing about a particular restaurant chain. P. F. Chang's (somewhat upscale "Chinese bistro") has an entire gluten-free sub-menu. The few times I've eaten in one, they've been very accommodating about my own peculiar food problems. (Their website (http://www.pfchangs.com) seems to be undergoing maintenance at the moment.)

[mdlbear]

Yes, Chang's works. It's actually not too hard to find gluten-free stuff at most restaurants. It's a lot harder on my friend who combines gluten sensitivity with a nightshade allergy.

[acelightning.livejournal.com]

I'm allergic to all of the Allium family (garlic, onions, chives, scallions, etc.), all the cabbage-related vegetables, tomatoes in any form, olives and olive oil, mushrooms, MSG, and most kinds of cheese. Italian and Mexican cuisines are completely out of the question.

Garlic and onions affect me the worst. And everything seems to be made with one or the other or both! In many cases, the cook who prepares the food isn't even aware that there's garlic in it, and the only way I can tell is to take a tiny taste and hope it's not enough to make me sick. All fast-food chicken products (grilled or fried) are seasoned at the factory with mixtures that include garlic, and an increasing number of places are using prepared hamburger patties that are likewise seasoned, and there's no way to get a "plain" burger or piece of chicken. I can't even eat french fries that have been cooked in the same oil as onion rings or "Onion Blossoms".

This is why I was pleasantly surprised when Chang's managed to prepare me a couple of dishes that I could eat without problems.

[mdlbear]

Ugh! There are Italian and Mexican dishes you could eat if you made them at home, but...