Church Street Brewing

My husband found Church St. Brewery several years back. Riding the Metra he would see their large sign that faces the back yard (which they were not using at the time) but made us aware of them, and then one of his favorite food trucks started going there. 

Originally they had a tiny taproom where you sat at wine barrels for tables, very speak easy like. As they've grown, they've expanded a couple times, making the tap room larger, and getting formal seating options. As well as expanding the back yard and making it a nice beer garden. During Covid they put up a tent and added some umbrellas to tables so you had some shade coverage. This year they've installed pergolas in the back. They also set up for live music in the back as well as inside.

They've also grown their options of what they serve. They experimented with a gluten reduced beer. They also joined in on the hard seltzer game. The one thing that severely irks me about their hard seltzers. They are Gluten Reduced, NOT GLUTEN FREE! I hate that seltzers are not a clear cut gluten free option. When going anywhere new if an establishment has a hard seltzer brand I don't know, I always ask if it's gluten free, which draws a lot of eye roll reactions. I always bring up Church St, that their seltzers are not gluten free. 

Several other breweries around us have started making their own vodka and whiskey, which has made Church St. start serving cocktails and even wine from Lynfred down the road. Which meant options that were safer for me. We also loved that they would have a rotation of food trucks, or we brought our own food. One day we were shocked to show up and see they had a food menu. When we were told going forward we couldn't bring our own food, I questioned them on Gluten free options and they said "Yes we do!" and brought us a menu. 

We've since had a couple of their dips, a salad, (Cause they ran out of Cauliflower crusts) and their pizza on Cauliflower crust. The last time we ere there they said they have a customer show up weekly to get their GF pizza saying it was worth the trip. I agree! It is squishy and tasty, I have to always ask and confirm they brought the right pizza out.It's not your typical crusty had gluten free pizza. With their expansion in the liquor they have options like margarita flights for Cinco De Mayo, and Mint Juleps for the Kentucky Derby. So it's a nice rotation of options for me on drinks, and a place with a great place to casually hang out, and being a brewery it doesn't feel like I have to eat, we can just enjoy some drinks and chill. 

I give them 4 dragonflies, cause I'd love to see a GF beer option, not gluten reduced... Even if it was from another brewery like Alt or Lakefront. But they have wine, and spirits to choose from, and that pizza, (The meat-za, and the pear one they had last summer). Everyone is super nice and not pretentious when explaining the need for gluten free, they have other regulars who also explained to them, so it's a very comfortable environment.

8,000 Miles - Chinese food

I will admit, we're pretty lucky that we have a Chinese restaurant near us that has gluten free food options. It isn't a huge menu, but for me, the best part is they have fried rice. If you can make a good gluten free fried rice, everything is A-OK. Now if they had egg rolls, that would be amazing, but I know I can't have everything. 

8,000 Miles is right by our house, and truth be told, we've never had a bad meal with them. The owners have a second location TL's Four Seasons, near by. We have not been there, but heard it's just as good. Luckily what we like about 8,000 is their Crispy Sesame Chicken, and Crunch Garlic Shrimp are both super tasty and filling. Usually we get some GF fried rice to go with it, and I'm happy as can be. 

We ordered online for pick up from them during covid, and they are one of the few places, I've never felt I need to check the food before leaving the restaurant, because they have great labeling, and will call you if they're concerned on an order. My husband wanted crab Rangoon (He's not GF) - and ordered that with our GF meals, (We got 2 GF entrees, so we could share), and they called to make sure we knew the crab Rangoons were not safe. 

The only reason I'd give them lower than 5 dragonflies would be selection, a beef dish would be nice, if they can do beef fried rice, why not a beef and broccoli dish? I have never asked for something not on the gluten free menu, but am considering it, since it is pretty tasty! 

Bit of a Rant On Eating Out

To quote Einstein - Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.

 

Having a food allergy or intolerance can seem daunting, because you can never let down your guard. We are very cautious on where we eat out and pick places that have better handling and knowledge of things. But that doesn’t always mean that it works that nicely.

 

We have a great local place that we love, but we are now on strike 3 of getting a meal that we trust, when we get takeout. Dining in is fine, but any to go meal there is an issue.  I got asked, “why do you go back” – We’ll it’s hard to find good options of different foods, so where do you compromise?

 

Doing take out during Covid, and poor service from restaurants has made us extra meticulous at checking our order before we leave. Every Single Time! Because nothing irks me even more than getting home and not having food that I can eat!

 

Our last visit, to a place we love, we checked the food, and noticed my husband’s plate wasn’t what he wanted, but he said it was fine, it was something he liked. My meal looked fine; our shared plate looked fine. When we got to our destination, and I took a bite of our shared plate I could tell right away, it wasn’t what we ordered. My heart sank, and panic set in. How could we be duped for the 3^rd time. After spitting out my food and trying to not cry, my husband walked up and asked what was wrong. I showed him and he started to fume. Some back and forth we decided to hold off either of us eating anymore and stop at the restaurant on the way home to show them the issue and ask for a refund.  

 

Upon walking in and telling them, they assured me the meal was gluten free, but they could see I was still not happy. They did make a new plate for us and had their co-owner who is also Celiac come out and talk to us. She kept saying it wasn’t their fault, their vendor who makes the gluten free items, makes only gluten free items one day of the week. So while the filling in the product was wrong, it was still gluten free. I kept emphasizing to her how this is still an issue, cause it causes concern if we got the wrong order, (Has happen there before, or it's the Non-GF version). On a previous trip we were confused because we ordered different flavors of items, but my husband ended up being given the same flavors as me, but Not Gluten free. Again, we started to freakout how to tell the difference and make sure I got the right food.

 

We chatted on how hard it is to get good help that is able to make sure they’re doing a consistently good job. How awful is that, that people handling food, just don’t care! I'd be less annoyed if they didn't have a sign hanging by the register how all meals are checked by a food safety manager trained in allergies. Yet I'm annoyed, trust broken, and telling myself I'm OK cause my instincts were right stop eating when something was wrong, but still annoyed we had such a hassle and extra drama to deal with. We've called about issues in the past, and been refunded, as they were closing and couldn't get replacement meal in time. Knowing that they have had issues in the past, you'd think as someone with Celiac owning the place, they would work to be better, over all. But It may be too much to ask for these days.

 

Rant over for now. But I'm sure there will be a follow rant on the same topic soon, sadly.

Riccardo's - Italian Stop

I will randomly just scroll thru Find Me Gluten Free, just to see if something new, different, or interesting gets posted. I get excited when something different pops up, just cause it's nice to go somewhere new, try something else, and not eat the same things. Riccardo's popped up recently, and I realize I go to the grocery store right across the street once a week! 

We decided to take the family and check it out. It's set back and not the easiest to find if you're not looking for it. The inside reminded me of a family run dinner style from the early 1990's. The gluten free menu is not huge by any means, but they have some great options like ravioli, mostaccioli, and different chicken dishes. My favorite part is they serve the Udi's rolls as an option for gluten free! It's $1 a roll and they will ask how many rolls you want. 

They have 1 soup option that is safe, the minestrone soup. What kills me is they only have the house vinegar dressing for the salad option. Which I just don't understand 75% if not more of dressings bought in store are safe, but the moment you eat out, NONE are an option! Ugh! Though they do have a couple gluten free dessert options which is awesome. I still get hung up on the salad dressing, like how hard is it to have a safe dressing that doesn't taste like it would be a cleaning solution!

Their lack of a good tasting dressing makes me rate them down to 4 dragonflies, they have options, if you're in the mood for them, the GF menu is much smaller than the regular menu, but it's a good option to meet up for a special event or a group dinner that's not too pricey.

Rokbonki - Hibachi Happiness

I've written before on the good experiences I've had at Benihana, and how each location handles allergies differently, from cooking the allergy meal first, to making it in the back and bringing it out plated, but never had a bad experience. Last year a friend mentioned an independent hibachi restaurant that he loves, and has been going to for many years. He kept bringing up taking us there to try it, cause he was certain we'd love it more than Benihana, so we made plans to check it out. I gave him my spiel on food prep and eating there. He called and talked to them and they determined that I would be able to eat most of the meal. Most because they do a course of hibachi noodles with the meal, and that would not be able to be adjusted. 

So we made reservations at Rokbonki and hoped for the best. I was pleased when I mentioned to our waitress that my meal had to be made gluten free, and she understood what needed to be done and helped guide our meal accordingly. It turned out the salad dressing was not safe, nor the soup, but a plain salad was an option. The teriyaki noodles were a no go, as well as the dipping sauces. But the rest was going to be fine. We had a fabulous meal, the hibachi chef opted to make my meal before the rest, of the people at the table. All was going well, and he had a misstep, I thought he grabbed the wrong bottle, and he realized it just as quickly. He apologized, and flagged down a server to get him a new steak and mushrooms and gave my original cut of meat to everyone else at the table and started over at making my portion of steak. Every part of the meal was fabulous and my husband who hates salad could not stop raving about the salad dressing.   

We recently had our 3rd visit, each the 2nd and 3rd time the chef was chatty with me about my allergy, how long I've known about my issues and how it impacts my life. Each time he was super cautious and I even learned I could have the egg sauce (Tokyo style shrimp) as that is gluten free, though their garlic topping is not, because it has breadcrumbs. I was so glad they went and asked all the questions and the chef at our table was super informed. He was so nice to explain that the scallops are dusted in corn starch (not flour) to keep them crispy when frying. I also asked for 2 sides of rice, since the teriyaki noodles are not gluten free, and I was hungry.

 

The 2nd time we went, I felt bad, since we only had half our table to our party, the other party was 2/3rd vegetarian. I don't think they were totally understanding the chef trying to keep the gluten free and vegetarian separate and prepped at opposite ends before the regular options. But he still did a great job at it. My husband and I are always alert watching the movement to make sure they don't grab a wrong bottle or switch a utensil. Finding a 2nd Hibachi restaurant that handles allergies quite well makes me feel better about this type of food option. Knowing that it all about the training and staff awareness anywhere you go, here it's top notch. 

I give them 5 dragonflies for service, personal handling and amazing tasting food.

Mission BBQ - Top Notch

Mission BBQ opened near to where we live, back prior to the pandemic, so we decided to check it out. We liked, the food was good, the service was good, but two things were drawbacks for us. They had mostly bench seating, and we had other places in the area that were better. But the pandemic put a bit of a wrench in our other options, so we opted to try Mission BBQ again now. They have a pretty comprehensive menu for gluten free on their website, which was super helpful!

1st thing we noticed when we got inside was there were more regular chairs and less bench seats, which was nice. Talking to the cashier who took our order, and he was able to confirm the only thing in the fryers was the French fries, so those were gluten free. He also flagged our entire order to have 'no cornbread', when our order was called, they confirmed 'no cornbread', I let them know, it was just my tray, and they could give the other trays cornbread. 

One of the servers came over and noted that he saw me staring at my phone while ordering, and offered to give us a to-go menu to look at for our next visit. When I told him I was looking at my phone for the allergy options, he went and got us a print out for the allergy options! He even went over options not on the menu, including the Chicago Sweet sauce being safe. Ultimately there was only 1 sauce that wasn't safe, and it was the mustard one. They even brought out containers of the Alabama white sauce, since it needs refrigeration, they don't keep it on the table. 

The meal was very good! We'd done a 3 meat sampler with brisket, sausage and pulled chicken, I got fries and my hubby got his fav, mac and cheese. They seemed to be very aware of keeping things separate and safe. They were even super nice and gave our friends free dessert, since it was their first time there. Unfortunately the dessert was not gluten free, which was sad, but I had dessert waiting for me at home.  Over I have to give them 5 out of 5 dragonflies, I would normally rate them down for a lack of a dessert option. But the number of meat options, sauce options and sides. I mean, they have French Fries, that's huge! 

 

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!