Anonymous wrote: Be sure to tell them DC is allergic, so they don't just tell you what you want to hear and serve you the same.
Good point. My wife is a Celiac and we've found the phrases "I'm allergic to gluten" or "I have a gluten allergy" creates a lot more awareness/attentiveness than "I'm gluten-free", especially if there is a language barrier with the server (more often at Chipotle or the Cava fast casual restaurants).
Not surprisingly, if the restaurant has a GF specific menu or specifies GF items on the menu, they tend to have better trained or more aware servers. As someone else mentioned, the Jose Andres Jaleo/Oyamel/Zatinya servers are fantastic with this. The menus are marked GF, but they go the extra mile to notify the kitchen staff and inquire with bartenders about drink ingredients (like margaritas).
You can almost always get a sense of the waiters knowledge/lack of knowledge with GF when you mention the allergy. If they look clueless or are absent-mindedly overly assured like "Oh yes, almost everything is GF" then request that they go back and talk with the kitchen staff before the order is in. Sometimes I think waiters/waitresses think they look better/more competent if they appear to know all the answers to your questions (I understand this), rather than go back and ask...but if your dealing with an allergy, it's always preferred to ask.