Restaurant Choices

While most restaurants tend to have "vegetarian" dishes, it is generally hard for me to find "Paleo" choices in restaurants. Primarily, I end up looking for restaurants serving breakfast "all day" so that I can order wheat free and paleo items such as bacon and eggs or an omellet, (which still does not always work because it is quite common that I end up with a stomach ache because the cooks don't clean the grill of gluten before cooking my food).

There is one restaurant, however, that I have found works really well for lunch or dinner for a person following a gluten free, paleo diet: Hula's Mongolian Bbq. There are two locations here in Chico, across from the Chico Mall, next door to the Dollar Store on 20th Street, and on the corner of East Ave and Esplanade.

If you have never eaten there, you are in for a treat. You take your bowl, and fill it with your choice of meats, (pork, chicken, beef, lamb and salami are offered), and vegetables, (way too many to list). Then you get to add a variety of sauces to your bowl which includes sweet and sour sauce, soy sauce, terriyaki sauce, cooking wine, kung pow, garlic and a number of others), to your own individual tastes. (For those staying gluten free, make sure you bring your own wheat free soy sauce, and don't use the house soy sauce or terriyaki). Don't feel wierd about this either, the restaurant actually has a gluten free menu, and is strongly supportive of serving those with dietary restrictions and will not mind you bringing in your own soy sauce.

Then when you get to the cooking iron, make sure you ask the cooks to clean the cooking surface before cooking your bowl. In this way they will clean the cooking surface, thereby removing any gluten contamination left over from someone else's noodles or sauce. Again, the workers are quite friendly, and they will be happy to clean the grill for you. (Although leaving them a tip in their jar is a sure way to keep them happy).

The reason we went to Hula's tonight, (and why I think it is important for each of us to pre-identify restaurants we are comfortable eating at), was because I am performing the marriage ceremony for a co-worker of my wife's this weekend. They wanted to take us to dinner and discuss the ceremony. Being on a restricted diet such as the Paleo Diet should not make us shut-ins. We need to be able to do the regular things everyone else does, just a little differently. So that is why I like Hula's. I don't feel tempted to eat food I shouldn't, and I don't feel like I have to tell people I don't like eating out. It is a restaurant I can go to and eat good, healthy food, without having to give excuses or long explanations about my dietary choices.

If anyone else found some good restaurant choices, please post them in the comments.