El Catrin

Located in the Distillery District, I took my sweetie here for his birthday. I've found authentic Mexican food to be pretty celiac-friendly if I go to a good place and use my words and ask questions. This one happened to have their menu visible online, and much to my delight, items containing gluten were clearly labeled! At least that was a win.



Here are some tips for this place:
-To avoid waiting in a potentially very long line, make reservations.

-If you like your Mexican food spicy, bring your own condiments.

Although this place was really nice looking, and got some great write-ups, I could easily take a picky child or an elderly parent that hated spicy food here. Now, I will attest, I don't like really spicy food, but this was blander than bland (which might be ok if you like that sort of thing).

Started with the "spicy" guac (honestly, the spiciest thing I had- and it barely had the heat of a supermarket mild salsa). They had the option to add crickets. I did not. I've had them before. I don't like them. I was afraid to ruin my guacamole.



Next, had some black beans and cheese. Came with chips. It was nice and creamy- basically what I'd expect from refried beans.

Finished with some tacos. They were tasty, though I wish I had brought some hot sauce or something with me. The 3 tiny cups of salsa that were brought to the table might as well have been 3 flavors of tomato sauce.



My hubby enjoyed his tequila sampler platter, so at least one thing was great.

All-in-all, a SAFE place to eat if you are gluten-challenged, but definitely geared towards those who don't eat spicy food (at least the items I ordered were that way). I'd bring my own hot sauce if I had to eat there again. I've had way more memorable Mexican food in Toronto.

Almond Butterfly Bakery

I'm not much for sweets. Give me a choice between birthday cake and birthday bowl of potato chips, and I'll choose the chips. My sweetie likes to get me treats sometimes, and he found some real winners at Almond Butterfly!

Now, anyone who's ever had gluten-free baked goods knows what they can be like. They usually need to be toasted or warmed, and if you try to eat them on the second day- yuk! So dry and unpalatably crumbly. I decided to test these.

Should mention that I indeed DID eat the two in the first photo that day. ZOMG. The double chocolate brownie cupcake was delish, and the lemon frosted yellow cake was to DIE FOR! (I love lemon). They even have some vegan/gf cupcakes that were awesome as well!

As to my aging test time, they got an A+! Since my sweetie surprised me with an assortment that would likely last me a month (the way I eat baked goods lol), this was going to be perfect! Though I shared a few, I left the others in the fridge over the weekend. Even at almost a week old, they were still great! Very much like the baked goods I could enjoy once upon a time before my gluten intolerance, without being sick.

Win!





Location: 100 Harbord (just West of Spadina)

Ikea

A few things are pretty safe to eat here. Sadly, the Swedish meatballs are off-limits. The roasted chicken could be ok, but it was pretty dry and not that great without gravy, so I won't be getting that again. Fries are coated with flour, can't eat the sandwiches... what's a hungry shopper to do?

Hooray smoked salmon and greens plate! I chopped up some of their apple slices, added a side of potato chips and fizzy apple drink and was pleasantly full! Good to know I can eat here again while shopping.

Poutineville

Tucked away at 296 Brunswick Avenue, it's a few steps south of Bloor Street, between Bathurst and Spadina subway stations.

LOTS of choices here. You can order from the menu, or from the mix-and-match menu. The waiter I had was very helpful in pointing out the gluten free items.

I got a "regular" size with crushed potatoes, smoked meat, curds, black olives, and the gluten free poutine sauce.



The photo does not quite show how gigantic the serving was. I could have easily shared this with a ravenous friend. I barely finished half of it even though it was really good.

There was one very major downfall. Even though I did not order corn or green peas, I found a few in my meal. It leads me to believe that they may not clean out their mixing bowls or use a new one between every dish. Those are not items I am allergic to, but could be a major problem for some. It's something I plan to bring up if I go back again

Ave Maria

Cute little cafe on 631 Bloor Street in Toronto's Koreatown. My favorite is the Chorizo with Arepa.

Whether eat-in


Or takeout


It's tasty all the same! Chorizo comes with a quartered arepa and pickled onion and jalapeno condiment with hot sauce. I adore the hot sauce, and have to remember to ask for extra, extra next time! Great for a light lunch, and gluten free! Yum!

Bario Coriano

This small, loud (sometimes very crowded) bar/restaurant is located in the Koreatown area of Toronto (on Bloor Street, between Christie and Bathurst subway stations). It's a fun, Mexican/Korean fusion which works quite well.

Most of the staff in the past have been great in regards to guiding me towards and away from food containing gluten ingredients, and now it's even easier because they have actual menus instead of their daily choices being up on a (sometimes difficult to see) chalkboard on the wall. Items with gluten ingredients are labeled as such, and they now have a seperate fryer for their gluten-free items! Yay!

Their menu changes often, and though they seem to have some "standards", don't be surprised if a favorite item isn't there next time you go.

The hubby and I started with a half dozen oysters- a nice selection of some daily specials. Served on ice with some freshly shaved horseradish and lemon wedges. They were great.

Though I was hoping to get 2 of my fave kobe beef tacos for my main, I ended up trying some others as they were not on the menu this time. Chose a Chicken Karaage taco, and a Ribeye with Shitake Mushrooms.

The chicken was fried in rice flour and covered with scallions and a salty teriyaki-style sauce. Really crunchy and awesome because I have not enjoyed fried chicken in ages, but easily tore through the corn tortilla, so it ended up being a fork and knife taco. Most of their tacos end up beginning like that though, as they are very full!

The other taco I enjoyed was sliced ribeye with mushrooms. Another tasty taco, even though the meat was very rare. I like my beef med-rare and this one was closer to "black and blue", but I suppose that could get chalked up to personal taste.

I've been there before, and I'd go there again. My only wish was for consistency. Feels like things taste differently on different nights, but not to the point that I'd never go back. Enjoyed it overall, and the hubby loved their tequila selection.
It's a fun little place.

Arepa Cafe

Got some tasty soup and arepas today! Staff was great in guiding me away from the plantains which could have come into contact with gluten during frying. I like when staff knows exactly what they are serving!

Had some potato leek soup to start and a pulpo arepa. The arepa was not very seasoned, but that's what the sauce is for. Tasted nice and fresh. The arepa on its own is a nice light meal/ big snack. Yep. I'd eat it again. 

*word to the wise- the extra spice sauce is QUITE SPICY! Whoo!

409 Queen Street between Agusta and Portland

La Mexicana

So, after walking around the city with the hubby, we stopped at a few places so we could "try" to eat. This place had no gluten-free options, that place wasn't sure, the other place couldn't be bothered seating us, so we left each of them and moved on.
We decided to wander into some rarely-charted territory. By that, I mean that maybe one a year we're in that area. Anyway, we stumbled upon "La Mexicana" restaurant. They had baja fish tacos (which are no good for me, but sealed the deal for the hubby)!
I tell you, there is no better feeling than looking at a menu and seeing "gluten-free" icons on it! The best part, ALMOST THE WHOLE MENU was gluten-free!! Score! That sealed the deal for me!
It was $5 margarita night, so I got a mango one. It was pretty tasty. We got some nachos (no photo- sorry, we were starving and ate them before I thought about a photo). Hubby got his tacos, I got some lobster tacos. There was nothing on them in the way of spicy, which was nice. I like putting my own on, and happily used the salsa verde from the table chips on them. I'd totally be happy visiting again!
Location: just North of Bloor on Yonge this location closed as of March 7th 2015 due to condos, but there are two other sister restaurants

Let's Be Frank

First post!

Ok. So anyone who was not born with a food allergy has the potential misfortune of having enjoyed something in the past, and not being able to enjoy it anymore. It's a real bummer. There are so many foods I miss, and the gluten-free versions rarely come close.

Instead of feeling sorry about it, I decided to look at in a different way. I now try to focus on the fact that I'm having less processed/ prepackaged food and more fresh food- things that I prepare myself so that I know there are no hidden glutens in it. It's time-consuming, but it gives me peace of mind. My schedule, however does not usually allow me to make ALL of my meals myself, and for someone with food allergies, having someone else making your food can be a little scary (people without allergies rarely understand how serious cross-contamination can be).

Since eating out can be a bit harrowing, this is my way of keeping track of successful gluten-free meal-eating, and maybe seeing something here may help you find a new favorite place to eat with friends (so difficult sometimes when you are the only one with a "problem"). Hooray!

Photo is from a food fair. The folks at Let's Be Frank use Nathan's hot dogs, which are gluten free. I've been told they have gluten-free buns at their restaurant, just not at the fair.