Chili's

Brandie and I decided to go to Chili's because they were having a benefit for a friend of hers who was recently paralyzed. I printed off the GF menu from their website, and was looking forward to a good meal. I toasted some bread, because I was going to get a burger, and I love dipping their burgers in the honey mustard sauce they have. I started off with the Chicken and Green Chili soup, and was not overly impressed. It had big pieces of avocado (of which I'm not a fan), and the flavor was kind of like regular chicken soup. I was expecting a little heat and/or pizzazz, but nothing doing. The burger and loaded mashed potatoes were excellent, and I'm looking forward to hitting up Chili's again for those. I would not order the soup again, though.

Papa Roux Cajun restaurant

I role-play with some friends on the Eastside of Indy, and one night they decided that they wanted Papa Roux. I was afraid at first that, since it's Cajun food, it would have wheat in everything. Imagine my surprise when I looked at the menu, and they had GF options listed. I was sold; I really like Cajun food before I went GF, and I've been looking to find some non-gluten-y Cajun ever since. I got the Red Beans & Rice with Cajun Chicken, and it was delicious. You can ask my friends: I barely came up for breath between bites, it was so good. I recommend that if you find yourself on the Eastside and/or are looking for good GF Cajun food, check out Papa Roux at 10th and Post.

A new family member : baby Audrey

I know this doesn't pertain to 'gluten-free', but it pertains to our family. Tommie and I welcomed a new member to our family on Tuesday: baby Audrey Colette. She is absolutely beautiful and I wanted to share pics. We now have 5 beautiful nieces, sometimes I think we are the luckiest aunt and uncle in the world.

Review: Kinnikinnick KinniKritters (animal crackers)

Some of Brandie’s friends at work were having a dinner party, and I needed to bring something GF to eat for dessert. I saw that Georgetown Market had their Kinnikinnick animal crackers on sale, and since it had been so long since I’d tried them the first time, I figured I’d get a box for the party. After dinner, we broke the box open, and I’d forgotten how good they were. Even the other guests were grabbing handfuls of them and eating them, not knowing that they were GF, and they all thought they were delicious. I really like these cookies even though they are a little too sugary-sweet for my tastes. They go great with a tall glass of ice-cold milk.


Brandie here - I have to say these cookies ROCK!!! I'm not too sure about buying them on a regular basis because I will honestly eat an entire box by myself. Everyone at the dinner party loved them and were amazed at how good they were. We bought them for $3.99 on sale and I can't remember what the normal price. However, you can buy them at Georgetown Market and if you use your frequent customer card then you'll rack up points. Ah, thats a beautiful sound - Georgetown Market and KinniKritters in the same sentence.

http://consumer.kinnikinnick.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/consumer.home.html

Review: Dr. Lucy's Gluten Free Cookies

As I was reading Living Without magazine a couple of weeks ago, I saw an ad for Dr. Lucy’s cookies that said they were being sold at Whole Foods and Starbucks now. I checked at the local Whole Foods when we went shopping there once, but I didn’t see them. I figured that I’d have to find them there, because I almost never go to Starbucks. Oddly enough, Brandie had a meeting at Starbucks for a charity event that she was volunteering for, and she asked me to come along. As I was ordering Brandie’s and my drinks, I remembered the ad, and started looking for the Dr. Lucy’s. I found the chocolate chip cookies and bought myself a bag. They were very good. They reminded me of Chips Ahoy cookies from my pre-GF days. Now, while I was not a fan of Chips Ahoy when I could eat them, finding a cookie that tastes good, is GF, and decently priced, as the Dr. Lucy’s were, I have to give them a thumbs up. I got 4 or 5 average-sized cookies for a little under $2 (before tax), at Starbucks, which makes these cookies not only GF, but also relatively inexpensive and widely available.

-Tommie

Review: Nathan's Hot Dogs

I was born in the Bronx and we visited my family near there on a regular basis. Occasionally, we got to eat at a Nathan’s hot dog stand growing up, and it was such a great part of being out east. Then they started selling Nathan’s hot dogs by the package here in Indiana, and it was great. Then I got diagnosed with Celiac, and since Nathan’s hot dogs weren’t gluten-free, that was bad. Now, Nathan’s are gluten-free, and it’s great again. I didn’t realize how much I missed those hot dogs until Brandie noticed that they were gluten-free at the grocery store a couple of weeks ago. We bought a package, and they are delicious. It’s like reliving my childhood while knowing that I won’t have to go through puberty again; the best of both worlds.

We bought our Nathan's at Walmart, but I'm sure you can get them at other local Indy stores.

-Tommie

Review: Isabella's Best Baked Goods

We found these cookies at Georgetown Market, and figured that we’d try them out for the blog. They didn’t last a week, and Brandie only got to eat one or two of them. These were some of the best GF cookies I’ve ever eaten. I like oatmeal cookies and I LOVE chocolate chip cookies, so I thought, at best, I’d like them, but I was wrong. The only chocolate chip cookies that I like more than these are the homemade ones that Brandie and my sister, Kristen, make. I was checking their website, and they make Not-so-Peanut Butter cookies, too, but I will not be trying those, as I have a strong aversion to peanut butter.

Isabella's website: http://www.allergyfreefoodsinc.com/

Where to buy: Georgetown Market

Price: $4.49

P.S. - Don't forget that at Georgetown Market you can get a frequent customer and earn rewards for every dollar you spend. We just received an $11 gift reward to use at the store!

-Tommie

Review: Carrabba's Italian Grill

We went to Carrabba’s on Saturday night for an early Mother’s Day celebration with my mom. I downloaded the gluten-free menu the day before, and decided that I was going to get the Pollo Rosa Maria if I could get it with Marinara sauce instead of the mushroom and lemon butter sauce. When we arrived, the server was very helpful with my sister (she's GF also) and my orders, making sure to indicate that they were to be gluten-free. He spoke with the kitchen staff to make sure that the Marinara was safe, and that they could replace the Pollo Rosa Maria’s usual sauce with the Marinara. My sister, Kristen, and I both had that with garlic mashed potatoes and Mama Mandola’s Sicilian Chicken Soup (without pasta).

It was delicious. I don’t get to eat at Carrabba’s very often, and I slightly prefer Maggiano’s since they have a gluten-free pasta available, but I will definitely be looking forward to the next time we have a family outing at Carraba’s.

Overall, I give Carrabbas 4 out of 5 stars - they'll earn 5 out of 5 when they add some GF pasta to the menu.

http://www.carrabbas.com/ restaurant site
http://www.carrabbas.com/menu/pdf/GFmenu.pdf GF menu

Review: Trader Joe's frozen pancakes

I really like these pancakes. I must admit that I enjoy taste and texture of the pancakes that Brandie makes with the Trader Joe’s Pancake Mix more, but the convenience of just popping these bad boys in the toaster straight from the box more than makes up for it.

http://www.traderjoes.com/

Review: Trader Joe's frozen waffles

I love Trader Joe’s Gluten Free Waffles. The taste and texture remind me of my memories of Eggo Waffles. Every weekday morning, I eat a waffle with a piece of sausage and cheese. I occasionally eat these with some homemade syrup (from I guy that I work with), and they don’t get all soggy, even though I use a lot (I mean, a LOT) of syrup on them. As an added bonus for our casein-free friends out there, these waffles are Dairy-free too.

Another great thing - they're pretty cheap = $1.99 a box. They do sell out quite a bit so stock up while you can.

http://www.traderjoes.com/

Review: Castle Wood deli meats and cheeses

Brandie and I found the Turkey Pastrami at Sam’s Club, and I decided to try it to save some money on my lunch “bill”. I went into it expecting something halfway decent, but it ended up being so much more. It’s some of the best pastrami that I’ve ever eaten. We’ve also tried the Provolone and Colby Jack cheeses, and they are great too; almost too great, in fact. I kept using the provolone to make pizzas, and I’ve been using the Colby jack to make quesadillas. I’ve been going through these “wholesale-club” sized cheese packages a little too quickly for Brandie’s liking. They have a wide range of meats and cheeses including Roast Beef, Ham and Turkey of various types, Swiss, Pepper Jack and Cheddar cheeses.

Before I was introduced to the turkey pastrami - I would make a 'balovalone' which was provolone and bologna - ah my humor, it is wonderful.

Review: Georgetown Market Snickerdoodle cookies

These cookies are awesome. You can’t beat getting a delicious cookie about 4 or 5 inches wide (the cookies never make it home to be measured properly) for only a $1.75. Every time we go to G’town Market to pick up bread, I always sneak in a cookie. Sometimes, I’ll make up a reason to go to stop by G’town like: “We’re going to be in near Georgetown today, can we stop by for a Snickerdoodle on the way home.” Granted, even if we’re on the other side of town, we’re always close enough to G’town for a cookie.

www.georgetownmarket.com

Review: Monical's GF pizza

Friends of ours ate at Monical’s over a year ago, and told us that there was a sign on the table stating that they offered gluten-free pizza. As soon as I heard this, I began begging Brandie for us to go and try it out. When she finally got tired of hearing me complain, we went, and I couldn’t have been happier. Not only was it nice to be able to drive down the street to get a gluten free crust (Donato’s No-Dough just wasn’t cutting it anymore), it was really good. We told the server that we wanted a gluten-free pizza, and they knew all about it. I turned my sister onto Monical’s GF pizza when she came to visit from Chicago, and she really enjoyed it too.

Monical's does deliver (you can even order online)and a little hint: the Monical's in Avon charges less for the GF pizza then the Zionsville restaurant.

http://www.monicalspizza.com/

Review: Think Thin Bites - Cookies 'n Cream

Brandie introduced the Think Thin Bars earlier, and recently we found these “Bites” at our local Trader Joe’s. I was buying the bars to keep in my lunch box, as an emergency snack should I feel a little light-headed from not eating for a while. The bars were a little too much for the period of time that I sometimes go without eating, but the bites are the perfect size. I can eat a bite on the bus home from work and not feel too full to eat dinner a hour or two later. These bites also come in a Peanut Butter flavor, but I have not tried those, as I do not like peanut butter.

http://www.thinkproducts.com/bites-bars.php