For Father’s Day we ate dinner at PF Chang’s China Bistro. It is not only a great restaurant for those with on a gluten-free diet, but for those with other food allergies, as well. In regards to my other food allergies, I have never had such great service, anywhere! Our server had food allergies, herself, and may have been more in tune with my needs than other servers, their website states that they cater to food allergies and gluten intolerance. Iwas very impressed! I am so tired of the glares I receive from other servers at other restaurants when I list off my citrus and tomatoes allergies, on top of my gluten sensitivity.
Excuse the quality of some of the photos. I took them with my iPhone, and the lighting was not ideal on my first visit.
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At PF Chang’s I was asked whether I was on the diet out of necessity of by choice. This told me that they were looking to find out if they needed to avoid cross-contamination. How refreshing!
Once I listed off my food allergies, I did not have to choose another food option, as I was told that the chef would make the same dishes for me, but without the ingredients to which I am allergic. Wow! What more could I have asked for?
My husband eats some gluten, as he does not have any food intolerances, thus the eating out for Father’s Day. Therefore, I was hesitant on ordering their Dinner for Two ($39.99), assuming they would not mix gluten and gluten-free. However, they did just that!
First, she brought out the sauces for my husband, informing me that they were not for me. Then she brought out some gluten-free soy sauce, just for me. However, it was not needed, as they dishes are flavorful enough!
All gluten-free dishes are served on a dish with PF Chang’s name and logo. All others are served on a plain plate dish. What a great idea!
What we ordered:
Soup: Gluten-free Egg Drop Soup (only gluten-free choice) (forgot to take photo)
Appetizer: Gluten-free Chang’s Lettuce Wraps (only gluten-free choice)(for me); and 2 Egg Rolls for my hubby. Usually you get 4 egg rolls, if you chose this as an appetizer.
2 Entrees: Gluten-free Chang’s Spicy Chicken andGluten-free Chang’s Mongolian Beef (other choices available) See photo below of the Spicy Chicken. See photo at the top of this post for the Mongolian Beef.
Rice: White Rice andBrown Rice (Usually, you get just one.) Update: On our next visit they were fine on giving us each whichever rice we chose.
Dessert: Chocolate Mousse (The only gluten-free choice available with the Dinner for Two.)
When it first arrived I noticed that it was so tiny! I’m a give me chocolate or give me death type of gal. Forgive me, but when I see chocolate mousse, taking a photo is the furthest from my mind! I did, however, take a photo of the empty glass. It was soooo good! It had a hard, firm topping, almost pure chocolate and and after a few bites you hit more chewy goodness! It’s as if it were a mixture of flourless brownie, actually, more like fudge and chocolate mousse. The size was perfect. You actually had room for dessert. Just to die for!
À la carte ordering provides you with an additional dessert choice, their GF Flourless Chocolate Dome. Sounds wonderful! A friend mentioned that dome is much lighter than the chocolate mousse.
Their soup was excellent! I wouldn’t have changed a thing. The spicy chicken was not too spicy at all, a bit on the mild side. It was nice to not have a spicy Mongolian beef for a change. Both were very tasty! I could have done without the filling for the lettuce wraps, though. They were really salty; not much of any other flavor. The dessert was to die for!
Basically, everything was delicious, though, you should not eat here if you are on a low-sodium or low-fat diet.
I had a food allergy reaction to something I ate there, though. My eyes were very sticky shortly thereafter. Who knows, though. I suspected MSG, but I read that they do not use MSG. Hmmm, not quite sure what it was. I knew of one restaurant that advertised that they did not use MSG and laterfound out from someone who knew the owners well that they did use MSG in one of their dishes (from a canned product). I just may have not discovered all of my food allergies, though.
Update – Feb. 28, 2012: Went back a couple of times since I wrote this post and I’ve added a few more pics. Hope you enjoy them! However, the waiter and manager stated that my husband and I could not have a split order of egg rolls and lettuce wraps, as the wraps are pre-made. When I explained that was the reason I was back, the waiter brought me a full order of lettuce wraps (way too much!) and stated that the manager was buying my husband a couple of egg rolls. Yummy! – both of us were satisfied. I would have been happy to have purchased a side of egg rolls. I am sure my husband would have been happy to take some to go! I’m just thinking about this now. I was having way too much fun with family. Oh well! Next time. Meanwhile, I keep forgetting to get a pic of the egg drop soup. I guess I’m always hungry, as that is served first.
See the full PF Chang’s Gluten Free Menu. (Just click the Gluten Free tab.)
See the forum posts for two PF Chang’s gluten-free recipes you can make at home:
PF Chang’s Gluten-free Mongolian Beef Recipe
PF Chang’s Shanghai Gluten-free Cucumber Recipe
