Gluten Free Nashville

Once a month my wife and I have to go to Lebanon, TN and stop in Mt. Juliet to eat at Fulin’s. The sushi there is always good and fresh. Because of the language barrier, I seem to have an issue every other time I go though. Being in the South, people love to fry everything, including sushi. Talk to your waiter before you order, they love to hide little crunchies in everything they fix.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again… I can’t get enough of Lime on 21st. They are always helpful in finding gluten free options and well, their happy hour rocks! Try their cheese and chorizo dip… delicious!

Had dinner last night at Cha Cha on Belmont. The staff was very helpful in finding me options. They came back with a lot of options, I ended up having the shrimp with polenta (I don’t remember their catchy name for it). The mojito wasn’t great, the environment was loud, overall it was OK but I doubt if I go back.

Had dinner the other night at the Old Spaghetti Factory on 2nd Avenue in Nashville. We use to go there all the time when family was in town, the nephews always loved sitting in the caboose. Anyway, I heard they had a gluten free menu, but was still a little scared as I always am trying some place that is mainly gluten heavy. The staff was very helpful and I have to say it was some of the best damn gluten free pasta I have had. I highly recommend it.

My wife and I went to Maggiano’s this weekend to enjoy their gluten free menu options. Everything was great! The staff was very helpful in letting us know what we could order on the menu and even helped us change some menu items around to be gluten free. We had the new gilled artichoke without the bread crumbs and it was fantastic. Thanks to everyone at Maggiano’s for a great evening!

So, to be honest, I was kinda scared going to Maggiano’s. I mean, I have celiac and I was going to eat Italian food, one of the worst choices for us. I have to say, the food was great! We did have an issue with our waitress though that almost ruined the night. We orders a bunch of apps, Caprese, Mussels and the chopped salad. Our waitress took a while to get to us, too many people sat in her section at the same time. When she finally paid us some attention, I informed her that I had a gluten allergy. She asked about it to make sure what it was and I mentioned the issue with cross contamination and said she understood. When the mussels came out, we had to send it straight back, there was bread sticking out of the plate. The waitress still was confused and really paid no attention to us. Luckily, the chef came out, asked what the issue was, and was totally familiar with the allergy and helped us out a lot. Also informed me that the salad came with seared prosciutto that was done in the same pan as the chicken so it was out. If it was not for the chef and his knowledge, the evening could have been really bad.

In short, the food was fantastic, the service kinda sucked, the chef was great.

So, I haven’t been eating out at all recently so sorry no updates! I did run out to lunch today though and grabbed one of my favorite things, the grilled steak salad at Lenny’s. I use to love philly cheese steaks and well, not I miss them. Thanks to Lenny’s, now I can basically have one, just without the bread. After a year of not having a philly cheese steak… you won’t miss the bread at all!

So I finally was able to try out Matteo’s Gluten Free Pizza out in Cool Springs. While I truly appreciate the trouble they went through to create this and know they use top quality ingredients, I have to say it is far from my favorite. I had the Italian sausage one and my wife had one with black olives. The sausage was large pieces, I generally prefer crumbled. The crust reminded me of a thick whole wheat crust, I prefer thin crust. So all in all, it was not a hit with me. I do, however, think this would be perfect for children or a party that you need to get something together quick for. If you truly want a great pizza in Nashville, I still think you need to take the time to go to Whole Foods and grab a pizza crust to make your own or go to Dad’s Gluten Free Pizza.

Normally I just write about Nashville gluten free menus, but I’m in Vegas this week and thought I was going to be out of luck at a business dinner at China Grill. To my surprise, and the waitress’, they had a gluten free menu. Be sure to ask if you visit! It was a great meal. And thank for treating me Omniture!

After accepting that you can no longer have regular break, pizza, pasta and all that other good stuff you then realize that you also can’t have other things because of contamination. I remember thinking, “It’s all OK, I can still have french fries at fast food restaurants, eat lots of sushi, I should be all good.” Then you find out that soy sauce has wheat and french fries are fried with other breaded stuff and contaminated. Well, there are a few places we can go have fries! For a nice meal, Brick Tops uses a dedicated fryer for their fries so you can enjoy a great burger, bun-less of course, and fries. Chick-fil-A also uses dedicated fryers. So, while they might not really be good for you, they are gluten-free. Enjoy!