Jazzy Dog Cafe

I went to this cafe, which is located off of Orange Ave. near the Amtrak station and the hospital, when I first got diagnosed with Celiac, and was really excited to see potatoes and sweet potatoes on their menu with a wide array of toppings available. I ate a potato, and I felt kind of weird after, but it was during a time when I had a lot of problems with my stomach, so I thought nothing of it. Yesterday, I wanted a potato, so I asked Aaron if we could go. He loves the place for its specialty hot dogs, so he said yes right away. Before ordering, I informed them of my gluten allergy, and they checked on several ingredients for me. I asked about the toppings and found out that there aren't utensils for the different toppings, they just grab them with their hand. This made me uncomfortable about cross-contamination, so I decided to pass on a potato. SAD! I knew, however, that their fries were cooked in a grease-less fryer, so there were no cross-contamination issues there. After more inquiries about the ingredients, I found that the cheese fries were gluten free. The chili, however, is not, so I chose to include salsa on my fries. The man who made my order was very careful and washed his hands several times. The fries were very good, though I'm not used to eating food as oily as the cheese sauce. I took upon myself to mention to him that if he got separate utensils (or at least one) for his toppings, that he would get a lot of customers with gluten concerns, because we can eat potatoes. This was a bold thing to do (very out of character for me), and he was sort of insulted (oops!). He said that they were actually very careful and had very little issue with cross-contamination there. He said they wash their hands and use hand sanitizer frequently and recently got inspected for cross-contamination. I might go back and try a potato, especially because I accidentally insulted them. They seemed to be careful but not as knowledgeable as I would like them to be for my comfort. The food's delicious, though, so I recommend it on that level. If nothing else, stop by for some cheese fries. They're pretty amazing!


Knowledge - 3 stars
Accommodation - 3 stars
Taste - 4 stars