Vienna, Austria

Ah, Vienna! What a marvelous city! Visiting Schönbrunn Palace, the Wiener Staatsoper (Vienna State Opera), and the Austrian Parliament Building were highlights of my trip. The exquisite architecture of the Hofburg Palace and Austrian National Library were breathtaking. After a long day walking around the Ringstraße (Ringstrasse) and enjoying watching Lipizzan horses at the Spanische Hofreitschule (the Spanish riding school), I was exhausted and ready to eat!

My first meal in the beautiful European city was at the Vienna Marriot (Stephansdom Quarter) for a light, refreshing lunch after a long flight in. We stayed at the Vienna Marriot during our trip and had called the hotel before hand to let them know of my allergy. During lunch at the Garten Café, I was delighted to find gluten-free rolls with olive oil served with the Caesar salad I ordered. Now, you may question my ordering a Caesar salad when I had many tasteful Austrian selections to choose from. Well, let me tell you, that was very well the best Caesar salad I have had. And that stands till this day.

Another fantastic meal in Wien (Vienna) was had at the Hofburg Café after exploring the Sisi Museum and the Royal Silver Collection. The servers were kind enough to make accommodations so I could try the delicious Austrian cuisine. I had Frankfurters that were served with a mustard-like condiment and slivered pickles. I thoroughly enjoyed experiencing the foreign cuisine, while staying healthy and gluten-free!

Last but not least, my favorite food stop: Aïda. Aïda is almost too hard to describe with words. It’s a clash of a retro diner and Dolores Umbridge invading Ruby Tuesdays. The cozy, chain cake and coffee shops (konditorei) were located all around the city. Kind of like a Starbucks in any metropolis in the US. The waitresses dressed in pink and brown were sweet and friendly. They were very helpful in finding gluten-free options, which I was surprised to find that there were many! Many of their cakes were gluten-free as they almond flour as a base. I think we stopped at Aida’s almost every night after roaming around the city under the street lights. Although I am unable to access the gluten-free options currently, I do recall having many delicious chocolate, hazelnut, and lemon cakes!

So when traveling to the well known European city, do not fear, you can experience the culture, sights, and cuisine of the marvelous Wien! Also, enjoy the pictures below from my trip to Vienna.

Cheers,

Anika

Neptune Fountain, Schönbrunn Palace
Austrian Library, Hofburg Palace
Pallas Athena Fountain, Austrian Parliament Building
Austrian Parliament Building
Statue of Herodotus, Austrian Parliament Building
Frankfurters at the Hofburg Café

Gullifty’s

I’ve been looking forward to writing about this restaurant for quite some time now. Gulliftys is one of my favorite go-to sit downs. The service is speedy, and the food never disappoints. This contemporary American joint has a menu filled with great signature dishes and a few surprises too! This originally was your around-the-corner sports bar and grill, but the management decided it was time for change. They changed everything from the wallpaper, to the menu, to the bright LCD Screens, to the layout of the dining. These changes, however, gave the once dingy and crowded grill a more classy and finished feel.

Our waiter was friendly, helpful, and polite. She was quick to bring me a print out that supplemented their menu in finding gluten-free choices. I ordered the French Breton Salad. The salad contained romaine lettuce, roasted beets, grilled asparagus, goat cheese, candied pecans, and to top it off: fresh balsamic vinaigrette. I thoroughly enjoyed the salad, although just a heads up, the portions are huge! So unless you’re coming in with a big appetite, choose your entrée wisely.

As for dessert, I shared a gluten-free Chocolate Ganache Tort and a scoop of vanilla ice cream. I have to say this is by far my favorite gluten-free flourless chocolate tort. The flourless chocolate dome from PF Chang’s is great, but can be overpoweringly chocolately. This tort had the right balance between texture and chocolate, and the vanilla ice cream knocked it out of the park. I would strongly recommend ordering this for dessert, but save room!

Cheers,

Anika

Verdad

For a late bite on a Saturday night with friends, we stopped at Verdad, a European Latin restaurant on the mainline (of Philly). They have a tapas style menu as well as a tequila bar. The atmosphere was great, and our server was very friendly. The waiter was prompt to tell us the gluten-free options.

For a shared appetizer, we ordered the Strawberry Habenero Guacamole. Our waiter assured us that the chips served on the side were corn tortilla chips, but there might be cross contamination in the kitchen. Depending on how severe your intolerance to gluten is, you can make the decision whether or not to eat foods that are gluten-free, but are prepared in a facility that deals with ingredients containing gluten. I personally am okay with eating gluten-free foods made in a kitchen that has gluten. So, I enjoyed the unique flavors of the guacamole with the corn tortilla chips. This was no ordinary guacamole. It had finely cut pieces of strawberry and kiwi as well as habenero peppers. This was hands down the best guacamole I have had. As for the main course, I ordered the Bibb Salad. I ordered it by the recommendation of a friend, and boy did it live up to it! The salad had blue cheese, granny smith apples, spicy cashews, and was topped off with lavender vinaigrette. I would strongly recommend the Bibb Salad and guacamole to anyone dining at Verdad. I am excited to return to this restaurant and explore the rest of their menu!

Cheers,

Anika

Azie

For a dinnertime end-of-the-year celebration, my family chose to dine at Azie. Azie serves a unique contemporary Asian cuisine and is conveniently located on the mainline (of Philadelphia). I personally like to think of the restaurant as having a French-Japanese cuisine- but don’t hold me to it. Nothing can quite match the exquisite dishes prepared at Azie.

The waiter was very helpful in bringing out a gluten-free menu for me. He also was kind enough to ask the chef whether the specials would be all right for me. Although he was accommodating, he didn’t quite understand the concept of being intolerant to gluten. The special appetizer was raw tuna, avocado, and oranges in a honey miso glaze. After asking the chef, our waiter said, ‘Yes, its okay, its okay. But in the honey miso sauce, we can’t be sure. There may be little bit. Very little. But otherwise okay.’ His ignorance regarding gluten-free diets was not a problem, since I myself simply said, ‘No thank you!’ to the appetizer. But its just a heads up- the staff may seem like they have a grasp on gluten-free eaters, but take precautions!

For the entrée, I ordered one of their special. You may think this is a rather daring choice as the waiter ignorantly said the glutinous appetizer was mostly gluten-free. But this time, the waiter reassured us with bringing the chef out to confirm. So, I feasted on a grilled striped bass served with a mandarin orange salad and edamame risotto. I was not a big fan of the risotto, but the fish and salad were excellent! The fish was fresh and juicy, so I would have to recommend ordering seafood from this restaurant.

Last but not least, the dessert. I didn’t have a whole lot of choices. But being gluten-free, you should try to get use to that. (Or don’t! If you’re passionate, take a stance and starting contacting restaurants that you don’t think provide an adequate amount of GF dessert choices!) I decided to have a refreshing raspberry sorbet once my meal was finished. It was a great way to end the celebrations and congratulations!

Cheers,

Anika

Aux Petits Delices

Finally, the time has come: my first bakery review! As a fellow gluten-free foodie, you know as well as I do that bakeries contain all the wheat flour filled goodies that we are deprived of. Is this a gluten-free bakery? Sadly no. But it has many gluten-free treats for us to munch on along side with our friends!

This fine French bakery is well known for its pastries, chocolates, and cakes. Located in the heart of Wayne, PA, its one of the “Main Line’s” best bakeries. You absolutely must try the handmade chocolates. Simply ask which ones are not contaminated with gluten. My favorites include the Louvre, a white chocolate with the center of marinated raspberries, and the Hazelnut Diamond, a milk chocolate filled with hazelnut cream and fresh hazelnut. They are simply divine!

You may be thinking, okay, I’ve got to try some fancy chocolates, but any baked goods? Well, of course! The French bakery offers a specialty gluten-free cake menu. I have ordered one of these cakes (made of almond flour and potato starch) almost every year when my birthday rolls around. My two favorites are Citronelle which is an almond cake with lemon filling, and Delice which is a chocolate mousse with hazelnut crunch. I have yet to try all five year-round gluten-free options. And I’ve heard the macaroons (gluten-free) are just scrumptious!*

Cheers,

Anika

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* I finally got around to trying the macaroons and would definitely vouch for them! The vanilla bean and raspberry ones are my favorite.

Chima

For a celebratory Mother’s Day dinner in the city, I dined at Chima in Philadelphia. Now don’t confuse Chima, a Brazilian steakhouse, for Chifa, a restaurant I previously blogged about having a Chinese Peruvian fusion cuisine. Chima is a chain restaurant that has locations along the East Coast. Now, if you have never been to a Brazilian steakhouse, you must try it! If you have been to one, like Fogo de Chao, Chima follows a similar concept. You are presented with three courses: a self-serve salad bar, meats that are brought to your table with the flip of a card, and of course, the much awaited dessert. The waiter was kind enough to ask the manager to print out a gluten-free menu for my convenience. He also offered to make originally glutinous meats without the pre-made seasoning that contained gluten. They were flexible and ready to make accommodations, but the service was rather slow.

The salad bar, personally my favorite course, was laid out in a self-serve buffet style. I had a delicious Endives Salad with blue cheese and pecans as well as a hearty vegetable soup that I would recommend to all. Following the salads, cold cuts, cheeses, and soups, I flipped my card over to the green-colored side(indicating I was ready for some meat!). Waiters came over with chicken wrapped in juicy bacon, a salmon accompanied by a passionfruit sauce. I was in for a treat! After flipping my card from red to green and feasting on the cheese balls and polenta that were complementary to the table, I enjoyed the final course:dessert. Although I was slightly limited in my choices, I settled on a refreshing palette cleanser, raspberry sorbet. Although the trek to the city can be time consuming, the unique Brazilian cuisine, is worth your time and taste!

Cheers,

Anika

The Melting Pot

This past weekend I celebrated my birthday with some friends at The Melting Pot. I honestly couldn’t recommend a better place for a leisurely sit down lunch for those with a real appetite!

We had three courses: the cheese fondue, salad, and chocolate fondue. And YES, there were gluten-free options for all courses, so I enjoyed all the food! Since we went in a rather large group, we ordered three different kinds of cheese fondue: Fiesta, Spinach Artichoke, and Traditional Swiss. My personal favorite is dipping broccoli into the Spinach Artichoke. As for the salad, everyone was given Caesar Salads (it was a pre-planned luncheon- more details on that later). The crusted pine nuts were definitely the highlight of the salad. And the best for last, the chocolate fondues! We did three chocolate fondues: the Flaming Turtle, Cookies N’ Cream Marshmallow Dream, and Yin & Yang. Now, you may be thinking well Cookies N’ Cream doesn’t sound gluten-free, and you’re right, it isn’t. I decided for everyone’s convenience that I would stick to one chocolate fondue, so the others could put their glutinous dippers into the chocolate. So, I might be slightly biased when I say the Flaming Turtle was my favorite!

Now, that I have your mouths watering (hopefully!), here’s the behind the scenes. If you’re just looking for a nice lunch or dinner with the family or a few friends, you can walk on in, ask for a table with two burners (so their dippers don’t contaminate your fondue) and start selecting from the gluten-free menu. It’s that easy! If you’re looking to organize a bigger party with gluten-free accommodations, make sure that you call when you book the party to inform them if the whole party is gluten-free or just one person. Then you get to decide whether you want everyone to pour the fondue on their dippers, or if you are going to select one or two fondues that are going to be gluten-free dippers only. The staff was great, the fondue was delicious, and I would recommend The Melting Pot any day!

Cheers!

Anika

White Dog Cafe

Meal #1

After an early morning crew practice, I was treated out to a brunch at the White Dog Café in Philadelphia. I had previously been to the branch in the suburbs, but this was my first time going to the original White Dog! I loved the city location and atmosphere, but one of the greatest highlights was the convenience in terms of gluten-free options. Their select brunch menu clearly labeled all gluten-free options. I had a spinach salad with gilled chicken, honey-glazed almonds, golden raisins, and vinaigrette. I also ordered a hot-spiced chai tea, which was perfect for the weather. Overall, a great restaurant with unique options that I am glad to be able to try!

Meal #2

When dining at White Dog on a Saturday night, I was treated to some new dishes that I had not tried before! As the weather is getting warmer, I went for my usual spinach salad with White Dog’s iced tea (I would recommend it—it comes in a Mason Jar!). But after my main meal was the real treat. I tried two incredible ice cream flavors, and a strangely appetizing sorbet. The maple walnut ice cream was delicious, but I favored the honey ice cream. As for the sorbet, I had avocado sorbet! It was unlike anything I had tasted before. For those who are adventurous in their food choices, but typically held back when its not gluten-free, I strongly recommend these desserts on warm day!

Cheers!

Anika

Gluten-free bread rolls now served at the White Dog in Wayne

Legal Sea Foods

This is by far my favorite seafood restaurant in town, when it comes to gluten free options. They have a wonderful gluten-free menu (the menus are all online, by location) packed with many originally wheat-filled options!

I would even consider some of my favorites as my comfort foods. From the Hot Lump Crap Dip to the Crispy Montauk Calamari, their selection never disappoints! Additionally, they have excellent gluten-free poppy seed rolls that your server will bring out along with the wheat rolls to start you off. After my meal, I usually order a dozen of these buns to take home because they are so great! Although most of their dishes never fail to please, I would not recommend the Lite Clam Chowder if you are expecting a creamy, thick, New England-style chowder. When they say “lite”, they mean it. This is a thin, almost watery soup. Overall though, it’s one of my regulars, for sure.

Chifa

Those who are looking for an exotic twist on some delicious gluten-free dishes in Philadelphia, Chifa is the place to be. My family and I discovered this Peruvian and Cantonese restaurant about two years ago, and it’s most definitely a family favorite! The waiters were a great help in identifying gluten-free options.

My personal favorite was something I usually miss out on: the rolls! Whether it be Olive Garden or Bertucci’s the fresh rolls with olive oil are something we must skip. But in Chifa, they have complimentary yucca-flour manchego cheese rolls that come with a tangy guava dipping sauce on the side. These gluten-free rolls are incredible and arguably the best part of the meal! They were so good that we had the chef pack half a dozen rolls to go!