Gluten Free Dining at The Pool House San Diego

At The Pool House, our menu is carefully curated to augment your poolside experience. We want our cuisine to be accessible to everyone, including those who are on restrictive diets due to health, ethical, or other reasons. As more and more people are switching to a wheat-free lifestyle, we’ve adapted our menu to include plenty of options for gluten free diners.

Our gluten free food offerings are creative, innovative, and perhaps most importantly, highly delicious. Even the staunchest of gluten enthusiasts love the results!

In this post, we’ll take some time to introduce you to what a gluten free diet actually means, and how to maintain a gluten free lifestyle while eating at The Pool House.

What is gluten? If you refer to the dictionary, you’ll learn that gluten is a general name for the proteins found in wheat. It occurs naturally in all sorts of wheat (varieties of which include durum, emmer, spelt, farina, farro, kamut, etc), rye, barley and triticale.

What does gluten do? Gluten sounds like “glue” for a reason. It actually acts as a sort of “glue” that holds food together. In terms of baking, it helps doughs maintain elasticity and a good “chew”. While most people instantly think “flour” when they think of gluten, this is not quite accurate. It’s not just baked goods or bread that contain gluten–it can be used in a number of different products to add thickness, texture, or bulk.

What’s the problem with gluten? There isn’t a problem with gluten in and of itself. It’s the reaction it causes in the body when someone has an intolerance to gluten that is troublesome. Signs of gluten intolerance are pretty unpleasant, and can include bloating, diarrhea, abdominal pain, tiredness, and skin rashes.

Gluten intolerance can range from mild discomfort when it’s consumed, to much more serious distress and discomfort and some very serious conditions. Celiac Disease, for instance, is an immune reaction to gluten consumption.

While the many people who have gone gluten free in recent years might tempt you to call it a trend, that’s really not the case. It’s more a matter of increased awareness of the effects of gluten intolerance, which have led people to make healthier decisions for their bodies and lifestyles.

What is a gluten free diet? People who are on a gluten-free diet abstain from all manner of wheat products as mentioned above. However, it’s not necessarily as easy as just ditching the bread basket or holding off on pizza. Gluten can be found in unexpected sources, too, such as soups or sauces that you wouldn’t even think of as containing wheat. Often, this is because of gluten’s role as a thickener. In part, this is why people who need to adhere to a gluten-free diet are forever scanning food labels.

What a gluten free diet isn’t: Many people confuse a gluten free diet with a vegetarian or vegan diet. While certainly there are some people who adhere to a gluten free and plant based diet, being gluten free in and of itself does not mean that someone avoids dairy or meat.

(Source: The Pool House Facebook page)

Gluten free dining at The Pool House: While The Pool House does not have a designated gluten free kitchen facility, we do offer several options for gluten-free eaters at our establishment. Here, we’ll discuss some of the gluten free options available and offer a game plan for keeping it gluten free at our establishment.

(Source: The Pool House Facebook page)

Specific gluten-free offerings: On our menu, gluten free dishes are specified with a small symbol for easy identification. These are some of the designated gluten free options:

Granola Bowl: Our granola bowl is so good, you’ll never miss the gluten! Made with thick greek yogurt, açai, strawberries, and toasted almonds, this is a fresh and healthy item which is ideal for enjoying in the sun by our poolside.

Apple & Quinoa Salad: Whole foods never tasted so incredible! Quinoa, which boasts a slightly nutty flavor, is naturally gluten free. It acts as the perfect base for this wholesome salad, which includes chickpeas, apples, gouda, and roasted pumpkin seeds.

Side dishes: All of the items on our side dish menu are gluten free. This includes the crispy seasoned fries served with spicy ketchup, the crudite plate featuring seasonal veggies, house-made hummus, and yogurt ranch sauce, and our popular frozen fruit (featuring seasonal fruit).

(Source: The Pool House Facebook page)

Gluten-free substitutions: In addition to our specifically designated gluten free menu options, gluten free diners can make substitutions on several of our dishes within reason. Here are some tips for successfully creating the gluten free meal of your dreams:

• When in doubt, ask your server if a dish is appropriate for your gluten free diet. Sometimes, even if a dish doesn’t seem to contain gluten based in the description (such as salads, some seafood dishes, etc), there could be traces of gluten-containing products in the mixture. Be sure to clarify rather than assuming a dish is appropriate for your dietary needs.
• Ask your server for suggestions. Servers know their way around the menu, and they can often give suggestions or ideas for dishes which can be altered to suit a gluten free diet; for instance, a burger might be served without the bun, and so on.
• Don’t forget, aside from the beer offerings on our menu, most of our drink options are naturally gluten free. Cheers!

Adhering to a gluten free diet shouldn’t mean that you can’t enjoy great cuisine. Enjoy our gluten free menu options at The Pool House, and see for yourself how tasty wheat-free living can be.

Do you avoid gluten?