Safe In Seattle?

[BRUMI1968]

Hey guys. Anyone had good luck with any type of resturant in Seattle - I mean a restaurant specifically, but it does not have to be a "gluten free" restaurant -- you know, some places can handle it and some can't.

Any advice for an upcoming dinner date would be great. (Besides Impromptu Wine Bar - I've got that on my list - thanks!!!)

[tarnalberry]

There are a couple of options - Kali's Kitchen and Flying Apron Bakery along with Outback and PF Chang's and Z'Tejas, plus a couple other places I can't remember at the moment. Even the Sunlight Cafe near Ravenna is good. (Elliot Bay Book Company could even be an interesting place for a date, and they have a cafe downstairs that serves Flying Apron goods.)

[gf4life]

I thought Kaili's Kitchen was sold to a new owner and changed to DaVinci's Bakery at a different location...

I've never been to Seattle, but I did some research for a gluten-free friend who was going there and everytime I clicked on a link for Kaili's the link would redirect me to the bakery website. They do serve food though, so it might be nice. Everything is gluten-free. Open Original Shared Link

Click on the link above and it will take you to the site. It lists the bakery menu, but in the "about us" section it says this:

Da Vinci Bakery & Café is the very first completely gluten free bakery in Seattle. It is where Wheatless in Seattle produces their goods now. Our bakery is completely wheat and gluten free, so there is no room for contamination. We also do a variety of dairy free things as well as our line of Egg, Dairy, and Soy free items (EDS). Our kitchen is now peanut free as well. Due to our EDS line, we carry many Vegan items. Every day we have fresh soup, paninis, quiche, salads, and a variety of pastries, as well as some old favorites.

[tarnalberry]

You're right about the location change, but I had forgotten about the name change. I think they're still dealing with gluten-free foods, but it's out of my range, so haven't been there.

[Jestgar]

I frequently eat at the vietnamese restaurants in the ID without trouble. Try The Green Leaf or the Seven Stars Pepper.

I also went to the Flying Fish with no trouble.

[Gluten-Free Girl]

Hey guys. Anyone had good luck with any type of resturant in Seattle - I mean a restaurant specifically, but it does not have to be a "gluten free" restaurant -- you know, some places can handle it and some can't.

Any advice for an upcoming dinner date would be great. (Besides Impromptu Wine Bar - I've got that on my list - thanks!!!)

Hey there, I eat successfully in Seattle all the time. (Besides Impromptu, which is a near-daily experience, of course!)

Volterra in Ballard is one of the best Italian restaurants I have ever encountered. They are more than friendly to gluten-free eating. They keep fabulous rice pasta from Italy on hand in case anyone wants to eat. Don Curtiss is wonderful about keeping the kitchen clean and ensuring that you will be safe.

BOKA downtown is a trendy, wonderful restaurant in the Madison Hotel. It is Asian-inspired, with French influences. Many of the foods are off-limits, of course, but there are options. Also, the Executive Chef, Seis Kamimura, is a personal friend of mine, and he asked me to come in and inspect their kitchen and teach him how to make it gluten-free. So, I think you'll be fine there!

Really, I eat almost everywhere in this city. I have become good about being assertive and educating. Other than pizza and pasta places, I eat at all the fine restaurants in the city. Palace Kitchen. Crush. Go to a truly great restaurant, where they care about food as an art, and you will be fine.

[BRUMI1968]

I'm actually right now trying to drum up options for a guy I assist in finding a spot where he can take some clients out to dinner. One is vegetarian, one has Celiac, and the other can't eat peanuts or be exposed to peanut in any way.

this brings up a question about Impromptu - I checked out the menu and none of the entrees were vegetarian. Is this something the kitchen can work around?

another question: are peanuts big in Vietnamese cooking as they are in other Asian food-styles? I think I have to avoid that altogether for this dinner.

thanks for all the suggestions.

[kristi]

Sorry I can't help you on Impromptu or Vietnamese cooking. The latter, of course, always beware of the soy sauce and other Asian sauces. (and "only" if you are travelling outside the US a lot of the MSG does contain wheat in much of Asia). I just wanted to add that for something informal, I went to DaVinci's Bakery and had the best wheat free meatloaf sandwich. They don't label the bakery as "Gluten-Free" because they don't want to scare away the mainstream public but I asked them and they confirmed ALL is gluten-free. It is nice to have choices.

[Jestgar]

I just came back from lunch at the Green Leaf. Great food. No soy sauce at all. Vegetarian options. But I think everything had peanuts sprinkled on it...

[Gluten-Free Girl]

I'm actually right now trying to drum up options for a guy I assist in finding a spot where he can take some clients out to dinner. One is vegetarian, one has Celiac, and the other can't eat peanuts or be exposed to peanut in any way.

this brings up a question about Impromptu - I checked out the menu and none of the entrees were vegetarian. Is this something the kitchen can work around?

another question: are peanuts big in Vietnamese cooking as they are in other Asian food-styles? I think I have to avoid that altogether for this dinner.

thanks for all the suggestions.

Hey there,

Dan at Impromptu can certainly make vegetarian options. He's tremendous with risottos, mashed potatoes, lovely soups, broccolini, etc. One of my best friends is a vegan, and he loves eating there.

As far as the peanuts go, it's a matter of how sensitive that diner is. Dan doesn't use peanuts in anything, but he does have gluten-free peanut butter cookies on the dessert menu right now (with chocolate mousse and a bittersweet chocolate sauce). If the diner cannot have peanuts anywhere in the vicinity, then I'm not sure where he's going to eat! But if he's not that sensitive, then send them to Impromptu.

Another option is Cafe Flora, which is all vegetarian, with plenty of gluten-free options. They could certainly accommodate peanut allergies.

Let us know how it turns out.