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