I’m writing this having just returned from a brief trip to Portland, which absolutely blew me away with the ubiquity of gluten-free food options: it seemed like every restaurant, bakery, cafe and food cart had at least explicit gluten-free options, if not an entire menu of gluten-free food. Back home in Wallingford, we’re catching up:
We heard from Tilth that they’ll be offering a gluten-free and a vegan menu:
Maria Hines is … offering a vegan and gluten-free a la carte and tasting menus … at her Wallingford restaurant, Tilth. Up until now she has offered a vegan tasting menu, but beginning Friday, this award-winning restaurant will have a la carte dining and a 5-course tasting menu for vegans and gluten intolerant diners. These new offerings stem from Maria’s personal life in which many of her close friends have gluten allergies and many are also vegans. … Quoting Maria “I’ve found that a lot of restaurants do not put care into creating a gastronomic experience for their guests with food allergies. I wanted to go the extra mile to let vegans, gluten free and vegetarians know that they can have an inspired meal without the awkwardness of having the server list all the verbal substitutions. Now they can peruse their own menu and know that they can eat everything on it.”
The gluten-free menu features a selection of foods that are naturally gluten-free, such as Creamy Jerzy Boy Apple Soup, Juniper Coffee Beet Salad and Grilled Dakota Beef Hanger Steak.
Down on the other end of Wallingford, A Muddy Cup is now featuring gluten-free baked goods from the delightfully named d:floured. Sarah Dolezal of Muddy Cup says they’re carrying gluten-free “brownies, chocolate cookies, lemon bars, molasses cookies, and pumpkin tea cake (all dairy free), plus Apple crisp bars, raspberry bars, and cherry maple cookies (all vegan) and my favorite….Chocolate macaroons!”
Now all we need is a dedicated Paleo food cart like the delicious Cultured Caveman (where I lunched on mouth watering beef, heart and liver meatloaf and kale salad yesterday), and we’ll be GF complete.
Shameless plug: if you’re interested in eating a healthier, no processed food diet and/or have been working through food allergies, Mrs. Wallyhood (aka Michelle) is offering an afternoon-long workshop on whole foods and allergy-aware cooking that includes basic education, recipes and a sustainable, repeatable system for keeping your fridge stocked with tasty, home made food that’s good for you. More information at http://food.hive-mind.com/
Maybe this will prompt the Portlandia producers to film another episode in Wallingford.
“Smoked heirloom bean cassoulet” is so Portlandia. And it’s truly delicious too.
http://50northrestaurant.com/location/
50 North in UVillage has a dedicated gluten-free menu, yummy food. One of 2 locations, the other is The Hardware Store on Vashon Island. (Great place to film a Portlandia episode, great lighting, ambiance, live music by local musicians sometimes.)
I am SO HAPPY to hear that Tilth is going to have a dedicated vegetarian menu! I have tried to eat there twice and both times been really sad that there wasn’t much for those of us who want to eat local and low on the food chain. Thanks Maria for creating the new menu!
Kimberly, you have to ask for the vegan menu at Tilth. It’s a separate menu, but it has plenty of options on it. I love how veg-friendly Tilth is!
Portland is my favorite city for gluten-free delights. Every time I make the trip, I stop at Lingonberries Market to stock up on pantry essentials and then eat my way through Portland one delicious gluten-free meal at a time.
They’re still behind the curve though, if they don’t have month-long-fermented sourdough bread. Santa Monica pulls out ahead: http://www.wholeliving.com/183942/our-daily-bread
The future is fermented!
I am GF and really like Jhanjay Vegetarian thai and the new Taqueria. Most items they will make gluten free.
@Nancy I will have to try that restaurant.
@Donn interesting article and I have read about that bakery before. I may have to try fermenting.