This weekend I headed north to the Washington, D.C. area for a visit.  It was my first time back since we moved in early August and it was great to see everyone, catch up with students, family and friends.  Of course I didn’t miss the opportunity to go to some of my favorite restaurants and bakeries to get my fill of all my gluten-free favorites in the nation’s capital.  While many others on my flight were up here to run the Marine Corps Marathon, I was here to visit and eat!

Gluten Freedom’s Northern VA/DC Area Favorites (Click on the links to check out previous posts I wrote about these yummy places.):

Evening Star: My all time favorite restaurant in northern Virginia, they just created a new fall menu and I enjoyed the pork tenderloin with creamy polenta, walnuts and mushroom gravy.  All naturally gluten-free of course!  The waiters are great at Evening Star and I always feel well taken care of at this great restaurant in Del Ray.

Buzz Bakery: I got my birthday cake here this year and I love their gluten-free baked goods.  On this visit I got the chocolate cupcake with vanilla frosting and a brownie for the plane ride home (well, I ate most of it before I left town actually)

Tortilla Coast: I called ahead and they made me a batch of tortilla chips before the fryer oil got contaminated with glutenous items; chicken fajitas with corn tortillas

Cake Love: A great spot in Shirlington to get baked goods to go.  I ordered the yellow cake with vanilla butter cream frosting and enjoyed my treats at home with mom and dad on Sunday afternoon.

Thai Shirlington: Of course I had to get the panang perfect!

What a great weekend!  I came back to Atlanta well fed after a fun weekend with family and friends.  I miss them already.

One of my favorite ‘gluten friendly’ restaurants is Carlyle, located in Shirlington (a neighborhood in Arlington). I’ve always loved the food here and the staff is so helpful in accommodating my needs. The managers are extremely knowledgeable about gluten and where it is found. For example, they know that you can’t have the salmon because it has a soy sauce marinade, which is always a promising sign!

The other night David and I went to Carlyle for a drink and the bartender offered us an appetizer. I told him that unfortunately, I didn’t think there was anything I could eat from the appetizers section of the menu, explaining that I have celiac. He knew exactly what celiac was and got the manager who told me that she could sauté the calamari instead of frying it and that they would also give me a marinara sauce for dipping instead of the salsa it normally comes with which has soy sauce. Hooray! I had just been saying to David that I can never have calamari because it’s always fried. My sautéed calamari was delicious and a great bar snack! The people at Carlyle have always been extremely helpful, but their willingness to create an appetizer for me made my night.

One of my other personal favorites on the Carlyle menu is the roast pork tenderloin. It is the most flavorful pork tenderloin that I’ve ever tasted (well, except when David grills it) and they always cook it perfectly. Unfortunately, the potatoes are not gluten free but the manager always has lots of substitute options for me to choose from and I usually go with the asparagus. Their salads are delicious and I believe the shrimp and grits are also gluten free. Of course you’ll always want to double check with the manager, just in case they’ve changed their menu.

What I love the most about Carlyle is the staff’s willingness to walk through all of the ingredients with you and tell you clearly how they cook everything. I think it’s one of the restaurants that has the most knowledgeable staff so I feel confident going here. No matter how busy they are (and they get very busy), they don’t rush you through your decisions and are always eager to answer questions.

Let me know what dishes you’ve tried at Carlyle! Carlyle is a great restaurant for before or after the movies or before a show at Signature Theater. I just recently saw Les Miserables at Signature with my mom and we ate at Carlyle before the show. And of course, I got the roast pork tenderloin!

Note: Carlyle does not take reservations, but you can call ahead and get on the list in order to lessen your wait time. But of course it’s always fun to hang out at the bar too!

4000 28th Street South
Arlington, VA 22206
703.931.0777