The Crab Cooker

    Well I've had better eating experiences in my life. My family and I went to the Crab Cooker in Newport Beach. I asked the waitress if they had a gluten free menu....her response was "what is that?"  "I don't understand what your asking about". I explained that I could not eat anything that had wheat or gluten in it. Her response was to another waitress "Do you know anything about this Glutton free diet?" Freudian slip I'd say. Her waitress friend came over and said "yeah she can't eat anything with flour in it". Our waitress just shook her head like she'd crawled out from under a rock....with her cigarette carton and hacking cough with her. Then she proceeded to take our order while I ask her to ask if the potatoes had flour added to them, she had to go ask. The other waitress informed me that the rice had vermicelli in it and that was wheat.....Our waitress looked stunned to know that. Then she coughed a 3 pack a day habit cough. I asked if they had salads, she said they did not, they've never had salads. I then ordered the combination fish skewer, she asked if I wanted the potato or rice. I was safe with the potato, because it was potatoes with Romano cheese. Hellllooo rice has vermicelli or little pieces of wheat! Asked if I wanted cole slaw or sliced tomatoes. Yum, I guess its the tomatoes then cuz, I just didn't want "little misinformed" to have to ask again. So the meal comes and on my plate for decoration was one piece of romaine lettuce. Wow o.k. they could have made a salad for me. It wouldn't have been that much trouble and I would have been willing to possibly come back. But besides the tasty fish they are known for, and the yummy stick to your ribs and burnt Romano potatoes, there were 4 sliced tomatoes. One skewer of 4 pieces of fish with 4 shrimp and 2 scallops, for $14.95 was crap.
   Then as my family was finishing their dinner, I go looking for the manager in the blue chambray shirt I'd seen earlier to pick his brain about the lack of gluten free choices or unknowable waitresses who know about gluten free items or things on their menu and how their made. He's no where to be found, but I meet another hostess who informs me that they've been serving food this way for 59 years and she doubts that they'll change their menu. I said well I write a blog about restaurants that serve gluten free fair to their customers and I'm not sure I can recommend this restaurant until they at least have salads on the menu. The only salad that was on the menu was a fish salad with mayo. She said she'd inform him. It was said with the kind of smirk like ya I'll tell him. hahaha.

I am hereby starting my mama grant's gf scale of gluten free offered restaurants
The scale will be 1* for excellent restaurant has a gluten free menu
                          2** for restaurant people are knowledgable and 1/2 selections are gluten free
                          3*** restaurant people have heard of gluten free and 1/3 are gluten free
                          4**** this restaurant has little or no gluten free items and no ones heard of gluten!
                          5***** Don't bother with this one its still in the dinosaur age! No gluten free and not willing
                                       learn anything about the  gluten free life style.



Crab cooker in Newport Beach gets a 4 at best.


As we drive down Newport Blvd toward the freeway there's an Outback Steakhouse about 1 1/2 miles down the road. Damn I could have had a great meal. Outback is a definite 5! Next time!!!!!