Maggiano's Little Italy

Image borrowed from The Atlanta Food Critic: a nice, more traditional food critic.

I was out shopping with my mother and a sudden strike of hunger hit me at Perimeter Mall. Thinking I was doomed, my mother suggests Maggiano's. I'm thinking, Italian, you've got to be out of your mind! In my mind it was a nightmare of glutinous doom and I was just setting myself up for disappointment and frustration. Boy am I glad I listened to my mother!

My mother grew up in an Italian neighborhood in Brooklyn, NY where she learned to cook some of the best Italian food. Growing up in the south, an "Italian Restaurant" was just a joke. In this case, Gluten wasn't the only thing that could ruin a good meal. The sauce is usually the first sign of a meal gone tragically wrong whether there is gluten involved or not.

Upon arrival, my mother tells the hostess party of two, provided they had a gluten free selection. The hostess says "We sure do" and we were seated. Our waiter John was so helpful and understanding and had the Chef come out and discuss my dietary requirements and answer any questions I had. Boy did I have questions, and boy was I impressed.



The "Kitchen Manager", Dave, came out and I grilled him. They offered a Gluten-Free pasta as a substitute, so of course I wanted to know what the pasta was made of, if they just had one type of pasta or if they had the gluten free linguine, lasagna, manicotti, or cannelloni. I wanted to know if they had a substitute for the gnocchi, because I so love gnocchi. Dave the "Kitchen Manager" proactively listed the sauces that were safe, and I wanted to know if the parmesan cheese was safe. He answered all of my questions confidently and with an understanding of my needs. He was unsure of the cheese inquiry, but he went back in the kitchen and verified that it was safe.

Maggiano's offers a corn based rotini as their substitute pasta. No lasagna or manicotti for me, but they do offer a ziti, which is a nice substitute for lasagna-I actually prefer it. Anything that has a linguine or pene, or non-stuffed/layering pasta could be substituted. They also had a wide variety of other items that are naturally gluten free, just be sure they know of your situation so they do not cross contaminate with glutenous products, or use unsafe seasonings. The sauces offered as safe included, and were limited to, their red sauce, meat sauce, and alfredo. And alas, the gnocchi is not gluten free (my hopes were not up for that one but it was worth a try ;).

Of course I ended up with more questions as I continued to view the increasingly delicious menu. I spotted a Sausage and Pepper appetizer. Mmmm, my comfort food! But is a potentially dangerous item in a restaurant. Sometimes, glutenous products are used as a filler. Our awesome waiter, John, ran off to check. He said that the sausage was safe, but the sauce was not. I believe they grill the sausage and peppers and thicken the drippings as a sauce. We were able to have it served with the safe meat sauce instead. This was a fantastic opportunity to test the sauce-which again, is the most important part of any Italian cuisine.
The sausage had a mild to sweet basil flavor with a thin casing. It was not at all greasy even with the meat sauce. The meat sauce was fresh, and dare I say it, better then my mom's "company sauce." Don't worry, she said it first. The caramelized onions and sweet red peppers were incorporated into the meat sauce and it was down right DELICIOUS!!! They did an excellent job of keeping the acidity of the sauce to a minimum. As I get older, the agita (heartburn) will get me every time, but not this time! Not just gluten free, agita free!

As an entree, the Rigatoni "D" on the Chef's favorites caught my attention. It includes herb roasted chicken, mushrooms, and caramelized onion with a marsala cream sauce served on a bed of pasta. Again, I had to ask about the sauce because it was not mentioned as a safe sauce, but potentially could be. Turns out, it was not recommended by the chef as a gluten free item. I was able to have it served with Alfredo instead.
I'm not really of fan of Alfredo, but this was just exquisite. It was rich and creamy with a subtle garlic undertone. The chicken was tender and had brilliant flavor, and the mushrooms were a perfect texture and had the same brilliant flavor as the chicken.
The Pasta was fantastic! It was perfectly al dente, which I can't seem to get right with gluten free pasta. I love that it was a corn based pasta, because the rice based ones are grainy and disgusting. It tasted and felt like real, normal pasta!

I can't thank Maggiano's Little Italy at Perimeter Mall enough for the most wonderful meal I have had in years. I went in there apprehensive and worried that I would be frustrated like every other place that offers "gluten free substitutes." The staff made me feel confident that they knew what they were doing and really cared that I had a fantastic meal. My anxiety lessened as I was not limited to what was on the menu, they made the menu work for me. My food selection was exciting and enjoyable for once. The only thing frustrating was that I had one stomach and endless possibilities.

If that wasn't the best part of my experience, the way I felt the rest of the day was priceless. I was able to shop the rest of the day and enjoy being in public afterward because I had no pain, and no "bathroom emergency."

If you are looking for the best gluten free meal for a reasonable price, I would highly recommend Maggiano's Little Italy.

How it All Began

I have spent most of my life enjoying bread, cookies, pasta, and other glutenous delights. When I came to the realization that I would no longer be able to eat my favorite and albeit, staples, I was crushed. What am I going to eat now!!!

I would often go out to eat with my mother and find myself always running, and I mean RUNNING to the bathroom, sometimes I wouldn't make it, and some times I would be stuck with a public restroom. I would just be so humiliated. I told my mother I would no longer be able to eat out with her, because it was just too much trouble and so stressful. Around the same time, I attended my baby cousin's bris. I had all the Jewish favorites, Bagels, bialis, black and white cookie, lidsor torts, humantashin, rainbow cookies, you name it I was loving it. I spent most of the party in the bathroom until I decided I just had to leave because the pain was just unbearable. I found myself literally screaming in pain every time I went to the bathroom and this continued for over a month.

One day, while eating a bowl of Life cereal, my mother calls and says, "I know what you have." After a sleep less night, she turned on the television and heard a woman describing the same problems I had been experiencing. She had been to numerous doctors and they couldn't find anything wrong with her, like she was crazy or something. Finally she goes to a new doctor and he knew immediately what was wrong and tested her for Celiac disease. My mother tells me, "I think you have Celiac disease!" I'm like, um, I don't have a disease, you are crazy and need to stop watching TV. She says, "just try not eating bread or wheat products for a while and see what happens." Aghast at this suggestion, I proudly told her I was eating a giant bowl of Life cereal and I felt great. Moments after hanging up with her I found my self in such unbearable pain on the toilet. Literally screaming and crying, ripping the towel rack out of the wall. I decided it was worth a try.

I tried alright. Everything I picked up had gluten in it. I read books and articles on the subject and found that things like soy sauce and caramel flavorings had gluten in it and was just distraught. I can't really eat any packaged food, fast food was out of the question and I don't know how to cook! What the hell am I going to do? My mom and I head off to Whole Foods to find some gluten free items. My mom bought EVERYTHING that said "Gluten Free" on it. It seemed like everything that said Gluten Free on it was 10X more expensive then regular food, and I can barely afford to eat as it is. I am very fortunate that my mother spent the money on food for me to try so I could see what I liked and disliked.

I have not been formerly diagnosed with Celiac. I have seen many Emory doctors and for some reason, even though they have the genetic and blood test available, the doctors have pretty much deterred me from taking them saying, "If it makes you feel better when you don't eat gluten, then don't eat it." I have at times decided, maybe it was just a momentary thing, maybe I just had too much gluten in my system and it would pass. Every once in a while I would try a piece of pizza, or a bread, and instantly be running to the bathroom and in pain for days. I have come to the realization that I cannot eat gluten anymore. Sometimes I think I haven't had any and I still have certain characteristics that I will not get into that tell me I have ingested some hidden gluten somewhere. I have found over time there are still certain items that are not safe, and I find new things all the time.

I am writing this for people who can't afford to "test" all these expensive products or so called gluten free restaurants. Tell you what is good and what is just outright disgusting. I will show you how I have gotten around not eating gluten but still eat the foods I like in Atlanta, and how to do it as inexpensively as possible.

Please leave comments that may help others or even myself along the way. Tips, and links are appreciated.