Restaurant Review: Jack Astor's (Downtown Toronto)

My husband took the kids downtown last Sunday to visit a friend and they had lunch at Jack Astor's, which offers a gluten free burger and bun, and locations with dedicated fryers offer gluten free fries, as well.  I was surprised when he wrote up a review for the blog!  So below you have the very first restaurant review courtesy of my husband! 

First off all an apology to those of my wife's readers who are used to her excellent writing style. This being my first post I am not as acquainted with peaking a reader's interest but here goes nothing...

This past weekend we decided to give Mommy a break and I had the chance to take the kiddies by himself to visit a good friend in the city I hadn't seen for a while. The idea was to give her a breather and some time to focus on her blogging and writing. We left at 10:30 in the morning to spend the day in the city, just us 3 boys.

 

I admit I was a bit nervous about bringing them both downtown on my own, but with my friend there to help out it was nothing that we haven't done before.  My friend lives on his own and doesn't have any children so when he suggested we go and take the kiddies for a bite I was also concerned about where we could take them to downtown that was both family friendly and gluten free. I wasn't confident that these would generally be places my friend would visit on a regular basis.

He suggested the Jack Astor's on Front street. As soon as we walked in the service was entirely geared to the children and making the experience as smooth for a parent as possible.

The first thing the hostess did when bringing us to our table was to grab a box of crayons for my son to feel as free and artistic as possible on their disposable paper table covers. This is always something any parent to a toddler will appreciate to make the inevitable wait at restaurants go as smoothly as possible. My "wow" factor however came when we sat down at the table and our waitress came in with a portable DVD player at hand and a selection of 6 of my son's favorite cartoon DVD's for him to choose from!  I admit I was torn between letting him watch a show so I could focus on my youngest and on some conversation with my friend, or making him wait to eat his meal with us before he could watch his DVD. I will admit my guilt when I gave in to the DVD in front of him and allowed events to take their course with "Diego" in the background.

I looked at the menu which is always interesting when trying to pick GF items from a non dedicated menu but couldn't find anything that jumped out. My friend suggested I ask our waitress directly which I did and was extremely happy when she advised that all their hamburger patties were GF and could be served in GF buns! And a bonus any GF parent out there will appreciate, the fries were GF with their dedicated fryer at that location! The lunch experience got better by the moment and made for a nice carefree outing with the boys that I would be happy to report back to "the boss" on once we got back home!

 

Gluten Free Burger, Bun & Fries

 

My son had a great time with his hamburger (bun included!) and fries and of course his movie and all in all we had a pretty good time and were ready for some after lunch soccer in the afternoon.

Since I am not as artistic or detailed oriented I did not think at the moment of taking pictures of the establishment. I did however take pictures of my son's meal which I hope you will enjoy. This was a very good experience and I will make sure I take my wife back to check it out. All in all a good spot and experience! Hopefully Mommy enjoyed her precious time to herself. 

 

 

 

 

Miguel

Frankie's Ristorante in Uxbridge

This weekend we took a drive out to Uxbridge, Ontario to take our boys for a ride on the train.  While there, we decided to try out a restaurant that we had heard about when we grabbed their card at the Gluten Free Expo in Toronto. 

Frankie's Ristorante is a 100% gluten free restaurant serving traditional mediterranean food.  On top of that, they make all of their food in-house, and are able to customize your order, at no extra cost, to accommodate any allergy.  The restaurant is peanut and nut free.  They are a member of the Canadian Celiac Association.  This, to me, is pretty incredible.  In addition, they use ingredients sourced from local farms, and highlight which farms are featured wach week on a board in the restaurant.  I couldn't wait to visit and see what was on the menu.

The restaurant was easy to find, with parking readily available.  We arrived before noon on a rainy Saturday, and walked into a small but pretty restaurant.  The space has large windows, a beautiful wooden bar, and a cozy fireplace.




If you look closely, you can see the list of featured farms on the blackboard.

  I was beginning to worry about how kid-friendly it would be, but was relieved when our server brought a kids' menu to the table with a handful of crayons for my son. 

I was intrigued at the idea of a completely wheat and gluten free restaurant serving mainly traditionally gluten filled meals, like breads and pastas.  We decided to order an appetizer, a main and a dessert to really get an idea of the quality of their food.  We started with the lunch sampler platter, which came with bread, salsa, hummus, chutney and raw veggies.

The bread was what I was most interested in.  It was toasted and buttered, and was the perfect texture.  It wasn't dry or crumbly.  My son liked it so much that he was asking for more when we ran out.

For our son, we ordered the kids' combo.  For $10, he got a drink, a main course and a dessert.  My son has decided that he only wants to eat pasta "with green sauce," so we ordered him the pesto pasta.  My husband ordered the chipotle cream pasta and I ordered the pasta served in a mushroom cream sauce. 

Gluten Free Pesto Pasta

Pasta with Mushroom Cream Sauce and Goat Cheese

Again, we were pleasantly surprised.  The pasta was cooked perfectly, and the sauces were creamy and had good flavour.  My husband also ordered a gluten free beer from their drinks menu, which I'll cover in a separate post.  He chose La Messagère, a beer from a Quebec brewery.

For dessert, my son had gluten and dairy free gelato.  My husband and I ordered the Sticky Toffee Pudding.  It was completely decadent and delicious. 

Sticky Toffee Pudding



 

I really, really liked this restaurant.  The service was friendly and the food was great.  It's a place that I would recommend to anyone who wants a good meal at a nice place.  That it caters to those with multiple food restrictions or allergies and still manages to offer great food options should serve as an example to other restaurants looking to expand their menu items. 

 

I was most surprised by the price.  The kids' meal was $10.  Pastas were $12.50.  The sampler platter was $8.95.  These are reasonable prices.  In fact, they're lower than what one would pay for lower quality food at some chain restaurants.  Lunch for three people, including appetizer, mains, dessert, a beer and a coffee ran us less than $80, taxes included.  We left the restaurant stuffed, but happy. 

 

The best part was watching my son eat ANYTHING he wanted, and not have to worry that he was going to be cross-contaiminated and get sick.  For those who don't deal with this everyday, it may not mean much, but to those of us who do, this is such a rare experience.  Unlike most kids who just grab food without thinking, our 3 year old now asks if what he wants to eat will hurt his tummy before touching it.  At this restaurant, we could happily tell him that he could eat whatever he wanted.  That was a great feeling!

Frankie's Ristorante
1 Main Street
Uxbridge, ON L9P 1P7
www.glutenfreefrankies.com

Restaurant Review: Lidia's Italian Restaurant, Pittsburgh

When we stopped in Pittsburgh on our way to Washington, I had the opportunity to eat at a restaurant I've been dying to try for a long time, Lidia's in Pittsburgh.  I'm a big fan of her show, Lidia's Italy, and enjoy trying her recipes at home.  A few weeks back, her lamb recipe was part of my weekly menu plan.  When I saw that she had a restaurant in Pittsburgh, I knew I had to try it. 

Location: Lidia's is located at 1400 Smallman Street, in the Strip District of Pittsburgh. The outside of the restaurant is simple, with a small sign indicating that it's there. The inside is much larger, and was designed by the well-known architect David Rockwell. The main dining room on the ground floor has a warehouse-type feel, but with decorative details that create a warm, family atmosphere.  The private dining room on the 2nd floor can accomodate private parties of up to 80 people.  The strip district is located within walking distance of the downtown, but in a more industrial part of the city, close to the Convention Centre, the ball park and the river.

Atmosphere:  The restaurant is upscale, but not stuffy.  When we called to ask about bringing a two year old, the response was that children are "absolutely welcome".  We asked for a 6 pm reservation, and there were several families with children there as well.

Food: The menu is simple, and can be found online HERE.  There are different menus for lunch, dinner and weekend brunch, as well as a daily pasta tasting menu featuring unlimited portions of three different pastas.  There are no listed children's menu items, but the waiter was able to offer us several children's options, for $8.50.  Lidia's restaurant does not have gluten free pasta options, but I was curious to see what they offered. 

The children's plates are all items that contain gluten, but there are many meat dishes on the regular menu that are gluten free, and the staff is extremely knowledgeable and accommodating.  Our server, Chris C., spoke with the chef and told us that we could order any non-pasta item for our son, and that the chef would prepare it gluten free and dairy free and would charge us for a children's entree.  We ended up ordering the chef's suggestion of chicken breast on a bed of yukon gold potatoes and green beans with tomato sauce.

The restauarnt also has dairy free sorbet, and my son enjoyed a citrus sorbet at the end of his meal.
The food was delicious, and the price was excellent for the quality.





My son's "children's meal" prepared gluten and dairy free



My son "cutting" his meat.  He loved his dinner!

My husband ordered the pasta tasting trio, and enjoyed fettucine, orechiette with sausage and brocolli rabe, and ravioli with leek and potato.  Servers came to the table and served him each pasta individually, and then returned to offer him more whenever he was running low.  His meal cost $29.99 and came with a salad, unlimited pasta and dessert.  The price was reasonable for a three course meal, and actually low considering the quality of the food.

Pasta Trio

I ordered an appetizer of prosciutto with beans and shaved cheese.  The prosciutto melted in my mouth, but I would have liked the beans to have been a little bit softer. 



My appetizer


As my main course, I ordered the gnocchi in a braised duck sauce.  The pasta was the perfect texture, and the sauce was quite complex.  Duck is not something I order often, but I didn't want to take the safe route.  The meat was dark and flavourful.  The portion was quite large, and I couldn't finish the entire plate.

Gnocchi with braised duck sauce

Verdict:  I will admit that I went to this restaurant a little bit biased because I enjoy Lidia's show as well as her recipes.  I had high expectations, and I wasn't disappointed.  The atmosphere was classy but not stuffy, and children are welcome.   The prices of the plates are reasonable for the class of restaurant and the quality of the food, and the dishes were familiar, but with something a little bit special, like the pairing of duck in a traditional pasta dish. 

From a gluten free standpoint, I was surprised at the level of knowledge of the server, and the willingness of the chef to adapt any dish to suit my son's needs, and without increasing the price. 

I would highly recommend Lidia's restaurant when in Pittsburgh.  The staff is attentive, the food is delicious and people with food restrictions are happily accommodated.

Restaurant Review: La Taquizza

Last night we found ourselves tired and hungry after our day of birthday party planning, and neither of us felt like cooking.  On a whim, we decided to try a Mexican restaurant that we've passed by almost every day for the last two years.  La Taquizza is a small family run restaurant with an extensive menu.  Their online menu does not list all of the options that are found in the restaurant.  The restaurant is an open, family-friendly spot.  All but one table was occupied with parents and children when we were there.  Their motto is "...a place where you can eat good, eat healthy, eat happy".

The decor sets the mood. The colourful walls display Mexican statues, tapestries and ponchos, but the effect is laid back and comforting rather than tacky and overpowering.  The owner hails from Mexico City, and was personally serving the tables.  He quickly made friends with our son and even got him dancing in his high chair to the music while waiting for his meal.

The food?  Really, really good.  And much of it gluten free.  Traditional Mexican food uses more corn than wheat flour, but it's not uncommon to see a mixture of the two.  The menu specifically indicated which flours were used in which dishes, and there were many dairy free options as well.  We started the meal with the in-house tortilla chips and guacamole.  The guacamole was a soft green with the perfect accents of lime and salt, and the tortilla chips were light and crispy.  My son had quickly claimed the bowl of chips for himself.

We ordered Mexican rice and refried beans for the little one, both of which he used as dips for his tortilla chips.  None went to waste.  My husband ordered the Sopa Azteca, a broth based soup with chicken, hominy corn and tortilla strips.  He followed that up with beef tacos.  The tacos come plain, and patrons garnish their own from a variety of homemade sauces.  The tortillas are thicker than the ones found in most grocery stores, and have more texture as well. 

I ordered the chicken mole enchiladas.  Corn tortillas stuffed with pulled chicken and smothered in a chocolate sauce.  Mole is not sweet like milk chocolate, but is a sauce made from cocoa and infused with tomatoes, chilies and a variety of spices.  The sauce was the best I've had, and the chicken was moist and flavourful.  The dish came with beans and rice.  The dish is a little heavy, so perhaps next time I'll order a salad on the side, perhaps the cactus salad that looked so appealing in the photo. Unfortunately we were too full for dessert, but online reviews are claiming that their tres leches cake is something special.  It's my husband's favourite, so I'm sure he'll want to go back to try it. 

This is definitely a place that will get our repeat business.  The atmosphere was relaxed and very family friendly, and the food was authentic and delicious.  It's not a cheap hole in the wall place with greasy food, so it's not the place to go if you're looking for a $2 burrito.  If, however, you're looking for a family friendly restaurant that services authentic Mexican food in a relaxed atmosphere, this is the place for you.

La Taquizza
3175 Rutherford Road, Unit 28
Vaughan, Ontario