Gluten free versions of food

I thought people might be interested if I made a post that showed some examples of when I, and another person I'm eating out with have ordered the exact same dish, but I have asked for the gluten free version of the food. I've taken pictures of a few examples which I will show side-by-side.

The butterfly and the pig gluten free burger

Gluten containing version

The difference here is pretty obvious, the gluten free version has a different bread to the gluten containing version. It also happens to have bacon, but that's fairly irrelevant. This was from the butterfly and the pig, a quirky restaurant which has recently opened a new restaurant in the west end of Glasgow.

Gluten free curry accompaniments, Las Iguanas, Deansgate Manchester

Gluten containing version

Ok, I admit these photos are pretty stupid. I forgot to take any once we'd actually put the curry onto the dish, as it was to the side in a pan over a tealight- whoops! The main difference here is the absence of a fried plantain (banana type thing) in the gluten free version. I think I also got extra rice as compensation. Las Iguanas is a chain of Brazilian restaurants, with a dedicated gluten free menu. I find the food really rich and tasty.

Gluten free eggs benedict, Tea Hive, Chorlton, Manchester 

Gluten Containing version

Eggs benedict is one of my all time favourite breakfasts when I'm out. Again, the difference here is the bread, which is gluten free toast rather than a breakfast muffin. The toast wouldn't be as absorbent as the muffin but this is compensated for by the fact the bread is usually bigger. Tea Hive is a cafe in the trendy Chorlton-cum-Hardy suburb of Manchester.

 Gluten free Ham Hock Terrine, The Harbour Inn, Bowmore, Islay, Scotland

Gluten containing version

This is a ham hock terrine with pickled quails egg, broad bean and shallot salad, rye crumbs, apple gel. The difference in the gluten free version is that the rye crumbs are missing, this can handily be seen in the bottom picture where the quail egg has rolled away and revealed the crumbs. The Harbour Inn is a great hotel and restaurant on the Hebridean Island of Islay, which I visited this summer. There were excellent views and great food.

Gluten Free Halibut, The Harbour Inn, Bowmore, Islay, Scotland

Gluten containing version

This is the main course from the same restaurant, which is halibut poached in olive oil, nettle spätzle, savoury granola, samphire, rocket pistou, vierge garnish. The crusty topping is missing from the gluten free version, which is presumably the savoury granola. It was very tasty.

 

Gluten free plain scone, Peak View Tearoom 

Gluten containing version

The scone was completely different to the gluten containing one, and it looked different too. It looked somewhat more authentic and fresh, or perhaps just less perfectly shaped than its gluten containing cousin. My mum tells me that the gluten free scone was a bit drier and more crumbley than her gluten one, but the taste is possibly better in the gluten free version. Peak View Tearoom is a nice cafe on the edge of the peak district, with an exciting gluten free menu.

Gluten free lobster thermidor, The Wensleydale Heifer, West Witton, North Yorkshire

Gluten containing version?

These dishes certainly looked very similar, however, one was announced as gluten free on arrival so you would assume there's a difference. The bottom image looks like it has a thicker skin on it, so maybe they've added some kind of cheese sauce that is missing from the gluten free version. Nevertheless, it was absolutely delicious. The Wensleydale Heifer is a restaurant with rooms in Yorkshire which specialises in seafood dishes.

And finally, since there's no place like home...

Gluten free garlic bread, home, Christmas Eve

Gluten containing version

This gluten free garlic bread was made using the gluten free kitchens' white rolls, it worked pretty well and tasted good. The gluten free kitchen is a dedicated gluten free bakery in Yorkshire, I'm planning to dedicate a post to them once I've sampled all the massive amounts of food I bought from them just before Christmas.

 I hope you found it interesting to see the differences between gluten free and gluten containing versions of things. Usually it's something obvious like bread or bread crumbs but sometimes it's something more unusual like the plantain.

Rock Lobster, Glasgow Restaurant Review

We stumbled across this incredibly gluten free friendly restaurant whilst wondering around looking for a specific shoe shop, and being admittedly a little lost.

I noticed a sign which said 'gluten free fish and chips' which was quite exciting! It lead to Rock Lobster which is situated in a quiet, quirky court in the trendy Merchant City area.

We booked online so we could make use of the 5pm offer, which was 2 courses and a glass of house wine for £11.95.

For my starter I ordered the Buffalo meatballs with blushed tomato & veal bone sauce and had the Spicy beer battered fish & chips with spaghetti style coleslaw.
I'm always nervous when something says it contains beer and is gluten free, as clearly beer isn't usually gluten free. The most likely explanation is that the gluten free version is a batter without beer. I double checked with the chef, just to be sure, and he confirmed it was gluten free (although I didn't expressly ask why it said beer batter on the menu).

*STOP PRESS* Rock Lobster have just confirmed that they in fact use the Estrella gluten free lager in their beer batter for the fish. 

The starter was really tasty, but really was just meatballs. The sauce was really nice but I could have done with something to mop it up with. Perhaps some gluten free bread or a few chips or something. Here it is: 

Meatballs aren't really something it's easy to photo and make them look appealing, but trust me, they were very tasty.

The fish and chips was the star of the show, especially the chips in fact, which were covered in a very tasty peppery seasoning. Here are the fish and chips:

The batter was crisp and yellow, presumably due to turmeric being present in the spice mix. It also contained herbs, which I think were coriander, giving it a refreshing sharp citrus flavour. The fish was perfectly complimented by the delicious chips and a glass of crisp white wine. Even the coleslaw was nice, which is something I usually leave due to my carrot allergy but this was a nice cabbage only version. 

Overall, I would highly recommend Rock Lobster to everyone, particularly those avoiding gluten. I will be back to try the gluten free gnocchi! Something that really should be gluten free anyway, given that it's mainly made of potatoes, but people tend to add wheatflour. 

Gluten Free Pizza Glasgow

Being diagnosed with coeliac disease at the age of nineteen inspired me to search for innovative solutions to ensure that there were no foods I could not eat. Prior to diagnosis I had been an occasional pizza eater, eating for convenience at home and indulging in a take out once in a while. But now restaurants were starting to offer gluten free pizzas I felt duty bound to test them all! There seem to be a few classes of gluten free pizza bases on offer, there are those available from the NHS-hard, long-life, slightly sweet and almost too tough to bite through. I’ve not had a lot of luck with these, finding them either to be undercooked or burnt, or even both at once! The shape and weight of these pizza bases allows them to act as excellent Frisbees in the summer months! It may be that an alternative brand of pizza base available on prescription is much more palatable, but I am yet to experience this. Other pizza bases can be eggy, egg being used in higher quantities than normal as a binding agent to make up for the lack of gluten. Some pizza bases can be bready, and others can be very, well, pizza like!

            I spend most of my time in Glasgow, being a student there so this article will focus on pizzas I’ve experienced in Glasgow, as well as some from chain restaurants available nationwide. The first restaurant gluten free pizza I tried was from Firebird, Argyll Street, Glasgow. I was very impressed; the base was thin, crisp, tasty and not at all soggy. I honestly couldn’t tell the base apart from the gluten containing bases I had previously eaten. My boyfriend confirmed that the base was just as tasty as his gluteny one. The toppings were interesting, tasty and the price was good. Firebird also serves Estrella Damm Daura gluten free lager. Having previously been an enthusiastic ale drinker, I find this lager to be tolerable, refreshing and a great accompaniment to the pizza. My first gluten free pizza out was off to a great start!

            Sticking with the theme of independent (not large chain) restaurants I will review Sarti. Sarti is a small independent chain of restaurants located around Glasgow city centre. They offer gluten free pizza and pasta. In support of my diet, my boyfriend had the gluten free pasta so I had the chance to try this as well. The trouble I have often found with gluten free pasta in restaurants is that it needs careful attention whilst it is cooked. The difference between perfect Al Dente pasta and soggy mush can be less than a minute. Unfortunately, the pasta dish at Sarti was soggy. I had the same experience at Zizzi, the Italian chain restaurant. I intend to adopt a new policy of requesting it to be cooked Al Dente when ordering and then sending it back if it is not! However, the pizza at Sarti was very good, quite crispy and very tasty! The pizza was very hard to cut. A common theme of gluten free pizzas is the difficulty in cutting them. They tend to arrive uncut as the restaurants use common utensils to slice all their pizzas so these are contaminated with gluten. It’s best to ask waiter for a pizza slicer to avoid sawing at it for ages!

            Little Italy on byres road is a convenient place for pizza to eat in or takeaway. The first time I went I had a take away pizza; the base was very thin and tasted quite eggy. Although the bottom of the pizza was crispy further up the base was quite soggy. The egginess meant the base was quite chewy, but the toppings were nice and the pizza was probably the cheapest of those I’ve tried. When I tried is again to eat in it was an entirely different, and more positive experience. The base had been sliced, which helped immensely. This time it wasn’t soggy at all and tasted great. Maybe being in the box for the walk home had made the pizza soggy.

            The chain restaurants where I have tried the gluten free pizzas are Pizza Hut, Dominos and Pizza Express, which only started offering gluten free options recently. Personally, my favourite chain bases are Dominos, followed by Pizza Express then Pizza Hut. I tried Dominos for the first time the day they introduced the gluten free base and they were obviously experiencing some teething problems. The base was undercooked, and not at all crispy whilst the toppings were overcooked. Coupled with the fact that we were refused access to the “twofortuesday” deal as the deal is only available on medium and large bases whilst the gluten free base is only offered in small, and that the price was high I was not a happy customer! The second time I tried it was much better. The base was crisp and pizza like and the toppings cooked perfectly. The size might be a bit annoying for those with a larger appetite but was just right for me. Dominos has now included the gluten free base in the  “twofortuesday” deal, providing the other pizza is a medium/ large on a gluteness base, a little annoying if you're a gluten free family but still something.

            Pizza Express gluten free pizzas were really good. Unlike Dominos, who clearly mark on the menu which toppings contain gluten, and Pizza Hut, who changed all toppings to be gluten free on the introduction of their gluten free bases, Pizza Express lacked the clear guidance on the menu as to which toppings are suitable. The knowledge of the waiter and/or the chef was relied upon. However, both pizzas I have had were no problem and tasted delicious. The base was quite thin and crispy, and the little holes reminded me of matzo cracker bread. One thing that’s unique about Pizza Express as a chain restaurant is that it has gluten free beer on offer. Greens Pilsner was enjoyable to drink but at £4.45 for just 33cl I think I’ll stick to wine in future! Here is a picture of a gluten free Pizza Express Pizza from the Manchester restaurant: 

            Finally, Pizza Hut provides a square gluten free base. Being a coeliac it’s always worrying when you order a gluten free version of something and when it arrives it looks identical to a gluten-containing version that a friend ordered. The square base is reassuringly different to the gluten containing round ones. The pizza was quite bread-like and tasty.

            Overall, if I had to rank the experiences I’ve had based primarily on my enjoyment of the pizza, but also taking into account value for money, service and atmosphere, I would order them as:

1. Firebird, Argyll Street, Glasgow

2.  Sarti, Glasgow city centre

3. Dominos, Nationwide

4. Pizza Express, Nationwide

5.  Little Italy, Byres Road, Glasgow

6.  Pizza Hut, Nationwide

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That being said I would go back to all of these restaurants for pizza in the future. Thank you for reading my first ever blog post. I hope you have found some of the information here useful.

Ellie