Elmhurst Brewing Company

I think I’ve spoiled myself by always going places with good defined gluten free menus. That when I go somewhere that just throws stuff together I have to try really hard not to roll my eyes at the menu. I’ve looked at Elmhurst Brewing Companies menu a few times the last year or so that we’ve had our Friday “Brew Crew”, and the menu does rotate seasonally and so do the gluten free options. It seems that they are becoming less and less. Which was a bit shocking since most cases I feel I eat better at most breweries than I do most sit down establishments. This one was a bit different. 

They had 1 flatbread option and 2 salads marked on the menu. I questioned a couple other items including their pimento dip, (Which seems to be a brewery staple, as that’s where I always seem to get it.).

1^st things first, they had cider from Right Bee, and an Old-Fashioned option. Their Old-Fashioned was ok. You had to stir the ice to melt it some to bring off the harsh edge on the drink. The Cider was great! I want to go do a tasting at Right Bee one of these days cause I think I’ll like the options. 

 

Not gluten free, but thought their taster paddle was cool.

I got the pimento cheese dip, they determined they could do cucumbers and celery instead of crackers and the beet and goat cheese salad. Had the wings been an option, I would have gone with them, my husband did, and said they were amazing! Our friend who got the Schintzel said it was better than the German restaurant we went to! 

The goat cheese salad had these cute little ‘goat balls’ as my husband called them rolled in pepper and placed sparsely on the salad. Their green goddess dressing was good. Overall the salad was OK, nothing I’d rave about, but it didn’t upset my stomach. The pimento dip tasted processed and fake. We joked that they ran across the street and got a container from the grocery store and plopped it on the plate. Not amazing, at all!

Overall, I’d give them 2 Dragonflies, while they nicely marked 3 items on the menu gluten free, it felt like they did so out of obligation, that they really wanted to make or serve anything gluten free. The ambiance was nice and if you eat gluten the food sounds like it’s good… Just not, the gluten free aspect.

 

Pasta Flyer

Pasta Flyer – OK the first time I heard about this concept was via Kickstarter. My boyfriend is a huge fan of the site, and I have to admit it’s a cool way to help support something you believe in and want to see come to life. I love that you can search the site by key terms like “Gluten Free” to find projects that interest you. There are thresholds for how much you want to donate and a thank you gift you get at each level. It’s kind of fun and there are lots of cool projects out there.

I happened to find the Kickstarter page for Pasta Flyer and after reading it thought heck I’d donate! The Chef behind the project Mark Ladner from Del Posto had been working on creating a good Gluten Free Noodle for 3 years. There are a couple things on this project that stood out to me. 1^st the pasta cooks in less than 5 minutes. 2^nd a food truck. My boyfriend is obsessed with food trucks. Food trucks in Chicago are a social marvel right now. The part that sucks about food trucks Being Gluten Free!!! They get busy, you have to wait in line to ask all the questions, slowing down the line, and the fear of being turned away cause they can’t do gluten free. Normally I’m pretty good with receiving the news that place can’t do gluten free, but food truck events it feels so much more vulnerable that I panic over it. Maybe because people have seen me stand there, and wait go up and not get food. They worry you’re walking away empty handed cause they’re out of food….

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/pastaflyer/pasta-flyer-italian-cuisine-japanese-style-andglut

All of that aside this the projected gave hope for new dining options for gluten free. After reading up on Mark’s background in cooking I was delighted that this would be awesome. I opted for the $25 prize to get a sample of the pasta and sauce. The project would be funded by June 2014 and prizes sent out in September 2014. I was excited to see the Facebook updates on the project when it launched in NYC and moved around the East coast, secretly wishing they’d post when they were coming to Chicago, cause you bet I’d be calling in sick the first day just to try it out. Several months past, I moved, I reached out in December to see if prizes were mailed, since I needed to update my information. I received an email saying they’d ship out right away but they were busy making everything by scratch so they were too busy. OK… Kind of sucks for backers since this was how they got their business started.

I kind of forgot about it again until I noticed Ground Breaker Brewing had a Kickstarter in February to put their beer in cans. I LOVE Ground Breaker, so my boyfriend and I both opted to get awesome matching hoodies. I told him the whole story how I was still waiting on my pasta from last year, we laughed and moved on. Then our hoodies arrived in the mail in June… Still no pasta! It’s been a year!! I wrote KickStarter and they reiterated it’s at your own digression to donate though they do their best to remove fraud accounts, but to keep reaching out to get my prize. I wrote again and reiterated again that I moved since then. If making the pasta is that hard can I get my money back at least?

The other day I got a phone call that a package arrived at my old address, and it sounded like I ordered loose beads. I sat there trying to figure out what would I have ordered and why did it show up there. Because I normally sit around just waiting for someone to call and tell me I need to go out of my way to pick up stuff (sorry a bit sarcastic there) I went to find out what it was. To my shock when I opened the box it was the pasta, rather broken, and a jar of sauce, surprisingly intact!

Actual Pasta Review!!! So we made the pasta for dinner last night.

1^st off I don’t think the directions could be any more vague, I almost wanted to ask why bother! I put a pot of water on the stove to boil, warmed up the sauce, wondering if there was enough sauce for the pasta. I poured the water over the pasta and it wasn’t enough. To save time I ran water thru the Keurig and added it to the bowl. Most of the pasta was uber soft, but we had some crunchy pieces for the parts that didn’t quite get in the water. 

2^nd There could have been more sauce, and a bit more thickness to the sauce, it was watery when I poured it over the pasta, but the taste was good, it had a bit of a kick yet wasn’t too acidic. I really did like the sauce, but could have been a bit less limp. Luckily there were only the 2 of us for dinner cause if we had guests we wouldn’t have had enough sauce. Now the Pasta it was tasty! I tried an uncooked noodle and it almost tasted buttery, and it didn’t have a funky after taste. The one issue the pasta stuck together horribly. I would say adding some oil or butter to the water when boiling it before putting over the noodles would be a must. We had a decent amount of pasta left so that was dinner the next night. I do wish I could buy the pasta online or in the store because it is a good tasting pasta, and for single serving options when dinning out it’d be perfect cause of the quick prep. I give the product itself 2 thumbs up, but the hassle and extended wait left a salty taste in my mouth and I’m a bit indifferent on the project staying around. It’s hard to build up credibility when it’s lost right out the gate.

Aurelio's

Aurelio's pizza is a southside chain of pizza places. It seems once you go south of the city of Chicago Aurelio's are everywhere. Their gluten free menu isn't huge, or the pizza they offer, but it's tasty. We have enjoyed their pizza for a while now, their pizza sauce is a bit sweeter, and not like most typical Chicago pizzas. It makes it different, and a nice change when we are in the area as somewhere different to order from. I have had their salads in addition to their pizza. The first couple times we went I had the salad, because I was leery of how well their kitchen would handle allergies, since pizza places can be dicey.. You are in an environment with a lot of flour, a shared preparation space, and a lot of times shared ingredients.

There is no guarantee that the ladle that scooped and spread sauce on a glutenous pizza was cleaned before it was dipped and spread sauce on the next pizza, causing a contaminated container of sauce. You definitely have to be extra cautious when it comes to pizza's which stinks, cause pizza can be such a great comfort food!

We stopped at the Aurelio's pizza on Jefferson St. in Joliet, Saturday after spending the day at Chicagoland Speedway for the Nationwide NASCAR race. There aren't many gluten free options at the track, and Saturday, it was a party, the only options were pre-made burgers and hotdogs on buns.

We were pretty tired by the time we got to dinner, and a pizza sounded good. The pizza is only 7 inches. 

The service was lacking in general part of our group ordered salad and appetizers and they never showed up. The pizza was tasty the crust was a bit dense, but wasn't the worst I had tried, I actually ate the entire pizza. Again it was only 7 inches, I've had pasta dishes larger!

I felt fine, all was good, my pizza had sausage, olives and garlic. The larger, Non-gluten free pizza next to it, that the boys ordered was sausage, olives, and mushrooms. We were good until midnight... And I felt like I might explode in stomach and back pain. I honestly don't know the last time I was in so much pain, and couldn't tell which end things might explode from... I briefly thought it could be food poisoning, but I assume the sausage on the guys pizza was the same sausage on mine, and they were watching TV in the other room, all peachy keen drinking beer. Sadly I was glutened. I was out of it most of the next day. It was only the 2nd time I'd been glutened that my reaction was getting extremely violently ill. It's days like this I wish there was an easy solution, a pill or something to make the reaction less violent and horrible. On my rating scale, I give them 2 dragonflies, because there was definite cross contamination on the pizza. From now on I'll stick to salads here, since we end up in this area a lot, and there aren't a lot of good dining choices that offer safe options.

Saranello's Wheeling

Saranello's is one of the Lettuce Entertain You corp restaurants in the Northwest suburbs of Chicago. They opened in the Westin Convention center and hotel in the fall of 2011. Named in memory of one of their partners who lost her life to cancer that year. Most of the Lettuce Entertain You restaurants do offer a gluten free menu of some sorts, some more comprehensive than others, but generally a good selection made by good chef's. 

I recently dined there as part of a party for a friend. I had heard from some other friends previously to be ready for the super slow service and absent wait staff, so I wasn't too excited, but figured a night with friends it wouldn't be so bad. I checked the menu online the day before and decided that the one pasta dish option that was listed would suffice, since the prices were pretty steep from there.

There had to have been one or two weddings going on, as well as a winter dance type party, and being a hotel, and 3 other restaurants there, besides using the valet there was No Where To Park! Being winter in Chicago it was brutal finding parking and walking back. Once inside it was super loud and bustling with people, but sounded like a fun environment. Once they brought out the gluten Free menu I was excited to see another option, of the Shrimp Diablo. I checked with the waitress if it was really hot, she said no, that I could get it with any sauce I wanted. Great!

A few of the other party guests wanted appetizers, at this point I could see where the slow service kicked in, we'd been there 30 minutes and all I had was a glass of wine, and getting pretty hungry. Giving in and picking an appetizer we opted to try the Parmesan-Crusted Onions. I have to say WOW! These were fabulous, and I need to learn how to make these at home. The waitress came out and explained that all pastas are made fresh by hand each day, and that nothing is frozen. (That doesn't explain why we never seem to see her, unless she's making the pasta in back....) 

I ordered the Shrimp Diablo, with vodka sauce, she got very nervous and told me she thought there was flour in the vodka sauce. I asked if she could confirm and let me know my options, since nothing is designated well on the gluten free menu. She was able to confirm that my pasta that day would be linguine. My meal came out with the vodka sauce, and she seemed sure then, that it was fine.


I can't be certain of being glutened, I didn't feel great when we finished eating and I had to excuse myself to the bathroom, at the opposite end of the restaurant, up a flight and half of stairs; that I felt bad for the person who got the stall after me. Though they were nice private stalls so I could feel less embarrassed by my issue. If not glutened, bad shrimp? I didn't have any lingering stomach issues the next day, I didn't feel dizzy or light headed, just didn't agree with my stomach.... They did have dessert options but after a nice 10 minutes in the loo, I passed on dessert. Plus we sat down at 7:30 and now it was almost 10:00!

I give them 2 dragonflies, this is probably the worst rating I have ever given any Lettuce Entertain You establishment. Normally great service, great food, and great atmosphere top their list of ways to present themselves. Personally if I go back, I want the appetizer of the Parmesan-onions again, and a salad, hold the shrimp. 

Rackhouse Tavern, Basically Gluten Free

Another find, through Find Me Gluten Free, that came with some excellent reviews, wasn't exactly what I expected, especially their service. Rack House Kitchen and Tavern I've driven past it a few times the last year or so, but never stopped in. On weekends the lot is always packed so I figured it was good. It was a bit disappointing because it was only OK. Their gluten free adult beverages were really only ciders, there were no gluten free beers. 

The menu is marked for gluten free options, but only sort of... There are things on the menu that are gluten free, that aren't marked, and some items that I questioned. I asked our server who I felt like was going to beat me if I asked any more questions, she was so annoyed. I stopped asking questions, and settled on a salad. But since I was at a place for BBQ I wanted some BBQ with my salad, why not, if it's safe?!

I ordered the BBQ Brisket with my chopped salad. Since she confirmed the brisket was gluten free. Well I don't know if the sauce for it is or not, since mine came without it. The meat itself was lean, but kind of cold, and dry. The sauce was needed on this one for sure. The avocados were tough, so really it wasn't that great of a salad in the big picture, but sadly I rate food more on, did I get sick or not... I didn't get sick. Did I annoy the heck out of the staff because I asked about the gluten free designation on the menu, yes. Did it annoy me that some salads were marked GF but others weren't? Yes. I was lost how they had such good gluten free reviews on Find Me Gluten Free.

I can honestly only give them 2 dragonflies, I was having a good day, it didn't bring me down, and make me hate having Celiac Disease, because they were so annoyed with my gluten questions, but I didn't have the warmest fuzziest feeling for a place that was rather dead, and our server was MIA most of the time, I had an underwhelming meal. Everyone else liked their food in our group, so I guess if you're not gluten free, this place might actually be decent. 

Tap House Grill Des Plaines Gluten Free

I really want to like this place! I do, I really do. But for my personal comfort with any restaurant I include customer service in my full review. If you can't treat your customers with respect, it makes me wonder how much you care about preparing the food safely.
Tap House Grill has been around the southwest suburbs of Chicago for some time now. Their newest location is in downtown Des Plaines, IL. Previously this location had a Cheeseburger in Paradise that had closed a couple years back. A lot of Des Plaines is vacant, the city is working on trying to revitalize the area, but it's a very slow process. I did notice reading menus online their other locations have varying menu's so be sure to check online for the location and if they have a gluten free menu. They may not!

We checked them out one day for lunch because they noted gluten free buns and several gluten free entree options. For the 5 of us at lunch our dismay was the 1.5 hour wait we had from the time we ordered our food, 3 burgers, a melt and mac and cheese. Only 1 gluten free burger in the bunch. Why such a long wait? They were still training the staff. (OK...)

We tried it another time to see if a few weeks they got their act together. Their menu is good, though some gluten free appetizers would be a good addition, since you're going to be sitting there forever once you order your entrees. Our server was very unaware of what salad dressings were gluten free, we ended up with a side of balsamic vinaigrette, which I wasn't a fan of. No other dressings are GF. They have gluten free buns for burgers and sandwiches, as well as 3 salads and a few entrees. No dessert options. our salads and soup came out about 5 minutes before our meal, not sure what took so long, since we didn't get any gourmet food on this round.

If dinner wasn't the longest slowest (OMG I was so hungry) meal waiting for our food I could have given them a higher rating, I could have moved up to a 3 dragonfly rating. But Waiting Forever, waiting on our server to come up with answers and waiting for her to ever show back up to the table was too much for me. Heck asking for ketchup if my brothers girlfriend actually waited for the ketchup to arrive before she started to eat he food would have been cold by the time she started.

Manhattan's Grill Gluten free, sort of....

Manhattan's American Bar and Grill says they have a gluten free menu. Well I guess they weren't wrong there, they did have a gluten free menu. The issue we had for the evening was no one told the kitchen staff there was a gluten free menu. Let's hear the loud *Sigh*. Personally I'd say you have to work with the kitchen staff first to find out what really can be prepped and served gluten free safely. That way you as an owner know what you're getting into. That way the cooks know there has to be a separate mayo jar for sandwiches and burgers. Ketchup and mustard should be squeeze bottles not knife contaminating jars. That way there is a piece of mind they've changed their gloves, washed their hands and started to prep the meal safely.
 

Originally I got excited to see stuffed mushrooms on the extensive gluten free menu. I ordered a side of those along with Nachos. Everyone else got their appetizers and soups and salad, the waitress came over and appologized that the mushrooms contained flour, so they're taking them off my bill that's why they never brought my food. Well at least the cooks knew flour + gluten free = bad.

I had gotten an order of nachos to pick at, which would have been fine, minus the fact they came out ice cold. I was annoyed, disgusted and pretty well ready to leave, if we weren't here for a birthday party we would have left. This was when the manger came over, and explained that no one had met with the chefs on the new menu, and the stuffed mushrooms would have been fine, had they known they were to make them gluten free (Wow - without the menu you wouldn't make that one change to accommodate a customer??), since the owner worked with a dietician to make a super safe menu. I felt the need to tell the manager that menu is only as safe as the knowledge of their kitchen staff. If the staff isn't trained, the menu is meaningless. I don't care if you worked with a dietitian or not. Which really is the truth in the execution of it all.

First plate of Nachos with Cold meat.

Our friend whose birthday it was felt bad, I felt bad that he felt bad. I assured him multiple times it wasn't his fault, he did exactly what I would have done. He contacted the restaurant, talked to the owner who told him there was an entire gluten free menu. Heck they had a 2 page printed menu, not just 2-3 items, who knew I was also going to have to sit down and interrogate the cooks to find out what they know?!?!?!

Our waitress who was rather MIA most of the night kept bugging me why I wasn't eating, and if I wanted to take them home to eat later. Personally a bad meal makes me queasy knowing there is too much of a chance of getting sick. Being all the way in Carol Stream and having to make it all the way back to Pilsen, I couldn't risk being sick along the way, plus it's not worth my long term health. The nibbles I took of my 2nd plate of warm nachos were ok, nothing to write home about. I heard from everyone else that was their opinion as well. Nothing great, but not the worst. I give them 2 dragonflies for horrible execution, and poorly trained staff, and lack luster food presentation over all. I will make sure to eat before going next time our friends want to go and see the band. Wine pricing was high, but I'll splurge if it's the only thing I'm having. 

Moe's Southwest Grill Gluten Free

A friend told me that Moe's Southwest grill was "just like Chipotle, but better." Well when you give me a recommendation like that, I can't help but try them out. Well..... Post taste test; Not as good as Chipotle, at all, but good. We don't have many around our area, but I've seen more of them when we're traveling. Actually when I mentioned it to my boyfriend he told me "Sounds good, what is it?"

Unlike Chipotle they don't have as many gluten free options. The burrito bowl is really it.They give you fresh chips with every meal but nothing said they were fried in a dedicated fryer so I avoided them. I liked the extra ingredients to add in it was a nice way to break up the variety from Chipotle (Olives, pickles mushrooms, and jalapeno's). Moe's have more locations Nationally than they do in Chicago. I've seen them come up a few times looking at places to eat while traveling. 

Chicken Burrito Bowl

My boyfriend got this cute little taco thing wrapped in a flour tortilla - It looked good, he said it tasted good. It was like a crunch wrap supreme from back in the day at Taco Bell. Unfortunately due to the flour burrito shell used it wasn't gluten free, it would be nice to have something like that since it'd be a nice different option. Over all it was ok, they get two dragoflies, nothing to go crazy over, not a huge selection, but it's there for a quick meal when you need something different. But I won't go out of my way to stop there for dinner or lunch. I wish I could get more information on their chips since they had a salsa bar, that would be a nice change as well. Maybe I'm in a food rut, I want some variety here!

Panera's Secret Menu has Gluten free options

For years of going to Starbucks I knew there was a "Secret menu" that you could basically ask the barista to make anything, and they would. It really comes down to letting the customer order anything, anyway they want and then having the person making the order prepare it as such. Great idea! More and more places have "secret menus" that really aren't that secret, but they aren't posted on the wall when you get there. This is great, if you know what you want, and the person taking your order knows what you are talking about.

I was traveling in Iowa a couple weeks back and we were trying to find a place for breakfast. Breakfast always makes me cringe, since most of our society loves bagels and cream cheese for breakfast... and most bagel places are taboo to celiacs! So we went to Panera. I quickly looked on my phone, Thank goodness I was getting service at this point. I found the Secret Menu, which included the Power Egg Bowl with either steak or turkey. I decided I like steak and eggs, we'll give it a try. 

I got to the register, and didn't see this power egg bowl on the menu, so either they don't do it, or it's on the 'secret menu'. So the cashier asked the gal making pumpkin spice latte's about the power egg bowl. She stared blankly at her, they both went and asked a guy standing by the meat slicer, he looked less perplexed and went over and helped her look thru the menu options on the register, finally they found it. I emphasized to her that I have Celiac disease, and Do NOT want bread with it in any shape or form (I regularly have an issue with them getting that concept).

Well apparently they don't make these often because everyone who was behind me in line got their food first, as a very lost girl stared at a book on how to make the egg bowl. Finally someone helped her and apologized that my meal was so delayed. To my dismay the steak used is exactly as it's used in their steak salad, red and COLD. When I asked if there was any way the steak could be warm I was told they'd have to remake the whole dish. I told them Fine, cause I'm not going to eat it. Really steak that's cold when served with eggs???? So he compromised and got a new packet of meat and heated it up, took the meat off the one I got, and replaced it. Now if it was on the menu, and not a secret, maybe it would state the steak is served COLD. 

Now look at the secret menu, and the photo of their steak bowl.. It looks appetizing.

Panera for me is a meal in a pinch, they have this 1 option, with 2 different protein options as a breakfast choice. In a pinch I'll stop here with friends, but otherwise I'll avoid them. Normally the service for GF I've found lacking. I do have their rewards card, which they ask for dietary restrictions on it. I have Gluten Intolerant listed, I still get asked if I want pastries...  They want to seem like they care, but they don't. I don't know how many times after No bread, no croutons, I still end up frustrated with a plate that has bread or croutons on it.
They get 2 dragonflies in my book. I end up more annoyed when I eat there, then not, they have the option to do GF, but it always seems like they'd prefer not to.

The Walnut Room Gluten free

This past weekend found me in the heart of the loop looking at the windows at Macy's and even eating in the famed Walnut Room. It's been years since I last dined in the Walnut Room, certainly before I was gluten free. Last year we looked at the menu, and it wasn't that great, plus we decided it wasn't worth the wait in line for a table. From November 1st to January 14th they do not take reservations. You can get a pager and wait in line, or shop the 7th floor, but when you have a full day in the city planned, it's not going to get you far!

I was shocked this past weekend how dead the city was. Now it is early in the Christmas season, and no ones thinking about going to see the tree at Macy's since the tree at Daily Plaza isn't up yet, so it was perfect for getting in and sitting right by the tree!

I was a bit disappointed since the tree is identical to last year. When Marshal Fields was in town they did a different tree each year. It was exciting to go down and see what the theme was this time... No Surprise here, It's the 2012 tree redone for 2013. It is pretty and sparkly, and my boyfriends amazing talent for photography his pictures made it look more amazing than it did in person!

Dinner - The gluten free menu, does have items in each category, but it definitely isn't a big menu. It's great they accommodate for gluten free, there is a menu, but you have to like chicken, salmon or salad. I was starving so I knew a salad wouldn't work, and I still hate salmon... So Chicken it was, I was glad the mustard sauce was on the side, because I'm really not a fan of mustard. 

The soup of the day was a pumpkin bisque. I got a cup, it was very tasty and creamy, it was a nice small portion to hold me over while dinner was prepared. 

Dinner came out and the server who brought it out did announce it as the gluten free grilled chicken. It all had a great presentation. I did try the mustard sauce and didn't find it too over bearing for a mustard taste. I dunked some of my chicken in it. I did have to say the veggies were OMG seasoned. They were SO Salt and Peppery I felt like the chef added a whole bottle of salt and pepper mix to my veggies alone! I always finish my veggies, but I just couldn't do it without making a scene to wipe them off. The flip side was the chicken was juicy and very good, so was the rice, it was very tasty like they added a little seasoning to it, but definitely not as much as the veggies. 

We were all full after dinner, even though we'd picked out dessert items while looking over the menu we said no we'd pass and continue on with our night. I was feeling a bit full and bloated, a little light headed, but I did indulge in a cocktail as well, but I'm not sure that was causing my issue. We walked over and checked out millennium park, which looked so nice with the fall leaves and the clear night.

My overall rating I hate to say it, unless you are going for the tree, it's a rather lack luster menu.The poor execution of the veggies left me underwhelmed with the whole meal. I was glad we got to go and sit by the tree, but really I'd rather go for a drink and call it a day and walk down to Roti, Petterino's or even Jason's Deli, all right there all have more options. They get 2 dragonflies from me. I want to give them more for ambiance, but they have put a wine bar in the Walnut room, go for a glass of Pinot and go to dinner somewhere else. 

Dinning Out Rating Scale

I eat out a least once a week. It's just easier some days, especially for date night, unless our plan is making a meal and chilling. Since we have friends in different areas around the city and suburbs we get to check out different areas when we visit friends, or check out new places. Some places we've tried and really liked, they've been added to the repeat visit list, due to something on the menu standing out, so we look for reasons to head that direction.

I have come up with a scale for rating the places that we eat out at, for how gluten free friendly they are. Things that I consider is how safe does the restaurant seems, how knowledgeable are they to gluten free, does their menu have good safe options, was the food good, and did they get the meal right on the first try!

1 Dragonfly - Not eating there ever again. If I absolutely have to, we better be on a road trip and there is no food for hours to come. I'll be digging into my travel snacks to hold me over.

2 Dragonflies -  The menu is probably 2-5 items, which 3 of them don't even sound interesting, and my best bet is a salad that I hope looks better than the ones in the grocery store after 2 days of sitting on the shelf, or a piece of meat that is grilled and that's the only thing on the plate. The server asks you questions like "Can you have tomatoes?" - Yes I've been asked that one before. But at least after a short explanation of what gluten is, it seems like they get it.

3 Dragonflies - They're ok, could do better, menu was ok, the food seemed ok, but nothing excited me about it, but I know I can go back there, and get a decent meal, and the staff was ok, mentioning gluten free didn't seem to explode their heads, they get it.

4 Dragonflies - I'm ready to go back already. Their menu is wow, their service is charming, and the food is delicious.

5 Dragonflies - Superb! This is for places that are dedicated gluten free, there is no chance of getting cross contaminated, there are lots of options, and I'm holding back from trying everything on the menu.

Reviews to come!