Authentically Italian via Noo Yoik, Frankie and Benny’s has a super sized menu that’s the size of a book. I’m not kidding. It’s literally a book, packed full of all kinds of pizzas, pastas, burgers, steaks, grills, sandwiches and wraps, waffles and brownies. In other words, a no-go area for a coeliac. Until now!

So do Frankie & Benny’s do gluten free food?

Recently Frankie and Benny’s have introduced a gluten free menu.

Frankie & Benny’s Gluten Free Menu

This is definitely a step in the right direction. But what I’d love to see are gluten free versions of some of Frank and Benny’s best dishes. So gluten free pasta or pizza or waffles would be amazing. What we’ve got instead is a list of all the things that are on the current menu that can be eaten by a coeliac. So a burger…without the bun. And quite a few salads (as usual) and a few chicken dishes. The hickory BBQ ribs make the list though, so that’s good. What’s also pretty good was the Mediterranean vegetarian risotto, which was tasty and filling and definitely something I’d have again.

Frankie & Benny’s vegetarian risotto

Something I wouldn’t have again are the potato skins, which I had as a starter. They were described as mouth-watering and full loaded. But cheddar cheese, with raw onion and tomato on a slightly undercooked potato was not great.

Frankie & Benny’s potato skins

I finished with a frutilicious sundae, which came without the strawberry ice cream but was pretty good none the less.

I have to say that these kind of places normally have the worst customer service. But the service we received was excellent. Our server was chatty, helpful, polite and on the ball.

When it comes to food, this is not the best restaurant you’re ever going to visit. But if you’re looking for a family friendly venue that caters for every single member of the family then this is a good bet. And the service is great.

There are 120 Frankie and Benny’s across the country. Find your nearest one here.

For more information and the latest offers visit:

• Twitter: @frankienbennys
• Facebook: FrankieBennys

Slow roast chicken with creamy mash, beetroot and olives

Sometimes you enjoy food at an eatery that’s so damn delicious you almost don’t want anyone else know to know about it in case it becomes really popular and you never get a seat there again. That’s what I thought after visiting Vozars gluten free restaurant in Brixton Village market in south west London at the weekend.

We’d come across Vozars before as Ben and his team had kindly sent us some gluten free beer to try before Christmas. CELIA Lager is a premium organic, gluten free lager from the Czech Republic, which is now available via numerous stockists and of course served at Vozars.  (Just for the record, CELIA Lager was tested by the other half who’s a real speciality beer drinker and a gluten lover and he thought it was great. “Light, refreshing and you’d never know it was gluten free.”)

So when a friend and I found ourselves having a mooch around Brixton Market at the weekend we thought we’d check out Vozars for a spot of lunch.

Vozars restaurant is in a covered market so it’s not big and it’s pretty basic. It slightly feels like being in someone’s front room, which, personally, I really like. There are about ten seats inside and the same outside, and there’s a tiny kitchen in the corner, which on the day we were there was manned by Martin, Vozars head chef and co-owner. The menu is small and quite unusual with a slight east European leaning, although Martin told us he prefers to call it just ‘European’ so he’s not limited by the dishes he can cook. Most of the ingredients are sourced from Brixton Market too.

Bruschetta with mushrooms and leek ragout

I chose the bruschetta with mushrooms and leek ragout.  A simple dish but really, really well done. Tasty, tangy and the bruschetta was excellent. My friend had the slow roast chicken, which came with creamy mash, beetroot and olives and was “superb.”

We followed it up with a gluten free brownie provided by the WAGfree Bakery, Vozars sister company and supplier of gluten free goodies to various London restaurants as well as Selfridges Food Hall. Now, I love a good gluten free brownie and this was one of the best. In fact, it’s been voted one of the best gluten free brownies in London by the London Evening Standard and it’s easy to see why. Moist and really chocolatey rather than sugary, and nutty too. It was blooming delicious. And I could kill for one right now.

Vozars gluten-free menu

If you find yourself in Brixton Market any time soon check out Vozars. Just leave a seat for me.

Vozars Gluten Free Restaurant
Unit 26, Brixton Village
Atlantic Road
London SW9 8PS
UK

Mon: Closed
Tue: 11:30am – 4:00pm
Wed-Fri: 11:30am – 10:30pm
Sat: 11:00am – 10:30pm
Sun: 12:00pm – 5:00pm

Living in London? Have you been to Vozars yet?

Las Iguanas, Royal Festival Hall, London

So we found ourselves at Las Iguanas restaurant at the Royal Festival Hall in London last week, one of thirty Las Iguanas restaurants across the UK.

Serving up dishes packed full of Latin America flavours, Las Iguanas has something you don’t often see in South American restaurants: a gluten free menu.

Now, if you’re looking forward to munching down on gluten free enchiladas, gluten free burritos, or gluten free fajitas you may be a little disappointed as they’re not on the menu. (Perhaps the guys at Las Iguanas can think about addressing this?).

What they have done though is gather together all the gluten free dishes they have on the main menu to create a standalone gluten free menu. And this is a good idea actually. Because the main menu is huge and, let’s be honest, it’s a pain in the backside searching the menu for dishes with the little GF beside them.

So what’s on our own special gluten free menu? As it turns out: lots. And how nice is it to know you can eat EVERYTHING on it.

Lechuga Rellenos at Las Iguanas

So what did I have? I started with Lechuga Rellenos, (little gem lettuce leaves) with oven dried tomatoes, feta and herb chimichurri, an Argentinian sauce. Delicious and spicy, it was a good choice as a starter as it was nice and light.

Bahia Moqueca at Las Iguanas

I followed this up with Bahia Moqueca, a creamy coconut curry-like soup with squash, palm hearts and spinach that was served with rice. Now, I love Thai green curry so this was right up my street. It was so tangy and tasty I used my spoon to fish the last bit of the soup out of the wooden bowl, which was kept warm over a candle.

So the food is great. And Thursday night is two-for-one mojitos. Also great. The waiting staff also deserve a special mention too because they were all very friendly, helpful and energetic, which was amazing considering the restaurant was heaving the night we were there and the temperature outside was tropical.

It doesn’t look like all the Las Iguanas restaurants do the gluten free menu. So check yours does before you go. But if they do, it’s worth giving them a visit.

The Las Iguanas restaurant we went to was at the Royal Festival Hall, Festival Terrace, Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London SE1 8XX. But they have locations throughout the UK.

Freidman’s pastrami sandwich and sweet potato fries

Friends of GFB, Wendy and Paul, recently made their annual pilgrimage to the amazing city of New York and Wendy, being gluten intolerant, was kind enough to write some notes about the places she visited that were GF friendly.

Freidman’s Lunch

A great café inside the foodie Chelsea Market. Many items on the menu can be adapted to be gluten free. I had a yummy pastrami sandwich and sweet potato fries. The bread they use was much tastier than anything I’ve had in the UK.

They also do bagels for breakfast/brunch but only at the weekend. And they stock a bottled gluten free beer called Redbridge which was really good.

Very reasonably priced.

S’MAC (short for Sarita’s Macaroni & Cheese)

Great little place in the East Village serving only mac ‘n’ cheese – they position themselves as “New York’s best Macaroni & Cheese” on their website.

All dishes are ‘build your own’ where you choose your own cheese combinations and additional ingredients and can all be made with gluten free pasta. I had a ‘nosh’ size (the smallest size) though I wished I’d had the ‘major munch’ as it was so good! Only negative was that on their website they say they offer a vegan/non dairy cheese option but they didn’t have this on the day we visisted – (I shouldn’t really have dairy but did).

A filling and tasty cheap lunch.

Bar Breton, 250 5th Ave, New York

Bar Breton
UPDATE: Apparently closed now unfortunately
A smart but cosy French restaurant open for lunch and dinner on 5^th Avenue not far from the Empire State Building which specialises in traditional Brittany buckwheat galettes.

Absolutely delicious and they also have a dedicated gluten free fryer for their herb fries! We had a salmon galette with horseradish cream and also a Gruyère and Black Forest ham. Traditional Breton cider to drink served in a teacup!

Reasonably priced for the great quality.

Babycakes NYC, 248 Broome Street, New York

Babycakes NYC

Oh my God! Heaven on earth! Cute bakery on the Lower East Side selling the most delicious breads, cookies and cupcakes and all made with healthy ingredients. They don’t use eggs or dairy instead using healthy coconut oil and only use agave nectar, never sugar.

Almost all of their cakes are gluten free with the exception of a few which are made using spelt – though the cabinets are all clearly labeled and the staff always ask about intolerances when serving.

I had carrot cupcake and pumpkin bread (as it was Halloween) – really amazing and deliciously moist with the subtle taste of coconut. We need one of these in London!

Babycakes NYC cupcakes

I also bought the Babycakes book (Babycakes: Vegan, (Mostly) Gluten-Free, and (Mostly) Sugar-Free Recipes from New York’s Most Talked-about Bakery) by founder Erin McKenna so will be testing out my baking skills over the coming weeks – I just need to source some of the ingredients online first which are not as easy to find in the UK – they have great online suppliers in the US.

Other places we ate were all very helpful by adapting dishes to exclude specific ingredients to ensure that they were gluten free.

It sounds like Wendy and Paul had a fantastic time in New York and we thank them for taking the time to send us their experiences.

Get yourselves over there to try out some of these places. It’s getting cheaper and cheaper for us in the UK to visit the States. And of course, let us know if you discover or know of any other great places in New York.

McDonald's french fries. Image courtesy of cfinke

When you’re on the run, it’s tempting to dash into your local fast food joint and grab yourself a quick bite. But if you’re following a gluten free diet surely your local McDonald’s is off limits?

Not so. There are numerous foods which are gluten free at McDonald’s. (Although we recommend you don’t eat them every day.) Note: these apply to UK McDonalds’s restaurants only.

Meaty stuff
A McDonald’s hamburger, cheeseburger, Quarter Pounder^®, and Big Mac^® are all gluten free IF eaten without the bun. All McDonald’s burgers are made with 100% beef; so they’re not ‘beefed up’ with any cereal, rusk or flour.

And according to McDonald’s they’re happy to serve you just the burger minus the bun if you ask your server when ordering. Apparently, they don’t even mind if you bring your own gluten free bun in with you.

Potato things

• French fries (Note: UK only. It seems that US french fries do have gluten.)
• Potato wedges
• Hash browns

Green stuff

• Fruit bags
• Carrot sticks
• Garden salads

McFlurrys

• Cadburys Crunchie McFlurry andDairy Milk McFlurrys are both gluten free
• But Aero McFlurrys are NOT gluten free

Sundaes

• Strawberry sundaes are gluten free
• But toffee sundaes are NOT gluten free

Drinks

• Regular coffee
• Latte
• But Cappuccinos are NOT gluten free. (The chocolate chips used contain gluten.)
• Hot chocolate
• Apple juice
• Orange juice
• Soft drinks
• Milkshakes

Sauces

• Big Mac sauce
• Heinz Tomato Ketchup
• Mustard
• Mayo
• Spicy tomato salsa

What else to avoid
The obvious things to avoid are buns, wraps and anything in breadcrumbs. Fish fingers, chicken nuggets and onion rings are also off limits.

But if you’re not sure about any ingredients just ask your server. And if they don’t seem sure ask to speak to the manager. Don’t run the risk of being ill over a Filet-O-Fish^®

Update: Following on from a number of queries we had regarding the fries, we contacted McDonald’s directly. See this post for their reply.