Firewater BBQ - Take 2

We were going to be in the Geneva area, and my husband asked what my thoughts were on going back to Firewater BBQ. We liked their food the previous time we'd been there, a couple years ago, but had not been back. We'd encountered a minor hiccup the previous time we were there, that despite asking the cashier repeated what was gluten free, what sauces were gluten free, and confirming what sides were gluten free, my meat was placed on top of a piece of bread on my tray. 

They were nice and made a new tray for me and apologized, and I apologized as well, that since it was our first time, I didn't realize a random piece of bread would be on the tray, since Nothing mentioned it on the menu, and I'd said 'gluten free' at least a dozen times while ordering, the gal never mentioned it to me.

Fast forward 2 years, and we were heading over to Penrose Brewing (again) and we thought we'd pick up some food to nosh from somewhere different this time. So we opted to order from Firewater and take it with. I double checked their website, which now mentions Gluten Free options and gives some guidance on what is safe or not. When we got there right away I ordered first, and told the gentleman taking my order, "No Bread, Gluten Free!" I confirmed which sauces were gluten free, and reconfirmed the sides listed on the site were gluten free. My husband ordered his food and we waited for our togo order. They were starting to get backed up with orders, while we grabbed napkins, silverware and pickles. They have prepaked pickles and jalapenos you can have with your food! 

When they finally called our order number I grabbed the bag and while my husband and I exchanged a look, I told him I felt like I needed to check my food. Sure enough I open my container and BAM! There is a hunk of Corn Bread on top of the paper holding my meat. I lifted the paper up and could see the crumbs on the meat as well. Once I got a hold of one of the people packing food I nicely told her I'd told the cashier who took our order I was gluten free and specifically said no bread. He'd told me to "hold on let me type this in." The person who seemed to be the manager walked over and asked what was going on, I re-explained to him, and he said "yeah it's contaminated let me take care of this, there was no note." I told him again "I specifically told your cashier No Bread!" He said he'd talk to him and remade my meal. 

When we got to Penrose with our food my husband looked at his and commented he should have said his was gluten free also, so we could share, cause his had a slice of plain old white bread in the bottom. I laughed cause he commented they could have at least buttered it or toasted it so it wasn't just cheap white bread with his ribs. 

The food was good, the sauces are very tasty. There was one sauce I couldn't have, and it was either the mustard or the vinegar one, which I didn't mind at all, I'm really more of a traditional Chicago sauce or Alabama White sauce person, and they had Alabama white sauce so I was super happy! For anyone who hasn't had Alabama White sauce before, it's great on Pork and Chicken, amazing on wings. You have to try it at least once! 

Over all I give them 3 dragonflies, while we love the food, and their website makes it seem like they understand, ultimately, they're a chain and understanding is only as good as the people making and serving the food. So if you order with them be prepared to talk your self silly requesting a safe meal, and still need it to be remade! 

Mockingbird Bar and Garden

It has been some time, since really following up and posting on this site. My goal to get back out and trying things and going place in 2023 is to dine out at new places, and try to expand our options for where to eat. 

We checked out a couple places already and it's been a nice 'adventure' close to home. 

First place was Mockingbird Bar and Garden in East Dundee. It's a cute small place. They created a nice outdoor space that has been converted into an indoor space with heaters to keep it warmer, and have cute fake fur throws on each chair. Ambiance in this place is cute. Very much set up for a one on one or intimate group for a meal. 

Their menu does change seasonally, even ever so slightly. They also have a carefully crafted cocktail list, which also changes every so often. Their Old Fashion was very tasty. One thing I've learned recently is a good Old Fashion is a good indicator of good food on the menu. 

The one thing I wish was they had a gluten free pizza option or something that was more of a main entree that wasn't just a salad, and a dessert option. I ordered the Chicken Thighs, I'm not sure how this was suppose to be a 'shared dish' but it wasn't enough to fill me up either. While I enjoyed my cocktail, conversation with the girls and my dish, I was sadly not full when we were done. I ended up going home and making a small dish to fill me up. 

 

Over all to give it a rating I'd say 3 Dragonflies, due to a lack of a more fulfilling meal. Maybe a better entree option or even a dessert to help make it more fulfilling. 

Village Vintner Winery, Brewery Gluten Free

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. 

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. 

Bok Choy - Modified Gluten Free Menu

A while back we noticed one of our few staples for Chinese food Wok N Fire was no longer in Addison. It was a sad day for us since PF Changs is a bit of a cluster to eat at on the weekends, (It can be an hour + wait!) and no other places that offer gluten free Chinese food really. Wok N Fire was now Bok Choy Asian Kitchen, which my fiancé felt was an odd name, since he finds it to be a disgusting, dismissive vegetable. :D I emailed them 3-4 times asking if they had gluten free options, with no response. Then out of the blue 4 months later I got an email “Yes we have gluten free options.” I wasn’t sold on their poor customer service so we skipped it. We finally gave in and decided to give it a try. My fiancé pulled up their online menu. It now lists gluten free options. So we opted to give it a try. 

First off it was a Sunday night, not busy, no one at the hostess stand…. We got seated the host took us thru the whole place to find us a seat. The décor has not changed at all since the name change, a year ago. The server was a bit flaky but seemed to understand gluten free. We got a bowl of Edamame which is our favorite. Over all we were disappointed that the menu was Mostly Sushi, and some entrees off on 1 page. They had a whole page of mixed drinks and barely any non-alcoholic options. Wok N Fire had amazing ginger ales and lemonades, not at Bok Choy. We opted to try a couple things so we split the Teriyaki Chicken with Gluten free Fried Rice, and the Pad Thai. I Love Pad Thai, always have. Personally with steak is my favorite. So we ordered steak pad Thai. When our food showed up the server made sure to announce – “Both these dishes are made gluten free.” Great! Then as I stared at it I asked my fiancé, “What did he bring me?” My dish was most certainly not steak. It was chicken and tofu. He told us he rang it in correctly but the kitchen made whatever. (WHAT?!) Once I had him re-confirm that it was gluten free, I told him we’ll just eat it, no big deal. Next time I’ll have them re-make it. I Was NOT a fan of the tofu, the chicken was only OK. The Teriyaki Chicken w/fried rice was a LOT better. 

Not Steak... Not a Fan of Tofu!

We can say we’ve eaten here, if I’m out with my sushi loving friends I might make a stop here again, but most likely not with my fiancé, there was so little on the menu that was worth having for a meal unless you want sushi. Which was sad, the fried rice was good. But I don’t think I can justify going to a place just for fried rice, unless it’s a really bad stress craving, and then we’d probably do carryout and get food elsewhere. The fact the kitchen made “whatever they wanted” annoyed me. 

Personally not a fan of tofu, so I kept shoving it aside and just at the noodles, which lacked a lot of the usual Pad Thai flavor. It was hard to tell some of the chicken from the tofu, which was odd to me. I give them 3 dragonflies, while they have options, the kitchen isn’t attentive, and their menu is lacking from what it used to be. Plus our server seemed annoyed that I wasn't just happy with the fact he brought me "A" gluten free dish..

Stonewood Ale House - Good, Bad and Corrected

We recently did dinner with a couple people at Stonewood Ale House in Schaumburg. Stonewood is one of the restaurants in the 'Ace Place' portfolio. I've eaten here in the past a couple years back, so I was up for checking it out again. The menu has gotten a bit bigger, the one perk that really stood out to me is a dedicated gluten free fryer! That was huge to me, cause I knew that meant french fries!!

They had two appetizers, one of them being potato skins, which made me super excited. The entrees were a bit restricted but there was a variety from steak, to chicken and even pork. Plus you could get French fries! Now the part that gets difficult here. I ordered the steak to the specs on the gluten free menu. I noted more than once it was gluten free, and reconfirmed the gluten free fryer for the French fries. When my food arrived my nice gluten free steak had 2 perfectly round onion rings on top....When I questioned the server he told me they were perfectly safe and fried in their own fryer... Then he quickly whisked the plate back to the kitchen. After he came out a couple times to say they were working on my meal, the manager came out to tell us he was sorry and that a new steak and fixings would be out shortly. 

I was appreciative they took the time to fix the issue and talk to us about it. The second time my plate came out it was correct and no issues. Though I had requested my steak to be medium well, it came out rather rare, more red than done. I opted to not send it back cause our party was half way done with the meals already. I ended up taking most of the steak home and reheating it later, to cook it a bit more. When it came for dessert, the options listed were not gluten free friendly. Though for the birthday girl in our party they brought out ice cream with chocolate sauce and whipped cream. Wish that was on the regular menu, but I did snag some of her dessert to meet my sweet tooth. 

Over all I'm giving them 3 dragonflies, I'd give them more, but the mess up on my meal, and needing to tell the waiter why it was an issue ranked them lower. Though they were nice an apologetic about the situation, but it could have been avoided, since it was specified gluten free an ordered per the menu, it shouldn't have happened. 

Moretti's Gluten Free If You Must

I've been a long time fan of Moretti's. We've frequented the location in Edison Park, many time. I love their outside patio, it's a nice place to have a drink and hang out on a nice evening. I was excited when a location moved into the old Famous Freddy's location in Mount Prospect. Over all they have a small but decent menu for gluten free options. They are certified by an local doctor to be safe, but with the usual warning that it's made in a shared kitchen. 

I have to say it must be the location, service and food were both majorly lacking. We arrived at 6:00 on a Friday looking for a table for 5. You'd have thought we asked for a table of 10. They kept debating how to find a spot for us and put us in a corner in the back of the restaurant. Walking past an almost empty dinning room! We let that go, the others at our table placed an order for appetizers and our food. Appetizers came, and about 15 minutes later the waitress asked if we were ready to order.... Yup we did, 15 minutes ago. So we kept waiting and waiting. Our food came out you could tell it had been sitting under the warmer cause it was dry and burnt. It was rather underwhelming overall. The smaller menu combined with the poor service it brought the night down. Luckily we were dinning with amazing friends so the whole night wasn't a bust. But I'd go to another location, and not this one! I've had the pizza at the Mount Prospect location and the pasta at Edison Park and they were good. My Shrimp Pasta here, was very underwhelming.

There is a great place down the road, Village Vintner, again small menu but great tasting food, and they make their own wine! I'd rather go there next time! 

I give them 3 dragonflies, poor service, limited menu and not great food, plus the gluten free portion was not that large to compared to the regular options. 

Jimmy's Charhouse Elk Grove Village, Gluten Free

Jimmy’s Charhouse has 3 locations around Chicagoland, in the suburbs. We happen to live near one of their locations in Elk Grove Village. I had reached out to them via email, on their website to ask if they did gluten free. But got no response. I was pretty annoyed. Why have a contact us button on your site if you don’t respond to people who contact you???? But that aside, a friend was there and said he saw gluten free options on the menu. So we thought we’d give it a go. I mean when the weather is nice I could walk here! 

From my understanding they have new owners who recently took over. The inside is very nicely decorated, very fancy. The crowd was an older crowd. I did feel a bit young on a Sunday Evening there. 

They had a nice little gluten free listing, which had appetizers that could be modified to be gluten free, and menu listing for a variety of items including steak, chicken, and ribs. I went with a steak which the server right away said “oh gluten free, you’ll need the baked potato” Side dish listings were not on the gluten free menu. But our server was educated.

My dad said he wanted the ribs but didn’t want the mess. The server offered to cut them, by bone, so they were easier to eat! He said they were wonderful tasting. My steak was good, the only issue was my potato was a bit under-cooked, but the steak was good.

I wanted to give them 4 dragonflies, they have a nice bar area to hang out at. They had a handful of appetizer items and a variety of dishes to choose from. The staff is friendly and courteous so it was a very pleasant meal. Also if you’re there for a birthday the dessert is Ice cream!

One thing that was a turn off upon going there for lunch, which is when they're busiest, how slow the service was.  My burger arrived with french fries on the plate, Upon telling the manager that it was ordered gluten free, he apologized and brought out a new burger with a potato on the side, not french fries. That made me realize they're better for dinner cause it's less busy, but mistakes happen and I ended up taking my meal to go, because it took so long to come out a 2nd time. So overall it's 3 dragonflies for them.