Monthly Archives: August 2012

Askew Grill, San Francisco – USA

Posted by Glutenfreewheeler on August 24, 2012 None comments

There are two types of places where getting gluten free food is guaranteed to be easier than most. One is upmarket, a la carte restaurants, where foods are cooked from scratch and chefs are generally more educated about food – also likely to be more pricey. The second type is the whole food, veggie, alfalfa, raw, organic, grass-fed, free range, colour-specific, gluten free, north-facing, holistic venue – you know the ones – I love them, but what if you don’t? Where do you go if you want something hearty and recognisable, you like big portions, traditional food and don’t want to cane your wallet everytime you eat out.

Luckily for those in San Fran, there’s the Askew Grill.

They have a pretty extensive gluten free menu, and it’s true, much of it is skewered;

above is the herb salmon. Some of the skewers come with mashed potato, others with rice. This is not a place you’re likely to leave hungry. May I present grilled marscapone polenta;

and the old favourite, hummus with corn chips;

Vegan, vegetarian and kids menus are also hot to trot. Expect a laid-back, casual vibe and enjoy feeling like an almost-normal person. Hooray!

We went to this one:

Askew Grill
1607 Haight Street
San Francisco, CA 94117
415 701 9301
but there are 4 locations + a catering service.

http://asqewgrill.com

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National Parks in the United States – Arizona, Utah & Nevada

Posted by Glutenfreewheeler on August 18, 2012 None comments

Zion National Park at night.

Yikes – just a couple more US entries before I start on some wonderful new places I’ve found in Australia.

There were moments on this trip to the US when we’d been travelling all day with two kids in the car (who were not always appreciative of the panoramic views and eye-boggling geology), we were in the desert in full Summer, we were sunburnt, we were tired, it was stinking hot and deathly dry. Then we would stop, hungry like hippos. At these times, exhausted from travelling, the last thing in the world I wanted was to explain to some poor, blank-faced waiter that I have special dietry requirements. Especially in remote areas when there was nowhere else to eat. I am so pleased to have tackled the gluten free diet so smoothly at home and thrilled that I can deftly navigate restaurants in new cities, but occasionally, let’s face it, being gluten free is a complete pain in the butt.

So. I ate salad. A lot. With no dressing.

And quite a few steaks. With no sauce.

BUT. I have to say, I was totally impressed with the National Parks we visited in the US. We stayed at the Grand Canyon National Park (South Rim) and Zion National Park. Monument Valley wasn’t quite as good on the gf (that’ll be another salad then), but it was such a phenomenal place it’s well worth packing your own food for.

Monument Valley – that white line is a road down there with cars on it – taken from The View Hotel where we had lunch…. salad again.

Zion National Park – We were bowled over by Zion. It was so great to see trees after days in the desert. The accommodation was little huts with tonnes of character, reminded me of Grizzly Adams. There were lots of other small people to play with and the kids were gleeful. The main restaurant (Red Rock Grill) was great, though the waiter wasn’t quite sure what gluten was (he thought taking the rice out might help). Luckily the chefs were on the ball.

This is (from memory), seared Alaskan trout with cranberry pilau rice and a tangy citrus jus. It was sensational. The Americans have got this National Park thing sussed.

Our first glimpse of the Grand Canyon – South Rim.

Gluten free in the Grand Canyon? We consulted with the visitors centre and they recommended not trying the main cafe (very limited), but Bright Angel restaurant was decent, see the menu here – lots of Mexican influence, ‘Sunset Sour Cream Chicken’ anyone?

The annoyance of explaining my diet was completely overshadowed by seeing the sun rise over the Grand Canyon, staying in a traditional hogan and riding palomino horses through Monument Valley with a Navajo Indian guide and following deer and coyotes after swimming in the river in Zion National Park.

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Breakaway Bakery – Los Angeles, USA

Posted by Glutenfreewheeler on August 10, 2012 1 comments

It’s not just the cutest logo that makes Breakaway Bakery memorable – what is it about bikes???

Janice, the owner, says they are a ‘different kind of bakery’, they are organic, wholegrain, gluten-free and free of casein, dairy, peanuts, tree nuts, soy and gums. Don’t even mention trans fats or preservatives. Whoa – what does that leave??? Well they seem to be doing pretty well – there are lots of different breads, cakes and pastries on offer.

Breakaway also make savoury goods including ‘Challah’, a Jewish bread that has to have a particular amount of oats to be able to say a blessing over it – as if being all those things-free wasn’t tricky enough – this is baking gymnastics!

They only use organic brown rice flour, except in the oatmeal cookies and the challah rolls, which have gluten free oats… oats are still controversial for coeliacs in Australia and I wasn’t quite ready to go there yet – maybe that’s why we’ve added the extra ‘o’ in coeliac, to remind us.

Breakaway don’t use flour-blends, they only use organic brown rice flour – Janice (left) believes they use about 400% less starch than other gluten free baked goods. They also sell cookie and cake mixes in tubs if you need more for later.

Janice has been gluten free for nine years and has two daughters who are also gluten free – her littlest daughter who is not gluten free inspired the bakery, she wanted to bake things that her Mum could eat – so sweet! That was seven years ago now, so there’s a chunky base of recipe development.

All this happens in a pretty little art-deco building in mid-city – but don’t let proximity put you off, they also deliver (though perhaps not to Sydney…)

For people with food allergies in LA, Breakaway Bakery is gold.

Breakaway Bakery
5264 W. Pico Blvd.
LA, CA 90019

https://breakawaybakery.com

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Zadin – San Francisco, USA

Posted by Glutenfreewheeler on August 7, 2012 None comments

Gluten free Asian food is such a treat. Zadin is ‘contemporary Vietnamese’ + in the hip and cosy neighbourhood of Castro to boot.

I’m going to let the pictures do the talking for this blog entry – suffice to say that it was a delight, there were many many gluten free options, including these divine crispy Imperial Rolls (above) with shrimp, noodles, carrots, onions and mushrooms. They win the award for the stand-out most-delicious item of the night.