Gluten Free Friendly at Rodeo Burger in Edmonton

The Naked Burger

The other day my colleague and I ventured out for lunch. We only had 1 hr, like everyone else, and we weren't in the mood for fast food (aka Wendys). Don't get me wrong I enjoy a good Wendy's Baja (taco) salad just as much as the next gluten free girl, but we both wanted something different. We've tried the limited, but various other places around the area, some with limited success and we weren't quite sure where to go.

We opted to go to Rodeo Burger at 8525 112 St NW Edmonton, AB. As usual, before going I checked online to see if I could actually eat anything there or if I'd be stuck with no options. While I did not find a particular website I did find this instead on Urban Spoon:

http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/131/1515436/restaurant/Rodeo-Burger-Edmonton.

On this site you can click on the menu of the restuarant in most places if they've inculded it.

I found that Rodeo Burger could accomodate my gluten free needs with what they call a "naked burger" which consists of a lettuce wedge, chopped tomato, southwest sauce and a beef patty. I called ahead to make sure there were no fillers or additives in the beef patty and was assured that they use only 100% pure angus beef, no fillers, no preservatives, no additives. I was pleased to see that when we arrived in the restaurant those exact words were actually plastered all over the walls. As well, I asked about their french fries. I was fully prepared to not eat them if necessary, but of course I wanted to try them if I could. I was told that their french fries are made with "just potatoes and are 100% made in house and contain no flour, powder, dusting of anything similar." In fact the only thing they add is Sea Salt or Seasoning, but that's based on your request and done in different batches separate from one another.

Since I already knew I was not eating a bun with my burger and would be opting for the "naked burger" I asked what the southwest sauce contains. I was told that it is a ranch dressing based sauce and that when I came in they would seek out the ingredients for me.

We chose to eat there obviously and I was more than satisfied! It was really really good! Firstly I chose to not even bother with southwest sauce partially for fear of gluten, but also because I prefer mustard & ketchup on my burger anyways and didn't feel I needed any other special sauce. My burger was overflowing in the box it came in. To my surprise I was really given a lettuce wedge topped with tomatoes and all the other fixings that I asked for. I was expecting it to be lettuce wrapped like at Red Robin and it was not.

It really didn't matter that it was a knife & fork meal, it was so so tasty. It was loaded with toppings and I felt more than comfortable eating there regarding potential contamination because for one, they do not make anything other than burgers & fries. The oil for fries is only used for fries because they don't fry anything else. The grill is only used for burgers and veggie burgers, but I was told that the veggie burger  is made on a separate grill to ensure that those vegetarians who want it are not getting contaminated vegetarian fare

Admittedly the first time I went to Rodeo Burger, I did not ask about the ingredients in the veggie burger. However I have since been back again and I was told that the veggie burger actually contains "mushrooms, oats, breadcrumbs, parmeasan cheese and other vegetables" therefore the veggie burger is not gluten free.

For me, since I am not a vegetarian, I will say that this may very well be a new favorite place for us to go on occassion, of course if the weather would warm up it would entice us to venture outside once again at lunchtime.

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