The first thing I want to touch on here is that I am very sensitive and my symptoms stay around for a long time when I get glutened. I understand that not everybody needs to follow the strict precautions that I do:) I think that before you follow the steps of any celiac/gluten-free "influencer" it is important to know their symptoms. When I was first diagnosed I saw a video of someone with celiac dining out all of the time and I thought I would be able to as well but quickly learned that they might be asymptomatic because I got sick a lot when I went out to eat without my NIMA gluten sensor...and yes I was explaining everything and asking all of the questions.
I will rarely eat at a restaurant if it is not dedicated gluten-free. I think that once I am done being a college athlete I will venture out of this comfort zone more often. I never want to go to practice sick again. So I go to mostly dedicated places unless there is a restaurant owner that knows about celiac disease because they or someone in their family has it. I have ate at 2 restaurants that are not dedicated but are safe because the owners understand the precautions needed for those with celiac disease. These are project sushi in Medina, OH and Preston's in Columbus, OH. I tried to eat at places that were not dedicated when I was first diagnosed and with my gluten sensor and my severe sensitivity I have learned that it's not safe consistently, no matter how many times you explain things to the waiter or manager. When you're with a team and 20+ people who are ordering, the staff members are too busy to worry about how serious your restrictions are. When I lived in West Virginia I was able to eat at Long horn because the manager was amazing and would always supervise my order, but no other Longhorn has been safe since. A restaurant that serves gluten food can be inconsistent and it's not worth the risk to me. There was an acai place in WV that I went to almost every day and was always safe for me because one of the workers knew about celiac and I always felt so safe with her handling my food. Once I went to Coopers Hawk in FL and had an amazing dinner but the appetizer showed up gluten on my sensor. The owner asked me to test other dishes to ensure future celiacs safety. I was happy to help. I have ate at non-dedicated restaurants and have been safe because of my gluten sensor but it's not something I like to do in season. I pack food when I go out to eat with my family or team. I recently got a heated lunchbox on amazon called Aotto. It comes with a regular plug and a car plug to keep your food warm on the road. This works perfectly so I can heat up my meal before I get to a restaurant and I don't have to ask to use their microwave.
Pro tip: I always bring a snack to eat during appetizers or when the table gets bread. I also bring a little dessert too:) Very often I would eat my meal as soon as I got to the restaurant so it would still be hot(before I got my heated lunchbox). This isn't rude, you wouldn't want other people to eat cold food as well.
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