Pizza Nova

We travel a lot in southern Ontario and for quite some time whenever we are near Barrie around dinner time we have been going to this location because it has always been one of the best Pizza Nova restaurants. Today, however, we stopped here to get food with disasterous results. My wife does not choose to eat gluten free but has to because of her allergy to gluten. We have always had a good experience with the gluten free crust here until now. The crusts are pre-made so there should be no chance of major contamination but, for some reason, today the bottom of the pizza was covered with flour. Since these are pre-made our suspicion is that this is wheat flour. My wife didn't notice at first and started eating the pizza but then commented on the flour. Since we got home this evening my wife has been sick beyond belief. Based on past experience this is gluten poisoning without a doubt. Now it will be around 3 days of her struggling to even get out of bed, except to rush to the bathroom. I'm not sure if this has happened because the restaurant was really busy when we went there but people serving specialty items, like gluten free crust, have to be more aware of the ramifications of contamination. There are people with even more severe allergies to gluten that could end up in the hospital over something like this happening to them. I am hoping this doesn't happen to anyone else. I assume, that like me, others spend a lot of time and effort making sure that family members with gluten issues aren't exposed to it in any shape or form. Every grocery item is checked and any food eaten out of the home is researched prior to purchasing to make sure our family member is safe. It can be a challenge every day but even moreso when dining out. Generally, when we find something acceptable, like the Pizza Nova gluten-free crust, that also tastes good, we don't stray too far when dining out. When we have an experience like today it really discourages eating anything away from home because it seems that others don't understand the importance of the necessity of minimizing the gluten contamination in their food preparation. As with most places, we understand that their food is considered more gluten-wise rather than gluten-free but we're generally okay with that. The issue today was definitely major contamination way beyond gluten-wise. Caveat emptor to anyone with gluten issues and are thinking about dining out.

I’ve been searching all over trying to find a place that can make a delicious gluten-free pizza. This place is hands down the best I have ever had.. The search is over!