Monday, July 4, 2011

Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.



On the last day of a family visit and being a holiday weekend, we decided to celebrate the 4th of July and take my brother-in-law to Santa Monica, where we decided to eat at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.  While I'm not much for chain restaurants, I do like seafood, and most everything I've had here (pre-Celiac) has been tasty. I found a gluten-free menu online, but was disappointed to learn when I called that they were no longer officially advertising it. Seems they may have been burned by a GF customer in the past or made a mistake? That's my guess. However I was told that they could still accommodate me, and that their kitchen was fully educated in cross-contamination prevention, which made me feel better.

I decided on the Accidental Fish and Shrimp


Mahi mahi with cajun shrimp, tomatoes and jasmine rice, topped with a lemony garlic butter herb sauce.  The fish was moist and flaky and the sauce was tasty.  Me likey.

There was one slight snafu - I was assured by our server that the sauce was gluten free.  The manager walked by, and so I decided to make sure.  The manager replied with, "I think so."  What?  I told him I needed to KNOW so.  So he went and checked with the kitchen and returned to tell me it was indeed gluten-free.  Whew!  My heart rate went up there for a minute or two.  Moments like this are a Celiac's worst nightmare.  My boyfriend started to apologize about making the recommendation, but it's not his fault as this could happen anywhere. 

So all in all, I had a decent experience.  Not sure why they can't advertise their gluten free menu with a disclaimer that says they cannot fully guarantee cross-contamination.  Me thinks they don't want to advertise the menu since it can be a hassle accommodating the gluten-free requests.  I have one answer for that - We aren't going to disappear anytime soon so get used to it!


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