I am very hesitant to order a sandwich when dining out, so even though Schlotzsky’s Bakery and Cafe has been offerings them on Udi’s Gluten Free buns since 2014, it isn’t a restaurant I frequent. However, learning that Schlotzsky’s Austin Eatery concept was opening in Duluth with expanded menu offerings had me intrigued, so I took the family to check it out. The new restaurant is a twist on the original with the addition of alcohol, small plates, pizzas, salads and sandwiches made with ingredients popular in Austin’s food truck scene, like chorizo, shrimp, and pulled pork.
The Duluth location has a drive-thru, a self-ordering kiosk and table service. I let my family order first and closed out the order to hopefully speed up the process, but alas, the staff was very unfamiliar with the gluten-free offerings causing the order taker to leave the register several times to get answers from the kitchen. Answers, as it turns out, that were wrong and made it take longer for me to order. At one point, my order taker became visibly annoyed with how long it was taking, which was partially her own fault, by eyeballing the line behind me – customer service fail!
Pizzas on Udi’s gluten-free crusts are a new addition to the menu too, but I was misinformed that they could only be ordered topped with cheese and pepperoni and not any of the new ingredients. In fact, pizzas can be topped with pulled pork, pineapple, kale slaw, etc., making it a unique gluten-free offering in the Atlanta area.
I ordered a french dip and was assured the au jus (normally contains wheat flour) that accompanies it was gluten free. The sandwich arrived wrapped and uncut and now I know why. According to Schlotzsky’s, this is their procedure for preparing a sandwich on a gluten-free bun, “when a guest orders a sandwich on our gluten free bun, our ambassadors have been instructed to first remove their gloves, wash their hands, and then to put on a new pair of gloves. Next, they open the packaging, and place the bun on top of a foil sheet which we use to send the bun through the oven. After the bun is sent through our oven, the ambassador finishing the sandwich follows the same hand washing/glove changing procedures as outlined above. They lay out two sandwich papers on the finishing station, which the bun is then placed on and the sandwich build completed. We use a separate set of vegetables (lettuce, tomato, and onions), stored covered and away from our other ingredients, when guests order a gluten-sensitive item. We also do not use a finishing knife on these particular buns, and completely wrap the sandwich as we would a to-go order. Similarly, we use to-go style wrapped pickles if the guest is receiving a pickle.”
No matter what precautions that are taken, cross contact is always a possibility in a shared kitchen and my meal left me feeling tired and sluggish. I don’t know if I will go back, but if I did, I would be sure to familiarize myself with their allergy scorecard before ordering. Also, not all sandwich toppings are kept separate, so ask them to use fresh, covered ingredients when preparing a gluten-free sandwich.
