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!
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