Viva Brazil Restaurant, Glasgow – Today’s Gluten Free eats
Living with Coeliac Disease as I do, can make for a diet that can be a bit monotonous. This is something I feel particularly susceptible to when I’m planning a meal out.
This is not through a lack of imagination but I tend to stick to usual chains or the favourite local eatery. It’s more to do with the fact that if I find somewhere that I feel safe, as in I’m not going to be poisoned by gluten, then I tend to visit again and with some places again and again and again. Thankfully I have found places where I can eat without wondering if I’m going to become ruddy faced, sleepy and sound like the fog horn burping out warnings of attacking gluten proteins. If I am accidentally poisoned with gluten then it’s a life risk, no tantrums, no flame wars, I just become a bit wary about going there again and I have a tale to tell in the future.
So today was a case of going back to a restaurant chain I’ve been to a couple of times, without any adverse gluten incidents.
It’s a chain of Brazilian rodizio (buffet), churrascaria (flame grilled or BBQ cooked meat) restaurant and being on the west of the country to visit Singer and the spiritual home of the book, “The Sewing Machine”, (publicly launched today), we visited the Glasgow branch.
Although heavily orientated to the carnivores amongst us, the chain also caters to the veggie and pescatarian tribes. There is a salad and veg buffet cart to graze on and of course the meat waiters or Passadores who come by with their large skewers of assorted cooked meats.
As you can see there was a good selection of meats to devour almost all gluten free friendly, the staff seemed well briefed and the items on the salad bar were all marked with whatever allergens they contained.
If you don’t want to dabble with the “full Monty” you can have the limited offer meat choice menu.
Once you have become the Atkins Diet Champion of the day, with fully paid up status of the Paleo Club you can flip your coaster from the “Feed Me Now” side…
… to the “no more I’ve now developed fangs” side as you turn the coaster over and crawl off to a corner to sleep.
So a tasty, gluten free place, with no poisoning for me, (but I appreciate other Coeliac folk may have their own safety thresholds), no cross contamination issues – although for me that’s something I’ve never knowingly been exposed to – and not too pricey either. I couldn’t eat there everyday because I’m not meaty enough but as a once and a while, absolutely. They have a loyalty scheme, (I keep meaning to apply) and promotional offers through the year.
I’ll add this into the Coeliac UK venue guide . I wonder why the chain hasn’t pursued Gluten Free, GF accreditation from Coeliac UK? It would add a few customers on the door.