Guide to Gluten-Free In Waco

Whether you are choosing to go gluten-free for health reasons or just following the trends, it can be hard to stick to if you go out to a restaurant. More and more people are choosing to lose the gluten now more than ever. Gluten has been found to affect or cause a variety of symptoms, including decreased gastrointestinal function, changes in cognition, bad behavior, impulsiveness and a decrease in overall well-being. Before it was “cool” to be gluten-free most of the people making this change had a diagnosis of Celiac Disease, but not anymore. As more studies are coming out showing the negative attributes of gluten, thousands more are making the lifestyle change to live without it. So the good news is, that the trends cause change, and many restaurants have provided gluten-free menu options and extensive charting of allergens and Waco is no different. This is by no means a complete list of all the establishments offering gluten-free options but some of the most popular.

Food Trucks

• Nightlight Donuts: They are currently working on a Gluten Free and Dairy Free option for donuts. Presently not a store front but they travel around various locations downtown like Magnolia, the farmers market and Dichotomy. Follow them on Facebook to find out where they are daily.
• Club Sandwich: This truck has made a home at the Magnolia Market.  It is Asian fusion cuisine with many options for rice-bowls as well as GF soy sauce for you dishes.

Treats

• Peachwave: A new frozen yogurt store in Hewitt with the famed Dole Whip from Walt Disney World.  There are several non-dairy options available.
• Heritage Creamery: Has a GF menu as well as boasting local and preservative free ingredients.
• Silos Baking Co.: If you find yourself in the area of Magnolia and wanting something sweet, the Silos Baking Company has gluten-free cookie options.  They offer Oatmeal Chocolate Chip, Peanut Butter Oatmeal, and Vanilla Bean Shortbread Cookie all are gluten-free.
• Sub Zero: They have a soy option for your ice-cream there and you can use any of their many GF/DF mix-in options.
• Steel City Pops: This gourmet popsicle business has a dairy-free option for those avoiding dairy.
• Delightful Hearts Sweet Treats: This Hewitt-cased bakery offers gluten free cupcakes as well as donuts.

Burgers

• Twisted Root Burgers, Co.: Gourmet burger joint near Baylor has many Gluten Free options including GF buns and breads and a vegan patty for your favorite burger.
• Tom’s Burgers and Fuddruckers: These restaurants all offer a gluten-free bun, but you will want to ask about the sides.
• In and Out Burger: You can order a burger “protein style” and it will come in a lettuce wrap.
• Hat Creek Burger Company: Has a very extensive chart for allergens on the online menu so you can prepare before you go but also has a “skinny” version of all burgers where they can be wrapped in lettuce or in a bowl.
• Five Guys: They don’t have a gluten-free bun but offer a lettuce wrap option.

American Food

• George’s: Although Georges has an extensive menu with lots of options, they only have a few GF options like fish dishes and grilled chicken fingers.
• BJ’s Brewhouse: BJ’s has an extensive gluten free menu as well as an online menu detailing any and all allergens. You could quickly pull it up on your phone and easily choose one of their many options including GF crust for their popular pizzas. They also have a GF chocolate chip pizookie available for desert.
• Jason’s Deli: They have an extensive menu which can be made to order on gluten free buns or bread.  They do have gluten free nuggets on the kids menu. They also have one of the only salad bars in town with many options.

Tacos and Tex-Mex

• Torchy’s Tacos
• Free Birds
• Chipotle
• Los Cucos Fuego
• Ninfas
• Rosas

All have corn tortillas as well as other options like bowls, nachos and fajitas.

Pizza

• Pie Five
• Poppa Rollo’s Pizza
• Slow Rise Slice House

All offer gluten-free crust as well as a vegan cheese option.  Pie Five also offers a cauliflower crust for those who need a low carb option.

Steak and Seafood

• Diamondbacks, 135 Prime, Longhorn Steakhouse and Saltgrass: If you are hungry for a steak, there are many options in town for this as steak is already Gluten Free. Each of these have many GF options as well as some DF options as well.
• The Catch: This is a mainly seafood restaurant that has many grilled or boiled options to avoid the fried seafood options on the menu.

BBQ

• Vitek’s BBQ
• Rudy’s
• Uncle Dans
• Coaches
• Uncle Dans

All have gluten-free options in the form of the protein but not all offer a gluten-free bun or bread for sandwiches.

Fast Food

• Chick-Fil-A: The popular chicken chain now offers a gluten-free bun option, but not to be used on the original sandwich or spicy sandwich because they are breaded, but you could use them on the grilled chicken options.
• Golden Chick: The fried chicken is off limits but the roasted chick is delicious and gluten-free.

Breakfast

• Café Cappuccino and Egg & I: Each restaurant offers a gluten-free pancake option as well as many egg-based entrees.

Sandwiches

• Jersey Mikes: This sandwich favorite not has GF bread for your hot or cold sub sandwiches.
• Jimmy Johns: Although they don’t have a GF bread option, they do offer all their favorites in a lettuce wrap as an un-wich.

Asian

• Mama Fu’s
• Clay Pot
• Pei Wei

All have an extensive gluten free menu detailing any allergens.

Other good choices

• Zoë’s Kitchen: Has a large portion of their menu gluten-free as long as you don’t eat the pita bread provided.
• Tejun: A local Cajun restraint located in Robinson with a vast variety of seafood. The fried options are not gluten-free but most other menu options are.
• Talk More Meals: Meal Prep option delivered straight to your door or available for pickup across town.