The sun is shining, and it stays bright long enough into the evening that sitting outside for hours is an appealing option. To finish this picture-perfect day, you need something to eat. Why not a burger?
For people with celiac disease or other gluten intolerances, that question gets more complicated. Edmonton is getting better at having gluten-friendly — and free — answers to the burger question.
For Woodshed Burgers those efforts have been part of the equation from the very beginning.
“Nick, our manager over at the 124 Street location, who’s been with us since day one, is celiac,” says Paul Shufelt, chef proprietor of Robert Spencer Hospitality, which owns Woodshed. “So it was important to him and he really led the charge, not only offering celiac products, but being aggressively in pursuit of trying to get better celiac products.” It only seems right that a guy working in a burger restaurant who loves burgers should get to enjoy them too.
This led the Woodshed team to experiment with many gluten-free products over the years, especially hamburger buns, trying to get it right. “Many gluten-free buns tend to be either really dense or very crumbly. They don’t hold up when eating, more often than not they have to go right from the freezer into the oven or toaster,” Shufelt explains. “They just don’t have a great shelf life.”
He says that two and a half years ago they found a bun that was perfect from a bakery called Poco-Loco. It opened up almost like a pita pocket, and was as light and fluffy as a typical, gluten-having hamburger bun. The owner wanted to wind down operations and the team at Woodshed saw an opportunity — buying the recipe for the buns — so they could continue using them for their burgers. Now, all the beef burgers from the restaurant are gluten free, and the only products on the menu that have gluten are the breaded chicken and beer-battered fish burgers.
“There’s a high demand for us to offer that,” Shufelt says. “We don’t put filler of any kind aside from seasoning into our burgers. It was a real no-brainer for us to find a good quality bun and have that offering.”
Woodshed is just one of many Edmonton burger joints with gluten-free options. Others on the list include Jack’s Burger Shack, Fox Burger and the Next Act, all of which can sub out their typical buns for gluten-free ones if you let the staff know.
When it comes to buying gluten-free hamburger buns for your own backyard grilling night, there’s Rio Vida Bakery in Sherwood Park, which is a dedicated gluten-free facility and makes everything from hamburger buns to pizza crusts, green onion cakes and cookie mixes.
Shufelt says there’s a growing movement in the food services industry to be more accommodating than it has been in the past. “Whether it’s celiac, or nut allergy, or a dairy allergy, gluten-free restrictions are probably still the most predominant,” he says. “We’re trying to adjust course and change our approach on how we take care of those guests, and we want them to be able to dine with us safely.”
Woodshed Burgers
Cameron Heights | 637 Cameron Heights Drive NW, Edmonton
Westmount | 10723 124 St NW, Edmonton
Strathcona Centre | 975 Ordze Rd, Sherwood Park
robertspencerhosp.com/woodshed-burgers
Rio Vida Bakery
Broadmoor | 42 Athabascan Ave, Sherwood Park | riovidaglutenfree.ca
