Restaurant review: Ciatti's Ristorante

Ciatti's has long been one of Luke's favorite restaurants - we go there occasionally to meet up with his mom for dinner (as it's halfway between us in St. Cloud).

Ciatti's has a GREAT gluten-free menu - I was nervous about eating there for the first time....but have now dined twice without incident. I can honestly recommend this place - the waitstaff was knowledgeable, I didn't have to point out that GF means no croutons on my salad, etc. Refreshing.

The first time we ate there I ordered the chicken Marsala:

The chicken was served with mushrooms,squash, zucchini and onions in a Marsala sauce - delish!

The second time I had the baked mostaccioli:

GF penne pasta with a red sauce with spicy Italian sausage covered with cheese and baked. Very, very good!

Spicy chicken fusilli

One of Luke's all time favorite foods is the Spicy Chicken Penne from Ciatti's. This is my GF version of the dish.

 

Ciatti's Ristorante in St. Cloud has a GF menu....but it made me a little nervous to eat there - as they are primarily a pasta-based restaurant.  When we last dined there, I ate the chicken marsala, it was served with roasted vegetables instead of pasta - it was incredible, best of all: I didn't get sick! 

We will definitely return there for more meals, but in the meantime, I can make this replica for Luke.

Ingredients:

1 box GF pasta (like fusilli or penne)

1 small package or jar of sun-dried tomatoes

1 pound of boneless-skinless chicken breasts or thighs

1 small jar of pre-made pesto

1/2 jar of pre-made Alfredo sauce (Bertolli and Classico are GF)

1 Tbsp. EVOO

1/4 cup of seasoning (we used some paprika, cayenne pepper, Tony Chachere's Creole seasoning and some BBQ rub seasoning that I got from a spice shop in CO - use whatever you like to give the chicken a "blackened" look with the right amount of flavor).

Directions:

Heat EVOO in a large fry pan. Rinse and pat dry the chicken. Mix the seasonings in a shallow bowl and lightly coat the chicken in the spices. Place in the warmed oil in the fry pan.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to package directions. When finished cooking, drain and keep warm until chicken is done.

When chicken is finished cooking, you can prepare the pasta. Toss cooked pasta with pesto and a small amount of Alfredo sauce, just until coated lightly. Sprinkle with small pieces of sun-dried tomato. Place a sliced chicken breast on top and serve.

 

Major disappointment

Sigh.I don't even know where to begin with this. When I first received my Celiac diagnosis I immediately was relieved. Seriously. Of all the things that my symptoms could have meant - Celiac was one of the best things to hear. Considering my family history - I expected worse. I came home from the doctor very optimistic and eager to learn all I could about the disease, eager to start my new diet - and super eager to feel better. The last six months have had ups and downs, and epic fails and victories, cravings and food-related adventures.

Through my research, I learned that several big chain restaurants cater to the gluten-free crowd. I was so excited to see Outback Steakhouse on the list of restaurants with a GF menu and educated staff. Blogs raved about the menu  options and I was thrilled. My first Outback GF experience was in NC when Luke and I were on vacation in September. I got sick that night, after dinner...but I had only been on the GF diet for a few weeks and was traveling and any number of other factors may have contributed to that day's "gluten-belly". The next time we dined at Outback was with Luke's mom and her boyfriend. I had a different meal this time. Salad (sans croutons), steak and a baked potato. The first time I had the Alice Springs Chicken and veggies. That night, I also got sick.

Last week - to celebrate my birthday - we attempted to go to my favorite restaurant (Beirut Restaurant in West St. Paul) but they are closed on Sundays, so we decided to go to Outback. Blerg. I opted for a salad and the Alice Springs Chicken. Before we were even out of the parking lot heading home....I knew I had been "glutened". Ugh. I was sicker than I've been in months. I spent the rest of my b-day (observed) in the bathroom whilst my family hung out without me. I am so disappointed, not only in one of my previously favorite restaurants....but in the fact that now I don't know what and where is safe. Outback was supposed to be one of the national places I could go without worry. One of the places that I could confidently go and order from the GF menu, knowing the staff didn't need to be told that my salad must not have croutons. Thinking that the staff understood and was careful about cross-contamination issues. Ugh. I am just disappointed. Now I need to find a new "stand-by" restaurant....one I can tell friends is always "safe" for me. Any suggestions? Any other stories about Outback? Any other GF "safe" places that have burned you?

Restaurant Review: Pizza Luce

Yum! I dined at Pizza Luce in downtown Minneapolis - which now has a GF menu EVERY DAY! They used to offer GF options once a week....but it was so popular they now offer GF pizzas every day! It was delicious. I was a little worried about cross contamination - after all, they are using the same kitchen, counters, ovens etc. for their gluten-filled pies....but I didn't suffer any consequences from this meal. I highly recommend checking it out:

Restaurant Review: Hazel's Northeast

One word: De-lightful!

Hazel's opened about a month ago (first week in December) and we've been there twice...with plans to go back quite frequently. The restaurant is owned and managed by two brother's from Alexandria (my hometown) that have the restaurant business in their blood. These boys were born for this line of work - and it shows. Hazel's is located on 29th & Johnson in northeast. Here is their website: http://www.hazelsnortheast.com/home.html - they can also be found on Facebook - be sure to become a fan!

The restaurant is cleanly decorated and cozy, with artwork on the wall by famous people - like our high school friend Macaille!

Luke and I visited the second day they were open. They don't yet have a GF menu, but are working on putting one together. They were accommodating, and helped me to find something GF on the dinner menu. I had a giant pork chop with an apple chutney, with mashed potatoes and veggies. Luke had a windy city burger. The food was excellent.

A few days after Christmas, we went back - for breakfast. There were 6 of us (plus Jack) on this excursion and we sampled a hefty portion of the breakfast menu....everything was delicious.

 Bread pudding, made fresh daily:

Hippie cakes (pancakes with granola and fruit):

Mission omelette (corn, black beans, onions and cheese served with sour cream and salsa verde) with potatoes:

Biscuits and gravy:

Smokehaus omelette (three types of pork!) :

We'll soon be back for more!

Restaurant Review: Bar La Grassa

Luke and I received a very generous gift from our friend Courtney - a gc for Bar La Grassa in Minneapolis. We loved it. The food was incredible. I highly recommend giving this place a try.

Here is a link to their web page:
http://www.barlagrassa.com/
and they have their menu on the site. The food is sooooo good.

Pardon the quality of the photos....I forgot my camera and so we snapped these with Luke's iPhone:)

Luke and I each had a glass of wine, I had Pinot Grigio and Luke had a Chianti. We started with the caprese salad, the cheese was to die for.

 For our entree, we shared the Pork Tenderloin and the grilled asparagus.

 We finished our meal with the caramel crispelles. Words cannot describe this. Too yummy.

Review: The Blue Door Pub

Oh my gosh. I love burgers so much, and this place served me the best burger of my life! I highly recommend checking out the Blue Door, if you like burgers - you'll love it.

Here is their website: http://www.thebluedoorpubmn.com/

They specialize in a MN favorite - the stuffed burger (the cheese is INSIDE the burger) - Genius. Luke sampled the "Blucy" which is a bleu cheese stuffed burger and I had the Luau - which was stuffed with mozzarella and Canadian bacon and topped with pineapple. Again, genius.

We had really good service, though we did have to wait for awhile to get a table. It was a Friday night and the restaurant is small - so be prepared to wait.  However, the food was served pretty quickly for the amount of customers they had in the queue. 

The only "disappointment" (and I can't even really call it a disappointment) was the fried pickles.  They were still good.....just not up to the standard set by the Chatterbox Pub. You really can't go wrong with pickles. 

Here are some fabulous pics of the food:
Fried pickles

Luau burger:

The blucy

Review: Beirut Restaurant

I love, love, love Middle Eastern food. Luke and I used to go to Jerusalem's in Minneapolis all the time.....until we rediscovered Beirut Restaurant. Luke's family used to go there frequently when they visited Minnesota - and it is amazing. The restaurant is located on Robert Street in West St. Paul, here is a link to their website:

http://www.beirutrestaurantanddeli.com/

We usually go there for dinner when Luke's dad is in town, and I try to get everyone to go eat there when they visit us. I crave their hummus...and their tabouli is so fresh and the best I've ever sampled. Here are some photos from our most recent trip there. The white sauce in the cup is garlic, lemon and oil -mostly garlic - and it is Luke's most favorite thing in the world.

Lulu's shawirma sandwich:

My shish ta'ook (chicken) kabob:

Luke's kafta mishwe kabob: