Food Week in Review

Last week there were even more restaurants on the agenda than usual. Here's a quick wrap up of the highs and the lows...

On Wednesday I had a fun dinner with a friend at Jacs. Jacs is a fantastic choice for gluten free dining and one day soon I'm sure I'll provide a more complete review since I'm there fairly often. On this occasion I was craving a burger and fries and that's exactly what I had - GF bun and all! With a glass of hard cider which Jacs keeps on tap. The burger was cooked perfectly and the frites and cider were the perfect accompaniment. Yum! I almost want to get another one right now as I'm writing about it.

Did I mention that they have a dedicated GF fryer for their frites and, drum roll please... GF fish fry on Fridays. If they made GF fried chicken, I would have to see about moving in!

Thursday brought us to Nostrano, a fairly new restaurant downtown. Over the past year there have been a number of new restaurants that have opened on the square. This one has had really good reviews which intrigued me, so off we went. Nostrano has an extensive wine list and the bartender happily suggested a red wine to accompany our meal - a wonderful selection. He was not as familiar with the restaurant's gluten free offerings as the staff at Jacs, but after a quick check with the kitchen he was able to offer us a number of choices. We shared the Sea Scallop with Oxtail starter which was delicious. The delicate texture of the sea scallop with the richer, heartier oxtail was a fantastic combination. I would highly recommend it.

We also split the Braised Beef Shortribs (without the gnocchi) which was served on a bed of swiss chard.  The shortribs were, in our opinion, OK and a bit disappointing after the sea scallops left us with high expectations. If you've had the shortribs at Quivey's Stone House I think you might also find the ones at Nostrano to be disappointing. If you haven't and you're a fan of tender, wonderfully flavored short ribs, I'd make a date to try the ones at Quiveys ASAP.

Unfortunately we ended the week on a less than happy note with a trip to The Bayou, a New Orleans style restaurant just off the square. I've been to the Bayou before and got glutened, but the group I was with wanted to go and so I gave it another shot. Let's just say I won't be back. The Bayou has a lot of typical po-boy fare as well as other classic New Orleans dishes. Upon entering I asked the waitress about her GF options. She assured me that the Red Beans and Rice and Jambalaya would be safe options and that neither was made with a roux. Given my previous experience, I scrutinized the menu further only to discover that the red beans and rice listed beer as one of the ingredients. I questioned one of the waiters and was informed that there was probably only "a little" in the dish. Even though that should have been enough for me to give up on eating there, I asked about the Jambalaya (I was really hungry). I was told that he would double check on it and never heard another word about it as my dining companions received and ate their meal. It is rare that I will find a restaurant in Madison that cannot accommodate a GF diet, but this seems to be one of them.

I took myself, half starved to Saigon Noodle and grabbed a quick bite. This is another frequent stop of ours, but on this occasion I was too hungry to take a picture of the meal for you. If you're looking for good, affordable Vietnamese food, give them a try!

I'm not sure where my dining adventures will take me next, but I'll keep you posted. Happy eating!

Bloom Bake Shop

I have a confession to make...I'm in love with Bloom Bake Shop. This is not a secret to those close to me. I've raved about their cupcakes and my obsession with them to most people who know me well and many who don't.

Bloom is a charming bake shop in Middleton, Wisconsin run by Annemarie Spitznagle who herself charms you upon entering. Bloom specializes in cupcakes and strives to use local and organic ingredients as much as possible. Walking into the storefront, you feel welcomed into the "kitchen" by Annemarie and her friendly staff who are always excited to tell you about what new and interesting cupcakes they have baked up that day. Bloom has a number of seasonal cupcakes and are frequently creating new flavors.

Bloom bakes "traditional" cupcakes as well as a variety of gluten free and vegan cupcakes. There is always at least one gluten free item daily and often a few to choose from. You sometimes have to get there early before they sell out, because they're so delicious, non-gluten free-ers are often snapping them up too! Bloom takes a number of precautions to ensure that there is no cross contamination including a separate area for preparation of gluten free items and baking these items first thing in the morning before other items are prepared.

This Saturday, we stopped in (as we do many Saturdays) and I had the difficult task of choosing a cupcake. On this day, I was determined to only order one cupcake after overindulging on a recent trip. As you might have guessed by now, I was not successful and ended up ordering the butternut squash with maple buttercream frosting to enjoy in the store while we chatted with Annemarie.

I also ordered the chocolate, chocolate chip with vanilla frosting "to go." I did surprisingly wait until Sunday to enjoy it, even though this box tortured me all of Saturday knowing what was inside.

It's OK to eat cupcakes for breakfast right? :)

I am unfortunately not an eloquent enough writer to describe the joy these cupcakes bring me. I can only encourage others to try them for themselves. Enjoy!

Kung Hei Fat Choy!

To celebrate the New Year, we braved the aftermath of the blizzard and went to Imperial Garden - West for dinner. In the past it's been challenging finding good Chinese food that's gluten free, but I've always been happy with the selections here and many of the menu items can be made GF as they use gluten free soy sauce and make other modifications by request. The staff seems to have quite a good grasp of gluten intolerance.

We ordered the Three Delicacies Sizzling Rice which is a mild dish of shrimp, scallops and chicken with some veggies in a clear sauce over sizzling rice.

I'm a sucker for food that sizzles or flames at the table and in addition to it being a fun dish, it's pretty yummy too! It was also a nice complement to the spicier Fragrant Pork that we also ordered which is a spicy pork dish with veggies and served with rice. There was more than enough food for both of us to have generous portions of each, and also have leftovers for another day!

I love having a variety of food when I go out to eat and with so many great options, everyone can order their meals GF to be shared family style and no one misses the gluten because everything's so delicious. They also have lots of dishes which remind me of home which makes it even more appealing.


Mmmm, can't wait to eat those leftovers...