RESTAURANT: Fan's Chinese Cuisine

A&Z

at
Fan's

Restaurant: Fan's Chinese Cuisine

Location:
Longmont - 7960 Niwot Rd - (303) 652-6250
Full-scre
Gluten-Free Options: According to the owner, 90% of the regular menu can be prepared gluten-free!

Total From A to Z: 5 Stars

A's Review: * * * * *

This restaurant is in the back of an unassuming shopping center and you can't even see it from the street. It is that much more of a treasure because of it. While they don't have a specifically GF menu or GF section, I asked what could be GF and the woman behind the counter (who I assume is the owner) excitedly told me to pick something because they can do 90% of the menu items gluten free. That is awesome. And the portions are huge! And...as a bonus, dining in gets you a free helping of egg drop soup, which was great and also gluten free. Most excellent.

Z's Review: * * * * *
This place is not in the greatest location - it can be a little bit hard to find - but it is totally worth it because it is like gluten-free Chinese food heaven! The woman we spoke to told us that 90% of the regular menu can be prepared gluten-free at no extra charge, which means you can pick almost anything you want! They have all kinds of choices: vegetarian, pork, chicken, duck, beef, shrimp, scallops, fish, and even rice noodles! After so much time spent eating out gluten-free with only a small selection of choices, I have to admit that it was almost overwhelming! When you dine-in they also serve you complimentary soup. The day we went it was a delicious gluten-free egg drop soup, but they were still cooking a batch of the soup while we were eating our dinner. The woman who helped us was sweet enough to package some soup to go for us because she really wanted us to try it. She was super excited to tell us about all the gluten-free options. Let me tell you, I'm sold! Fan's is my new favorite place for Chinese food!

RESTAURANT: Pei Wei Asian Diner

A&Z

at
Pei
Wei

Restaurant: Pei Wei Asian Diner

Locations: National Chain

Location We Visited:
Boulder - 1675 29th Street - (720) 479-5570
Full-scre
Gluten-Free Options: When you arrive, ask the cashier for the gluten-free menu, which is actually just a little card that tells you which of the regular menu items can be made gluten-free and how. There are five gluten-free options: an appetizer, two salads, and two stir fry items.

Total From A to Z: 3 Stars

A's Review: * * *

Pei Wei makes a lot of tasty dishes, and offers a few of them in GF form. Their staff is well-trained and they whip out the GF menu right away when you ask. The GF menu itself is very short, and I think it would be better executed if they just put a GF icon next to the items on the main menu. The GF options are salads without dressing or a couple of unbreaded meat dishes. These are certainly tasty, but I would like to see more from Pei Wei.

Z's Review: * * *
Maybe it's not fair of me to only give Pei Wei three stars, since they are an Asian restaurant that actually has a gluten-free menu, but for some reason I wasn't completely thrilled about my visit. Perhaps part of the reason I was less thrilled is that Pei Wei is supposed to be the fast version of P.F. Chang's, which is awesome for gluten-free Chinese food. However, the gluten-free options at Pei Wei are much more limited. They don't even carry tamari! When asked, the cashier will hand you a card that lists the five gluten-free options. However, the card doesn't have descriptions of the food on it, so you are left to compare the card to the regular menu to try to decipher what you want to order. It would be a lot easier if the GF items were simply marked on the regular menu. I ordered the Pei Wei Spicy Chicken Salad. The chicken was actually really yummy. However, I didn't really enjoy the rest of the salad, partly because it had cilantro in it - which was not listed on the menu. I know the reason I didn't enjoy the salad is totally unrelated to being gluten-free, but as long as we're worrying about sensitivities to certain ingredients I would have liked to know what was actually in the salad, since cilantro doesn't agree with me.

RESTAURANT: P.F. Chang's China Bistro

A & Z at P.F. Chang's

Restaurant: P. F. Chang's China Bistro

Locations: National chain

Locations We've Visited:
Broomfield - 1 West Flatiron Circle - (720) 887-6200

Gluten-Free Options: Separate gluten-free menu featuring appetizers, entrees, and even dessert! When you request the gluten-free menu, they'll even bring gluten-free soy sauce to your table. Gluten-free beer is available too!

Total From A to Z: 5 Stars

A's Review: * * * * *

This is another restaurant that knows gluten-free and does it right. Many of the dishes are already gluten-free, or can be made gluten-free just by changing the soy sauce. I've tried two dishes from the gluten-free menu and they have both been wonderful. Dali Chicken is described on the gluten-free menu as chicken with golden potatoes, but on the regular menu it is known as the hottest dish they serve! I still would have ordered it though. Most recently I had Philip's Better Lemon Chicken, which was bright and full of citrus. Both were wonderful and the servers have been very helpful and considerate.

Z's Review: * * * * *
When you're gluten-free, anything remotely resembling Asian cuisine can be tricky due to the fact that most soy sauce has wheat in it. That's where P.F. Chang's comes in with their gluten-free menu! I've had the Cantonese Scallops with garlic and snow peas, Moo Goo Gai Pan, and even the gluten-free version of P.F. Chang's famous Lettuce Wraps. I have to admit that I remember the regular lettuce wraps being tastier with gluten, but it's still really nice to have the option to order them. And it's also really great to have gluten-free soy sauce brought to the table. My only complaint about the gluten-free menu is that there's no beef on it (maybe all their beef is pre-marinated?) so the meat options are only chicken and seafood. But this is remedied by their amazing flourless chocolate dome with fresh berries and raspberry sauce! It's small but oh so satisfying if you are craving a gluten-free dessert!

Ohsawa's Organic Gluten-Free Tamari Soy Sauce

Brand: Ohsawa
~ Other reviews of this brand!

Product Name: Organic Gluten-Free Tamari Soy Sauce

Location Purchased: Whole Foods

Cost: $20.00 for 32 oz


Total From A to Z: 4.5 Stars

A's Review: * * * *
The taste of this soy sauce is different from glutenous soy sauce, but I am not familiar enough to say exactly how. Compared to San-J's Tamari, Ohsawa's flavor is more bold, with the sauce actually seeming to be thicker. It sticks to food better and definitely adds more to the experience. Not better or worse than conventional soy sauce, just different.

Z's Review: * * * * *
This tamari sauce has a thicker consistency than regular soy sauce, but I sort of like the difference. It makes this sauce good for putting directly on meat or vegetables - it is thick enough to give them some flavor. I've been eating tamari so many months that I don't really remember what regular soy sauce tastes like. I know that this tastes different, but I think it tastes different in a good way. I think it's more flavorful than regular soy sauce and I really enjoy it. Honestly, if I had known before I started eating gluten-free that regular soy sauce was so thinned with wheat, I might have chosen tamari just for the flavor.

San-J's Organic Tamari

Brand: San-J
~ Other reviews of this brand!
~ This item is in A&Z's Store!

Product Name: Organic Tamari

Location Purchased: Whole Foods

Cost: $6.99 for 10 oz


Total From A to Z: 3 Stars

A's Review: * *
This sauce's flavor is less apparent than other soy sauces and it seems to be thinner. Not as exciting and it does not add much to food...better than no soy sauce but not by much. Not bad, just not very good.

Z's Review: * * * *
This tamari sauce was thinner than the Ohsawa tamari sauce we've reviewed. I also think it was less flavorful. If you put this sauce directly on meat it is almost too thin to make much of a difference in the taste. However, it is a decent gluten-free substitute for sushi or rice.