Practical Change Coaching
  • Home
  • What you'll get
  • Book a session
  • Podcast
  • Survey
  • Blog
  • Contact

Mission Grill: Gluteny, or excellent at GF and keeping it a secret?

7/16/2011

 
I ate out a second time for lunch this week, this time on my boss's dime for a work lunch. I reviewed the menu and called Mission Grill (19th and Arch, Center City Philadelphia) the afternoon before to discuss GF and vegetarian options. The chirpy young woman on the phone gave me short answers. Yes, I'd have no trouble finding gluten-free and vegertarian options. No, all of their tortillas are corn tortillas. No, the corn tortillas never occupy the same counter space as their pitas. She did not do any of the things that reassure me: a) indicate an awareness of gluten sensitivity and b) note that care is taken to prevent cross-contamination.  She gave me little to work with and no confidence in them to meet my needs. If it had been up to me, we would have gone elsewhere. It wasn't.

All that said, the menu did have quite a few vegan and apparently GF options. I talked to the server, letting him know that I needed a GF dining experience and asking him to wave me off of anything in the danger zone. Right off the bat he mentioned that their corn tortillas were 100% corn flour and he seemed a bit more committed to my positive experience than the chirpy girl was, so I felt a little better. My boss ordered chips and guac for the table, and I ordered the vegetarian tacos with grilled portabella mushrooms, zucchini and yellow squash. It comes open faced with rice and beans on the side. It was pretty good -- better with guacamole added -- but not terribly Mexican. If I go again, I might get this, or if I'm not with my boss and a bunch of colleagues, I might ask more questions about the southwest chili and cornbread. Or I might consider the black bean hummus served with corn tortilla chips instead of pita. It's nice to have a couple of options.

I'd eaten at Mission Grill a couple of times before the celiac diagnosis, but I find it to be a bit too expensive and pretentiously hip to think of it first when looking for a dining experience. Plus, the equally-hip-but-funner El Rey is only a couple of blocks away, makes it known that they are adept at doing GF, and are generally less expensive and serve bigger portions. Of course, the only vegetable on the menu is cactus, I always leave there feeling a bit too full and gross, so Mission Grill might end up being a better option, especially if someone else is paying. And, I still don't have 100% confidence that Mission Grill does GF with any intention, which opens the door to worrying about cross-contamination.

So, if you are a GF risk-taker, and want a tragically hip and kind of expensive lunch experience, Mission Grill is for you. Otherwise, Check out El Rey at 2013 Chestnut Street. Try the huevos rancheros. (Note: dinner at el Rey is not an experience I'd recommend. Stick to lunch.)


Comments are closed.

    RSS Feed

    Archives

    January 2023
    December 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    December 2020
    January 2019
    December 2018
    February 2018
    August 2016
    May 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    May 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    March 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010
    October 2010
    September 2010
    August 2010

    RSS Feed

Subscribe

* indicates required

Please select all the ways you would like to hear from Practical Change Coaching:

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. For information about our privacy practices, please visit our website.

We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By clicking below to subscribe, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing. Learn more about Mailchimp's privacy practices here.

Picture
© Practical Change Coaching. All Rights Reserved. Contact Us
  • Home
  • What you'll get
  • Book a session
  • Podcast
  • Survey
  • Blog
  • Contact