Geer Street Garden, Restaurant Review

I had been hearing about the GF options at Geer Street garden from my GF daughter for a few months now, but just finally had the opportunity to go check out this downtown Durham dining spot.  Geer Street Garden, offers gluten free bread for 50 cents more, so many of the sandwiches are an option. The manager checked the bread package and said they were using the Glutino brand bread.  For my vegetarian readers, the Glutino bread does contain egg whites so not an option if you are a vegan.   I had the tomato, avocado on GF bread with a side salad, which was very yummy and a little messy, but worth it!  Note the fryer IS NOT a designated GF fryer so if you have Celiac Disease or are very sensitive to gluten you should not order the French fries or the GF fried Chicken or anything else that is cooked in the fryer because of cross contamination concerns.  My friend ordered the fish tacos which were served on a corn tortilla and were a GF option.  You can take a peek at the menu here. When it comes to dessert the wait staff was very nice an offered some of their homemade popsicles or their freshly made banana pudding minus the vanilla wafers.  You can see from my picture that I went with the banana pudding and it was great. I love what Durham in doing downtown and I so appreciate the Durham restaurants taking into consideration the needs of the gluten free community.  The restaurant has both indoor and outdoor casual seating.

644 Foster Street
Durham, NC 27701
919.688.2900


Mon -Thur 11:30am - Midnight
Fri & Sat 11:30am - 2am
Sunday Brunch 11am - 1:30pm
Sunday 1:30 - 10pm

Meelos Restaurant

We recently enjoyed a great dinner at a quaint neighborhood spot: Meelos Restaurant. This friendly restaurant is located in the newly renovated Croasdaile Commons (the former Loehmann's plaza) on Hillandale Road. Meelo describes itself as
 " Italian cuisine with Spanish influences". They offer a lunch, dinner and tapas menu.   I was very impressed with the service, atmosphere and the staffs ability to accommodate gluten free requests. While the restaurant does not have a specific gf menu it does offer gf pasta, and many of the items on the menu are naturally gf or can be prepared to be gluten free.  I was surprised when the waiter even brought me gluten free crackers with my salad!  I enjoyed salad, salmon, mashed potatoes and vegetables.  The quality of the food, the attention to details and the kind staff made for an enjoyable evening. Reservation are suggested; we visited on a Saturday night and they were very busy.  I look forward to returning and trying some items from the tapas menu.

Hours of Operation include:

Lunch	Monday to Friday	11:30 AM to 2:00 PM
Dinner	Monday to Saturday	5:00 PM to 9:00 PM

1821 Hillandale Road #3

Durham, NC 27705

Get directions

‎

(919) 384-9080

Chuck E. Cheese Gluten Free Pizza in Durham!

Great news for young gluten free folks and their parents.  Chuck E Cheese has rolled out their gluten free pizza and cupcake option nationwide.  I first posted about Chuck E Cheese GF trial in Minnesota back on May 17th, click here if you would like to read this post and see the video about the Gluten Free products.  I spoke with the staff of the Durham, NC Chuck E Cheese this morning and they confirmed that they are offering a personal pan size cheese pizza for $5.99 and a gluten free cupcake is $2.99.  I hope to visit soon and check out the quality of the products, if you have beat me to a taste test please post your comments.

The Durham Chuck E. Cheese is located near Target by the old South Square area
3724 Mayfair St
Durham, NC 27707
919-493-6083
919-489-6167

Sun-Thurs 9 am-9pm
Fri-Sat 9am-10pm

Firebirds, Restaurant Review

I think I have visited Firebirds at least three times in the last few months.  The reason I keep going back is that they serve great food in a fun atmosphere and seem to really understand what it means to order gluten free!  They have a gluten free menu with many delicious options from main entrees to salads.  One of my favorite menu items is the strawberry shrimp salad pictured above.  During my visits this summer I had a manager check with me to be sure everything was okay and a server deliver my food separate from the rest of my table, indicating "we took special care of your gluten free order". I really appreciate this level of attention to special dietary needs, but one must remember that you need to remain on your toes when ordering and speaking with your server.  As with most restaurants today the gluten free menu does include the following disclaimer:  "Please note our chefs strive to prepare every one of these dishes gluten free as listed.  Firebirds cannot be held liable in the unlikely event that cross contamination occurs."  If you read my earlier post which suggested the NFCA webinar on dining out, you are equipped with your questions and have considered your options when eating out to reduce your risks of cross contamination.

Firebirds is a chain with many locations. In North Carolina those include: Charlotte, Raleigh, Winston-Salem and the Durham location which is at the Streets at Southpoint.

All locations:
Sunday – Thursday 11am – 10pm
Friday & Saturday 11am – 11pm

Tyler's Restaurant and Taproom, Restaurant Review

I have eaten at Tyler's Restaraunt and Taproom a few times this summer. Tyler's offers a gluten free menu which features several salads, BBQ, and most sandwiches (minus the bun of course) It is clearly stated on the GF menu that items prepared in their fryers cannot be guaranteed as gluten free, so that means the french fries, sweet potato fries and homemade chips are out. On my most recent vist I ordered a cheese burger "sans"  bun and substituted a side of potato salad in place of fries. I had planned on taking a picture, but was hungry and ate most of my meal before I realized I forgot to take the photo!  I've also tried a few of their salads which are generous in portion size.

I noticed three different gluten free beers and one cider listed on the beer menu as well . 
Estrella Damm Daura $4.50
Green's Discovery Amber $8.00
Green's Quest Triple $8.00
Crispin Original Cider $5.75

T'yler's has four locations in: Apex, Carrboro, Durham and Raleigh.  The Durham location is located in the lively American Tobacco Campus, 324 Blackwell St, Durham, NC 27701,  and recently opened an outdoor biergarten.

Hours:
Monday 11am-9pm
Tuesday 11am-10pm
Wednesday 11am-10pm
Thursday 11am-10pm
Friday 11am-11pm
Sat 11am-11pm
Sunday 10am-9pm. Sunday brunch is 10am-3pm, dinner at 5pm. Late night always runs after games and shows, times will vary but typically at least an hour.