Gluten Free New Orleans

May 6, 2022 1:00 PM

My husband is very sad about a recent celiac diagnosis and is especially mourning how much more difficult it is to eat while traveling. We've got a trip to New Orleans coming up and I'm hoping to go armed with recommendations for places he can enjoy.

Would be especially grateful for recommendations of restaurants where GF items or items that can be made GF are noted on the menu. Even better if the online menu also reflects this info, so we can confirm that there are enough options. I've done some Googling and weirdly, some places that are indicated as having GF options (like on this Eater map) don't have them noted on the online menu, so I'm wary.

We're omnivorous and enjoy pretty much any style of cuisine. All recommendations are gratefully accepted!

posted by merriment to Travel & Transportation around New Orleans, LA (8 answers total)

I don't have recommendations right now but my brother has the same issue and he always reminds me that you have to check with the restaurant to make sure GF items are prepared separately from things that might have flour or whatever because of the possibility of ingredients getting into the GF stuff by accident.
posted by TimHare at 1:07 PM on May 6, 2022

Response by poster: We're hip to the cross-contamination issue, but thank you for the good reminder, TimHare!
posted by merriment at 1:10 PM on May 6, 2022

I live in New Orleans, unfortunately I don’t have any gluten free specific recommendations beyond odd baked goods I randomly see in coffee shops. However, it’s worth searching in r/NewOrleans and r/AskNOLA if you haven’t already. They’re both very active. Also, if you’re on Facebook there’s a group called “Where NOLA Eats” that might have some people asking the same questions.
posted by gooch at 1:10 PM on May 6, 2022

Best answer: There are lots of options and he will be okay! Source: I live here and used to be married to a GF person.

All of these places have menus online with GF notations:
- Casamento's fried seafood is all gluten free -- they use cornmeal for the breading, and I'm pretty sure the fryers are GF. (They close for the summer at the end of May, though -- not sure when you are coming.)
- Bearcat (CBD and Uptown) has great brunch/lunch and GF notations on the menu.
- Carmo (breakfast, lunch, dinner in the CBD)
- Meals from the Heart (breakfast/lunch in the French Market) -- been here and they are very conscientious about dietary restrictions
- Muriel's (nice-ish dinner in the French Quarter)
- Mais Arepas (Lower Garden District/Central City) -- haven't been here but the menu is almost entirely GF, and I've heard good things
- True Food Kitchen (CBD) -- this is a chain, but it's good and has been reliable for my GF friend
- Copper Vine (wine bar with snacks and brunch/lunch/dinner in the CBD)

There's also a local GF Facebook group, which might be a good source for info. They maintain a Google map of places that group members have recommended.
posted by Siobhan at 1:55 PM on May 6, 2022 [6 favorites]

Given the fraction of New Orleans recipes that start with "first, make a roux.." this could be a challenge.
posted by Nerd of the North at 8:12 PM on May 6, 2022 [2 favorites]

Best answer: Not NOLA specific, but as someone with celiac I find the app “Find Me Gluten Free” invaluable - it’s crowdsourced ratings from other GF/celiac folk on their experience at restaurants, and has made travel to new cities more fun and easier. You can set your location and view eateries as a map or list, see ratings and comments, search by key word/food type, etc - basically yelp/google maps for celiac.

On a quick look, there are a boatload of well-rated NOLA restaurants on the app. Link to apple store
posted by suviko at 7:49 AM on May 7, 2022

Googling recipes it looks like red beans and rice, barbecue shrimp, shrimp and grits are all gf.
posted by brujita at 11:09 AM on May 7, 2022

Response by poster: Huge thanks to Siobhan for the local recs and suviko for the heads up on the helpful GF app! For posterity, we especially enjoyed Bearcat (CBD), Ruby Slipper Cafe and Elysian Bar, all with clearly marked online menus and lots of great GF options. Excited that there are so many more to try the next time we visit, too!
posted by merriment at 10:32 AM on May 19, 2022 [2 favorites]