McMenamin's Six Arms Bar Review

After some searching, Kayleigh found McMenamin's Six Arms bar. It’s close to the Paramount and by extension the bus depot. Of course this means it is also close by the convention center, which is going to be super convenient if we head back to Emerald City Comic Con, or PAX this year.     

Rumor was they had simply amazing tater tots. I was also informed they had gluten free wings, although they were Hogshad-habanero sauce and not buffalo. To start us off I ordered some Cajun tater tots with ranch, and for my meal I of course ordered the wings.

To be blunt, the wings were simply not good. They tasted overcooked which made the chicken a bit tough, and the flavor cooked out. Enough said.

The tater tots however, were one of the single best appetizers I have ever had. If I could do my meal over again, I would just order 2 orders of tater tots and gorge myself on their super crunch shell, and fluffy insides. If they were shaped differently, I would consider them the perfect hash browns. My mouth is watering just thinking about them. If you even remotely like hashbrowns, tater tots, French fries, or any other potato based foot item you must absolutely try McMenamin’s tater tots. I only tried the Cajun, but next time I’ll mix it up.

Kayleigh here. I'll go ahead and second the tater tots- perfectly crispy, heavily seasoned, and addictive with that ranch dip!

I know it's a bit odd to walk into a brewpub and expect gluten free fare, but it's incredibly useful for Seattleites to have somewhere to go when out-of-towners come to visit and ask about the fabulous Pacific Northwest craft brew scene. Now that I fear for the life of my old standby, I think we'll be hitting up a few more bars in the near future- stay tuned for more reviews!

BlueSteele Cafe Review

Jason here. Kayleigh and I were recently town in Tacoma shopping around for a new car. Whenever we travel away from home we look for gluten free places to try that we might not have otherwise made the trip out for. This time Kayleigh found a recently opened café called BlueSteele Café.

Before I get into my order, let me say the service was fantastic and answered my reaffirmed that gluten free flatbread options were available. It’s a good feeling to look a menu and have the capability to order nearly everything on it.

To that end, I ordered the Chicken Bacon and Ranch (CBR) flatbread. I really wish there was a BlueSteele close buy, because this was freaking fantastic. I haven’t had any bacon and ranch items in a quite a while, which I am sure contributed to how delicious this tasted. Plenty of ranch, with crunchy bits of bacon and flatbread. I don’t eat flatbreads very often, so the comparison I was reminded of while eating my CBR was of a deliciously crunchy crusted pizza.

I also ordered a mocha with my meal, which is unusual as I rarely order coffee. I was impressed with the intricate design created from the cream on top, and it tasted delicious. However, it was easily eclipsed by the flatbread. While I really enjoyed my coffee, I’m not really a coffee connoisseur so I am curious about hearing some other opinions.

Kayleigh here. While the menu was somewhat short, I think it is important to note that this means every item is done well and made to order right behind the counter. Each section of the menu had a vegetarian option, to my delight- enough to please any palate! It was interesting to see a flatbread option with mozzarella and brown sugar, too- never seen one for a sweet tooth before! Looking at the specials menu, I ordered a white chocolate cherry almond concoction for my drink. It was absolutely delicious! Now, I need to figure out an excuse to be down in the area again, so I can try something else on the menu!

Flying Apron Review

Kayleigh here. Finding ourselves in Redmond without a lunch plan, we ended up popping in to Flying Apron to scout out our options. Expecting to make a lunch out of cookies and muffins, we were pleasantly surprised to be greeted with a menu of daily lunch specials above the confectionery counters. Of course, we still had to get some sweets for later to thoroughly review their offerings.

After much debate, I finally settled on a veggie-loaded slice of pizza, although I was very tempted by the sandwiches being made on garlic herb bread. The pizza crust, I must say, actually tasted identical to its gluten filled counterpart, which I cannot say for any pizza place we have tried in the past. The vegetables were roasted and well seasoned, and the cashew cheese was a delicious addition. I am still not sure if I would call it cheese, but the rich garlicky spread had a lovely flavor of its own.

Amongst their premade offerings were cakes by the slice, cupcakes, cookies, muffins, brownies, cinnamon buns- you’re bound to fullfil a craving coming here. The variety of muffin flavors was sorely tempting, but Jason and I ended up getting a slice of chocolate mint cake to go. The texture of the cake was amazingly moist and fluffy, and the minty frosting was a refreshing juxtaposition to the richness. We’ll just have to try some of those muffins next time we make a visit.

In addition to the bakery items that could be individually bought as snacks or desserts, Flying Apron also offers the option to make larger orders of whole pies and custom-order cakes for parties or events. Even adding one to the dessert offerings at a luncheon will make a vegan or celiac's day- it is such a nice feeling to realize you actually have an option available.

Jason here. For my order I decided to go with something hearty. I had been craving lasagna for the last couple weeks, so it was exactly what I ordered after spotting it on the menu. Since, we were getting food to go, and it was fairly busy in the restaurant at the moment it was an added bonus that it was prepackaged in a to-go container. By the looks of it I could tell I would get at least a day of leftovers too. The staff offered to heat everything up there, but we declined since it would be cold again by the time we arrived home. After heating it up in the microwave, I dug right in. 

I had forgotten the lasagna was also vegan, so it contained cashew cheese instead of the regulars. This made the lasagna a bit sharper then I was expecting, but still overall good. To compensate it had loads of herb seasonings piled on, which I found easier to eat after mixing them in a bit more. 

Overall I’m still craving my cheesy lasagna, but we found another gluten free place in the area where I definitely know I would be safe. They had a variety of items, and next time I’d like to try a bit more of their pastries.