Francesca's al Lago

On Thursday evening we stopped into Francesca's al Lago for a quick dinner. Francesca's is a chain of restaurants that started in Chicago and which opened it's first restaurant in downtown Madison last year. They have a gluten free menu with a fair number of choices, including dessert and carry gluten free pasta which is a corn/quinoa blend. Francesca's has a large bar area with a good wine list and is a fun location for meeting friends and then possibly grabbing a bite to eat after.

After trying the pizza at Greenbush Bar recently, I was left wanting for some good pasta and so I ordered a pasta dish with scallops, mushrooms and asparagus in a cherry tomato sauce. The dish was listed as a shrimp dish but apparently the restaurant does not stock shrimp (at least not the night I was there) because this menu item is not listed on the regular menu and so I was offered scallops as a substitution.

There certainly was a lot of pasta and except for the fact that it was broken up, it was cooked well as was the overall dish. Although, the meal was not particularly exciting, it was hearty and about what you would expect. The service was good and the meal arrived quickly. I was quite full after eating this gigantic bowl of pasta and did not have room for dessert, but would expect that it would have been about the same - satisfactory, but nothing particularly exciting. I'm certainly still in the market for a good Italian restaurant in Madison that can cater to a gluten free diet. So far the leader of the pack seems to be Biaggi's which is another restaurant chain that also has a gluten free menu and is located in Middleton. Other ideas welcome!

Greenbush Bar

Since moving to Madison, I've heard about Greenbush Bar and gotten lots of rave reviews about their menu, particularly their brick oven pizzas. Greenbush Bar is located on Regent Street and easy to miss unless you're looking for it. It's located in the basement of the Italian Workmen's Club and has a rich history in Madison.

Prior to being diagnosed, I spent countless hours eating Italian food, good bad and mediocre because Italian restaurants are everywhere to be found and easily taken for granted. Since switching to a gluten free diet, I've approached Italian restaurants with caution because it seems that it's generally unlikely that I'll be able to make a meal out of the items of the menu unless I'm in the mood for salad while my dining companions eat pasta/pizza. To be sure, with the increase in the number of Italian chain restaurants offering gluten free menus, options for gluten free Italian dining are not as limited as they have been in the past. However, eating Italian food from a family owned restaurant on a gluten free diet is often challenging.

After learning that Greenbush Bar offers gluten free pastas and pizzas, I was excited to eat there. Memories of rich ragus with freshly made pastas from my pre-diagnosis days in New York City came to mind as we were seated and I got a whiff of what the kitchen had to offer.

This past Friday was my first visit there and as I looked at the menu, I was torn between ordering one of their pasta dishes or a pizza. The smell of the pizzas on the tables of the other guests and the gusto with which they were eating convinced me to try one of their gluten free pizzas. At Greenbush, the pizza comes with sauce and cheese and the toppings are ordered individually. After much deliberation, I ended up ordered the gluten free pizza with sausage, artichokes and feta and a glass of wine.

 


First I will say that the toppings were delicious. All three toppings together were a bit much and the pie would probably have been better with just two, but that was my own doing and something I'll keep in mind if I return. The bottom of the brick oven crust was deliciously crispy. However, somewhere between the crispy bottom of the crust and the toppings, the pizza did not meet expectations. I'm not sure whether the pizza was underdone or whether the ratios of the flours used were not appropriate but the crust had an unpleasant consistency that stuck to my teeth and was not enjoyable. Overall, I give this pizza a "B."

I  may yet give Greenbush another try, probably ordering one of their pasta dishes, or another pizza with fewer toppings and requesting some extra time in the oven because if they were able to solve the crust issue, this could potentially be a great gluten free dining option. Hopefully you have some delicious Italian food in your future! Enjoy!