M Shack has gluten-free buns

I don't know how long this has been going on, but M Shack is now offering gluten-free buns for its hamburgers.

I had talked to one of the owners a few months ago about this and she said it was under consideration, so I was surprised to see it added to the menu. The restaurant, which has four locations, is charging $2 extra for a gluten-free bun.

I visited the Atlantic Beach restaurant to check it out and unfortunately, I was somewhat disappointed. It was a very good tasting burger but the bun, like so many other gluten-free buns, crumbled in my hand.

Also, the French fries are not gluten free. In fact, there is no gluten-free side option to go with your burger.

The M Shack menu does mark burgers and other items that are gluten free with a "GF." Besides burgers and a chicken sandwich, the gluten-free options include shakes.

So anyway, I'm not rushing back to M Shack anytime soon. But it's good to know if you're with a group that wants to go there, you can actually eat a burger.

CeliAct's gluten-free Halloween guide

Halloween is next week, which always scares us for reasons beyond a haunted house.

Here's a good gluten-free Halloween guide from CeliaAct:

https://celiact.com/blogs/the-celiact-blog/halloween-for-celiacs-beware-of-hidden-gluten?mc_cid=f19b45e9b4&mc_eid=5c025bbd46

Burrito Gallery worth a try

Before the storm, I visited the new Burrito Gallery in Jacksonville Beach last week. And since it remains intact and is back in business, I figured it's time to write about it.

I had been to the downtown Burrito Gallery B.C. (before celiac) and liked it, but I seem to remember checking the menu after I went gluten free and not seeing anything we could eat there.

When the new beaches location opened at the corner of Beach and 3rd, I figured it was worth checking again. I didn't see any indications of gluten-free food items on the menu, but I did see a gluten-free beer on the beer list.

As I've said before, it doesn't matter if you drink beer or not, but it's worth checking out gluten-free beer websites to find restaurants that sell the beers. If a restaurant does offer a gluten-free beer, I have to believe the restaurant is at least somewhat gluten-free friendly.

I did see on the menu that tacos are offered with a choice of flour or corn tortillas, so I figured I could give it a try.

The server seemed knowledgeable about gluten-free issues and while she wasn't sure about all of the items, she did help me order a couple of tacos on corn tortillas that seemed to be gluten free. She did point out that the teriyaki taco wouldn't be gluten free because of soy sauce.

So I had two tacos and they were good. They seemed similar to the kind of tacos you would find down the street at TacoLu.

So yes, you can probably eat at Burrito Gallery. You'll want to ask a lot of questions before ordering, but I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Here's a gluten-free emergency food option

It may be too late to get to the store now but if you're trying to find a quick gluten-free item for a hurricane evacuation, here's a good option I found recently.

They're called ThinkThin bars, and they are available in several varieties at Publix for $1.50 each. They are high protein bars that are certified gluten free and have the additional bonus of being sugar free.

I discovered them a couple of months ago when I was stuck in airport desperately looking for something I could eat to get me through the trip, and I've been buying them ever since just to keep around the house. And they were the only specific hurricane-prep food I went out and bought.

If you can get to Publix today, you might want to check them out.