Is New York Fries Gravy & Poutine Gluten Free?

Source: www.newyorkfries.com

During an event for the Edmonton Chapter of the Celiac Association, we spoke with some people about how great New York Fries (NYF) are.  We were told that their gravy is gluten free. Because gluten free gravy is a rarity (and because we now had conflicting information from the Calgary Chapter of the Celiac Association, whose information states that NYF's gravy is not gluten free), we decided to investigate further.
We are also interested to know if NYF's sister restaurant, South St. Burger Co., was a gluten free friendly restaurant as well.

I contacted New York Fries via email at mail@newyorkfries.com with a simple question: "Is the gravy at New York Fries Gluten Free?"  I appreciated their response, which was received about 24 hours later (on Sept 17, 2010) from the Director of Purchasing:

Dear Abisaac,

The NYF gravy does not contain gluten; however, the plant where it is manufactured uses wheat flour and due to the mixing process, our supplier cannot guarantee that there is no airborne contamination. The California Seasoning and the Cajun Seasoning are made in the same plant.  Like the gravy, the Cajun Seasoning does not contain gluten; however, the manufacturer cannot guarantee that this product is gluten free because of the possibility of airborne contamination. The California Seasoning does contain gluten.

We do have other products containing gluten in our stores (e.g. hot dogs, buns, chili, and malt vinegar) and the possibility of cross contamination does exist.

Thanks for your email.

Regards,

Angie Venzon
Director of Purchasing
NEW YORK FRIES and SOUTH ST. BURGER CO.
1220 Yonge St. Suite 400
Toronto, ON M4T 1W1
T: 416-963-5005

Also in a recent Twitter conversation with @NewYorkFries they wrote:

@gfreeYEG The Butter Chicken + Braised Beef poutines have no gluten in them, however, there is gluten present in our stores (buns, etc...)

Click here to see the Tweet from New York Fries

New York fries update January 11, 2011 via email about their cheese sauce:

The NYF Cheese Sauce does not contain gluten but it is manufactured in a plant where gluten is present and the manufacturer cannot guarantee that the product is gluten free.

So we recommend you use caution depending on your level of sensitivity. Let us know of any additional information you hear from New York Fries.

You can enjoy New York Fries at several locations across Edmonton. Their fries are gluten free, however you should be aware of cross contamination risks.

Note: New York Fries locations do not serve onion rings, so there is less chance of cross contamination in the deep-fryers.

Gluten Free Edmonton - A Celiac guide and resource for gluten free information in Edmonton, Alberta