Gluten-free Friendly Snacks and More Reviews

Kayleigh and Jason here. This post is a bit of a hodge-podge, so we can mention all of the gluten-free friendly places we've come across for quick snacks, desserts, and easy grab-on-the-go grub. Check back on this post from time to time, as we add more places to the list!

Cold Stone Creamery- Not all Cold Stone locations can accommodate so thoroughly, but many (including the one at the Crossroads mall in Bellevue) educate their employees about allergy-conscious preparation methods. For gluten, this includes using brand-new scoops, getting ice cream from tubs in the back rather than the front counter, and adding any mix-ins on a clean 'allergy plate' instead of the regular countertop. Just avoid upgrading to the waffle bowl. :)

Yogurtland- Before going to Yogurtland for the first time, I went on their website to jot down all the yogurt flavors that contained gluten (most of the cookie or cake- themed flavors are a no-go). Upon entering the self-serve area, we were pleasantly surprised to find that each flavor had the allergen labels clearly visible, with cross-contamination nearly impossible. Use the toppings bar at your own discretion, since they are not separated according to allergens, but who really misses them when the yogurt tastes so good!

Tully's (some)- We've spotted individually wrapped Wow cookies at the counters of several different Tully's locations around Washington. So next time you're craving a sweet treat along with your latte, pop into a Tully's and take your pick!

Wild Ginger Review

Jason here. A couple weeks ago, I decided to meet Kayleigh for a nice lunch. We opted to go to The Wild Ginger in Bellevue. We had heard great things about both the food, and how gluten friendly it was.

The first thing you will notice in The Wild Ginger is the great service. Both times I have gone they have been incredibly friendly. Last time when I left, the hostess remembered my name and called me by name to have a great day. As someone who can barely remember the name of someone I talk to every day, I was impressed. The entire staff just had an air of professionalism, rarely found in most places.

The second thing you will notice is how gluten friendly they are. Everything on the menu is clearly labeled if it is gluten free, and\or vegan. Without me hinting at all, the wait staff asked if either of us had dietary restrictions. When I mentioned being gluten free, he asked if it was allergy or diet. After responding allergy, he informed me they take extra precautions and prepare the food separately. This has happened both times I have eaten there, and they were busy with lunch rush. This made me feel completely confident that my food would be free of any gluten.

For my meal I ordered the Panang Beef Curry. To quote there menu, “slices of flank steak in coconut milk spiced with cardamom, coriander, galangal, Thai basil and peanuts.” Usually I am not a fan of coconut. For some reason the taste just does not appeal to me. However, I have found coconut milk to barely taste of coconut at all. So if you are like me and don’t like coconut, don’t let that stop you from ordering a dish with coconut milk.

The meal was absolutely fantastic. The steak was perfectly cooked, completely submerged in the delicious sauce. The sauce itself had a creamy rich taste to it, with little bursts of flavor from the spices. Mixing in some of the white rice, and eating with a bite of steak was how I preferred it. I can’t overstate how good this was. The plate was fairly large, and I completely scraped every last bit off to eat.

Kayleigh here. The meal I chose was the special- a pineapple prawn curry. Absolutely beautiful combination of flavors, that really brought me back to my favorite curry dish from a little restaurant back in New Hampshire. Seriously, that restaurant is where I requested to go every time I was on home on break in college, and Wild Ginger did not disappoint on replicating that delightful dish. Besides the amazing food and conscientious staff, the seating and décor really gave that extra push in the ‘would go again’ direction, with every table giving you either a birds-eye view of the streets below, or a railing-side seat overlooking the floor below, lending an open, but intimate feeling throughout.

To wrap this up, the food was phenomenal, the price was fantastic, and the wait staff was amazing. Gluten free or not, I absolutely recommend you check out the The Wild Ginger.

Mung Bean Veggie Patties Recipe

Kayleigh here. In our quest for quick, easy, and inexpensive gluten-free weekday dinners, we've found it nearly impossible to just buy something pre-made off the shelf to heat and eat. Canned soups? Nope. Noodle cups? Absolutely not. Frozen entrees? If you pay an arm and a leg. How about something that's not all-in-one, but easy to heat and throw together, like veggie burgers? Even convenience foods that should be safe always seem to have wheat or barley snuck in somewhere.

Our solution? Make more than enough on the days we have more time, then freeze the leftovers for quick dinners when we need them. Big pots of soup, loaves of bread or hamburger buns, casseroles, all pre-portioned into one or two meal packages, so we can just thaw them as needed. So when we found ourselves with a bowl full of leftover mung beans after a session of crepe making, rather than just freezing them for crepes in the future, we tried making an almost falafel-style burger patty. The patties themselves were extremely quick and easy to make, and were just as easy to heat up and serve during the week as any store-bought veggie burger!

Mung Bean Veggie Patties (makes 4-5 burgers)

Ingredients:

1 ½ cup Mung Beans, boiled in water until soft

1-2 cloves Garlic

Water (around ½ cup)

¼ cup Garbanzo Flour

½ ts Salt

¼ ts Pepper

½ ts Lemon Juice

Optional: additional herbs, such as fresh Cilantro or Parsley, to taste

Directions:

1. Take the mung beans (make sure they are soft enough to squish!) and garlic, and put in a blender or food processor with enough water to cover them. Pulse until it starts coming together, but not enough to make it a fine paste- you want some texture! Add more water if it is not blending well.
2. Place Mung Bean mixture in a large bowl, then add spices and lemon juice. Add half of the Garbanzo Flour and mix well. Keep mixing and adding more garbanzo flour until it is sturdy enough to form into shapes- you may need more than ¼ cups, maybe less, depending on how much water was added before.
3. Form into 4-5 fairly flat patties. At this point, you can either stack them with butcher paper in-between, or oil up a pan and cook them on medium-high heat, flipping once so both sides get browned.
4. Serve on a bun with fresh veggies and a yogurt based sauce (plain yogurt with lemon-pepper seasoning is my favorite!). Alternately, you can serve wrapped in a lettuce leaf, with a Vietnamese fish sauce-based dressing to dip it in. The patties are a tad dry on their own, so feel free to be creative and generous when saucing them up!

If the mung beans by themselves seem a little boring, you can always add up to 2/3 cups finely diced vegetables, such as sauteed mushrooms, spinach, onions, or carrots. If you find a favorite combination, leave a comment and let us know!

Jason here. These reheat easily in the toaster oven, or even the microwave. While they taste just fine on their own, I prefer to eat the m with a little sauce. Sometimes ketchup and mustard, but I will add pretty much whatever is at hand. If you have a diverse group to feed, my recommendation is to cook them fairly light on spices, then add a bunch to taste just before you reheat them. My favorite part of these patties, is the lightly crunchy outside they get when you heat them right.

All in all, these make for a great quick reheated meal, which can be easily fixed up to meet specific individuals tastes.

Lunchbox Laboratory Review

Jason here. We decided to check out Lunchbox Laboratory in downtown Bellevue. I passed this place many times, and always assumed it made little lunchbox’s of random assorted food for people to take out and back to work. While I am still interested in such a place, I was also looking for a nice gluten free burger, that I could get closer to home.

Now if you are imaging a bunch of waiters dressed in lab coats, and serving you in a very medical looking room, that could not be further from the truth. Instead of very straight lined, white look I was expecting, it was instead a very hipster looking place with tons of nick-naks everywhere. The menu itself had clippings of Star Wars, and other pop culture references. To get a feel of the fun atmosphere, just check out their website.

So where do they get their name you might ask. Well every week they create a couple recipes that after the week is up, disappear forever. If you are looking for somewhere that has something new to try each time you go, look no further.

For my meal I ordered the Truffle Love burger, substituting the bun for a gluten free one, and substituting the side with a salad. The burger was absolutely delicious. It was juicy, but not undercooked. The black truffle mayo, onions, Swiss cheese, and bacon all added together to make for a very unique taste. I must say this was a messy burger, and I enjoyed every bite of it. The side was good, but nothing out of the ordinary.

The wait staff is very friendly, and made sure to check everything was gluten free. I was informed that none of the sides are gluten free, as they are made in the same deep fryer as other items which may contain gluten. Hence, my substitution of fries for a side salad.

I would love to go back here every week on a lunch break, but there is one thing holding me back. That would be the price. The burgers themselves are already on the more expensive side, and both the salad substitution, and the gluten free bun substitution cost extra. After tallying everything up, it came to what I would expect to pay at a much more formal sit down restaurant, then a burger place.

Kayleigh here. I ordered the Tear Jerker burger, with the same substitutions as Jason, plus changing out the beef for a veggie patty. I will say, the flavors were lovely, and the spice level was spot-on for what I wanted, but the veggie patty was extremely…dense. Great flavor, but extremely filling, and almost felt like I was eating more bread in-between bread. It probably did not help that I had to remove the toppings and eat them with a fork just to fit the burger in my mouth- man, do they pile it on! The side salad was nice and fresh, with shaved Parmesan and house-made Cesar dressing- better than expected! I also got a milkshake with my meal, and will say that they definitely did that right- thick, creamy, and the perfect amount of sweetness without being too overwhelming.

Overall I would recommend Blue Moon burgers as I felt they were more gluten friendly, the price was much better, and the food was equally good if not better. However, if you are in Bellevue and really craving a good burger check out Lunchbox Laboratory.