Nu Crepes in Elmhurst is a quaint little place, that if you blink you're going to miss it. We found them on Find Me Gluten Free, and although my last experience with crepes was not so hot, (Darn shared surfaces for prep), I wanted to try it. I'd wanted to go there for a few months, but my Non-GF Hubby wasn't sold, he was leery, and I can't blame him. So we with the notion that if anything seemed off, we'd abort and head over to Egg Harbor Cafe instead.
Looking at reviews on Find Me it said that there was a dedicated space, so we went in and got ready to ask questions. That was once we found the place. We drove down York Rd twice and couldn't see it. So finally I turned on "directions" and it told us to turn left, but there was no left turn. Then we realized it's down a breezeway between buildings. Even better, it's in the basement! So you're not going to see it from your car, you must walk down the breezeway to get there. It's worth the hunt to find it though. So we went in and talked to the staff. They have a separate prep area, ingredients and surface for the gluten free crepes. Most crepes can be made GF or modified gluten free. Anything with cookies or crunchy items, those items will be omitted to prepare it gluten free.
All meals are made fresh when ordered, and you pick it up once ready. We decided to order our whole order gluten free, so we could share. 1 crepe doesn't seem to be enough so we each got 1 savory one and decided to split a sweet one. Wow - We were full! We've eaten here twice now, and enjoyed everything we got, and haven't had any issues getting sick.
I give them 4 dragonflies. It'd be nice if the menu was clearly marked for Gluten Free options. You have to use some intuition to figure out what is safe, and then confirm when you place your order. But they have a dedicated space and work on making sure options are prepared correctly.
We found the Village Vintner Winery, Brewery one day when we were out near Algonquin and looking for something to eat. We wanted something other than Moretti's and nicer than Chipotle. It's a small place that on the weekends really gets packed, plus they're not open very late, so you have to plan for a meal here.
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| Wine Flight |
The menu is small for gluten free options, but there are appetizer and entree options and they have a bunch of fun wines to try! We've eaten here a couple times now, and I've tried a few options. The taco's (Which no longer are marked gf but the chef said could be made gf on corn tortillas). Were very tasty. This recent trip our server wasn't versed in gluten free at all, and when I asked questions on the items listed as gluten free, she told me they weren't gluten free. But she did offer up getting the chef to come talk to me. I was glad she did, he was very nice and helpful. I went with the steak medallions with toppings. There was only one topping that wasn't gluten free. I was glad the chef took the time to come out and talk to us.
I give them 3 dragonflies. I wish they had some more entree options, and having staff that is better away of the gluten free options. Since it is a nicer place to dine, I was hoping for more awareness. It is a nice place, and the atmosphere is unique, so it's a nice place to try that is different and unique to take friends to. Dinner was delightful, thought it would have been nice to have more dessert options, since we were there for a birthday celebration. But I had a class of wine and had some treats when we got home.
Maybe it's the area around Chicagoland, that we have a lot of Mediterranean restaurants to choose from, and many can accommodate gluten free, some even with gluten free pitas! The new trend we're seeing is Peri Peri restaurants. Notable similarity, they're accommodating to gluten free! My husband first tried Nando Peri Peri with his coworkers. He came home raving about it and told me he was trying to navigate the menu for gluten, and it looked really safe. A couple of his coworkers agreed with him on that. (So they talked about gluten free dinning and I wasn't even there!).
We went and checked it out, they give you a copy of the nutrition guide to determine allergen options. Most of their items that contain gluten are obvious, breads, pitas, wraps & baked goods. The confusing one is there are several salads marked as Containing Gluten. Though with the help of the nutrition guide, you can put together a pretty tasty meal. The staff at the register is pretty good with knowing ingredients and can help you order. I've gotten the wings plain (Sauces are bottled at a condiment bar), and add the garlic or herb sauces. One thing to keep in mind, they're spicy! So a side of mashed potatoes is awesome to try and cool down my mouth that feels like it's on fire after each bite.
All of their basting sauces and condiment sauces are gluten free. Though I still opt to do mine plain cause I don't know how well I'll like the basting flavors since several are "citrus" flavored and the others hot. The sauces come in bottles with pour spouts making them harder to contaminate luckily. On our last visit I inquired on the French Fries, I was ensured that they are fried in a dedicated fryer, and can be ordered with or without the seasoning. I went without the seasoning cause I wasn't sure what the spice level would be with the seasoning!
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| Wings and French Fries! |
I give them 5 dragonflies on my listing. Their food is tasty and a great spice to it, I love that the sauces come on the side and you can customize your flavor as you'd like. I love that French Fries are on the safe list, so that always bumps up my rating.
