dining out – Holly's Gluten Free Home

Great Gluten Free Eats in Miami! Deli Lane & Misha’s Cupcake’s Cookies for Dessert! (Yes. That’s Right…GlutenFree)

On April 22, 2015

I usually eat out 1-2 times per week, and of course, have some degree of anxiety over what I may accidentally ingest. I have really found that well written menus with simple fresh ingredients are more reliable than “gluten free”. There are some great, reliable gluten free places in Miami, but I like to find somewhere that my friends don’t make the “gluten free face”….. Yeah… It’s true, right? So I choose places that don’t have complicated sauces or salad dressings, and have delicious fresh foods!

Deli Lane is a Miami favorite… Especially for brunch… Weeknights and weekend evenings, the wait is non existence, the service great, the atmosphere chill and the menu casual, and varied…. As a bonus… They always have a gluten free item of the day (which in fairness, I have never ordered because their salads and omelets are just too good).

This time, we grabbed an outdoor table on Saturday evening, and I ordered a Strongbow Cider at the recommendation of our waiter and it was GREAT!

cold, crisp, light and delicious

For dinner (brunch is served all day) I ordered the brunch enchilada. Corn tortillas layered with refried beans, eggs, cheese and tomato…. Just great & with a side of cheese grits! The gluten free special of the day was pancakes with berries…yum.

brunch enchilada at Deli Lane

I have been dining here for years. The staff knows what gluten is and can tell you if the dish you would like is safe, the food is consistently good, the happy hour is fab and I have never gotten so much as a stomach ache… Although once I ordered potato skins for dinner and I had to be rolled home…

Dessert?

Now… If you come to Miami, or you live in Miami, you’ve got to try Misha’s Cupcakes. There are stores throughout Miami and Misha recently began selling gluten free foods. High quality ingredients with high flavor desserts. If you need a sugar fix, this should be it. I don’t eat too many sweets, but tonight I tried her new ginger cookies… Soft, right texture and ginger snap taste inside and out. I ate 3… Yes, I did and don’t judge.. One word, Yum.

Misha’s Cupcake’s Gluten Free Ginger Cookies

Date Night! Talavera- Coral Gables

By GlutenFreeHolly

On April 12, 2015

In Gluten Free Dining

Night out & we are going to one of my favorite restaurants, Talavera www.jaguarhg.com ! This restaurant has reliable food & service, a great location & reservations on Open Table. Perfect! I really enjoy Mexican food because there are so many vegan, vegetarian and gluten free choices. And for dinner with friends who eat meat….that’s always there as well. On arrival, the place was packed, but still no wait! The only bad thing about Talavera is that I have never, ever had room for dessert… In fact I usually order appetizers and an entree to share! If you are a big eater, you will definitely love it!

We started with Margaritas (can you say über?). I got the “ambitious” margarita (yes! I did!) and my date got the “flor de pasion” margarita.

flor de pasion margarita

the ambitious margarita

We ordered the queso fundido poblano as appetizer #1 which comes with handmade flour tortillas that they happily switch for corn. This is so good…just order 2 and skip dinner!

queso fundido

queso fundido on fresh homemade corn tortilla

Next we got the jicama & cucumbers with chili piquin. So fresh and crispy, if it wasn’t so spicy I could eat it all night!

Finally, we order the vegetarian Huarache, or sandal. These have a masa base and then are filled with a variety of toppings. They have many choices, but the veggie Huarache is full of fresh roasted zucchini, onions, black beans, cheese & a lot of guacamole. Divine!

this huarache, or sandal, is like a size 12…. maybe its for the Miami Heat! super delicioso

Well…I’m full and that was so yummy! No tummy ache = excellent! See you there! ❤️

Shula’s … Pretty nice date night

By GlutenFreeHolly

On March 25, 2015

In Gluten Free Dining

wednesday night… Still no kids… Hair already done... I’m going to skip the run and have a nice date night! We park in South Miami and begin perusing menus and decide upon Shula’s…. Where, suprisingly, we have yet to try!! Www.shulas347gables.com

they should not have given me a pen

The ambience is quiet… Steakhousey (yes, that IS a word), and almost romantic. We get a booth (getting closer 🙂 )and check out the menu! Drinks are good… I have a glass of wine and my date has dragonberry mojito! (Yum)

The chef answers quickly and informatively regarding gluten free items ( so far, no pain, so all good here!) and we order… Now I should mention, we are not 2 appetizers, 2 entrees, 2 dessert type people… I just can’t fit all that in!! However, a couple of sneaky PEEPS fit after dinner anyway! So.. We ( means I) order truffle fries, spinach salad with grilled chicken-hold-the-chicken (yes… I can see it in the waiters eyes, but he casually says “see! There are so many things for a gluten free vegetarian!”), my date gets bbq shrimp and for dessert… Thank goodness! There is always gluten free creme brûlée! (No pic of the Creme brûlée because I ate it too fast) All in all, thumbs up… Understanding staff, educated chef, multiple menus choices & good drinks (see… I saved the best for last!). Have an awesome night!

mountain of truffle fries

spinach salad with grilled chicken… without the chicken

Groovy Enviornment& Gluten Free Pizza… Mellow Mushroom, South Miami

By GlutenFreeHolly

On March 22, 2015

In Gluten free, Gluten Free Dining

I’ve been watching the “coming soon” sign for weeks, and finally, it’s open! The Mellow Mushroom in South Miami. www.mellowmushroom.com. Dark tinted windows belie the bright, colorful, modern-psychedelic decor. Widescreen TV’s line the full service bar and the center aisle, so sports fans won’t miss a minute of March Madness.

cool lights, tiled features add to the vibe

elephant greets you at the door

The menu reads like a reassuring gluten free dream….they are educated in cross contamination, use a separate area, special screen, change gloves and aprons….sounds good to me!

gluten free menu with vegan options

I order the “Veg Out” gluten free pizza and a lemonade (on-call) and my date ordered half of a steak and cheese hoagie and a Fiery jalapeño pineapple margarita (yummmm….jealous). The pizza was good and made perfectly to order. The crust, which is vegan, was crunchy and evenly cooked. My able-to-eat-gluten date ate half of my pizza and also thought it was good! Of course, he enjoyed the margarita!

YES!!!

Pretty good! Reasonably priced! Great decor! And….fabulous for a dinner out with or without the kids! Best news, no pain! Enjoy and get out there for some gluten free dining!