Anything with gluten - such as wheat, rye and barley - is off-limits.
But a lot of progress is being made on the gluten-free front with more and more stores, bakeries and restaurants popping up offering diners new options.
About one percent of the population suffers from celiac disease.
However, most cases are undiagnosed.
Gluten is a protein found in wheat, rye and barley. If a celiac consumes it, their immune system responds by attacking the small intestine.
In the past, we've talked about gluten-free-friendly restaurants such as Da Luciano's in River Grove, or chains such as Weber Grill, PF Chang's and Maggiano's - which offer gluten-free options. Now two new options up north are doing the same to the delight of gluten-intolerant eaters everywhere.
Imagine if you couldn't eat any pizza, pasta, bread or pastries? It's a daily battle for people who are gluten-intolerant, which means they cannot digest anything with wheat or flour. One of their safe havens, so to speak, is Rose's Wheatfree Bakery and Cafe in Evanston.
"Their first question when they walk in the door is 'Is it gluten free?' and we go 'Everything is gluten-free' and they go 'Gasp, everything?', so that's always nice," said Rosemarie O'Carroll, Rose's Wheatfree Bakery & Café.
O'Carroll has turned to a host of other flours, to help create a full line of delicious pastries and cafe items at her eponymous store.
From apple pie to chocolate éclairs, brownies and truffles to warm cookies, there isn't that much of a difference, frankly, but it means the world to celiacs, or others who must stay gluten-free, to have these kinds of options on a menu.
"We are actually corn-free, gluten-free, trans-fat free and peanut-free here, because corn is another one of those grains that are problematic for a lot of people, so we do use primarily rice, potato starch, tapioca starch, sorghum, we also use uh, garbanzo bean flour and mungbean flour and then we also sometimes use millet or teff," said O'Carroll.
Just a few miles south of Rose's, all things vegan and gluten-free dominate the compact menu at The Balanced Kitchen in the Pulaski Park neighborhood.
"The idea is to take the four parts we've defined of sustainable eating, which is local, seasonal, organic and vegetables. Now you don't have to be obsessed vegans like we are, but every time you choose vegetables over other products, you're saving energy," said Joshua Alper, The Balanced Kitchen.
Raw beet ravioli is colorful, but a tofu-teriyaki sandwich is a bit more filling.
Vegetable soup there is more like an edible garden, while a fingerling potato pizza is thin and crisp.
A brown rice spaghetti with cooked veggies is dressed with an assertive tomato sauce. For dessert, chocolate peanut butter brownies arrive with soy ice cream - hard to tell the difference - and mini baklava squares are flecked with pistachio. Alper says the restaurant's "g-free-v" philosophy is slowly catching on.
"Gluten is really the new trans-fat, it's just really starting, people are starting to recognize what an impact it is," said Alper.
It's not just up north.
In Downers Grove, Stillwater Restaurant has a lot of gluten-free options.
And in Westchester, the gluten-free grocery is attracting shoppers from all over the region. There's also going to be a gluten-free cooking expo at the Oakbrook Doubletree in September.
Rose's Wheatfree Bakery
2901 Central St., Evanston
847-859-2723
The Balanced Kitchen
6263 N. McCormick Blvd.
773-463-1085
Other good options for gluten-free:
Da Lucianos
8343 W. Rand Ave., River Grove
708-453-1000
Stillwater Restaurant and Winebar
5141 Main St., Downers Grove
630-324-4291
Gluten-Free Grocery
1922 S. Mannheim Rd., Westchester
708-483-8785
Adobo Grill
(Gluten Free Menu Available)
1610 N. Wells St.
312-266-7999
OR
2005 W. Division St.
773-252-9990
OR
Shops on Butterfield
356 Yorktown Shopping Center, Lombard
630-627-9990
Wildfire and the Weber Grill Restaurants offer gluten free menus
Lou Malnati's offers a crustless pizza with a sausage base as a gluten free option
Whole Bakers
773-742-1834
www.wholebakers.com
Cookies are available at all Sunset Foods locations, Nielsen's Bakery in Homewood and the Gluten-Free Grocery in Westchester, Ill.
Gluten Free Store
807 Waukegan Rd, Northbrook
847-513-6515
Roh & Joh's Gluten Free Sweets
www.glutenfreesweets.com
847-681-1782
Vinci Restaurant
1732 N. Halsted Street
312.266.1199
Offers a gluten-free menu
Swirlz Cupcakes
705 W. Belden
773-404-2253
Offers gluten free cupcakes every day
Venus
820 W. Jackson
312 714-1001
Gluten Free Greek Menu
www.celiacchicago.com
A resource for people with celiac disease that gives resources and shows you where to shop and what to buy.
www.csaceliacs.org
CSA remains the largest non-profit celiac support group in America, with over 100 chapters and 60 resource units across the country, and over 10,000 members worldwide. A dedicated force of volunteer officers and committee members serve as the organization's strong backbone, affectionately calling themselves, "Celiacs Helping Celiacs."
Sept. 12-13
Gluten Free Cooking Expo
Doubletree Hotel, Oak Brook
