Gluten Free, R U?: The Old Spaghetti Factory

Monday, November 7, 2016

The Old Spaghetti Factory - San Diego

I have attended San Diego Comic Con for 6 years now. It is unfortunate that it took me until last year to visit The Old Spaghetti Factory in downtown, the Gaslamp District, San Diego. But fortunate that I did visit last year. It is now on my list of must visits when I am in town.

I am always leery of places that serve gluten free pasta. How can I be sure that they will serve me the gluten free variety? When we visited last year we went with a friend who eats there regularly. He knew the answer to my question. The gluten free pasta is the only spiral pasta they serve! That means if you receive something that does not look like this, then you did not receive the gluten free version. While some may find this boring because it is the only option, I love it because it takes the anxiety out of eating here.

And this year they added the little flag too. There a quite a few options on the gluten free menu and I am thrilled that they offer marinara sauce and chicken to add. Since I can not eat beef it is nice to have a non-beef sauce and an option for a protein with my pasta.

The only think lacking here is that there is no gluten free bread. I always say I am going to bring my own but so far I have forgotten each time I have visited. Maybe next time.

Major note: Be aware (or beware) they do not claim to be a gluten free restaurant and there may be cross contamination.

I do not know if they use separate water to make the gluten free pasta, or if they change utensils for spooning out sauce, etc. I do know that I have eaten there three times and have not gotten sick or even felt off from eating there. Now recall I do not have Celiac's and I am not overly sensitive.

Also note that this is not your Italian grandma's Italian food. It is a restaurant that serves Italian food. I love it because it isn't overly spicy, it feels like a good amount of food and the price is perfect for my wallet. You get a three course meal (salad, pasta, ice cream) and a lemonade for $15 (or so, I could not find my receipt to be exact, sorry).

I think The Old Spaghetti Factory is worth a try but be cautioned again that they are not gluten free and there could be cross contamination.

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My gluten free history

When I turned 30 years old, I started to gain weight that I couldn't lose and I was getting back to back colds. The final straw was I got bronchitis and I had to take an antibiotic to help me get better. The side effect for 4% of people on this antibiotic was gastrointestinal issues. Yes, I was part of that 4%. The medicine basically stripped away whatever had been protecting me through my first 30 years of life. You see I have always had gastrointestinal issues since I can remember. My father also had the same issues and my paternal grandmother too. I was so sick from the medicine (or so I thought) that I had to go back to the doctor and do a series of tests. During this time I was following the BRAT diet (Banana, rice, a, toast). Saltines and toast were my go to comfort, little did I know they were NOT what I should be eating. My co-worker gave me an article about food allergies and there was a quiz. You only needed to answer 4 of the 8 questions with yes to fall under their designation and I had answered 6 of the 8 with yes. I was on my way. My husband and I cleaned out all our cabinets of the 7 allergens… all that was left was rice. After a few weeks, I was feeling somewhat better when I stayed at a home where they told me to eat whatever was in the fridge. I saw the rice and started eating. Within a hour I was violently ill. I couldn't understand. I took the rice with me to work the next day and when I told my other co-worker about my issue she asked to see the rice. It was orzo… pasta… gluten/wheat filled pasta! I had my first allergen to check off the list as being an issue. It turned out at the time dairy and eggs were also triggers but I have since been able to add them back. My husband and I went on a full gluten free diet and within a few months I had lost my weight, stopped living in my bathroom, looked healthy and was not terrified to eat things any more. Now it has been 15 years and while I have gained some weight back (darn those yummy gluten free cookies and pretzels) my issues are still in check and I couldn't be happier to figure out what was wrong with my body and be able to fix it.