Our Gluten Free Restaurant Adventure

This gluten free stories starts off bad, but ends off good.  The first time we ventured out to a restaurant in Edmonton was for a Saturday lunch.  We went to our favourite Vietnamese Restaurant, Pho Hao at West Edmonton Mall.  Before we even sat down, we had two and a half questions to make sure we can eat there:

1. Is the fish sauce gfree?
2. Is soy sauce or any sauce used on the meat?  If so, is that gfree?

We unfortunately ran into a big road block.  We have always said that the service at Pho Hao is not top notch, but the food tastes amazing.  A language barrier came into play immediately.  We found ourselves stumbling on our own words trying to explain our gluten allergy.  The conversation became increasingly frustrating as we continued.  We eventually got to the point where we had to excuse ourselves from the restaurant because we could not be positive that there would be no wheat in our meal.

We were getting hungry very quickly, so I decided to drive a block down to the fairly new Cactus Club at West Edmonton Mall.  We were happily greeted and delighted that they were able to accommodate us with our gluten free needs.  Our waitress took our order and went to the kitchen to ensure what we were ordering was going to be gluten free.  She explained that they have allergy charts in the back for each menu item.  Although we did not get the meal we were craving, we did enjoy a nice lunch with a smile.

Have you visited Cactus Club?  Tell us about your experience.