Brunch down the Road in Chapel Hill, Weathervane-Restaurant Review

This weekend some friends  and  I traveled the short distance down 15-501 to Chapel Hill for brunch at Weathervane Restaurant which is located in A Southern Season Store.  It had been several years since I had eaten at Weathervane and was happy to see that their brunch menu denoted items that were gluten free with the GF symbol. They also note dairy free DF, Vegetarian V and Vegan V+ options. .

My gluten free options  for the Saturday brunch menu were limited to the salads and soups available on the menu.  I selected the combo salad platter for 12.99 and chose the almond chicken salad, the black bean-corn salad and the Asian glass noodle salad.  BUT please note after further conversation with my server I learned that the Asian Glass noodle salad actually has regular soy sauce as one of it's ingredients and thus is REALLY NOT GLUTEN FREE.  Instead I chose a gluten free tomato soup option.  This was just another reminder that those of us who need to follow a strict gluten free diet, must still ask those necessary questions even when something is labeled gluten free. My meal was great and I would recommend eating at Weathervane; I think perhaps they just had their menus printed too quickly and then realized that "aha most soy sauces actually contain wheat" and they have not updated their brunch menu to reflect this.  A look at the lunch and dinner menus also offer a variety of other gluten free options available for patrons. 

 A Southern Season is a well known specialty store that carries gourmet food items, wine, housewares, as well as some gluten free goodies.  A quick walk through the store and you spot: gluten free pasta, gluten free cookies and various baking mixes .  A  Southern Season also offers various cooking schools, and may offer some opportunities for gluten free cooking or baking classes. 

Store Information:

Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
8am - 9pm / Monday - Thursday
8am - 10pm / Friday

Brunch & Dinner
8am - 10pm / Saturday
10am - 9pm / Sunday

University Mall
201 S. Estes Drive
Chapel Hill, NC 27514
919.929.9466

Twins Kitchen Update: Local Farmer's Markets

Twins Kitchen/Twin Cakes Bakery recently announced the upcoming 2009 Farmer's Market schedule and which markets they will be participating in. Stop in to any of the markets below in Raleigh, Chapel Hill or Hillsborough to try out their awesome Gluten Free products if you have never tried them. They will be offering a wide range of products at the market this year and of course everything offered is gluten/wheat free and vegan.

Mid-Town Farmer's Market (formally North Hills Farmer's Market)
8 AM - 12 PM every Saturday beginning April 11, 2009
Located by the movie theater at North Hills

Carrboro/Chapel Hill Farmer's Market (a.k.a. Southern Village Farmer's Market)
3:30 PM - 6:30 PM every Thursday beginning May 7, 2009
Located at Southern Village on Market Street

Hillsborough Farmer's Market
4 Pm - 7 PM every Wednesday beginning April 8, 2009
Located in the Home Depot parking lot on NC86 and I-85

If you have any special request or want to make a pre-order to pick up at the market please call the Twins at 919-306-5304.

Also, stay tuned for some more exciting news from Twin Cakes Bakery - they will soon have a brand new Web site up and running which will focus solely on their bakery products. They also will be offering dry mixes for you to take home and bake yourself. Stay tuned!