A Disappointing Night at Bolingbrook Golf Club

Let me first start by saying that in the past Bolingbrook Golf Club has been able to provide safe, gluten-free meals for its Celiac guests. I know this because I enjoyed their gluten-free entree which consisted of a large serving of plain grilled chicken and steamed vegetables without reprecussions in May of last year.

Unfortunately, last weekend I didn't have the same luck. I made two phone calls to Bolingbrook Golf Club. My first call to Taryn was not returned so I called again. The second phone call connected me to Julie who told me she would forward my information to Taryn. Julie said that they would provide me with a gluten-free meal which would consist of grilled chicken and steamed vegetables. Julie also told me that they had the seating chart and that they knew where to deliver the meal so I wouldn't need to talk to anyone upon my arrival.

The first sign of trouble began when the salads were served. I asked if the salad dressing was gluten free and the waiter seemed unsure so he got help in the form of the captain. The captain had no record of a gluten-free meal being requested but said that they could accomodate me and would prepare a grilled chicken breast and vegetables. Perfect! As for the salad, before arriving at my table he asked the chef if the salad and dressing were gluten free and they were.

When the entrees were served the waiter placed a plate of zucchini and squash linguine in front of me and declared it gluten free. I immediately got up and questioned a supervisor who also proclaimed it was gluten free. So there were two people pointing at my food in front of 7 other people telling me it was gluten free. Needless to say, I didn't eat the pasta. Sadly, the chicken and vegetables never arrived and the captain who had helped me earlier was not to be seen again.

I had Chex Mix for dinner at 12:30am.

The next business day I called and spoke to Lisa who seemed very disappointed in my experience. She connected me to Randy, food and beverage manager, who said he would communicate with his staff. He wasn't willing to share what he was going to communicate nor did he offer any form of an apology.

My advice to those attending upcoming events at BGC, eat before you go or take a meal with you!

Market Day Gluten-Free List

For those of you with access to Market Day, you might be interested to know that the Market Day website has a gluten-free section of products which will make your shopping significantly easier.

Many thanks to Jasenia for sharing this information!

Gluten-Free Brownie Mix Voted Best by Epicurious!

Betty Crocker Gluten-Free Brownie Mix was voted 'best brownie overall' by Epicurious.com in a taste testing that ranked 21 gluten free and not gluten-free brownie mixes. Unfortunately, Epicurious.com listed the price incorrectly at $.99 per mix. It's sold locally for $3.89 - $4.99 per mix.

The Reallly Great Food Company Gluten-Free Brownie Mix also ranked in the top four!

Click here to read the entire article.

Tidbits of Information from the Meeting

Custom Choice Cereal provides gluten-free cereal blends made to your specifications. Base cereals are combined with add ins of your choice to make cereal that tastes just like your favorite gluten versions.

Louie's Chop House in Shorewood now offers a gluten-free menu! The menu is available at the restaurant.

Mimic Creme is a gluten free, soy free and vegan friendly cream substitute made from nuts. For more information, click here.

Stashu's Pizza which Susan highly recommended is available at Free From Market.

Mary brought Aidell's sausages for show and taste today. Many of their products are gluten free. They can be purchased at many grocery stores in the area.

Wildfire Fundraiser for UCCDC

According to the University of Chicago Celiac Disease Center there is only one event taking place on February 16 at Wildfire and that is the event at their Glenview location.

The four course meal with wine pairings costs $60 and that includes tax and gratuity. For each person in attendance, Wildfire will donate $25 to UCCDC. The menu for the event may be found here.

More information on the event may be found here.

Gluten Free Cookie Passion

If you weren't able to join us for today's Gluten-Free Wikauke meeting you certainly missed out on lots of tasty treats presented in pretty packaging!

Gluten Free Cookie Passion provided us with German chocolate cupcakes, jam filled sugar cookies, Valencia orange almond tea-cakes with cranberries and three varieties of their brownies! Each of which were mouth watering delicious.

The entire line of Gluten Free Cookie Passion products, nutritional information and prices may be found on their website. Orders can be submitted online or by calling 847-651-3550 and can be picked up at their (non-storefront) site in Mundelein or shipped to you.

She who's writing this post suggest you not forget to order the Valencia Orange Tea-Cakes! If you had the opportunity to try the products, please leave a message in the comments section of this post.

Many thanks to Janet, Stuart and their daughter for going out of their way to make sure Gluten-Free Wikaduke had freshly baked products for the meeting!

Udi's Group Purchase

Thanks to Jasenia for suggesting and organizing a group purchase of Udi's bread and pizza crusts from Udi's Gluten-Free Foods!

Udi's white and whole grain bread are available for $5 per loaf plus shipping which should be minimal. The order will be available for pickup at the March 6th GFW meeting. If you would like to add to the group purchase, please email Jasenia at Jasenia.Calderon at commscope.com for details on payment, etc. To be included in the group purchase please have payment to Jasenia by February 23.

Thanks Jasenia!

Jewel Gluten-Free Event - South Plainfield

Jewel (South Plainfield) Rt. 59 and Caton Farm Road will be hosting a Gluten-Free Event Saturday February 6th, 2010 from noon until 3:00PM.



Jewel Registered Dietitian, Kim Kircherr will be offering tours of the store to highlight gluten-free products. Kim will be available to answer your questions, offer nutritional guidelines and gluten free recipes.



There will be a raffle (drawing at 3:00PM, winner need not be present) free products to sample as well as a tote bag with various free products (Schar, Boulder Chips, Think Thin nutrition bars and more) one bag per family, while quantities last.



Jewel has created a gluten-free task force to address the needs of those of us who require gluten free food. Please stop in to share your thoughts and receive some gluten-free products.



Full disclosure, I, Mary, work at Osco Drug not Jewel (two different company's, owned by the same corporation), but I do not receive any compensation for promoting this event. My personal satisfaction is to get Jewel to address the need for gluten free food.