We haven't been going to expensive restaurants lately, but Saturday was a special occasion so we drove down to Michael's Genuine Food & Drink in the Miami Design District.

I dropped Hania off in front of the courtyard and went to park. Entering the restaurant a few minutes later, I found her sitting by the window with two other people. She's friendly, but doesn't usually work that fast. Then I noticed there was a space of a couple inches separating our table from our neighbors'.

The waitress arrived and Hania gave her spiel: that she is a celiac and cannot eat any food that has wheat, barley or rye in it. The waitress looked slightly pained by this news, not for Hania but for herself. Another diner with weird dietary requests.

This happens a lot. But celiac disease is as genuine as Michael's food. People who have it must avoid gluten, as it destroys the lining of the small intestine. It is becoming better known, and yet the people who have it are often, at restaurants, made to feel like nuisances.

Part of the problem at Michael's was the fact that the waitress couldn't get close to Hania to discuss her diet - because of the neighboring table - and so had to hear about it from over my shoulder (and filter it through the music and noise). Hania would ask her about a specific item on the menu and she would give her (not all that authoritative) assessment. A good waitress would go and ask the chef what foods were gluten-free, come back, and give the customer a choice - plus a feeling of assurance.

In the end, our meal was fine. I had ceviche and chargrilled octopus and Hania had oysters and duck confit. But we didn't leave a big tip.

Postscript: Driving down Biscayne Blvd. after dinner, we saw, close to downtown, a sign in a storefront: "Coming soon: Bengal - Modern Indian cuisine." Indian food, like Thai and Vietnamese, is usually fine for celiacs (as long as they stay away from the bread).