Taste of India

Before being diagnosed and switching to a gluten free diet, I'd eaten Indian food occasionally, but had not been particularly impressed and rarely sought out Indian food on my own. After being diagnosed, I tended to avoid most dishes that were heavily sauced or with gravies because I assumed that they were likely to be thickened with flour or some other gluten containing ingredient and most Indian dishes seemed to fall into this category.

A few years ago, while living in Arkansas, I  tentatively rediscovered Indian food after being convinced by friends to try a restaurant in town. For those following along, these are the same friends who convinced me to try Sushi (they were pretty convincing friends) which as my previous post has shown, I previously refused to eat and now love! Here again, I found a genre of food that is actually very friendly for a gluten free diet and which I am now a huge fan of. It's amazing how much more open minded I am about food now that my choices are restricted by gluten! It seems that in most Indian restaurants, at least the ones I've been to, even the "bread" (papadums) that is typically brought to the table is gluten free as it's made from chick pea flour. Avoid the naan and other breads made from flour and most of the appetizers and it seems that for the most part the other dishes seem to be gluten free. I always double check when I try a new restaurant of course.

Yesterday we went to Taste of India on Monroe Street for their lunch buffet. We eat dinner here regularly and always enjoy our meal. The staff is very friendly and seem well educated about gluten. I don't normally eat at lunch buffets because of cross contamination issues, but since the majority of the food seems to be gluten free, I make an exception here. The menu is extensive and I'm not sure about all the items, but everything I've ever asked about in the entree section has been gluten free. I avoid the dishes on the buffet that are beside the naan and all the appetizers which tend to be breaded and fried and which are kept in a separate area. Even with doing this, there are a number of dishes to choose from. Yesterday I had the chicken tikka masala, goat curry and chick pea curry with rice and coconut and mango ice cream for dessert. Yum!

Taste of India is a pretty inexpensive option for lunch at $9.95 per person. It's served between 11:30am-3pm. For dinner an affordable way to enjoy this restaurant is with gift certificates from Restaurant.com which often has $25 gift certificates for a highly discounted rate (these are only valid for dinner). You can normally get them for $15 but I've gotten them for $2 on sale and saved them until we get a craving for Indian food since they never expire - there is a minimum $35 purchase.

Hopefully there's some delicious Indian food is in your near future. Enjoy!

Sushi Muramoto

As we were running our usual weekend errands, we decided to make a stop at one of my favorite lunch spots - Sushi Muramoto. This is somewhat strange to those who've known me for a long time, because before a few years ago, I steadfastly refused to eat sushi. However, as I've spent more time living gluten free, I've found that I'm far more willing to try foods that before I would never have eaten before such as quinoa, avocado and guacamole and yes, sushi. I now often get sushi cravings and this restaurant is my favorite place to get it in Madison.

What makes it my favorite? A number of reasons. They have wheat free soy sauce available by request which means that I don't have to go prepared with my little container from home which is what I used to do before a waiter mercifully told me that I didn't need to keep doing that since they always have it on hand...

I also like that the staff has a good understanding of gluten and I just have to make my needs known without having to explain what's involved.

The reason I particularly love going there for lunch is their special lunch menu. We always get the #2 which consists of three sushi rolls. Usually there is one inside out roll, one regular roll and one roll with a vegetable such as cucumber or avocado - all for just $10! Three sushi rolls for $10 is even better than what you could get at the grocery store and FAR more delicious. The rolls are the chefs choice, which I like, because I get to try things I wouldn't necessarily order, but if you're particularly picky about your sushi, this may not be a good option for you. I do always let the wait staff know that I'm gluten free when ordering it and they accommodate this request easily. The lunch menu is available between 11 and 3, so it's the perfect stop on a weekend while you're out looking for something delicious, inexpensive and relatively quick unless you get there in the middle of the lunch crowd, which we unfortunately did on this occasion.

These are pictures of our recent orders (mine is below, although they were both gluten free). I admit I can't remember what they were, but they did explain it when they brought it to the table. Mine had spicy shrimp and a cucumber roll - can't remember what the third one was. They were delicious though :)

Although I'm raving about their lunch menu today, I've also been there for dinner a few times and ordered from their regular menu as well as their special dinner menu and I've gone with friends who haven't ordered sushi and we always enjoy our choices. I think it's a solid choice if at least someone in your party enjoys sushi. Enjoy!