• Being sensitive to gluten doesn't mean you have to give up going out to eat.some appetizing food at banquet table image by Aleksey Kondratyuk from Fotolia.com
  
  The gluten-free diet is a relatively new diet that offers the only real treatment for people with celiac disease. Gluten is a protein found in a wide array of grain products and foods made with grains. Patients with this condition are allergic to gluten or cannot process it without physical discomfort. As awareness of this disease has spread, restaurants have begun to include items on their menus to accommodate this dietary restriction.
  
  

Austin Grill Penn Quarter

• Austin Grill brings a taste of Southwestern hospitality to the nation's capital, with food served at cheerful blue tables in intimate, recessed lighting. A Tex-Mex franchise that began in Austin, Texas, this restaurant prides itself on serving fresh, authentic, Tex-Mex flavors with an "Austin twist." Margaritas here are a specialty, made exclusively with fresh limes. They have a full gluten-free menu to cater to those sensitive to gluten, featuring options for everything from corn-based breakfasts, burgers with potato buns, to nachos and ice cream.
  
  Austin Grill Penn Quarter
  
  750 E St. NW
  
  Washington, DC 20004
  
  202-393-3776
  
  austingrill.com
  
  

Legal Sea Foods

• Legal Sea Foods is an upscale eatery whose Washington location is tucked away on Seventh Street. The interior is a study in polished steel and glass with monochromatic accents. The restaurant's gluten-free menu features gluten-free options of nearly everything on the regular menu, from crispy shrimp battered in chickpea flour, to dishes substituting jasmine or brown rice for the traditional pasta. There is also a limited children's menu featuring lobster, fish sticks and cheeseburgers.
  
  Legal Sea Foods
  
  704 7th St. NW
  
  Washington, DC 20001
  
  202-347-0007
  
  legalseafoods.com
  
  

Mitsitam Café

• The Mitsitam Cafe is located inside the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian and features menus that showcase seasonal Indian dishes. A gluten-free menu is available upon request, and many of the dishes on the regular menu are naturally gluten-free. When ordering, you have the choice of ordering from the Great Plains, Northern Woodlands, South America, Northwest Coast or Meso-America menu. Gluten-free desserts include sweet potato pie with whipped honey, blue corn zucchini cake and mesquite pinon cookies.
  
  Mitsitam Café
  
  4th Street & Independence Avenue SW
  
  Washington, DC 20560
  
  202-633-1000
  
  nmai.si.edu