Wok & Fire

Gluten Free Chinese food??? Don't tease me!! 

The first time we found Wok & Fire was with Find Me Gluten Free in Saint Charles, IL. We were out that way for their Annual Scarecrow Fest, and thought we'd see what our options were. We were delighted to find Wok & Fire. The gluten free menu is pretty encompassing for options, they even can do fried rice and have gluten free soy sauce. Even better - They are a chain in the Western Suburbs. They really meet my expectations for a great gluten free menu, they have appetizers, small plates, even sushi, and regular dish options. The menu is pretty consistent across all locations as in terms of variety.

The portion sizes are big enough for sharing, and upon request they will bring out gluten free Tamari for all dishes. Though their sauce mixes are really good, so you don't need to much as an extra flavor enhancer. They make their own ginger ales and each location differs which flavor enhancements they have for the ginger ale.

The best part is that their regular food options are really good, so I never have to twist anyone's arm on going there for dinner! I give them 4 dragonflies, they have a great variety of options, the food is Super tasty, and the variety is Huge, especially for Asian food!

 

Café Winberie

Interesting and intriguing all in one, the options at Winberie's were rather unique. Their location in Buffalo Grove recently closed, so the only option is this location in Oak Park. It's tucked away in a corner, spot, and if you blink you might miss it from the outside, but inside it's much bigger. They did have regular burgers, but really their combinations of items were pretty exciting, Jamaican Pork, Shrimp Dijon,  London Broil. I honestly wasn't sure what to get, everything sounded interesting. They even stated that their soups were gluten free, which is really hard to find it seems.

They don't have a parking lot right there, there is public parking down the street, and metered street parking as well. It's quaint area to walk around and do some shopping or check out the Frank Lloyd Wright tours. 

They have a separate gluten free menu from the regular menu, that lists out the options. Like I mentioned there were a lot of great sounding options including the soup of the day! That day it was a Cauliflower Cheddar which sounded awesome for an option. Sadly my stomach was not as excited as I was to being eating out and was holding a bit of protest. The Jamaican Pork was amazing. It combined the perfect blend of sweet and spicy to help make the flavors intense and interesting. We had to get a creme brulee to try, I feel since this is usually the safe GF dessert option we should start rating places on their Creme Brulee's!

The menu over all had a great variety, with everything from appetizers to dessert options, and a wide variety of entrees. Next time I'm in the area for a tour I will be stopping by here again. Oak Park in general has some stellar Gluten Free Dining options so it always makes choosing so hard. I give them 4 dragonflies. 

The Cheesecake Factory

I've learned over the years that The Cheesecake Factory is a love hate place for many. Lot's of options, annoyingly huge menu with ads in the middle, large portions, high prices, but good tasting food. I've got my own beef with them on their gluten free menu, but we were going there for work, so I had to at least try and like it for a day.

We went to the one at Old Orchard Mall in Skokie. Compared to the one in Schaumburg it was easier to get a seat at noon on a Friday. Part of our party was seated before us, so we got to the table, I browsed the 10 page menu, and there were no gluten free markings on the pages. So I asked if there was a separate one. Our waitress said yes and she'd go get it. With such a huge menu I'd think they could just mark items with an symbol, but C'est la vie, I waited for my menu. And we waited, and waited, and I laughed when I realized the waitress was going table to table asking if anyone had it cause they had 1 copy. It would be nice if the menu was online... But it's not.

The waitress was nice enough to offer to bring me a gluten free bun and butter while everyone else had the bread basket. she also asked if I got sick from gluten, or really sick from gluten. When I told her I'd be very ill, she did start to tell me about how good their kitchen is and how there is a different prep area for the gluten free items. Plus she doesn't know of any complaints on people getting sick from gluten free meals at their location.

I was in the mood for a smaller meal so I got an order of their corn cakes and a side of edamame. It was a lot more filling than I'd expected, and I couldn't finish the last corn cake. Over all the food was presented well and tasted good.  

The downfall of the day I'm not sure if it was the coffee I grabbed on the way back to the office, or the meal, I felt so sick later that night.... I don't know where the shoe drops, but I didn't feel good by 7:00 pm, which is my rough time frame for a gluten reaction.

We skipped dessert. I really don't know how people eat an entree there and still have room for dessert. I was ok with skipping, I don't trust their gluten free cheesecake for a couple reasons.
1st - How do they make sure there is no cross contamination prepping the cake?
2nd - Godiva advises Not to eat Any of their products due to the malt flavoring added to enhance their product. When I asked Cheesecake Factory about it, they said "It generally tests under 20ppm". So that left me nervous....  No Godiva cake for me, I don't want to risk having one that might test higher, or didn't get tested... Or someone wasn't as careful handling.

Over all I give them 3 dragonflies, the menu could be listed gluten free in their novel of a menu or even online. There are a lot of options, but I just don't feel the prep is safe enough, plus not feeling good later that night really left me feeling uneasy over all. I feel like they are in this for the glory and not really for the safety for someone with Celiac Disease. 

Wise Guys Pizzeria

This past weekend we happen to be out in South Elgin and ended up spending more time then expected, and needed something to eat before heading back to the Northwest burbs. We found Wise Guys Pizzeria in South Elgin, formerly Pizza Cucina until July of 2012.

It's a casual dining establishment at the left end of a strip mall off of Randall Road. We happened to get there between lunch and dinner time, so there was no wait and very quick service for the dine in area. They also are able to do carry out, and catering.

The gluten free menu is listed up by the front counter for walk up/carry out diners, and also listed in the regular paper menus at the tables. When we ordered I made sure to emphasize to our waitress Gluten Free, for an allergy. I was excited they had cheesy garlic bread as a side dish, I had to get an order, since I don't know the last time I had garlic bread, and this came with cheese baked on it!

It was tasty, I could tell when she brought it over, it had a certain smell to it that was very gluten free. I gave a couple small pieces to the people dinning with me. (very small, I was enjoying it too much) They both agreed it was good, my brother said he was picking up on the gluten taste in it.

I had ordered the gluten free pasta with vodka sauce. The waitress asked Spaghetti noodles or penne? I was shocked there was a choice of pastas. I made sure to again emphasize that it was gluten free due to an allergy. When my pasta arrived, I was shocked to see there was garlic bread on it.... I asked the girl if the bread was also gluten free. After staring at me blankly she said she would go ask in back. She came back with the manager who confirmed the bread in fact was NOT gluten free. 

I pointed out to him that there were in fact crumbs from the bread in the pasta. He said, "then we will have to make you a new one." It only took a few minutes for a new dish to come out to me. This one came out piping hot, and with gluten free garlic bread. The sauce this time also looked more like vodka sauce. It was very tasty, but I definitely filled up on the cheesy bread waiting for my meal, so I ended up taking most of the pasta home to have for lunch.

I was glad they took the correct steps for fixing my dish and making sure a new one came out quickly. The food was good, they have pizza and pasta's, with no extra cost for gluten free pasta! That is almost un-heard of! Though it would be nice if they had gluten free sandwich options in addition to the traditional Italian options. I would only give them 3 dragonflies, I do worry that since we were the ONLY diners in the restaurant and they couldn't get gluten free done correctly, I worry how they would be when the restaurant is busy.

Grilled Cheese

Again; uber easy meal here, but the first time I've made it. Grilled cheese and steam-able veggies - another one pan meal. 

I grabbed some butter and a spatula on the drive home from work. Things you take for granted when you move into your first home, but little by little we'll get there.

I buttered the outside of four pieces of bread, I grabbed some cheese from the deli and layered that on the bread, we had two different types of cheese. So we ended up with a Cheddar/American Grilled Cheese sandwich. Threw them onto the frying pan which was on a medium flame. The gluten free bread is so small two fit on the pan at once!

  While the grilled cheese grilled up I threw a bag of BirdsEye steam-able veggies in the microwave. Make sure to double check that the bag of veggies is gluten free. They do make options with cheese sauce and pasta, so diligence is key here on picking the right ones. I left the grilled cheese on the pan until slightly browned and then flipped. I really need flipping practice! 

Viola another quick and easy meal. We threw some left over lettuce wraps from dinner out the night before, and we were set. 

Scrambled Eggs and Bacon

This was a great idea in my head. Then remembered that I have 1 pan available currently.... So we had to go dig in the garage for another pot, and improvised. Truth be told, my dad always made scrambled eggs with ham and green peppers. So I did have to pull out the tablet and dial in the Food Network and find out how to make scrambled eggs. It was pretty easy. 

I decided to do 5 eggs between the two of us. I added a couple dashes of milk to the bowl and mixed up the eggs until they were well combined. I would have added some salt, but we didn't have any. poured that into the big pan and stirred every couple minutes. A spatula would work great, don't have one of those yet either... So I used a serving spoon, (That I have!) As the eggs started to form I threw some chunks of cheddar cheese in, since we do love our cheesy meals. While all of this was going in I attempted to separate the bacon that I pulled out of the freezer, (next time I'll try to remember to thaw the bacon) and put that in a small pot to start frying. Sadly we have 1 total frying pan at this point. I hate to buy a lot of anything before the holidays; since our parents know what we do and don't have they keep trying to buy us what we don't have for holiday gifts. But the holidays seem so far away right now as we keep realizing we need to improvise things still! We are learning to be resourceful.

So here is my ingredient breakout - 

5 large eggs
1 dash of milk
1 dash of salt
3 slices of cheese

mix all ingredients minus cheese in a bowl and pour into a hot frying pan. Stir every couple minutes, and add the cheese right before the eggs reach the consistency you like best. 

Once consistency is reached scoop onto your plate. Remember the pan is hot, so the eggs will keep cooking even after you remove the heat. 

Bacon - Find a bacon that works for you. Oscar Mayer is my go to - 

Throw the bacon into a pan, if you have one, I used a small pot, and it worked fine. Turn the bacon over regularly to keep each side cooking evenly and cook until desired crispiness is reached, about 8-10 minutes. Viola - Simple easy breakfast in under 15 minutes!! 

Quick and Simple

Quick and simple dishes; When you get use to the convenience products on the market going gluten free and back to cooking from scratch is hard because you forget all the extra effort involved, and it can feel overwhelming at first. I know for me it was super overwhelming. I own a ton of GF cookbooks which is great for ideas, suggestions and meal bases, but I'm talking even simpler. 

I remember learning to cook in home economics in Junior High School, but even at home with my family we did lots of convenience meals during the week, and Sunday's we'd cook a big from scratch meal, but that was it. We were always somewhere with some activity, that we were always rushing to get to. So all the wonderful training I received was pushed to the back of my brain to now 20 years later try and remember it all. This will be an interesting journey for sure! 

Having recently moved in with my wonderful boyfriend of four years and starting to make a go at things together, it's crazy learning more of what we each like and don't like in foods and what we are accustomed to. We still need furniture and to finish unpacking boxes, and heck move stuff from his condo to our place. So we're on the go 24/7 still. So with 1 pan that a friend brought over for us, and a few utensil's my mom gave us, I started to make more than just frozen meals this past weekend. 

Some are still cheater meals with the help of something frozen, but we're getting there, one day here I'll have a gourmet meal that we can have people over to enjoy, until then, guests will have to enjoy a frozen pizza or two with us. Though finding GF corndogs at the grocery store the other day made my heart flutter, I know we can't have that every night. 

As we make our cheater meals I'll do my best to photograph and post, between those and the "I Give Up - We're eating out" meals I should have plenty to write on. Luckily I have several great grocery stores for finding good GF items and fresh items, so I'm hopeful we'll knock this one out of the park and be kitchen pro's in no time.