Going out to eat? Before you do, prepare yourself by knowing where to find the gluten in a typical restaurant and what to order instead.

Drinks:

Beer is not gluten-free (unless it is gluten-free beer), so have a glass of wine, champagne, sake (Japanese rice wine) or a cocktail. Distilled alcohol is thought to be OK even if it comes from grain, but some people opt to stay away from it anyway. You may also be able to find hard cider, which is sort of like having a beer, but much sweeter - but be sure there is no malt in any beverage you choose.

Soup:

Make sure there is no flour in it, and that they don’t top it with croutons or crostini. If it is an Asian soup, beware of soy sauce (contains wheat) or miso (some are made with barley). You should also ask if they use a broth made from a bouillon cube, which can have gluten in it. This can also be an issue with rice cooked in broth.

Salad:

Make sure the dressing is not thickened with flour. In chain restaurants, check the ingredients of the dressing. Most of the time, it comes in a big jug with many ingredients, and may contain wheat starch or soy sauce, even in a dressing you wouldn’t suspect. You can ask for straight oil and vinegar. In higher-end restaurants, vinaigrette dressing is usually a safe option because they make it in house. Don’t forget to say “No croutons or bread.”

Appetizers:

Look out for anything battered and fried, like onion rings, fried zucchini, and fried calamari. You also need to be careful of non-gluten foods being fried in the same oil with gluten-containing foods. Check if the french fries are fried in the same oil as the other fried stuff. Also check if the corn tortilla chips at a Mexican restaurant are fried with flour tortilla chips or the big flour tortilla bowl used to serve salads. If you can’t have the chips, then ask for some corn tortillas to dip in the salsa instead.

Asian-style appetizers:

Soy sauce is often used for Asian appetizers, so you could ask for the sauce to be left on the side for the other people at your table. Beware of the wrappers used in egg rolls, spring rolls, dim sum, won tons or other Asian dishes. Some are made with rice, but most are wheat or a combination of rice and wheat.

Meat and Fish:

Ask if the meat or fish is marinated in soy sauce or if it is floured. Even some Mexican restaurants buy pre-marinated meats that have soy sauce in it. Sometimes (but rarely) meat is marinated in beer.

Sauces:

If there is a sauce or gravy on anything, make sure there is no soy sauce or flour in it. Flour is often used as a thickener.

Fried Main Courses:

Many things that are fried are battered or floured first, like fried fish or fried chicken. See Appetizers above regarding other fried foods.

Side Dishes:

Obviously pasta is not an option. Potatoes, rice, corn and beans are usually safe (but always ask). Polenta is usually safe as it is made from cornmeal.

Dessert:

The hardest category of all is dessert. Most everything on a restaurant dessert menu is some kind of pie, cake or pastry made with wheat. Look for flourless chocolate cake, chocolate mousse, creme brulee or flan — these desserts are made mainly of cream or milk, sugar and eggs. Sorbet or ice cream might be an option (make sure they don’t put a little cookie on it), or ask for fresh berries.