Review of Vegout

I had a good experience at VegOut overall (despite one problem) and found the nachos delicious. The taco meat is very flavorful and it’s made from GF labeled soy. The nachos were full of lots of great fillings and came in such a generous portion that I had leftovers to eat later. One caveat, though… I had to ask a lot of questions to figure out which “gluten free” items were celiac safe. Because they told me the black beans didn’t have a gluten free label, I asked them to hold the beans and prepare the order for celiac, and I didn’t get sick.

The review from the person who wrote before me that the buffalo dip tested positive for gluten with the Nima confirms for me that the beans (garbanzo, black, etc.) that the restaurant uses aren’t safe. The owner told me that even though the black beans aren’t labeled GF, they have “very sensitive celiac customers” who eat them “with no problems.” I still asked to omit them.

Honestly, I hate being told that, because they don’t seem to understand that celiac reactions can be silent and some people don’t get them until later and will wonder what got them sick. Beans are very commonly grown in shared fields with gluten grains and/or co-processed. If they’re not labeled GF, they’re probably cross contaminated with gluten. Labels for allergens exist for a reason, folks. I have gotten sick so many times from eating beans that weren’t labeled GF after a restauranteur assured me that I wouldn’t get sick because they had “lots of celiac customers who eat the beans without problems.” This has happened about a dozen times over the years. At this point, I don’t eat beans in restaurants unless the server can get the package and show me the GF label.

I’m leaving off one safety heart because it’s really irresponsible to label items on your menu as gluten free when you haven’t done your homework about what makes food celiac safe. If your ingredients aren’t labeled gluten free, they could get someone sick. So, if you want to bill your food as gluten free, then don’t put the onus on your clients to know that they have to avoid certain foods and modify the dishes. If you want to keep your customers safe, then pay a little extra so you can get some GF labeled products (e.g. Bush’s beans) for your dishes with beans.

How confident are you that this establishment takes safety precautions against cross-contact?

— Somewhat

Is there a gluten-free menu?

— Gluten-free items are marked on the main menu

How much of the menu is available gluten-free?

— Most/All

How would you rate the taste and quality of the gluten-free food you tried?

— Excellent