Legume

Legume

Legume is a nice little fine dining restaurant on North Craig street in Oakland, PA.  Its menu changes quite frequently, which I find endearing.  The menu is small, but covers a lot of options.  The space is nice and the atmosphere is quaint.  The service was attentive and the waiter was helpful.

I ordered the duck leg confit.  It came with rice, but I substituted it with crispy golden potatoes.  There were collard greens on the plate and it was garnished with a cherry sauce.  It was salty, crispy, sweet and delicious.  The rich flavors complimented each other perfectly. 

The menu was a la carte, so if you want a side or salad, you have to order them separately.  I actuality don't mind this style of restaurant because I decide how hungry I am, not the chef.  I thought this meal was the perfect size without ordering any extras.  I didn't even have any room for dessert.

I really loved this place.  I can't wait to come back to try something else.

This was the lamb shank.  Because of the gravy like sauce on this dish, I don't think it was gluten free, but they said they could make several things on the menu gluten free, just ask.  My non-gluten free friend said this was delicious. 

http://www.legumebistro.com/
214 N Craig St, Pittsburgh, PA 15213

Gandy Dancer at the Grand Concourse

Gandy Dancer at the Grand Concourse

I sat at one of the bars in the Gandy Dancer.  They gave me both a happy hour menu and a menu for the Grand Concourse.  I liked the options on the the grand concourse menu, but was considering some of the happy hour specials.  When I asked about the pecan crusted shrimp, the server checked with the kitchen to see if they could do it gluten free.  Upon return, it was a no and I was given the gluten free menu.

The gluten free menu was plain.  Most of the preparations I was looking forward to were eliminated from the menu.  It was plain grilled fish, shrimp, chicken and steak.  I was a little disappointed.

I ordered the grilled shrimp on rice with steamed broccoli.  The broccoli was just steamed, no seasoning and came as one whole piece. It was good for being so plain.  It was crisp, not mushy.

The rice was cooked well.  The shrimp were a bit small for a feature, but tasted good.  They weren't over done or fishy.  The beurre blanc sauce was mild, but pulled the dish out of totally bland and pulled it together.

The peel and eat shrimp were twelve tiny shrimp with a side of lemon and cocktail sauce.  I think they should either give you more shrimp or buy bigger ones.

A few weeks ago, I went to a bridal shower at the Grand Concourse.  They had a set menu for the guests, but when I told them I had to be gluten free, they did take care of me.  Instead of Chicken Romano or crab cakes, I got grilled salmon.  It was cooked to a very nice medium with a nice crisp on the outside.  The salad dressing was double checked by the kitchen for ingredients with gluten.  And when they brought cake for dessert for the guests, they offered me mango sorbet.  The sorbet was the best part of the meal! It was an amazing finishing touch.


100 W Station Square Dr, Pittsburgh, PA 15219
http://www.muer.com/grand-concourse/

Roman Bistro 33

Roman Bistro 33

Roman bistro has a gluten free menu; just inquire. They have a few appetizers, salads, and entrees that are gluten free. I wasn't expecting to see crab cakes on the gluten free menu and that peaked my interest.  It's not every day you can order gluten free crab cakes at a restaurant.

The menu said to pre order the crab cakes, so I asked the waitress how far in advance I needed to order them.  Did I have to order them before I arrived? Could I order them now? She checked with the kitchen and told me I cold order them now and they would be ready with the rest of the table's entrees.  Great! I knew what I wanted.

The lemon risotto was amazing.  It was just the right consistency, have the perfect amount of tangy lemon, and the cheese complimented the rice so well.  The broccoli was steamed and still crisp. The crab cakes, however, were hard and had the texture of a kaiser roll.  It's not what I prefer in a crab cake.  It was more like a crabby cheddar puff.  Sure there was real crab in the middle and it was gluten free, which I appreciate, but it had too much filler. I think I'll pick something else the next time I come here.

I would actually recommend this place for a gluten free diner.  They are careful & the food is fresh.  They even have a gluten free menu.  I'm sure they can modify something that is not on the gluten free menu as well.

In case you wanted to see the Salmon, here it is. It's not gluten free, though.  But they can make a salmon variation that is gluten free.

2104 Ardmore Blvd, Pittsburgh, PA 15221
http://www.romanbistro.com/

Cork 1794

Cork 1794

This place looked like it had potential.  When I stopped in, one of the servers told me that there were a few items on the menu that could be made gluten free.  She pointed them out and I agreed they looked promising.  At least this place know what gluten free means.

The sign out front says they take reservations.  I made reservations.  When I showed up for the reservation, they didn't save any tables for the reservation and told me it would be about another 45 minutes.  That's irritating that they don't know how to handle reservations.  I guess maybe because it was during the wine festival, but don't take my reservation if you can't plan accordingly for them.

One of the the allure to this place is that it was an old bank and you can eat in the vault.  No one in my party wanted to eat in there.  There was only one table inside the vault.  I don't know, I thought the vault was pretty cool. 

The service was slow.  The waitress forgot our drinks. She was very ditzy, but they were very busy.  I ordered the chicken breast stuffed with spinach and ricotta cheese with a fresh mozzarella cream sauce.  Nothing about it was fresh.

The entree was obviously prepared, cooked, frozen, then reheated.  This is not what I expect from a restaurant.  If I wanted to eat a pre-made reheated meal, I'd reheat it myself.  The chicken texture was weird and not pleasant.  The cream sauce made my stomach upset, and the spinach was over cooked, wilted, and mushy.  It's hard to claim something is gluten free when you didn't make it fresh at the time it was ordered.  So although I don't think the chicken was floured or the cream sauce thickened with flour, I do think there was cross contamination in this meal that had me sick for days.

I would not recommend this place for a gluten free diner.  Although, there wasn't much in the area that could accommodate a gluten free diner.  Go here at your own risk.

Unfortunately, their frozen prepared food extended to the the ravioli.  Their pasta was a lumpy ball stuck together and hard, and the flank steak was over cooked, but probably the best thing I saw here.  So I don't even recommend the food here for a non gluten free diner either.  It's just frozen reheated pre made meals.




17 W Main St, North East, PA 16428
http://grapecountrymarketplace.org/cork-1794

Grits & Grace

Grits & Grace

This is an upscale spin off of a southern country diner.  I'm not sure how else to describe it.  The waitresses wore southern home cooking looking dresses under their aprons, but the walls and decor looked like a trendy downtown atmosphere.  The menu consisted of southern dishes with an almost Asian flare.

First they come around with an appetizer tray.  The six dishes were listed on a card, but none of them were gluten free as is.  They said they would make some of them without soy sauce, but nothing looked appetizing enough to go through the trouble.

I asked the waitress what they could do gluten free.  She mentioned all of the salads and the flank steak.   I asked about the short ribs and the confit chicken wings.  Said she'd check with the chef for more options.  

When she returned she said they couldn't do the short ribs or the chicken wings confit.  She mentioned the arctic char, she said they would use a separate fryer with the fritters.  I asked if they could use a separate fryer for the confit, I'd really like to try it.  She returned with an answer.  She said they could, but it wouldn't be as crunchy.  Sold!

The confit chicken wings were amazing.  The herbed buttermilk dressing was creamy and delicious.  It had sliced chili peppers in it that surprisingly enough, chili peppers don't bother me like bell peppers, so they were no issue.   They actually didn't effect the taste unless you ate one.  The wings were moist and crispy with a rich fatty flavor.  Now I want to try to make this at home.

I also ordered the flank steak on the flat rice noodles.  It was beefy with broccolini, bean sprouts, mushrooms, garlic, and onions.  It was pretty good.  They made it without soy sauce to be gluten free, so make sure you tell them to do that if you want to order it.

This is what the short ribs look like.  They said they can't do them gluten free because the cream cheese biscuit takes up too much of the dish.

http://gritandgracepgh.com/
535 Liberty Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15222

Spoon

Spoon

Tucked in the heart of East Liberty is this little gem.  The lighting is dim and the ceilings are high.  It is a place focused on fresh, local food.  They have an extensive wine list, but the mix of fresh and local ingredients is what I came for.

Instead of bread, for the gluten free diners, they bring out chips.  I questioned the frier these chips went through, but the waiter said they do a pretty good job of keeping things separated. They came with some type of pepper cheese which I declined. 

I ordered the Prosciutto wrapped asparagus with cheese and locally grown strawberries. The peresntation was amazing.  The strawberries complemented the cheese.  The asparagus was grilled and crispy. The strawberries seemed candied, but were good. The figs were sweet. The cheese was fluffy and everything on the plate went well together.

The service was excellent.  The water glasses were constantly being refilled.  The waiter was attentive and knowledgeable about the menu.  

I ordered the bacon wrapped cod. I'm not much of a cod fan, but bacon makes everything better, so I decided to be adventurous. It arrived with a pesto smear across the plate. Then the waiter poured the tomato fennel broth over it and handed me a spoon. I didn't feel that it was soup enough for a spoon, but it made me try the broth first. 

It was unusual. It was heavy on the fennel. He tomato was prominate even though the broth has no red color to it at all. The pesto mingled with the broth in a delightful manor.

I tried the cod. It was flaky and cooked well. The bacon could have been crispier, but that is a personal preference that could jeopardize the moistness of the fish.  There was a bit of corn, tomotoes, and sprouts mixed on top of the fish that complemented the dish.  Also, there was a tangy, citric white sauce on top. I don't know what it was, but it was good.  

The braised short ribs and steak was my second choice.  It came with broccoli gratin, zucchini, and a red wine reduction. 

Because everything is cooked to order here, the kitchen doesn't seem to have any problems with dietary restrictions.  They certainly didn't compromise the integrity of this meal. I was worried about the chips, but I didn't have any reactions so they must be doing something right at Spoon. 

134 S Highland Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15206
http://www.spoonpgh.com/

Cafe Du Jour

Cafe Du Jour

I love this place.  I'm never disappointed when I come here.   It is closed on Sunday & Monday, BYOB, and cash only, but it's well worth it.  It is an outside dining restaurant hidden on East Carson St.  Once in the door, you walk through the kitchen to get to the outdoor patio dining area.  The patio is set up like a secret garden with a waterfall in the back.  It really quite cute.  There are only a handful of tables, so its best to make a reservation. 

We started with a Spinach Asiago dip appetizer.  It came with bread, but to make it gluten free, they added a plate of vegetables for me to dip.  I was uncomfortable with the bread coming directly on the same plate as the dip, but they were separated by a dish so I spooned some dip on my plate and ate it with the vegetables.

I ordered the wild mushroom consumme soup.  It was a pleasant light beef broth with an assortment of wild mushrooms of all different sizes.  It was delicious.

My friends had the meatballs on a baguette.  It wasn't gluten free, but they said it was very tasty. It had a very nice presentation. 

For my entree, I ordered the strip steak with blue cheese, onion crisps, zucchini, spinach sprinkled with a little cheese, and potatoes.  The steak was cooked perfectly medium rare with a crispy outside.  The onion crisps made me do a double take.  I questioned the server about them going into a frier.  He assured me they were gluten free.  I don't know how they cooked them, because they were crispy and flaky, something usually associated with being not so gluten free.

The perfect end to a perfect meal was the flourless chocolate cake.  It was creamy, fudgy, packed a chocolate punch.  I can't imagine a better end to this wonderful meal.

As I was told, everything must have been gluten free, even though it was hard to imagine that it was because it was all so good.

1107 E Carson St, Pittsburgh, PA 15203

Kaleidoscope Cafe

Kaleidoscope Cafe

Upon walking up to the door, I thought this place was closed.  After walking in, I thought I was in the wrong place.  After all, it was 6 O'clock on a Wednesday.  Somebody should be in here besides me.  But there wasn't.  I immediately thought to myself, "Why isn't anyone here.  Is this a mistake?"

The decor was awful.  It needed updated.  The walls needed painted.  If they weren't doing tons of business, they should take away a few tables to make it look less cluttered.  It would look fuller if there were less tables.  Maybe they should get an interior decorator to help with the space planning in here.  I can see why people aren't coming in and staying.

I hear the only server taking an order to go.  Someone must like the food, but I see why they don't want to sit in here to eat.  I see the theme that they are trying to do, but it's not succeeding.  It needs a make over. 

I asked about gluten free items on the menu.  I was handed the lunch menu and told some of the things listed as gluten free, like the pork, weren't gluten free.  And the chicken apple sausage was listed as gluten free, but wasn't in that preparation, but could be prepared in a different preparation.  Obviously, they needed new menus printed, too.

I ordered the cornish hen. I was told it would take 20-25 minutes.  I understood, but was hungry.  It really did take that long.

The cornish hen half was moist with a crispy skin and had a yellow savory sauce.  It had sweet figs, seasoned squash, two cherry tomatoes, and smashed potatoes.  The smashed potatoes were evenly lumpy like they should be, with some skins in the mix.  The chunks were soft enough that they melted in my mouth.  As far as smashed potatoes go, these ones were pretty good.

The pork wasn't gluten free because of the soy sauce.  But I hear was delicious as well.  The presentation was good.  In case you wanted to see the pork, here it is.

Finally, at the end of meal meal, two other groups were seated.  The acoustics were awful and I was glad I was finished with my meal.  Perhaps the odd kaleidoscope triangles on the walls were there to dampen the sound. They make sound dampening ceiling tiles that would probably work well for this place if they didn't want to instal carpet.

Overall, the food was delicious, the service was friendly, but the space needed updated. 

108 43rd St, Pittsburgh, PA 15201
http://kaleidoscopepgh.com/

The Crested Duck Charcuterie

The Crested Duck is only open form 5-10 on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.  There are only 20 seats in the whole dining area and I think you will definitely need a reservation to get a table, but it is well worth it.  The food is amazing.  This is the place that is providing the cured meats to the other places around town that you're ordering, like the Omni William Penn, Spoon, and Bar Marco.  Its better to come to the source. 

This place is amazing if you like cured meats.  The small charcuterie plate is $10 and comes with four cured meats & the large plate $20 comes with eight cured meats.  Who wouldn't go with the large plate to sample everything this place has to offer?  They don't tell you what the meats are before you order them, and I'm sure it's what ever is ready when you go so it probably changes every couple weeks.  Its byob and the cork fee is $5.  I was told all of the charcuterie was gluten free, but the salad and desserts were not.

When the plate arrived, the server told me the name of everything on the plate was, but I really am not super familiar with the names of cured meats.  I know something was venison, something white was called Lardo, and there was plums, nuts & tiny pickles on the plate. Most of the meats were sliced thinner than paper.  Everything on the plate was delicious, with the exception of the the one large, red, round pate like meat closest to me. I didn't like the texture or the flavor, but if you're into that sort of thing, it probably would be delicious to you.  It just wasn't my thing.

Then my smoked duck with strawberry BBQ sauce came.  It was beautiful.  It was delicious.  It was tender & smokey & juicy.   The BBQ sauce was sweet and spicy.  I need more of this sauce.  It was that good.  On the side of the place was a radish ans micro greens salad. Oddly enough, it was good for radishes.

I stopped the server.  I told him whoever thought of strawberry BBQ sauce was a genius.  He said, "That was me. I made the BBQ sauce."

I made sure to tell him he was a genius.

The crispy pork was amazing, too.  I don't know what they did to it to make it that crispy & tasty.  The yellow squash was a raw with a light oil dressing and had pretty little blueish purple edible flowers on it.

I had no room for dessert.

I will be back.  This place was wonderful.  I loved the presentation and the taste of all of the food and I didn't get glutened from any of it.  I can't say it enough, Amazing!

603 Broadway Ave
Pittsburgh PA 15216

http://www.crestedduck.com/

Chez Rob

My brother invited me over for dinner.  In the spirit of restaurant reviews, I decided to review his dinner as a blog post.

The decor was cozy like a modern dining room kitchen combo that was well lit from an open sliding glass door.

The menu was a fixed price three course meal.  The evening's selections were nicely printed on a one page menu.  The allure for the night was some of the ingredients were modified with molecular gastronomy to change the texture of ordinary ingredients.  This was a BYOB place.  They didn't charge a corking fee.

The first course was a beautiful salad with cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, bacon, chives, dry spices, & feta cheese.  The bacon was crispy and the vegetables were crunchy.  It had a beautiful presentation and nothing was modified to the best of my knowledge.   It was a nice start to the meal.

The second course was a traditional Japanese soup with magic noodles.  The broth was a mix of light beef and chicken broth.  Mushrooms and green onions floated on top.  Then the magic noodles were added after the soup was presented.  Squirted out of a condiment container, the onion paste puffed up into a fried rice noodle consistency as it hit the warm broth.  They tasted like a mild onion flavor and added excellent texture to the soup.  Magic noodles are gluten free because they are only made from onions.

The main course arrive.  The lamb rib chops were a bit lemony with a light rosemary herb flavor.  They were grilled to a medium temperature, crispy on the outside and moist on the inside, set on green onions and rosemary. 

On the plate was two cucumber slices with tzatziki sauce and a tomato slice with tomato basil paste.  I poked the tzatziki sauce. It juggled a little and ran out onto the plate like a sunny side up egg. It tasted of cool cucumber and garlic.  The second one I popped into my mouth whole and let it explode its flavors onto my tongue.  I cut a sliver of the tomato basil and tasted it.  It was overwhelming me with tomato flavor.  The paste was the consistency of canned cranberries.  I didn't care much for it, didn't taste much of the basil, and thought it should have had fresh mozzarella cheese slices throughout it like a caprese salad.  I'm not much of a tomato fan anyways.

All of these courses were prepared gluten free and there was no sign of cross contamination.  Overall, I was pretty happy with the presentation, flavors, and modified textures of this meal.

The Carlton

The Carlton

The Carlton Restaurant has beautiful hard wood accents on the walls and an extensive wine selection in a full wall wine rack. They had some nice selections on the wine List.  The menu is on the more expensive side, but worth the experience if you are looking to go somewhere for an anniversary or special occasion.

All of the appetizers were $11.99, which struck me as odd because some were obviously made with more expensive ingredients than others. Some of the options were a crab cake, BBQ shrimp, or a grilled portobello mushroom.  

The grilled portobello mushroom was marinated in balsamic vinegar, and was accompanied with sun dried tomatoes, zucchini, pine nuts and lettuce.  It was pretty tasty.

There were many wonderful choices on the menu.  The server told me they could make anything I wanted gluten free because they make everything to order.  I wanted the filet Oscar style, medium rare.  It came with asparagus, mashed potatoes, a lemony Bearnaise sauce, and crab meat.

The filet was cooked perfectly medium rare.  The mashed potatoes were evenly mashed, with a buttery flavor, and creamy texture.  They were very enjoyable.  I wanted creme brulee for dessert, but I simply didn't have room.  Overall, I had an enjoyable experience.   The server was nice, the atmosphere was fancy, and most importantly, I didn't get sick.

And if you wanted to see what the braised boar looks like, it's probably not gluten free, but here it is.

http://www.thecarltonrestaurant.com/
500 Grant Street (BNY Mellon Center), Pittsburgh, PA 15219

Sirena Taco Joint & Bar

Sirena Taco Joint & Bar

If you dont need to eat gluten free, you definately need to try this place.  However, if you do need to eat gluten free, Remember to double check your stuff!

The first thing I ordered was a sauvignon blanc.  When the waitress returned she handed me a glass of red wine.  I said, "Is this a Sauvignon blanc?" because I thought maybe there was a red variety I didn't know existed, but no she looked at it and headed back to the bar.  She returned shortly with a nice dry Sauvignon blanc.  

Mexican restaurants are usually not on my list of approved places to eat because I can't have gluten or bell peppers, but since this place is more like a Mexican fusion restaurant and I was told they could make most things gluten free, I decided to give it a try.

I looked over the menu and immediately zeroed in on the soft shell crab taco.  This was right up my alley as soft shell crab is one of my favorites.  I asked the waitress to check with the kitchen if they could do it gluten free.  She returned and said they could not make it because it went through the fryer.

I definitely don't want something that goes through the fryer with all the other gluteny stuff because it would no longer be gluten free.  If they really wanted to accommodate a gluten free diner, they would just saute it in a pan like most places would for me.  As long as they don't bread it, sauteing things that would normally go through the fryer is a wonderful option.  In fact, I like the soft shell crab taco idea so much, I think I'll go home and make one myself, since I couldn't get one here!

I asked the waitress for some suggestions and she offered about six different tacos that she said could be made gluten free. One of which was the BBQ shrimp taco without the BBQ sauce.

I like grilled shrimp enough to get a grilled shrimp taco.  I asked about the sweet potato fries.  She said she'd check with them on the fries and they would omit them if they was a gluten problem.

My open faced shrimp tacos arrived.  They looked awesome.  The presentation was nice.  My companions saw the sweet potato fries and mentioned that they looked like they went through the fryer.  I agreed, and before I took a bite, I asked the waitress to check to see if they went through the fryer.  She returned and cheerfully asked me to hand her my plate. 

She said she would have them remake the entire thing & not just pick the fries off.  I would sure hope so.  If they didn't, I'd still get sick just from cross contamination contact.  Not only that, they were mixed in so well, they might not get them all.

My second set of tacos arrived.  These ones were much more plain.  Only grilled shrimp, cilantro, and a small drizzle of guacamole.  You would think if they were eliminating so many things from the taco, they would add more of the things I can have, or at least not skimp on the guacamole.  At this point, I've taken apart the taco so much, that it's not really worth paying $12 for it.  If I could have it the way the chef intended, I truly believe it would be worth the price. 

I think I might have to give this place another try in order to really review it well because this taco was a completely different taco than the chef intended after I requested that it suit my dietary restrictions.  I get the feeling that there is very little on the menu that a gluten free diner can have without modifying it.  I know there is nothing on the menu I can have without modifying it. 

https://www.facebook.com/sirenatacojointandbar

Mitchell's FIsh Market in the Galleria

Mitchell's Fish Market

Mitchell's in the Galleria has a large bar & dining area.  The decor is somewhat like a Applebees.  The first thing I noticed when we were shown to our booth was the smell.  It was awful.  I'm not going to try to guess what the smell was, but I was glad I walked past it & it didn't linger at our booth.

They actually had a gluten free menu.  Of course, like most gluten free menus, you had to use the regular menu to see the price of the items.  That is kind of annoying.  But anyways, you could pick from a few appitizers, salads, and entrees and the amount of gluten free items were acceptable.
 
I was offered gluten free bread, which I accepted.  When it was delivered, I was told it was the last piece, which scares me a little.  Where has it been?  Why is it the last one?   Why isn't there more?  Is it frozen or fresh? 

Anyways, it was pretty good for gluten free bread.  The whipped butter helped.  Whipped butter could probably make anything taste good, but I think it was a reasonably good piece of gluten free bread.
  

I ordered the grilled shrimp & scallops with seasonal vegetables.   It came with smashed potatoes.  The potatoes were unevenly smashed.  I found a very large chunk of potato in the middle.  The taste wasn't anything special. 

The vegetables were crisp and steamed.  I didn't care much for the carrots, as they were a little dry, but the broccoli and green beans were pretty good.  They had a nice snap when you bit into them.

I guess I'm just spoiled with frequenting downtown restaurants and ordering their scallops.  These were ok.  They were a nice size.  

Scallops should be seared on the outside & medium rare on the inside.  The key to perfect scallops is to get the pan really hot before putting the scallops in the pan or on the grill.  They weren't seared on the outside, but at least they weren't rubbery.

The shrimp were nothing special.  They were sprinkled with paprika and covered in a butter sauce. They were a little small, but still a decent size and they were just so-so as far as shrimp goes.

http://www.mitchellsfishmarket.com/
1500 Washington Rd
Pittsburgh, PA 15228