restaurant review

Jersey Mike’s Subs are Awesome

Been five years plus since I ate a hoagie straight off the counter at a sub shop. Just didn’t find any place I could trust.  The other week I heard about this place called Jersey Mikes, a small chain originally from New Jersey.  This past weekend we went there for a quick supper. I normally eat meals full of produce and clean proteins.  But for once I wanted to indulge my cravings for an Italian hoagie full of good meats and cheese. Don’t forget the lettuce and tomato!

So when I asked for a gluten free roll they started cleaning; after finishing the last customer before mine they washed, cleaned and changed their gloves after washing their hands.  A big piece of sub wrapping waxed paper and they started to build my sandwich.  Full of three or four kinds of ham and the like. Three slices of provolone, lettuce, tomatoes and a good sprinkle of oil and wine vinegar later it was ready. Sliced in half and wrapped tight.  I splurged with a bag of chips: the full surrender to oinky food!

13-italian-reg

Their photo; not a gluten free roll but you get the idea!

It was glorious! Meaty with ham, prosciutto, capicola, salami and pepperoni and that creamy provolone cheese. They topped it with lots of the green stuff: shredded lettuce and there was pretty good for February tomatoes sliced nicely. The Udi hoagie roll was okay; not great but not bad, a touch dry; I pulled off some of the surface as I just don’t enjoy eating a lot of bread. I like it balanced by the meat filling and the light dressing.  I couldn’t quite finish the entire sandwich so I wrapped up the remaining bites and had them the next day.  Still yummy.

The staff was very friendly and totally accommodating. The counter girl even asked me how I liked it after I had eaten about half of the hoagie. They made me feel comfortable in my request for safe gluten free food and that was huge.

So, I didn’t get glutened, I got fed. I conquered my fear of eating in a fast food sort of chain restaurant that serves gluten rolls in the same location as my gf meal was prepared. Perhaps that seems small to some of you but for me it was a big leap of faith and I did feel rewarded. Success: a safe meal that I didn’t have to make, it satisfied a real craving and I conquered a fear I had been struggling with for a long time. Success.

There are lots of other menu choices at this friendly little eatery: next time, a steak sandwich sounds perfect!

Barra Rossa Restaurant: Great Philly Eatery

We went to Philadelphia this past Saturday to see the Terracotta Warrior exhibit at the Franklin Institute. It was awesome. I loved every moment. Highly recommend it. Afterwards we went out to dinner in the neighborhood of  TJ Hospital a few blocks to the east of Center City. I thought I was picking a new restaurant but it turns out that Stella Rossa changed their name; due to similarity to another restaurant so we were there a while ago, maybe two years ago. As we got to the front door of Barra Rossa we looked at each other and said “We’ve been here before!”

   barra rossa lights

I remember how great their gf  pizza was so I had another pizza; different toppings; smoked mozzarella, red sauce, prosciutto, and a touch of arugula.  It was very tasty although I couldn’t hardly taste the smoke in the cheese until I ate my leftover slices for lunch. Go figure.  I didn’t think to take a pix until I had eaten some pizza; pardon the casual two slices gobbled down shot!barra rossa pizzaMy glass of California Riesling was very smooth and fruity; perfect!  We shared an appetizer of lump crab, portabella mushrooms and basil oil which was utterly delish.  Someone thought I had eaten more than my fair share!  I also had the arugula and pear salad with candied walnuts. The pears were kinda hard and it was a lot of arugula.

I only chose items marked gf on the menu and made the server aware of my gf needs as a celiac.  Yet once again I got mildly glutened.  Upon reflection. I remembered that  I had that same salad last time.  And the same mild feelings of having eating a tiny bit of gluten. I am strongly feeling that it was a matter of the candied walnuts. I know for myself that buying nuts is very problematic as often the cross contamination issue rears it’s ugly head.  Nuts are often processed on the same equipment as wheat and that is a problem.  Restaurants probably feel that they don’t need to worry about gluten in any food ingredient that normally does not contain gluten. If my issue was less serious this wouldn’t be the problem it is.  Some of us with celiac do react to tiny amounts of gluten from this sort of cross contamination while natural ingredients like nuts or dried fruit are processed.  It’s hard to believe until you experience it but this is a reoccurring problem for many celiacs. So, in this case, I have resolved not to eat nuts or dried fruit while eating out. They are just too problematic.

anjoOne more reflection, pears….they are a favorite fruit of mine but an unripened pear has no place in a salad. Slightly under ripe is okay but hard pear is virtually flavorless and the skin can be bitter.  If your pears are not ripe enough or are over ripe, use a crisp apple instead.  Just unfair to sprinkle hard wedges of pear in a salad. No one can enjoy that.  My guy does not care for pears. My best guess is that he has never had a perfectly ripened pear. Overripe they not have an enjoyable flavor.  We got some small pears at Walmart the other week and they seemed to just rot from the inside out. Ugh! Normally I like to get Anjou pears at Valley Farm Markets in a six pack and let them ripen in a bowl at room temperature. A perfect pear is a delicate, sensory treat of texture and juicy flavor. If you don’t like pears; well then, I think you haven’t had a good one yet.  Keep trying!

I do strongly recommend this restaurant. Their gf pizza is the bomb and that crab appetizer was just amazing. If you are in Philly; this is an excellent choice for a meal.  Just avoid the nuts if you are gluten free and be wary of unripe pears!barra rossa bar

Bland, Boring, Blaa!

Eating out is a scary maneuver for people with celiac disease.  Just a touch of cross contamination from the food cooked on the grill or pan just before my steak or seafood can make me feel pretty sick. Or a careless chef with flour on their hand gets just a few specks on my plate.  Or gf pasta cooked in the same water as regular pasta. That is all it takes to get glutened. But, I love to try new places so occasionally I brave my fears and dine out.  A few weekends ago we ate at Bravo at the Lehigh Valley Mall.  Their staff was really friendly and welcoming.  The place was hopping on a Saturday night at 6 pm. We had reservations but still waited about ten minutes for a table.  Families were all around us chowing down on good looking pasta.  I was hopeful.

There were no appetizers that were marked gluten free.  Bummer.  But I had an okay chopped salad with a decent dressing, the iceberg lettuce had some lumps of saggy pale lettuce but other than that it was tasty.  After a bit of a wait, our entrees were served. Mine was shrimp scampi with a white wine sauce and rotini gf pasta.  There were tiny squares of pallid tomato on top and a few microscopic flecks of fresh parsley.  The nice waitress piled on the freshly grated cheese, anything to improve the looks of this sad dish was my thought in that moment. Diving in, I couldn’t even taste any garlic. None, nadda. The shrimp were on the small side and pretty much flavorless.  The pasta wasn’t half bad even though I have never seen rotini served hot with an entrée: it is mostly used in pasta salads.  The sauce was mildly enjoyable but totally unmemorable. What the flecks of sad tomato were doing there is anyone’s guess.  Maybe a touch of color?

I see this dish as one of those gold standards that every Italian restaurant should be able to knock out of the park.  I make it myself, mine has fleck of fresh rosemary, lemon zest and bread crumbs (gf of course) and I tend to serve it with steaming hot rice. My guy is always enthusiastic when this is what’s for supper. The scampi at Bravo was nothing like homemade.  It was pale, extremely mild in flavor and as bland as you would never want.  Shrimp scampi should have bold flavors of garlic and butter that announce themselves on the first bite.  soup-003The shrimp should be large and plentiful, firm and full of flavor; they are the star of the dish after all!  Sadly, this dish had nothing going for it other than the pasta was not overcooked.

My guy had a lasagna bolognese which was similarly dull in flavor but fairly edible.  Same rule applied to the Italian wedding soup which was his appetizer. Nothing special.

Dessert was the highlight of our visit; a Crème Brulee which was perfectly constructed with a creamy rich custard and a true hard crack brown sugar crust.  There were some pieces of fresh fruit on top.  Naturally gluten free and quite yummy! I wish I had taken a picture of its perfection!

The gluten free menu choices are very bland looking; this was the most exciting thing on the list as far as I could tell.  We folks with celiac love good food just like anyone else.  We don’t want dull mildly flavored meals that could be fed to a toddler.  I wanted true Italian zing and that was totally lacking in the food I was served.  This nationwide chain should be ashamed of itself. I did call the restaurant and ask to speak to the manager, identifying myself as a food blogger. No response was ever given.  If you want bland gluten free; then this is your place. We won’t be going back. Still searching for anything even half as good as Bella’s in Hellertown.

Eating Out GF in Boston: Yummy!

Traveling again; in search of great gluten free food…in the Boston area. I ate at Legal Seafood, two different locations, two great meals.  I had mussels in wine sauce followed by a steamed lobster for supper one night.  It came with two gf rolls, warm and tasty…side of brown rice which was a bit drab: I think they left off the seasoning in a probably cautious decision (seasonings can be problematic due to flour in spice blends).  And my second side was sautéed fresh spinach.  Everything was tasty. The gf food arrives at the same time as everyone else’s but via a different waiter who is tasked with making sure you eat safely.  I had a dark chocolate mousse for dessert that was incredibly rich; couldn’t finish it! You should know that the owners of this chain have celiac family members so they really try hard to give you a great and safe gf eating experience.

Legallegal lobster

For lunch a couple days later my sister and I ate at a different Legals as the Thai restaurant we planned to go to was closed. I had some Portuguese seafood chowder full of perfectly cooked white fish, mussels, clams, chorizo sausage and tomato based broth.  It also came with those tasty gf rolls. I had a side of coleslaw, very fresh and crunchy. So nice to feel I can eat food that is safe for me and really tasty.  seafood chowder

There are three Legals in the Phila. and south Jersey area; check out the one at King of Prussia mall: http://www.legalseafoods.com/restaurants/king-of-prussia-king-of-prussia-mall.  So you can eat great gf seafood right here in PA.

myers

I also ate at a hipster kinda of Thai/Chinese restaurant in the Back Bay area of Boston: Chang and Myers… http://www.myersandchang.com/.  My shredded pea pod salad with green goddess dressing and sunflower seeds was simply amazing.  I had salmon with rice and soy sauce, all gluten free.  Perfectly done salmon.  I could have done with less sauce; not used to much of that salty stuff.  I enjoyed a wonderful baby bok choy stir fry with scallions and fresh ginger.  My only issue was the disjointed service; lots of gaps there….plus my companions’ food and mine were off synch and that took away from the wonderful flavor of my food.  I hadn’t eaten in an oriental restaurant in over three years, since going gluten free so it was a great treat to eat there. Small gf menu but everything I ate was wonderful.  I took no pictures there and couldn’t find any on line of the gf foods I ate.  You will have to trust me on the wonderfulness of my gf foods there.

the cottagecrab and shrimp salad

Ladies luncheon out at The Cottage was as great as ever. I had crab and shrimp salad with hearts of palm and a delicate lemon dressing.  It was refreshing, filling and so fresh and just beautiful to look at.  Hot gf rolls were a very nice touch.  We three ladies shared our traditional flourless chocolate torte with vanilla ice cream.  Not a scrap of that delicious dessert was left on the plate! chocolate tort

 

Finally, I had a super gf ice cream cone in Lexington at a small ice cream shop; they only charged 25 cents for a gf sugar cone.  Marvelous homemade dark chocolate topped with coffee ice cream.  Mmmmm.

 

So, if you are heading to the Boston area; there are a lot of great restaurants which have gluten free options.

Delicious Safe GF Meals for That Special Night Out

When you want to eat out for a special celebration it can be tough to find safe gluten free choices in the Lehigh Valley.  One place I like is Hotel Bethlehem,  I have eaten safely there three times.  I agree it is a tad pricy but if you eat in the Tap Room as opposed to the fancy restaurant on the next level it is a bit more affordable but the atmosphere is still comfortably upscale, the servers are very pleasant and the food is excellent.

tap room

We recently went there for our anniversary.  I was thrilled with every single moment of our visit.  The hostess placed us at a romantic table for two right at the huge windows that look out on Main Street.  It is right there in the picture I added to this post, courtesy of tripadvisor.com.

We were attended to immediately by a young man pouring cold water and our server showed up within a couple minutes.  The menu had several options clearly marked gluten free.  This marking on the menu is reassuring that they know what they are doing and are providing safe food for people like me.  I told our server I had to have only gluten free food, she said they served lots of people who requested gluten free meals and that it was not a problem at all. Sounded reassuring.

I ordered the short ribs with potatoes and kale and we shared an appetizer of mussels in a balsamic and bacon vinaigrette. Joe got to eat the grilled bread that came with that but I did enjoy the tart little mussels. The house salad was pleasant and my white wine was even better.  Then our entrees showed up and I was thrilled with the lovely beefy taste of my tender short ribs in a red wine sauce and how delightfully they went with the nice slab of creamy gratined potatoes and some still bright green sautéed kale.  I was fearful that the potatoes might not be safe – that flour was used to thicken the sauce and we immediately doubled checked with our friendly server.  She assured me that she had alerted the kitchen of my special needs when she placed my order and that my food was indeed gluten free.  Her calming words allowed me to enjoy every mouthful of that meal.  Joe enjoyed his salmon but I could see he was envying me the delightful short ribs and gratin.  I didn’t rub it in and even gave him a bite of my meat.  True love; sharing my short ribs!

We both had dessert.  Mine was a scoop of Penn State Creamery mint ice cream studded with flecks of dark chocolate.  Great flavors and mouth feel and so creamy….ice cream perfection! Joe had a chocolate mini cake with a berry sauce and some whipped cream– nice but I think I came away the winner.

tap room 2

There was a wedding going on in the ball room but it only occasionally slightly intruded with some boisterous cheering.  The service was excellent; the manager even stopped by to ask what we ordered and how we enjoyed our meals. Tasty and safe (read gluten free for us celiacs) food in a lovely setting.  Keep it in mind next time you need a special place to eat out safely.  I’m still reliving that wonderful combination of short ribs and gratined potatoes.

PS: sorry no pictures of my meal, I was not in writing mode and didn’t think of writing about the restaurant until dinner was long over.