I've been going to this establishment since it opened over a year ago. I've been to most, if not all of the gluten free bakeries in Vancouver and they definitely have the best gluten free goodies around. They also have a lot of dairy free and vegan options. The space is small with the bakery visible to patrons. They have 5 tables and a corner with a toybox/bench full of toys, books, puzzles and so on for kids. They also have 2 highchairs. They offer tea, juice and pop but not coffee. If you need a caffeine fix they are more than happy to recommend you buy one from Matchstick Coffee next door and bring it in.
I am gluten and dairy free so I have only been able to try those particular items. My favorite goodies, in no particular order are: the cranberry-pecan-choco-chip cookie, double chocolate chip cookie, chocolate mint brownie, apple fritter (that's right actual donuts! dairy free too and delicious) and pizza bun. They also make cinnamon buns,banana bread and really good sized moist muffins, serving a new flavour every day. They also serve pizza everyday, normally 3 varieties, with one vegan cheese option which is always veggie. I like their pizza but find that the slice is quite small for $4.75 and is not quite enough for lunch for me. Recently, they have added baguettes to the menu and they are quite good.
In addition, they sell frozen take-and-bake goods which includes packs of 4 pizza buns, pre-formed pie crusts, pizza dough, frozen sliced cookies and more. They also have a dry food section which includes mixes so you can make your own cookies, cakes, brownies etc. Along with these items, there are packages of crackers and quinoa granola.
They do not make regular sandwich bread and from what I understand they have no plans to do so right now.
I have only mentioned part of their gluten free offerings.
Go to their website for more information on products, location and hours. Gluten Free Epicurean
Monday, 15 April 2013
Tuesday, 9 April 2013
Travelling to Vancouver Island - Nanaimo
This weekend I'll be travelling from Vancouver to Nanaimo on Vancouver Island. Every time I travel I do some research ahead of time to find gluten friendly restaurants and grocery stores. I looked on the website "The Celiac Scene" it lists a lot of restaurants but there are not any details. I looked at Minnoz Restaurant and it lists all of their menus. I found this website easy to use and they mark all gluten free items with an *so this restaurant is a possibility, though it is a little pricey.
I will report back after my trip on my success or lack of success with gluten free establishments.
I'm back now, it is Monday April 15, 2013. I found lots of good places to eat and every restaurant that we went had helpful and knowledgeable staff. The first meal we had was at Acme Food Company. It was later in the evening so we were only able to have sushi but it was quite good and the waitress was knowledgeable about what I could and could not eat. In the morning, we made our way to a little diner on the same street called Tina's Diner, I had no problem with ordering breakfast consisting of 2 eggs, bacon, hash-browns one piece of gluten free toast and coffee. The bill came to $25 for two, we had virtually the same thing, with the exception of the gluten free bread. For dinner that evening we tried out Gina's Mexican Cafe which is a funky colourful little house located on the top of a hill downtown. The service was excellent, the server was knowledgeable in terms of gluten free items on their menu. There was a small setback as my meal arrived covered in cheese, which I told them that I could not have before hand, they made me a new meal fairly quickly and gave me an unexpected half priced discount on my meal for the inconvenience. I appreciate this show of good customer service. I had chicken enchiladas with mole sauce, it was quite good. If I were to order this meal again, I would have chosen another sauce, the mole sauce was good but a little bland. The meal comes with rice, corn and beans ( I cannot eat beans either), it was quite filling and I was unable to finish. The last meal of our trip was an excellent breakfast in the very busy Two Chef's Affair. I ordered the two egg and bacon breakfast, they offered a choice of gluten free toast, I noticed from the open kitchen that it was Udi's. Hash-brown patties were extra and my partner and I both ordered them and they were delicious. Breakfast was very good but their coffee was disappointingly weak. We ordered an espresso for a much needed caffeine fix but it sadly never came, we reminded our server and were given two at no charge. Even though it was crazy busy, it was worth it because the food is good, again, the bill was $25 for both of us, the same as the day before. All and all, downtown Nanaimo is good for the celiac diner.
I will report back after my trip on my success or lack of success with gluten free establishments.
I'm back now, it is Monday April 15, 2013. I found lots of good places to eat and every restaurant that we went had helpful and knowledgeable staff. The first meal we had was at Acme Food Company. It was later in the evening so we were only able to have sushi but it was quite good and the waitress was knowledgeable about what I could and could not eat. In the morning, we made our way to a little diner on the same street called Tina's Diner, I had no problem with ordering breakfast consisting of 2 eggs, bacon, hash-browns one piece of gluten free toast and coffee. The bill came to $25 for two, we had virtually the same thing, with the exception of the gluten free bread. For dinner that evening we tried out Gina's Mexican Cafe which is a funky colourful little house located on the top of a hill downtown. The service was excellent, the server was knowledgeable in terms of gluten free items on their menu. There was a small setback as my meal arrived covered in cheese, which I told them that I could not have before hand, they made me a new meal fairly quickly and gave me an unexpected half priced discount on my meal for the inconvenience. I appreciate this show of good customer service. I had chicken enchiladas with mole sauce, it was quite good. If I were to order this meal again, I would have chosen another sauce, the mole sauce was good but a little bland. The meal comes with rice, corn and beans ( I cannot eat beans either), it was quite filling and I was unable to finish. The last meal of our trip was an excellent breakfast in the very busy Two Chef's Affair. I ordered the two egg and bacon breakfast, they offered a choice of gluten free toast, I noticed from the open kitchen that it was Udi's. Hash-brown patties were extra and my partner and I both ordered them and they were delicious. Breakfast was very good but their coffee was disappointingly weak. We ordered an espresso for a much needed caffeine fix but it sadly never came, we reminded our server and were given two at no charge. Even though it was crazy busy, it was worth it because the food is good, again, the bill was $25 for both of us, the same as the day before. All and all, downtown Nanaimo is good for the celiac diner.
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