Jaxon Social marks gluten-free dishes on the menu

One other note about my tour of The Players Championship food venues last week.

I was able to pick up a menu from Jaxon Social, the restaurant that took over the KC Crave spot in Jacksonville Beach.

The menu had several dishes marked with a "GF" tag that indicates "this dish can be prepared gluten-free upon request."

I haven't actually been to the restaurant, so I can't tell you more about it, but I thought that was a nice touch that you would all want to know about.

Jaxon Social is one of the restaurants that will be providing food in The Michelob Ultra Blue Room VIP Lounge, which is a pricey ticketed lounge that is being targeted toward a younger crowd at the golf tournament. Jaxon Social will be there on Sunday of the tournament, which is next week.

I see that Mellow Mushroom is scheduled to be the food provider on Thursday of the tournament, but I'm betting that gluten-free pizza probably won't be on the menu.

Lots of gluten-free stuff at The Players

I went on a media tour yesterday of some of the new food venues for The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass in two weeks, and it's very impressive from a gluten-free perspective.

Tacos on 12

Maybe the best part is the new Tacos on 12 tent behind the 12th green, which is actually a TacoLu tent.

As you probably know, TacoLu in Jacksonville Beach is one of the most gluten-friendly restaurants in the area, and they will make an effort to take care of us at the golf tournament.

Because of the limited space in the tent, TacoLu is only offering three of its most popular taco options: The Baja Fish, Bangin Shrimp and TacoLu Verde tacos. Unfortunately, the TacoLu Verde is the only one of the three that can be made gluten free (although that does work for me).

For the most part, the tacos are being made with flour tortillas. But as in the restaurant, you can request a gluten-free corn tortilla. Co-owner Don Nicol said it may take a few more minutes to prepare the gluten-free taco, but that's okay.

TacoLu didn't bring any corn tortillas to the tent yesterday but the other co-owner, Debbie Nicol, put all of the TacoLu Verde ingredients into a cup for me so I would have something to eat there. That's why I like the people at TacoLu.

The Players has a map available of all the food venues on the course that includes a list of venues with gluten-free options. Some of the local restaurants on the list include Metro Diner, Indochine, MShack and Medure. There is also a Winn-Dixie Fresh Cafe that will have gluten-free items, including beer.

Strangely enough, TacoLu isn't on the gluten-free list.

View from the Sea Best 17 Deck

Also not on the list is the new Sea Best 17 Deck, a fan venue that overlooks the 17th green and also offers view of the 16th and 18th holes.

This looks like a private tent but it is open to anyone with a ticket. One of the food items in that tent is Sea Best Shrimp & Grits, which the tournament organizers are describing as a signature menu item for The Players.

The shrimp looked pretty good so I asked what was on it during the tour yesterday. They said it was just shrimp with a pesto sauce. I took a chance that it was gluten free and tried it (without the grits), without any problems.

I'm pretty confident that if you're going to The Players, you're going to find plenty of gluten-free food to safely eat.

Suns provide a good gluten-free experience

I went to my first Jacksonville Suns game of the season last night and I have to say it was a good gluten-free experience, with one glitch.

As I've noted before, you have to go to the Sundowner Lounge, a bar upstairs from the main concourse at the ballpark, to get the gluten-free items. I went before the game to get a hot dog and beer (they are stocking Redbridge).

The hot dog, which was a pretty good sized-hot dog, came with a choice of french fries or chips. That and the beer only cost me $10, which is pretty good for any meal at a ballpark, let alone a gluten-free meal. I never asked the breakdown but I think I was getting a happy hour price on the beer that made it cheaper.

I went back for a second Redbridge later and it only cost $5, which again is a pretty reasonable price to pay at a ballpark.

The glitch was, when I ordered my hot dog, they couldn't find the gluten-free buns. It took a while for them to track them down. The nice thing was the bartender gave me some free potato chips to eat while I was waiting for them to find the buns. So I actually ended up with a big hot dog, french fries and chips. I was pretty full.

This did make me think of a drawback to the Suns gluten-free experience. I'm quite at home sitting at a bar waiting for my food but if you're bringing kids to the ballpark, that might be a problem. I'm sure if your kids have celiac, they're going to want a hot dog and there's only one place to get them.

I should also mention that when I went for my second beer, the bartender asked if I was going to come back for another one, because she would have to go get some more. Between that and the search for buns, I'm pretty sure I was the only gluten-free customer in a crowd of 3,663. I hope that doesn't discourage the Suns from continuing to offer the gluten-free items, but I don't think it will.

Another gluten-free pizza option coming to Jacksonville

Another pizza chain that features a gluten-free option is coming to Jacksonville.

Uncle Maddio's Pizza Joint announced this week that Kevin Gartner, who operates Krystal restaurants in the Jacksonville area, has signed on as a franchisee to open five Uncle Maddio's restaurants in Jacksonville and Gainesville. The first one is scheduled to open in Jacksonville in late 2014.

Uncle Maddio's is a create-your-own pizza concept that offers customized pizzas with three crust choices, including gluten free. Its website says it has "over 20 gluten-free options."

The company said in a press release that "most entrees are brought to customers' tables in six minutes for under $7."

The concept sounds similar to Your Pie, which opened its first Northeast Florida restaurants last year in Fleming Island and Tapestry Park. Your Pie has a great program to try and avoid cross contamination on its gluten-free pizzas. Hopefully, Uncle Maddio's has a similar program.

Atlanta-based Uncle Maddio's currently has 19 restaurants in seven states. The press release said it is projecting 35 new restaurants this year and has another 165 locations in development.

An updated gluten-free ballpark guide

Going to a major league baseball park this season? Here's a fantastic and comprehensive guide to gluten-free eating at every ballpark, courtesy of Michael Savett of Gluten Free Philly:

http://www.glutenfreephilly.com/2014/04/fielders-choice-2014-gluten-free-ballpark-guide.html

As I told you a couple of weeks ago, the Jacksonville Suns have gluten-free beer and hot dogs, among other items this season. It seems that most of baseball is getting on board with serving gluten-free customers.

Gluten-free friendly Epik Burger celebrating one-year anniversary

Epik Burger, possibly the most gluten-free friendly restaurant in town, is celebrating its one-year anniversary this week. They are offering several specials Thursday through Saturday, including buy one-get one deals on drinks (soda, beer and wine).

The great thing about Epik Burger is it offers a wide variety of burgers and chicken and other sandwiches on gluten-free buns. Also, its french fries are gluten-free and, most significantly as far as I'm concerned, it has gluten-free onion rings. It's the only place I know of in Jacksonville with gluten-free onion rings. I order them every time I go.

The restaurant is located in a strip shopping center on Atlantic Boulevard opposite the intersection with Girvin Road. If you haven't tried it, it's worth the trip for anyone who has to eat gluten free.

Yes, the Suns will have gluten-free hot dogs and beer

Okay, I've had some disappointments with gluten-free food and baseball this spring, but it's good to know that the Jacksonville Suns will have their gluten-free program back in place.

For the third year in a row, the Suns will have gluten-free hot dogs, as well as burgers, sausages and chicken sandwiches available. I know just the other day I expressed my disappointment in gluten-free hot dog buns and that isn't likely to change, but there's something about having a hot dog at the ballpark which takes the sting away from stale, crumbly buns.

The Suns will also have gluten-free beer available. Jamie Davis, the Suns' general manager for ballpark foods, told me that they will be carrying a different brand than Redbridge, but he wasn't sure exactly which brand it will be. Besides gluten-free beer, the Suns will also have Woodchuck cider available.

Again, the gluten-free items will only be available at the Sundowner Lounge, a bar inside the ballpark that is open to the public. I used to think limiting gluten-free items to one location was a bad thing but after my awful experience at a Jaguars game last year, I see the benefit of having a single gluten-free location. At least the people serving food there will know the difference between gluten-free and other items.