Red Robin finally in Jacksonville.

I've been waiting for years for Red Robin to come to Jacksonville, and the hamburger restaurant finally opened a Jacksonville location a couple of weeks ago at the St. Johns Town Center.

There's two things that make Red Robin very appealing: they offer gluten-free buns as an option for $1 extra, which isn't too bad considering the surcharge at other places. And, they say their french fries are cooked in a dedicated fryer and are gluten free.

Also, the french fries are "bottomless," so you can get more if you want them.

You can also get an Omission Beer, which some people want to avoid but if you're okay with Omission, that makes Red Robin one of the few places you can go for a gluten-free burger, fries and a beer.

So I went last night to the new Red Robin and it was everything I hoped it would be, for the most part. The best part was when I ordered another plate of fries, it came almost instantaneously. It was very impressive.

The one drawback to the restaurant was trying to get allergen information. There are numerous burger options and I was interested in one called "Red's Tavern Double" that included "Red's Secret Tavern Sauce." I asked the server if the sauce was gluten free and he went to the kitchen to ask, but nobody had an answer. So I just ordered a conventional burger.

Your best bet is to check on the menu online (www.redrobin.com) before you go. The menu has a link to an allergen check, but it doesn't seem to work so well. I found the best way to get to the allergen menu is to go there directly at www.redrobin.com/allergen-customizer.html

Just click on "gluten" as your allergen (or whatever other allergens you need to check) and go to the menu from there to find out what you can eat.

I have visited Red Robin in other cities, and I'm glad we finally have one in Jacksonville.