Real Urban Barbecue

BBQ in the burbs - Real Urban BBQ's first location was in Highland Park. They are on the backside of the square in town. It's an ice area to walk around in the summer, they have several art festivals and craft fairs. In the winter they decorate the area really nice and there are some fun shops to roam thru. More recently Real Urban BBQ opened up in Lincolnshire along with collection of other dining places that really need a bigger parking lot, because it's always jam packed. We've also discovered you need to get to Real Urban early, or they run out of all the good stuff! 

What I love is how clearly marked their menu board is above the registers. The layout for the restaurants is a walk up, order your food, they pass your tray down the assembly line and you pick out what you want. All meat dishes come with 2 sides. The sides are all clearly marked, GF. You can also see everything be handled before it hits your plate. They offer dine in, carry out and family style catering for parties.

Some Really good BBQ, and it's nothing fancy, so you don't have to worry about making a mess. The decor is homey and fun with pig statues, flags, salt shakers, it's almost like your out in the country while you're eating, and then step back out into the urban landscape when done. 

They have several sauces that are available at the tables. They all have squeeze tops so you shouldn't have to worry about knife double dippers. They also have their own brewed ice teas which are delicious and great if you don't want pop for your drink. They serve beer and wine, no GF beers, but there is wine.

I give them 4 dragonflies, their food is tasty, the service is great, and there are several side dish options so you don't feel cheated while watching everyone eat their amazing food.

The Berghoff Rocks Gluten Free

Chicago has some fabulous dining out options if you have to eat gluten free. I feel very lucky this is where I live. Now we've had bad experiences, at some places, but with anything, it's inevitable. You have to be willing to get out there and try and see what's out there. That's my motto, I'm living my life, Celiac is not stopping me from having fun and being social! My brother and his girlfriend were having a "weekend away from life" in the city, taking pictures, going to museums, all those things that people come to Chicago in the summer to do! My boyfriend and I were doing similar since we finally had a weekend not packed with activities in the suburbs. Luck would have it, we got a nice dusting of 4 inches of snow, so the city had an extra pretty white layer on everything.

We spent the day at the Shedd Aquarium while my brother and his girlfriend were at The Field Museum, we met up and did dinner at The Berghoff on Adams off State St. The Berghoff has a long rich history in Chicago and is one of the iconic places to eat. I recommend having a reservation or getting there early, it gets busy! It's close enough to the Chicago Theater you could stop there for dinner before or after a show. Just note they stop seating promptly at 8:45 pm. The great part is Berghoff is certified by the NFCA for gluten free dinning. One of their children were diagnosed with Celiac disease, which prompted the family to learn how to eat gluten free in their home, but also caused them to train staff how to prepare and serve gluten free food.  

Their menu has a lot of options, and a lot of options that aren't typical. I had to try the potato soup! The server right away knew what I was talking about when I said I had to eat gluten free, plus we were there during Restaurant Week and their Prix menu even had gluten free items noted! It was great getting a small sample of a bunch of items to really see what they offered. I was so delighted with the meal! I really enjoyed my meal, and am looking forward to going back because there were a variety of items to choose from which was awesome. 

I give them an extra level of trust, because it is something near and dear to the family, and they wouldn't serve a meal that would harm their daughter. The ambiance is fancy and classic, I really felt like I was dinning in a high end fancy restaurant. I normally reserve 5 dragonflies for dedicated restaurants, but the expansive menu and well trained staff gives me extra confidence on this one! I say it's a Chicago must try! 

Also they wrote a cookbook with a lot of good info for newbie's to the gluten free diet as well as some great easy to make items. An extra feature of dining here, you can pick up the cookbook on your way out the door.  

Warm Spinach Artichoke dip, Ala Diana

I never turn down a good spinach artichoke dip when we go out to dinner, if they can serve it up with veggies or let me bring my own tortilla's I'm a happy camper. So the first chance I get to make it at home; I'm taking it! We served this with gluten free Tortilla chips, but you could do gf pita chips, bagel chips or veggies.

Ingredients:

1-1/2 cups fresh chopped spinach
1 can medium artichoke hearts chopped
8 ounces cream cheese
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup grated Parmesan or Romano Cheese
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon chopped garlic

Directions:

Boil spinach and artichokes in 1 cup of water until tender and drain. Discard liquid. 
Heat cream cheese in microwave for 1 minute or until hot and soft. 
Stir in rest of ingredients and pop in the oven at 375 for 10 minutes serve hot.

Juniper 61, Gluten Free in Milwaukee

Our family took a trip up to Milwaukee, WI to check out the Harley Davidson Museum. I've been up to Milwaukee a couple times to visit friends, but we mostly stick to getting brunch rather than dinner. So we had to get adventurous and try something new. While checking menu's my dad saw an option for a smoked Gouda cheese on a sandwich the menu for Juniper 61, that was enough to sell him for dinner. It's a cute little place, right at the edge of Milwaukee before you go into Wauwatosa, WI. They do have an outside seating area out back for when the weather is nice. 

Looking over the menu they had a lot of good sounding options. Gluten free and Vegan items are labeled on the regular menu. We decided to try a bunch and see what we liked best! For appetizers we got the bacon wrapped scallops. My mom had never tried scallops and my brother previously was not a fan. These were delish! 

They were plated on a quinoa, walnut, edamame, tomato salad that added to the flavor of the scallops. I had been advised the sweet potato fries with Chipotle sauce is a must try, so we got a large order of those, and the kettle chips with blue cheese, both fried in a dedicated gluten free fryer.

For my entree I had to get the short ribs served over creamy polenta. It was unique and the flavors complemented each other perfectly. With the appetizers and fries and chips, I ended up taking half my meal home to eat for lunch the next day. Everything was so tasty, I want to go back again when I'm up in the Milwaukee area.

 

I give Juniper 61; 4 dragonflies. Our server was very gluten friendly knowledgable. I Had ordered a Crispin cider, but they were out of it, he came back with other GF drink options as a result, even writing our order for the shared items he noted gluten free before I reminded him. The natural and local vibe was evident and made it feel very home like.

Food Review - Frozen Gluten Free Penne Alfredo, Covered Pretzels & More.

On a recent trip around town I found some new products to try, so let's get down to the good the bad and the, well nothing was ugly. 

Gratify - Found yogurt covered pretzels at Meijer this past weekend! I was in the mood for something sweet so I had to grab a bag. These get two thumbs up in my book! The pretzels don't leave an after taste, and the yogurt isn't too much. These would easily compete with Flipz for taste and texture and no one would guess these are gluten free! Plus they didn't break the bank!

 
Glutino's - This one looked like it has such promise. I love their pretzels and the bagel chips, but this was wow, underwhelming to say the least. It cooked well, and there was a lot of sauce. But the sauce had no taste, and actually kept coming up on me after lunch, and left me constipated. I could distinctly taste the brown rice pasta... Not a favorite, not a repeat buy. Total disappointment.

 
Back in December when we got our first snow, of the season I was out shopping with mom... Whoa stop the presses, despite having snow every winter, the first time everyone forgets how to drive, and it's chaos! Being so close to the holiday's unfortunately sometimes you have to run out and do some shopping, even if it's the end of the world because it's snowing. So on the way back we stopped at Whole Foods to get dinner. We get pizza on those days normally, this time I wanted to venture beyond that, so we went with fish sticks and broccoli bites! This is a total favorite meal with the family!
Dr. Praeger's does great fish and sides for quick meals to toss in the oven. Actually the broccoli bites can be microwaved too! So what we didn't finish for dinner was lunch the next day! The box does state their products are made in a shared warehouse environment. With that be careful they do have GF and Non-GF options. GF options are pretty clearly labeled on the front of the boxes. These are 2 of my favorites, the sweet potato cakes are my other favorite.

Simply 7 Pomegranate chips - They sounded interesting, and different. Well they satisfied those requirements. I don't think I'll be picking these up again any time soon, but at least I was willing to try something different. They have a nice crisp to them, but flavor is just completely lacking. I was hoping for a nice white cheddar kick. If the bag didn't say they were white cheddar I would have never guessed they were flavored. 

Evol - They make some pretty solid products! Their Gluten free burrito's are hit or miss, but I like their bowls. They have 6 flavors that are gluten free, as well as now they have qusadilla's too, with more items to come! But do keep in mind to always read all the labels they carry both GF and non-gf options. Of the ones I've tried, all are winners for me. As an extra perk check out their UPC codes, collect enough and you get a free T-shirt. Their Chicken Enchilada Bake is my favorite one. Don't mind the photo looks a little gross. Totally a repeat buy.

Biaggi's

Biaggi's is a family friendly casual Italian restaurant. When I was going to school in Normal, IL Biaggi's was the place to go for a big group meal, or the place everyone took their parents when they came into town to visit. Just about everyone ate there at least once in the collage career. Several years later I noticed a new location in Deer Park, IL and was delighted to know it was the same Biaggi's.
Their food was always tasty, service was definitely not on the top of priorities, but I always associated that to being in a college town. Some how I have still yet to visit that location. But recently I was going down to visit a Friend who moved to Galesburg, IL her ONLY request for dinner was finding a place that had amazing bread to dunk in oil with cheese. Seemed like an easy enough request to fulfill. I looked up Italian restaurants, and find that there was a Biaggi's in Peoria, and they did gluten free!

Since we were already going to Peoria for the day, we made sure dinner was at Biaggi's. First off, the service was much better then it was at the one we'd go to in college. When I asked for the gluten free menu, the server nicely pointed out that they could bring me my own gluten free bread, with oil and cheese. I was speechless, someone else responded "Sure she'd love some." I was not expecting it. When they brought it out, I asked if it was prepared separate, and that it was gluten free. They advised that with any dual kitchen there is a risk of cross contamination, but they take every precaution they can to make sure it's safe. It was so yummy! Totally ruined my appetite for dinner, but I was OK with that. (mean while, my friend was on her 2nd basket of bread, dipping it in the oil).

It was a bit flat, but that's why they call it flatbread right?? :)
They had quite a large menu, there were only a few appetizers, but they had pizza's, salad, entrees, and even a listing of sauces that you could have on the pasta of your choice. My favorite dish is mac and cheese, and they had cheese sauce listed as a gluten free sauce.

Their menu delighted me with the selection of meals available that all sounded so good, I am looking forward to checking out the location closer to my house. Over all give them 4 dragonflies on my rating scale of places to dine out.



Sweet Baby Rays

Sweet Baby Rays is well known around Chicago for their BBQ Sauce. They've become a Chicago tradition in recent years, and most everyone knows them for their sauces that you can buy in the grocer store. They have several restaurant locations around the suburbs of Chicago. They have a great variety of meals, side dishes and appetizers for gluten free dining.

 Every so often we find ourselves in the Schaumburg area and not sure what we want. Sweet Baby rays is a good variation from the normal routine of food. Weekends at lunch time it's not too busy so you can really take the time to chat with the server and feel good that your meal will be taken care of. They also offer a couple gluten free beers, so you can feel like an adult while dining!
Sweet Baby Rays

Blue cheese wedge salad with BBQ Grill shrimp on top!

I know this isn't a BBQ looking meal! - But check out this one! I love that they have a variety of options from salads, to ribs, and more.

Anything that would be served on a bun comes bunless - But in my world that means you have more room for sides. They get a ranking in the 4 dragonfly category. Their meats and sauces are Gluten free, so as long as you error on the safe side ordering you shouldn't have any CC issues.