We went to the one at Old Orchard Mall in Skokie. Compared to the one in Schaumburg it was easier to get a seat at noon on a Friday. Part of our party was seated before us, so we got to the table, I browsed the 10 page menu, and there were no gluten free markings on the pages. So I asked if there was a separate one. Our waitress said yes and she'd go get it. With such a huge menu I'd think they could just mark items with an symbol, but C'est la vie, I waited for my menu. And we waited, and waited, and I laughed when I realized the waitress was going table to table asking if anyone had it cause they had 1 copy. It would be nice if the menu was online... But it's not.
The waitress was nice enough to offer to bring me a gluten free bun and butter while everyone else had the bread basket. she also asked if I got sick from gluten, or really sick from gluten. When I told her I'd be very ill, she did start to tell me about how good their kitchen is and how there is a different prep area for the gluten free items. Plus she doesn't know of any complaints on people getting sick from gluten free meals at their location.
I was in the mood for a smaller meal so I got an order of their corn cakes and a side of edamame. It was a lot more filling than I'd expected, and I couldn't finish the last corn cake. Over all the food was presented well and tasted good.
The downfall of the day I'm not sure if it was the coffee I grabbed on the way back to the office, or the meal, I felt so sick later that night.... I don't know where the shoe drops, but I didn't feel good by 7:00 pm, which is my rough time frame for a gluten reaction.
We skipped dessert. I really don't know how people eat an entree there and still have room for dessert. I was ok with skipping, I don't trust their gluten free cheesecake for a couple reasons.
1st - How do they make sure there is no cross contamination prepping the cake?
2nd - Godiva advises Not to eat Any of their products due to the malt flavoring added to enhance their product. When I asked Cheesecake Factory about it, they said "It generally tests under 20ppm". So that left me nervous.... No Godiva cake for me, I don't want to risk having one that might test higher, or didn't get tested... Or someone wasn't as careful handling.
Over all I give them 3 dragonflies, the menu could be listed gluten free in their novel of a menu or even online. There are a lot of options, but I just don't feel the prep is safe enough, plus not feeling good later that night really left me feeling uneasy over all. I feel like they are in this for the glory and not really for the safety for someone with Celiac Disease.
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