Ju Hachi Sushi

I love sushi. My personal opinion is that sushi is possibly the safest option for someone with a gluten allergy to eat out.  Salads often end up with croutons, dressings are questionable; meats can have sauces or marinades- sushi- avoid imitation crab, no tempura or deep fried items, and be careful of sauce, but raw fish is as clean and fresh as you can get.

With a little extra security from digestive enzymes (enzymedica), I felt a little bit more comfortable with getting a little, just a little more spontaneous and adventurous about where I eat. This DOES NOT mean taking enzymes like glutenease can let you cheat, and eat gluten if you're gluten sensitive or a Celiac. Don't get the wrong idea- I didn't take a pill and eat a slice of pizza or some onion rings- I would never do that, but it's nice to know I have a little extra something on my side.  The enzymes, simply put, easy your bodies reaction in case you accidentally get gluten in your diet

This past weekend I was lucky to eat sushi for both lunch and dinner.
Living downtown you walk around a lot, and you see a lot of cute, small restaurants you want to try, and I finally got to try one of them- Ju Hachi. A cute, casual sushi place on the end of an old apartment house turned building, with a great menu selection and some great happy hour and Saturday night specials. With some smoked salmon nigiri to start, we tried out three rolls on their menu: The double crappy and the spicy-d roll minus tempura, and the twin shake, all with sauces on the side for the husband.

I casually inquired if the garlic cream sauce had soy sauce, and the waitress took it upon herself to go back into the kitchen and research all the sauces without me asking. She came back and assumed I was allergic to soy, I clarified it was gluten, and we came to the conclusion that the zigzag sauce is mayo based and gluten free- it's spicy, but super tasty. The twin shake- salmon, cream cheese, cucumber, smoked salmon, and garlic- sounds like something similar to a lot of places, but this was amazing! And the double crappy- basically snow crab and salmon, with more crab and salmon on top, was absolutely delicious- probably a new favorite of mine. Their prices are about average, but their current Saturday night special is spend $30 and get any roll for $3- now that's a deal.

I may have just been lucky this time, but I will be going back again. Without a restaurant that has a gluten free menu it's difficult for me to say this is a safe place for people on a gluten free diet.  If anything this has taught me that everyone needs to find there own comfort level with eating out gluten free, know your reaction, and know which questions to ask when eating out.