Texas Roadhouse Restaurant in Union City

[Guest guest]

I wanted to pass along another restaurant I think celiacs would enjoy!

My husband and I drove from San to Union City last Friday night

to " try out " the Texas Roadhouse Restaurant. I really wanted to

experience a new restaurant, so I did not mind driving in the Friday

night traffic up that way. My husband went along with my idea of

driving up there because he knows how excited I get when I can try a

new restaurant! I had exchanged e-mails with the owner, Tony

, and he faxed me their gluten-free menu.

The restaurant is awesome! It has a great western atmosphere, with

buckets of peanuts in shells at the table to snack on (naturally

gluten-free for a celiac-not great for someone who is allergic to

nuts, though!). You can eat the peanuts and throw the shells on the

floor! The staff would sometimes break out into western dancing-so

fun to watch!

The waiter was very attentive to my food needs, and Tony even served

us our meal. I ordered the Smothered Chicken with melted cheese and

sauteed onions and mushrooms on top (anyone could also order the

Smothered Chicken with cream gravy, except for a celiac). You can

choose two sides, so I ordered the caesar salad with no croutons and a

baked sweet potato topped with marshmallows and caramel sauce on top.

It was unbelievably delicious! The caramel sauce is stated as gluten

free on their g-f menu. I cannot tell I am 100% certain that the

marshmallow is gluten free, but all the marshmallows I have seen have

been g-f, so I ordered it. The other sides you could order with your

meal are the regular baked potatoes, fresh vegetables and regular

salad. You cannot order the mashed potatoes or the beans. I had

brought my own g-f croutons I had made the week before and sprinkled

them on the caesar salad. When the waiter came by and saw the

croutons, he panicked a bit until he saw my little baggie full of g-f

croutons!

They have steaks (no grill shortening), ribs (no BBQ sauce), fish,

country dinners such as pork chops and chicken, even sandwiches you

can order without the bread (bring your own g-f bread and put in the

fixins' yourself!). If you choose to order the steaks and ribs, be

sure to go over with the wait staff where on the grill they would be

cooked because I'm sure the gluten containing " grill shortening "

and " BBQ sauce " are all over their grills.

At this point, I am going to add the usual disclaimer that " eating out

is risky. " I just wanted to pass along my experience that I had a

wonderful meal and intend to go back their soon. Just ask for a copy

of their gluten-free menu when you arrive. A manager will print it

from their computer in the office. There is no official " gluten-free

menu " available at their front desk. I am presuming the more we

frequent their restaurant, they may just print some menus and have

them available all the time, but for now, you need to ask them to

print one.

If you would like to dine there, their address is 32115 Union Landing

Boulevard, Union City, CA 94587. Their phone no. is (510) 324-7623.

Tony is the owner and very accommodating. Enjoy!

Sue