Natural Grocers: My new favorite gluten free grocery store!

Baguettes

People often ask me what the best gluten free grocery store in Wichita is.

I often tell people "Food for thought" is the best but it's expensive. 
Then I tell people you should check out "Green Acres" but it's expensive.
Then I might suggest "Whole Foods" but it's expensive.

Now I will tell you to go to "Natural Grocers!"

My wife filling up her arms with flour

The first time I went to "Natural Grocers" I was in Colorado and couldn't believe the great prices.  It was wonderful!

My wife was skipping through the aisles singing a song to herself.  Yep it's pretty darn awesome.
Make sure you check out all the purple tags that mark if it is gluten free.  I would also make sure to check for other products that are unmarked.

Tanya's Soup kitchen, put down your computer and go there now.

Several months ago I quit my job to help start City Life Church.  I sent Tanya's a message trying to lure them into giving me free food for a review on the website.  I think it weird-ed them out.   I just didn't have money at the time and I was hungry!  

Since things have gotten better financially I've called them about the gluten free options.  Usually I will hear something like chic-pea curry soup or Mango gaspatcho.   They sounded gross so we never stopped by.  However, I had a meeting at the Doughnut Whole today and we all crossed the street for soup.  It sounded good on a chilly winter day.

The place was packed.  We weren't allowed to order anything since all the tables were full!  They kept erasing soups from the chalk board as they were running out of them.   While waiting, they let me try out the two gluten free soups on the menu.  WOW!  Let me just say I hate tomato soups.  However the tomato soup they are serving at Tanya's soup kitchen is an object of my affection.  It is sweet and creamy.  I also tasted the roasted butternut squash and had to have it as well.  It has an almost smokey flavor with a wonderful curry aftertaste.  So what was I suppose to do?  Yep, I ordered two bowls of soup.  They were $3 each for a little bowl.  I was unable to finish them but I kept tasting little spoonfuls so as to enjoy it one more time.  

Okay so the soups at Tanya's are fancy.  Also they didn't give me free soup.  I guess they aren't running a soup kitchen. Ha.  From now on, no matter how weird the soups are I will get them and I will enjoy them.  Kudos to Tanya's.  I now have another fun place to share with my out of town friends.  First I probably should take my wife.

Red Lobster, suprisingly tasty!

Oh Red Lobster.  How you have taunted my dreams with those garlicy/cheesy biscuits.  I remember going with my dad to Red Lobster and hardly eating anything else.  Recently I googled Red Lobster to see if they had anything gluten free.  I was surprised to see they had a few yummy sounding options. 

The wife and I headed out with hoping we would still be full without the cheesy goodness.  I started out with a Salad which they say is not gluten free.  However, the waitress made our salad and most of the dressings are gluten free.  I didn't get sick and she made sure to not put any croutons on.  It was like any salad. 

One concern my wife and I had were the prices.  We spent more than usual but it'sa splurge worth it every once and a while.  The two item combo is about 12.75.  It comes with one side and the salad.  You can have a baked potato or mashed potatoes.  Stay away from the Broccoli.  Someone could also decide to go with the coleslaw but coleslaw is disgusting and you are gross if you like it.

As far as the main course there wasn't a whole lot to choose from.  So we enjoyed two servings each of garlic shrimp scampi.  Wow.  It was not healthy but it evoked a Pavlovian response in me.  These shrimp were swimming in a garlic butter.  If you are a terrible fatty like myself, you might dump the butter on your potato.  Hello, heart attack!  The shrimp was hot, salty and succulent.  The potato was hot as well and it was as good as a potato can be.  By the way, does anyone else type potato and hope you're spelling it correctly?  Thanks Dan Quayle.  Now I have potato typing fear.   Moving on...

We finished off the meal with a gluten free CHEESE CAKE!  There is no crust and it is listed on the menu as gluten free.  It was moist and not as heavy as most Cheese Cakes.  Covered in strawberries it wasn't overly sweet either.  It was about $6.  If you miss getting dessert, this is your place.

All in all it was a great night.  While not abundant in choices, it was an offering worth trying.  If you go, please call the survey on your bill so as to encourage them to offer more choices.  I told the manager I wanted more and he said that was the way to get it.   If you end up going please tell me how it was for you.

d'Sozo gluten free, vegan food.

It is what it is.

My wonderful "hippy" mom was in town a few weeks back and so I had a good excuse to try out our local vegetarian option.  Vegan is something I know I probably should do but never will.  I love steak.  

It took us two visits to finally try out d'Sozo but my mom felt it was worth the wait.  Make sure you find out the hours because they are not open for dinner and they have funny hours.  On our first trip we ended up having to go to the Lotus Leaf Cafe. 

However, the second time was success.  How did I feel about the meal?  Conflicted.  I ordered a pizza.  A vegan pizza is well, kinda not good but they managed to make it taste a little better.  When adding gluten free options to an already vegan meal, I can understand you have very little to work with.  The French chef at d'Sozo did a good job with what he had to work with but I would not return without my mom. 

She got a special with veggies and pasta which I envied.  When I go back I will update my review.

Hog Wild has gluten??

Hey guys,
Someone sent me a message that Hog Wild BBQ has gluten in their dry rub.  Does anyone know anything about this?

Please vote for my band, Shine Like Stars by October 31st!

Vote Here!

We have the chance to open up at Intrust Arena with your help.  Please share as well. :)
-Dale

Quick list for eating out. (Updated 2-4-2011)

I've been thinking about how often someone will quickly ask me where we can eat and I never have a good list for them.  Well, I am making one for each part of town.  Hooray!  I will probably update this list and comeback to it for myself.  Let me know if I am missing anything.  Hope it helps you.   Also if a place has a "??" its a last resort!

East Side:
Five Guys
Red Robin
Bonefish Grill
Jason's Deli
Ya Ya's
Granite City
Doc Green's
PF Changs
Noodles and Co
Chipotle
Red Lobster
Pablano
Wichita Pizza Company
Mulligan's Irish Pub (Open after 2)
Carlos O' Kelly's
Jimmy Johns
Outback Steakhouse
Carraba's
Jose Peppers
Hu hot
Buffalo Wild Wings
Chili's
The Olive Garden???
Louies??
On the Border??
Wendy's??

Central:
Five Guys
Tanya's Soup Kitchen
Pig in Pig Out Barbecue
Pablano
Freddy's
Lotus Leaf Cafe
D'sozo

West Side:
Five Guys
When Pigs Fly Barbecue
Chipotle
Freddy's
Red Lobster
Carlo's O'Kelly's
Pei Wei
Outback Steakhouse
Gobi Grill
Buffalo Wild wings
Chili's
Jason's Deli
On the Border??

South:
Godfather's Pizza
Wheat State Pizza (Derby)
Carlos O' Kelly's

Noodles and Company: Few choices but still good.

Fall is upon us.  Saturday we found ourselves hankering for something warm and yummy to combat the dark gloom of the rain our parched land sorely needed.  We called Tanya's soup kitchen to see what they had that was gluten free.  Of course is was cold fruity soup.  Okay, maybe next week. 

So the wife and I settled on Noodles and Company over at town east mall.  I dropped the wife off at the front and then traipsed back through the puddles, wishing I hadn't worn sandals.  Once back to the restaurant, I realized I left my camera in the car.  D'oh.  Eventually I made it back. 

The menu is not what you would call exhaustive.  Actually besides salad there is only really one thing: Pad Thai.  We enjoyed our pad Thai.  The chicken was tender, although the wife thought it was over-peppered.  It was sweet and slightly spicy.  All in all it did what it was supposed to do.  It warmed us up and made us smile.  (Good company always helps)

I am always excited to have one new place to go when all my non-celiac friends say the dreaded phrase, "Where can Dale eat?"

Gluten free at Big Lots!

Yes this box is already empty in less than a day.  Quit judging me!

I used to go to Big Lots with my family as a kid.  I used to spend my $2 allowance on all sorts of things.  I once bought a "Rocky 4" punching bag and a Michael Jackson's "Thriller" shirt.  I was sooo cool.  Back then it was called Pic N Save.  Also back then I could eat gluten.  Recently a friend tipped us off to the bounty available at Big Lots and we checked it out. 

We were fired up!  We found a pound of gluten free pasta for $2.  They also had 4 shapes of pasta for the same low price. 

If you are a Bob's red mill fan, they had that stuff too.  A lot of it. 

Finally they had several different types of cheese crackers ala cheeze itz for a very good price.  We went to the one on 21st and Woodlawn so I don't know about the other locations but I would assume they are just as good. 

If you find good things there, would you please share them with us?  Nothing lasts and I would love to try out some new awesome stuff.

Peach Wave: Gluten Free Frozen yogurt

Okay friends in Wichita.  I do believe this is the place to get frozen yogurt if you need to be certain it is gluten free.

They have all the allergen information out for you to read!

How awesome is that?

Anyways, I really enjoyed it.  The cheesecake flavor is also gluten free so I was pretty excited. 

Stay away from obvious stuff like, Red Velvet, Cookies and Cream.  Also watch out for the less obvious like Taro and Peanut Butter.  Or just read the information on the counter.  This is a win for Celiac peeps.

Gluten free BBQ in Wichita: Pig in Pig Out.

Having lived in Wichita for almost three years now, there are a few things I really miss about Southern California.  I miss my friends.  I miss my family.  I miss the weather. I miss surfing.  I miss Rubio's, In n Out etc.

I cannot look at this picture without considering a trip to the fridge for the leftovers. 

However, If I were to pack up and move back to So Cal tonight, I would definitely miss a particular type of food.  Barbecue.  Barbecue is an Olympic sport in Kansas.  I'm talking about fall off the bone, slathered in sauce, 100 napkins, and crazy heartburn barbecue.  Barbecue sauce defines a man here.  Did I mention I love Barbecue?  Now as a Celiac in Wichita, there are FOUR places I can eat great barbecue.  Pig in Pig Out is another incredible establishment to add to the list.  Walking in evokes a Pavlovian response in me.  My mouth seriously waters. 

Trophies and ribbons are redundant after tasting the food.

There are awards all over the restaurant showing how they fared in many exclusive contests.  They have certainly done well for themselves and the clients seem very satisfied. 

Okay, lets get to the food. 

Sadly the ribs were off the menu tonight but I had enough to try and I would love to return. 
I got the brisket and sausage with sides of corn and beans. 

First the not so great:  The Corn and sausage were cold to luke warm.  The corn had nothing on it and tasted fine.  Though it was nothing to write home about. 

Now the great:  The sausage had a little kick but wasn't too spicy.  It was reminiscent of a kielbasa and was quite savory despite the temperature.  The beans were piping hot and very tasty.  They were a bit spicy, a bit sweet and full of flavor.  They contained all sorts of beans (similar to "When Pigs Fly" which I recommend if you live on the West Side). You can go back for my review.  The Brisket was extra flavorful and while I squeezed on the BBQ sauce, my wife loved it "as is."   She also ordered the Turkey, which was exquisitely succulent.  You could tell they took great pride in their food.  The sauce is a little on the sweeter side, which is what I prefer but my wife didn't much care for it.

Juicy turkey like I've never had.  Sorry Grandma.

We left thoroughly satisfied and eager to try it again.  Several hours later I am feeling no ill effects on my stomach.

If Wichita were no longer my home, I would sure miss my friends but I would also miss eating BBQ with them, licking my fingers and trying to carry on a serious conversation.  Please make sure you patronize places like Dolce and Joe's, When Pig's fly, Hog Wild and Pig in Pig Out.  Seriously, Wichita could be a mecca for gluten free vacations.

Gluten free pizza NOT going away (Updated)

Apparently the owners of Mulligans Pub are selling it.

However, I talked to the owner and they are training the new owners.

He said they will still offer gluten free pizza.  Yay.

Freddy's frozen custard, gluten free

Here is a letter I received from Freddy's Frozen Custard about the gluten in their food.  You can see they are trying.  Sorry to those of you that want fries.  I appreciate their trying for us, hopefully it will continue to get better.

Dale:

Our custard is gluten-free, but of course you have to be careful with toppings.  Our Hot Fudge, Caramel, Butterscotch, Marshmallow, peanut butter, banana, cherry, and pineapple toppings are gluten-free.  Other gluten-free topping options include Butterfinger, M&M, Reeses and Reeses Pieces, and nuts.

Our steakburgers and hot dogs contain no fillers, and are completely gluten-free.  You can order these items wrapped in lettuce, or on a bed of lettuce for a salad (this isn’t necessarily on the menu, but can be prepared in any of our restaurants.)  Also, our Freddy’s Seasoning is gluten-free, so you don’t have to worry about what we’re using to season our steakburgers, hot dogs, and fries.  Our Gehl’s cheese sauce is gluten-free.  Our fries are gluten-free (the coating is rice flour), however they are fried in the same fryer as chicken strips and onion rings, so if you cannot tolerate even particles of gluten, you would want to avoid our fries.  Along those same lines, I should warn you that our hot dogs are warmed on the same grill as our buns, so there is a chance that particles of buns could come into contact with our hot dogs.  However, if you ask your server to wipe the grill clean of bread crumbs prior to warming your hot dog, they will do so!  Our chili’s current recipe contains oats and modified food starch, but we are working with our recipe to eliminate the gluten in the chili.  Our grilled chicken has modified food starch in the seasonings, so you would want to avoid it at this time (we are constantly working with our food vendors to re-work recipes to make them allergen-free).  Also make sure you pass on our veggieburger, as there is gluten in the ingredient list.

Coming soon:  Baked Lays.  The plain Baked Lays are labeled gluten-free, but the barbeque, which we will also carry, does contain gluten.

I hope this information will make it possible for you to enjoy a Freddy’s experience very soon!  At a minimum, you can get DESSERT at Freddy’s!

Please contact me if you have any other questions or ideas you think would work in our restaurants to serve the growing gluten-free population.

Sincerely,


Val Cowan

Gluten free at Spangles?

Sent a fruitless letter to Spangles to see if they had any gluten free options.

The response basically said they are trying to figure out how to list the allergens well. 
They thanked me for my idea of offering a gluten free menu but said they are not presently working on one.  If only they knew how fiercely loyal celiacs are.  If you would like to change this, make sure you send them a letter.  I believe the more we contact companies the more they will offer. 

Maybe I should start writing Starbucks and asking them to bring back the gluten free orange cake. Mmmmmmm....Orange Cake.

The Lotus Leaf Cafe and Creperie

Oh what fun to have gluten free crepes at two different locations within a few weeks of each other.  This one was in a cute little place in the Delano district called "The Lotus Leaf Cafe and Creperie."  Art covers the walls and the quirky decor fits.  Local music the fills the distressed brick environment and spices waft out of the kitchen as though to tempt you into ordering a second dish.  And I was tempted.

I am getting ahead of myself.  Let's go back a little further. I am always looking for new places in Wichita to try out and give endorsements to and often someone will contact me with a suggestion.  Thanks to the Biggs family for suggesting this one.  Our route to Lotus Leaf was longer on Friday because first we went to "Oh Yeah, Chinese."  I was sad when they really couldn't offer me much with meat in it.  I left bummed.  Not that they don't care but most of the meat they offer is sitting in a marinade.  D'oh.

So we went to Lotus Leaf. I had heard good things and I was getting really hungry.  The wife had a crepe with very tender yummy meat in it.  I had Tandoori Chicken which was also tender and well spiced, covered with a cucumber yogurt sauce with steamed veggies on the side. 

We saw the flourless chocolate cake and it looked tasty, we just decided against it.  If you try it, let us know what you thought.

 

The head chef, James, talked to me.  He was trained as a French chef and challenged to get healthy, organic and gluten free.  He also has made meals for diabetics and vegans.







While it was a little expensive; $2 extra for GF crepes, it was worth the trip and I hope you check it out.One more note.

Often times I like to tell you if I felt good afterward.  Sadly I felt a little sick already that day beforehand so I can't really tell you how I would've felt if I were healthy.

UPDATE:  Hey Friends, I went back and did NOT get sick.  Good news!