Fast Food
By Deborah Holladay
Have you ever been stranded at an airport by a canceled flight and had only a few light snacks in your carry-on luggage, grabbed dinner on the run between late hours at work and Open House Night at your child's school, chaperoned starving teenagers after a nighttime football game, or arrived at home from church to find Sunday dinner still sitting uncooked in the slow cooker because someone had turned on the pot but forgotten to plug it in? On occasions such as this, eating at a fast food restaurant may not have been merely the easiest option; it may have been the only alternative to going hungry.
Fortunately, due to the increased public awareness of celiac disease in the US, many fast food establishments now publish lists of their gluten free (GF) menu items. Though the choices are often limited and quite basic, one can almost always count on a fast food restaurant having a bare hamburger patty, a side salad, a plain baked potato with butter or margarine on the side, and a choice of beverages that are celiac-safe. While that does not make an elegant meal, it is a complete meal and one that is fairly healthful. Some fast food chains have additional GF menu items, such as chili, specialty salads, and grilled chicken, which offer more variety. One local chain, Bill Miller Bar-B-Q, has a more extensive list of GF offerings.
The majority of fast food restaurants with gluten-free food choices post their GF menus on the Internet. This makes it possible to download menus, print them, and collect them in a notebook or manila envelope. People without Internet access can obtain the GF menus by calling the restaurants' customer service numbers and asking to have them mailed. With the packet of collected GF menus stowed in the car or packed on trips, impromptu meals away from home can be less hazardous and less stressful for celiacs.
It is important to update a packet of gluten-free menus periodically, as is true of all GF product lists, since companies may change their ingredients or suppliers. The phone number, Web site, and menu information that follows is current as of June 8, 2007, and can be used for updating old information or creating a new packet.
Fast Food Chain Restaurants and Gluten-Free Menu Information
Arby's. GF information at http://www.arbys.com/nutrition/calculator.php?mid=1&type=allergens.
Bill Miller Bar-B-Q. 210-225-4461. See the list following this section, or call to request a current list.
Burger King. 305-378-3535. Allergens menu at http://www.bk.com/#menu=3,2,-1 (dated February 2007). Allergen menu addresses wheat but not barley, oats, or rye.
Chick-fil-A. 1-866-232-2040. GF menu at http://www.chickfila.com/gluten.asp.
Dairy Queen. 952-830-0200. GF menu at http://www.dairyqueen.com/en-US/Menus+and+Nutrition/Special+Dietary+Needs/Gluten-Free+Products.htm (dated December 7, 2005).
Hardees. 877-799-7827. GF menu not available on the Internet.
Kentucky Fried Chicken. 1-800-225-5532. GF information at http://www.yum.com/nutrition/allergen/allergen_kfc.asp (posted May 1, 2007).
Long John Silver's. GF information at http://www.yum.com/nutrition/allergen/allergen_ljs.asp (posted March 15, 2005).
McDonalds. 1-877-MCD-FOOD. Ingredient and allergen listing at http://www.mcdonalds.com/app_controller.nutrition.categories.ingredients.index.html (posted January 2007).
Sonic. 866-657-6642. GF menu not available on the Internet.
Subway. 800-888-4848. GF information at http://subway.com/subwayroot/MenuNutrition/Nutrition/pdf/AllergenChart.pdf (revised June 2007).
Taco Bell. 1-800-TACO BELL. GF information at http://www.yum.com/nutrition/allergen/allergen_tb.asp (posted 07/07/2006).
Taco Cabana. Gluten-Free menu available by calling calling Marvin Jones, Operations Services Analyst, 210-283-5516, or by sending e-mail to contact@tacocabana.com.
Wendy's. 614-764-3100. GF menu at http://www.wendys.com/food/pdf/us/gluten_free_list.pdf (updated March 2007).
Whataburger. 361-878-0650. Gluten information at http://www.whataburger.com/browse_dietary_restrictions.php
Bill Miller Bar-B-Q Gluten-Free Products
(May contain corn or rice gluten, deemed safe for persons with Celiac Disease)
- All Beverages
- Bacon
- Bacon Bits
- Baked Potato (Sour Cream?)
- Bar-B-Q Chicken
- Bar-B-Q Sauce
- Beef Fajitas
- Brisket
- Cheese
- Chicken Fajitas
- Chopped B-B-Q
- Coffee
- Coleslaw
- Corn
- Eggs
- Fat Free Ranch Dressing
- French Fries
- Fruit Salad
- French fries
- Green Beans
- Ham
- Hash Browns
- Hash Browns (Breakfast)
- Italian Dressing
- Jalapenos
- Mashed Potatoes (Not gravy)
- Picante Sauce
- Pico de Gallo
- Pinto Beans
- Potato Salad
- Ranch Dressing
- Refried Beans
- Salad (Not croutons)(Ranch Dressing?)
- Sausage
- Soup
- Spanish Rice
- Spare Ribs
- Spicy Bar-B-Q Sauce
- Thousand Island Dressing
- Turkey Breast
