Buffalo Gluten-Free - Part 2

Part 1 of this blog post will cover the gluten-free vendor fair and shopping for GF products in the US.

Part 2 of this blog post will cover dining and eating in Buffalo and Niagara, NY.

No trip to Buffalo, NY is complete without researching safe places to eat.  Luckily, the Western New York Gluten Free Support Group's website offers a huge list of places known by locals as offering gluten-free food.

Below, I review three of those places:  Mighty Taco, PF Chang's and Chipotle.

Mighty Taco

This fast food chain offers a wide range of gluten-free food.  Fast, cheap and tasty - you can't go wrong at Mighty Taco!

Mighty Taco sign

While not gourmet ingredients, what do you expect from a fast food joint?  Fast, simple and great. Taco, nachos, guacamole and a drink.

PF Chang's

At first, I was a bit hesitant to go to PF Chang's.  I have heard nothing but amazing things about it but the vegetarian options on their gluten-free menu (click the GF menu link on that page) seemed a bit sparse.  I decided to see what all the fuss was about anyway.

GF Fried Rice

Wow, I do not regret this choice!  I got the GF Fried Rice and GF Buddha's Feast, which was a medley of steamed veggies.  As you can probably tell, the portions are HUGE.  The two orders together gave me at least three meals, if not four.  When you order from the GF menu, your food will come out on these round plates that say PF Chang's, instead of their square plates.  This is a great feature and I think other restaurants should think about doing this or colour coding plates for GF orders.

GF Buddha's Feast

Although I was completely stuffed from rice and veggies, my server (Nick, who was awesome, I might add) insisted that dessert was a must.  I decided to order the GF Flourless Chocolate Dome.

GF Flourless Chocolate Dome

Wow, look at the texture!  Since this dessert is flourless, it's like a giant truffle cake.  This tops the list as the best gluten-free dessert I have ever ordered at a restaurant.

GF Flourless Chocolate Dome

Definitely going back to PF Chang's on my next trip to Buffalo.  Next summer seems so far away...

Chipotle


Craving tacos again, I was tempted to go back to Mighty Taco. Instead, I went to Chipotle Mexican Grill.

Chipotle

Their website offers Special Diet Information. 

Chipotle Menu Board

Everything is made fresh to order in an assembly line.  You choose whether you would like a burrito, bowl, taco or salad.  Unfortunately, the burritos are NOT gluten-free.  But you can choose the hard corn taco, salad option, burrito bowl (it does not have the tortilla) or soft corn tortilla (select locations).

I chose to go for the hard taco shells with vegetarian fillings - veggies, black beans, lettuce, corn, mild salsa and cheese. 

GF Hard Corn Taco with Vegetarian option

I think this one is the GF chicken salad(?).  I admit the presentation isn't perfect but the quality of the fresh ingredients made up for the lack of visual appeal.

GF Chicken Salad at Chipotle

Chipotle also happens to have two locations in Toronto, Ontario - 323 Yonge Street and 2323 Yonge Street