Gluten-free Gourmand

I have a Restaurant List going of Portland's many safe gluten-free eating establishments.  That list is of the restaurants in Portland that have gone above and beyond in order to offer safe dining options for people who eat gluten-free.  I want to list out a few more restaurants which may or may not be celiac-safe, but which definitely have options for those who are looking for something with no gluten ingredients.  For clarity I'll list the restaurant with what I know about its degree of gluten safety. Seven Virtues GF Sandwich Elephant's Delicatessan - Each item in the hot and cold deli case is labeled for various food restrictions.  Those labeled WF have no wheat or gluten ingredients.  The servers are very helpful when you have questions about ingredients.  However, everything is prepared in a common kitchen with no segregation. Por Que No ? - There are very few things that are made with gluten in these taquerias.  Most dishes are served w...

I try to always document this day in the year, mostly for my own reference.  Then, there's also that desire to brag a little.  This year, I'm not sure it qualifies as bragging, but I finally have my first ripe tomatoes. These are Sun Gold tomatoes, and they ripen very early.  If you consider August to be early.  Well, the point is that they ripen earlier than other varieties.  Last year my first ripe one was July 23rd.   The year before , it was July 17th.  I posted a Sun Gold tomato salad recipe on July 20th that year.  It has been a cold, wet spring in the west of the country this year.  Snow packs are still high, the weather only just turned warm, and tomatoes aren't exactly getting in early.  Here's a photo I took of Mt. Adams last weekend.  Look at all that snow! Not that I'm complaining.  It's always nice to have water.  Some of my spring crops are still going strong, and I have a ton of beautiful, huge sunflow...

Walk to the corner of NE 60th and Glisan and you'll see something that catches your eye: a sign out front of Seven Virtues lets passers-by know that they now serve gluten-free sandwiches.  Upon further investigation, it turn out that they can serve their grilled sandwiches on New Cascadia Traditional flax bread.  I was pretty excited about this turn of events so I had to sample a sandwich right away.  I got the North Tabor which has turkey, pesto and cheese. But first, I asked a few questions.  The man taking my order that day was one of the owners, and he was very helpful.  I asked if they grill the GF sandwiches on a dedicated grill, and he replied that they don't have demand or space for a dedicated grill right now, but they can give the grill a thorough cleaning before they make the gluten-free sandwiches.  They also use a separate cutting board and knife for prepping the GF stuff.  He told me that the sandwich would take a little longer than re...

I finally have a description of the Gluten Free Wit beer they are serving at Deschutes.  It's not on their website but they have it printed on their beer list in the brewery: 100% Gluten-Free Ale!  This beer is made with Sorghum and brown rice syrup for a smooth gluten-free experience.  We used German noble hops, Perle for bittering and Spalter and Hersbruckens hops for aroma, and spiced with coriander and orange peel. IBU's: 25  Alcohol content: 4.8% I reviewed this beer in a previous post , but I want to bring up something that confuses me about this beer's name.  They call it a wit beer, but it doesn't have a traditional wit appearance - that is, it's not cloudy.  Here is a description of wit beer from Beer Advocate : "A Belgian Style ale that's very pale and cloudy in appearance due to it being unfiltered and the high level of wheat, and sometimes oats, that's used in the mash. Always spiced, generally with coriander, orange peel and othe...

I just happened to see a new gluten-free pasta at one of my favorite little grocery stores today, City Market in NW Portland. It's an imported Italian penne rigate pasta. It's made from white rice flour. Italians make the best pasta, of course. This is especially true when we're talking gluten-free pasta. There are a lot of celiacs living in Italy, and they are more aware of the condition in europe compared to the US. I'll try this pasta out for you and let you know if it lives up to my very high expectations, considering I spent $8 on an 8.8-oz package! I think this officially qualifies as the most expensive pasta I've ever bought at a store. The brand name is Rustichella D'Abruzzo. It carries an organic farming seal as well as a gluten-free seal, neither of which I'm familiar with. They also had two types of corn pasta, one from the same company, also imported from Italy. Has anyone else seen this or any other brand of imported Italian pasta in...

The Deschutes Brewery is now going to have gluten-free beer on tap year-round! I heard about the brewery developing some new gluten-free beers a few days ago and went to the brewery to verify. My server, Jen, was extraordinarily helpful. Not only did she verify that they would be serving gluten-free beer year-round, but they also are working on various recipes. I had been in several months ago to try the Gluten-free Golden Ale , which I had really enjoyed. It was bitter and hoppy. The recipe included sorghum, brown rice and roasted chestnuts. At right is a picture of my friend Ben from Gluten-free PDX with that very ale. I asked Jen about gluten-free options on the menu, because at first glance there didn't seem to be a lot of clear choices. She clued me in to the fact that they have things that can be made gluten-free indicated with a little symbol of a head of wheat crossed out. Vegetarian options are noted with a green leaf. When she came back with our beers, J...

I had a good weekend. Saturday morning I went to the Portland Farmer's Market , where I scored some great lamb steaks from SuDan Farm , ate some habanero caramel chocolates from Alma Chocolate , and bought some vegetable starts for my garden. Then I went to the Gluten-free Food Fair, which I heard about through the Gluten-free Portland website. New Cascadia Traditional was there, as well as numerous other vendors. The highlight was sampling the gluten-free pizza from Mississippi Pizza Pub , which I hadn't tried before. The crust was really good, kind of like an herby foccacia bread, but not too thick. I'll have to go down there and do a full review of the place soon. I hear they also serve GF beer there. After the fair I went to Bob's Red Mill for the first time. They have a good selection of GF pastas and other products in the store. I bought some Ener-G White Rice Spaghetti that I'm excited to try, as well as some Tinkyada spinach spaghetti that look...

It's been a while since I've plugged the New Cascadia Traditional Bakery . This is our local gluten-free bakery in Portland, Oregon. I go to their kiosk in Nortwest or at the farmer's market at least once a week. They come out with new products pretty regularly, and I have recently started enjoying their biscotti. These look, taste, and feel like the wheat kind, and they soften perfectly in your coffee.

Today I would like to write an ode to the New Cascadia Traditional tart. I have gained five pounds since this gluten-free bakery kiosk opened in NW Portland not far from where I work. Am I complaining? No - I am still overwhelmed and delighted to go somewhere and be able to eat anything they sell. Their tart looks like something out of the case of a french patisserie, and the taste does not dissappoint. It has a buttery tart crust that is similar to the pastry shell of their galette. It is filled with a custard cream and topped with fruit, in this case apricot and blueberry. The fruit is in turn topped with a simple clear glaze typical of french-style tarts. The only variation from a tart you'd buy in Paris is the crust, which does not have the light flakiness that a true french pastry has. The New Cascadia crusts are a bit heavier and have a little bit of a whole-grain feel to them, but still have a buttery rich quality I love. While I have experienced this tart when ...

I hold fast to the belief that going gluten-free doesn't mean eating meals that a person with normal digestion would never tolerate. However, in my quest for gluten-free alternatives I have braved many a meal some would qualify as inedible. In all my days I can't think of anything I've eaten that was worse than soy pasta. Not only is soy pasta not a standard grain substitute, but it hardly deserves the label "food." The texture is so far removed from what one expects from a pasta that it is disturbing to eat. The texture is so wrong that it is useless to ruin your favorite sauce by placing it on top of this noodle product. It is experiences like eating soy pasta that might convince a gluten-free novice to give up on experimenting with new brands or substitutes. However, I personally have not considered giving up on food as a practical option. And what I must consume to live I will find a way to enjoy eating. After the soy pasta fiasco I was determined to f...