Looking for a cozy spot to get a glass of wine after work? You don’t even have to cross the river to find the perfect place! Last night I went out for drinks at Cheesetique in Del Ray. Cheesetique is a wine and cheese shop as well as a wine bar. It used to just be a cheese shop but they recently moved down the street to a larger location. When you enter the building, walk to the back and seat yourself at the bar or tables. The atmosphere is laid back, warm and not too loud. You also don’t feel rushed by the wait staff to finish, which I always appreciate.

While their wines are a bit pricey, I think it’s worth the cost because you know you’re getting a good glass of wine. On this evening I tried two of their reds that were smooth and perfect for a cold December night: the Cotes du Rhone and Rioja (this one was my personal favorite and very reasonably priced at $8).

We also ordered three cheeses from their cheese menu that were flavorful and each one was distinctly unique. The menu includes nice descriptions of the cheeses and wines to help you decide what you want and what flavors to expect. The cheese plate, with three cheeses, was $15 and plenty for four people. On a celiac friendly note, Cheesetique serves the bread and crackers on a separate platter so you don’t have to worry about crumbs contaminating the cheese. Cheesetique even sells gluten free crackers in their store so I’m sure you could purchase some to have with your cheese platter.

Cheesetique has a lunch and dinner menu, but I have not experimented or enquired about its gluten free potential yet. There are plenty of salads on the menu so that’s a good sign. Just another reason to go back! Cheesetique’s wine bar includes a large bar and a handful of tables, but they do not take reservations. We had no problem getting a table, but it was definitely crowded when we left. This is a great spot if you’re looking to get your family out of the house over the holidays but you’re not necessarily looking to spend a lot of money on a huge meal.

Cheesetique Specialty Cheese Shop
2411 Mount Vernon Avenue
Alexandria, VA 22301
703.706.5300

One of my favorite places to go for lunch on Saturday is Whole Foods in Alexandria (1700 Duke Street). First of all, I could spend hours wandering the aisles at Whole Foods, looking at all of the beautiful items. There is so much for the celiac to eat at Whole Foods and they even make their own line of gluten free foods which can be found in the freezer section. The apple and pumpkin pies actually taste like real pie!

While I could write all day about the incredible gluten free products, the part of Whole Foods that I love the most is their prepared food section. Oftentimes when friends suggest a lunch date, I choose Whole Foods. The store even has a large area to sit at the store or you can take it to go. Today I went with my friends Meredith and Ellie and we each had yummy and very different meals.

I love the salad bar at Whole Foods for many reasons. Their ingredients are always fresh and everything actually looks good…not like it’s been sitting there all day! Also, they list every ingredient in every item on the salad bar.

A word of warning though: Celiacs should always be careful about any kind of buffet/salad bar because of the potential for cross contamination. One of the things I check out first is where the items are located in the salad bar. For example, if there’s chicken next to a cold cous cous salad, I will avoid that chicken as well because of its close proximity to the cous cous as it’s likely people have dropped cous cous into the chicken. While sometimes I’m disappointed that there are things I can’t have, there are so many options that I always have plenty of healthy and yummy items in my salad.

Today in my salad I had a variety of goodness on top of my greens. I had the usual carrots, corn, and grilled chicken, but I also topped my salad with snap peas, a quinoa & chickpea salad, grilled veggies and a cold red bean and rice salad. I also purchased the new Mary’s Gone Crakers ‘Twigs and Sticks’ that I substituted for croutons so as to add a little saltiness to the salad. I usually go with the balsalmic vinagarette dressing, but as I said before all of the ingredients are listed for every item, included salad dressings, so there are many options! Enjoy!

Whole Foods
1700 Duke Street
Alexandria, VA 22314
703.706.0891

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

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