Archive for November, 2008

Clarification: Firefly (Dupont) vs. Fireflies (Del Ray)

Posted in Alexandria virginia, Restaurants, Washington DC on November 13th, 2008 by Betsy – Be the first to comment


There’s been a little bit of confusion about Firefly. There are two restaurants in the DC area that have similar names: Firefly, which I blogged about yesterday (Dupont) and Fireflies, which is a restaurant in Del Ray. These restaurants have different owners and no affiliation. The husband and I used to frequent Fireflies (Del Ray) before my diagnosis.

Unfortunately their menu mostly consists of sandwiches and pizza, which aren’t so good for a celiac customer. I do love their Sunday brunch, however, and their omletes are delicious with many fresh ingredients. I like to get grilled chicken, gouda and spinach in mine. They serve two types of hash browns and one of them is gluten free. (The ones that look like a McDonald’s hash brown patty are NOT gluten free.) When I went to Fireflies (Del Ray) right after I was diagnosed, the waitress was very knowledgeable about gluten (she’s a nutritionist) and she did caution me that they make the pizzas (flour in the air) in the same small kitchen that they do all of their cooking. I took the risk and I was fine. I have not been back in awhile but we had a good experience.

You don’t need to make reservations here, and there’s great blue grass music on Sundays. While the music is great, I try to avoid sitting too close to the band…it can be difficult to talk to the people with you if you’re too close to the music.

I think it would be harder to find things on the lunch/dinner menu though. They do have some salads that look yummy so let me know if you go there and inquire about the salads.

Sorry for the confusion about the two restaurants!
Fireflies (Del Ray)
1501 Mount Vernon Avenue
Alexanria, VA 22301

Evening Star

Posted in Alexandria virginia, Restaurants, Washington DC on November 12th, 2008 by Betsy – 2 Comments


The husband and I love going to Del Ray, a cute ‘up and coming’ neighborhood in Alexandria. One of our favorite restaurants is Evening Star Cafe. They have a quaint dining area and two bars. The downstairs bar can get a bit smoky, but we just discovered the upstairs bar, which is non-smoking and has TVs for watching sports. Besides the food, I also love Evening Star’s lengthy AND reasonably priced wine list. The owners also own Planet Wine, a wine store next door to Evening Store that also has a wonderful selection of wines and they are very knowledgeable and friendly. Sometimes they even sell gluten free brownies from Buzz bakery.

Now to the best part…the food! Every time I have gone to Evening Star, the wait staff has been more than willing to accommodate me. Their menu changes seasonally, but usually a large part of the menu can be modified to fit my gluten free needs. I’m a big fan of the salmon and their sides are delicious. Just make sure that the waiter clearly understands about the potential for contamination as well. It’s a small kitchen so it’s always good to give a friendly reminder.
For lunch I enjoy one of their salads with grilled chicken and one of their vinaigrettes. I have not been to Evening Star for brunch since I’ve been diagnosed, but from my ‘pre-celiac days,’ I can tell you, the brunch is awesome! I’m not sure, however, what their GF options are for brunch.

The staff at Evening Star is very friendly and the chef has even come out to talk to me before to make sure that I feel comfortable. Evening Star doesn’t take reservations so plan on having a drink at the bar if you want to go on a Friday or Saturday night. It’s worth the wait!

Note: The owners of Evening Star also own Rustico, Tallulah, and Buzz Bakery…I’ll be blogging about them soon!

Evening Star Cafe: 2000 Mount Vernon Avenue
Alexandria, VA 22301
Telephone (703) 549-5051

Firefly

Posted in Restaurants, Washington DC on November 12th, 2008 by Betsy – 2 Comments


The husband and I discovered that Firefly (in Dupont) is gluten free friendly last winter. We called ahead and when I arrived at the restaurant, the chef had created a special menu for me on which he crossed out the dishes that I could not have. I was left with many delicious options to choose from. Now Firefly actually has a gluten free menu and every time the husband calls to make reservations, they have in their computer that I cannot have gluten.

Even if I didn’t have celiacs, I would still love Firefly and its food! The atmosphere at this small restaurant is warm and not too loud. The decor is very cool and there’s even a tree in the middle of the restaurant. You can order off the menu in the bar or the restaurant and there is a nice wine selection. The wait staff is very friendly and helpful. They always tell me what specials I can and can’t have as well and they’re always willing to change the dish so that I can get what I want.

My absolute favorite thing on the menu…the mini pot roast. This dish is cooked so perfectly that it falls apart in your mouth. The sauce is gluten free and the mashed potatoes that it comes with, so not a thing has to be changed.

I just checked the Firefly website and they now have a GF menu posted online: http://www.firefly-dc.com/frffood/firefly_gluten_free_menu.pdf
(The bold items are the ones that are GF.)

Also of note about the menu, the Truffle Fries are totally gluten free because they’re not fried in contaminated oil! So, if you’re craving fries, Firely is the place to go! I’ve never had the grits…they say they’re gluten free but I would ask about the bacon before I order them. Next time I’ll inquire about those!

If you want to try Firefly, you should definitely make reservations because the restaurant is small and a popular spot for many DC folks.
Firefly: 1310 New Hampshire Avenue
NW Washington, DC 20036
202.861.1310

Firefly - DC on Urbanspoon

Tortilla Coast Side Note: Thank you Hilary!!

Posted in Restaurants, Washington DC on November 12th, 2008 by Betsy – 3 Comments

Side note about Tortilla Coast: Apparently there’s a woman named Hilary who goes to Tortilla Coast and she has celiacs. Brandon (my favorite manager) says she’s been great about educating the restaurant staff about Celiacs, where gluten is found, contamination, etc. Thank you, thank you Hilary! This is why it’s SO important that all of us celiacs inform and explain clearly to restaurants what are needs are. I know we feel like we’re being a major pain, but the more restaurants know, the better! I’ve found that places are so helpful and want to cater to our needs but it’s imperative these places know just how serious we are about our disease and that we’re not just on some version of the low carb diet…definitely a pet peeve of mine!
So again, thank you Hilary!

Tortilla Coast

Posted in Mexican Restaurants, Restaurants, Washington DC on November 12th, 2008 by Betsy – Be the first to comment


Hooray for Tortilla Coast! My parents have always loved Tortilla Coast which is a Tex-Mex restaurant located on Capital Hill. Since my diagnosis I have assumed that I would not be able to eat there. Last night my Dad and I attended a history lecture at the Freer and he suggested Tortilla Coast after the lecture.

I decided to give Tortilla Coast a call to see if they had ever heard the word gluten. To my surprise, they were very knowledgeable about gluten allergies, so much so that the woman on the phone told me not to eat the chips when I arrived because they are fried in the same oil as foods containing gluten. Already I was thrilled! She told me that all of their staff is taught about food allergies and that I should ask for Brandon, the manager, when I got to the restaurant.

When we arrived, the waitress was so friendly and Brandon made me feel confident that they knew what they were talking about! For example, Brandon knew that I couldn’t have the steak because the marinade contained soy sauce. He also assured me they are very careful about contamination when preparing dishes for those with gluten allergies.

Brandon also walked me through the menu and he was so nice about the fact that I had a ton of questions. I stayed away from the chips, but there were many things on the menu that I could have. The spinach and mushroom enchiladas are fine as is. The quesadilas are fine as long as you use corn tortillas. Brandon cautioned that if I wanted the chicken enchiladas, I should order them with the grilled fajita chicken and not the enchilada chicken because of all of the spices they use…he just said there was more room for error and contamination from earlier preparation. (I’m very sensitive to contamination so it made me happy to hear him say this!)

So what did I order? I got the chicken fajitas with white corn tortillas and let me tell you, they were the best corn tortillas I’ve ever eaten! They were warm, soft and and full of yumminess! The grilled veggies, guac, beans and rice were all fine too.

Needless to say, I give Tortilla Coast 5 gluten free stars! There were many options and the entire staff was knowledgeable, friendly and understanding! Most importantly, I did not get sick! Like I mentioned before, I’m very sensitive to contamination so I get sick pretty easily.
The same people that own Tortilla Coast own Cafe Deluxe (Bethesda, Tysons and DC locations) so I’ll have to check them out too!
Tortilla Coast: 400 First Street SE
Washington, DC
202. 546.6768

Tortilla Coast on Urbanspoon

Who Am I?

Posted in Uncategorized on November 12th, 2008 by Betsy – 1 Comment

Welcome to my blog! Ever since I was diagnosed with Celiac’s Disease in August 2007, I’ve been telling myself that I would start a blog for foodies restricted to a gluten free diet. While there are websites that post gluten free restaurants, you typically only find Outback, which don’t get me wrong, I think it’s great that they have a gluten free menu! That being said, there are so many restaurants that are willing to accommodate gluten allergies that aren’t as well known as Outback. I live in Alexandria, VA (right outside of Washington, D.C.) so I’m particularly interested in finding and supporting restaurants in this area that are gluten free friendly. The Husband and I love food, whether cooking at home or going out to eat and we actually eat such better food now that I’ve been diagnosed. I hope that others will share on this website what restaurants they’ve been to that accomodate their gluten free needs.

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