We often ate at Niccolini's before I went gluten-free. I simply assumed that, being an Italian restaurant I'd be out of luck for eating there gluten-free. I did read somewhere that they did gluten-free dishes, and again assumed that this would be the non-pasta dishes like steak or fish - as the only two vegetarian dishes they offer are pasta.
Then, I read somewhere, that Niccolinis offer gluten-free pasta! But don't expect to just turn up and have it, like I did! If you wish to come for gluten-free pasta, order it the day before.
They do have other gluten-free offerings on the menu. When I mentioned that I was also vegetarian, the waiter went to see what the chef could do, and came back offering a mushroom risotto. They do a risotto special, but that wouldn't usually be vegetarian.
Neil ordered garlic bread, and remembered when it arrived that it was four pieces, usually plenty even shared between two. That's one thing I miss, their crispy buttery garlic bread. Oh well! I lived! And Neil managed to eat it all!
The risotto was good, tasty, but very creamy. Creamy as in with lots of cream. I don't really do well with creamy things, especially creamy pasta or risotto. I really struggled, especially near the end. In fact, I didn't finish it - by the end I was picking out the mushroom and trying to get the 'dryest' bits of rice out. While we had considered going out to a show afterwards, I just wanted to go home, my belly was quite sore. In fact, I almost think that the creamy risotto was worse for my stomach than glutenous pasta would have been (since I'm starting to think gluten is not the problem, rather, either stress, IBS, or some other mystery ingredient). But - they were accommodating for my requirements and I appreciated that.
Personally, I think putting cream in risotto is sort of cheating. Risotto is plenty creamy even without dairy if you make it well. The addition of a bit of parmesan if desired is fine to hold it all together, but cream is so unnecessary and to me lowers the quality of the meal! It must be a matter of taste, and since I don't have much dairy at all... it wasn't to mine.
But, I do like Nicollinis. Their menu is a mess, but the place has a nice feel, a painting (or print) of Vernazza (Cinque Terre) on the wall (which makes me feel cultured for having been to Cinque Terre!), and their food is generally pretty good. They're often packed, though. I would like to go there for gluten-free pasta one night! I know my option will be pasta puttanesca, but that's okay with me!
Showing posts with label restaurant. Show all posts
Showing posts with label restaurant. Show all posts
Friday, September 4, 2009
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Hazel Restaurant - Marjoribanks St, Wellington
It was some time ago now that we went to Hazel restaurant on Marjoribanks Street, Wellington.
The occasion was a celebration of my exams being over, and we wanted to try something new.
The restaurant itself was nice, small, and located in one of those neat villas that line lower Mount Vic streets.
The restaurant had no vegetarian entrées, which I failed to notice on the sample menu I'd checked out before we came. However, once I asked if they could do something for me, and after the slightly taken aback waitress went off to check with the chef, it transpired that they were able to do a half size of one of the four vegetarian mains. Two of these mains were gluten free, so I had a buffalo mozzarella and spiced pear salad as an entrée, and a pumpkin and goats feta risotto as a main.
The salad was light and very tasty. I'd never had buffalo mozzarella, and this was tender and soft. Perhaps softer than it should have been in the middle, but I don't know how it should have been, because I'd only had quite hard mozzarella from the supermarket in the past.
The risotto, too, was really tasty. Not too creamy, and with nice tangy feta, I was glad I'd chosen this as my main. If I recall correctly, that was also served with some spinach stirred through.
All very yummy. I had ice cream and sorbet for dessert - a very generous serving - perhaps a bit too much, in fact. Two balls of icecream and two of sorbet, stacked on a plate.
Overall, a good meal out. The atmosphere was good, after getting over the initial apparent resistance of the waitress to provide me with something I could eat. It seemed strange to me to offer so many vegetarian options (four is a lot for that kind of restaurant!), but nothing on the entrée menu! Anyway... The food was definitely up there, though the desserts were slightly less exciting for some reason. Still, recommended for a meal out, and accommodating for gluten-free folk - even when vegetarian!
The occasion was a celebration of my exams being over, and we wanted to try something new.
The restaurant itself was nice, small, and located in one of those neat villas that line lower Mount Vic streets.
The restaurant had no vegetarian entrées, which I failed to notice on the sample menu I'd checked out before we came. However, once I asked if they could do something for me, and after the slightly taken aback waitress went off to check with the chef, it transpired that they were able to do a half size of one of the four vegetarian mains. Two of these mains were gluten free, so I had a buffalo mozzarella and spiced pear salad as an entrée, and a pumpkin and goats feta risotto as a main.
The salad was light and very tasty. I'd never had buffalo mozzarella, and this was tender and soft. Perhaps softer than it should have been in the middle, but I don't know how it should have been, because I'd only had quite hard mozzarella from the supermarket in the past.
The risotto, too, was really tasty. Not too creamy, and with nice tangy feta, I was glad I'd chosen this as my main. If I recall correctly, that was also served with some spinach stirred through.
All very yummy. I had ice cream and sorbet for dessert - a very generous serving - perhaps a bit too much, in fact. Two balls of icecream and two of sorbet, stacked on a plate.
Overall, a good meal out. The atmosphere was good, after getting over the initial apparent resistance of the waitress to provide me with something I could eat. It seemed strange to me to offer so many vegetarian options (four is a lot for that kind of restaurant!), but nothing on the entrée menu! Anyway... The food was definitely up there, though the desserts were slightly less exciting for some reason. Still, recommended for a meal out, and accommodating for gluten-free folk - even when vegetarian!
Friday, August 21, 2009
Cobar Restaurant
While my menu plan had us eating leftovers that night, I thought it would be nice to go out to eat to make use of Neil's 'new' car that he'd picked up that day. After calling a couple of places to scope out options, I booked at Cobar in Day's Bay.
Excellent service. Not busy at all - suspect they would be in summer. They made me an entrée salad that was apparently new to the menu with a blue cheese cream that was seriously tasty. The vegetables were baby veg and were perhaps marinated in some sort of vinegar. Very strong and tasty making the small portion much more satisfying than I expected. The main I had was an adapted dish as their menu vegetarian main was not gluten free (perhaps it was a soufflé, which seems to be the trendy vegetarian main this winter). The dish had some really nice polenta cubes, and jerusalem artichoke which I love. It was also very tasty. Though I had wanted dessert, by the time I'd had an entrée and a main I was actually full! (I also had a sore back so was keen to get home.) They also had gluten free bread rolls on the starter menu, which I will definitely try at some stage. This was a really tasty dinner and I highly recommend Cobar!
Excellent service. Not busy at all - suspect they would be in summer. They made me an entrée salad that was apparently new to the menu with a blue cheese cream that was seriously tasty. The vegetables were baby veg and were perhaps marinated in some sort of vinegar. Very strong and tasty making the small portion much more satisfying than I expected. The main I had was an adapted dish as their menu vegetarian main was not gluten free (perhaps it was a soufflé, which seems to be the trendy vegetarian main this winter). The dish had some really nice polenta cubes, and jerusalem artichoke which I love. It was also very tasty. Though I had wanted dessert, by the time I'd had an entrée and a main I was actually full! (I also had a sore back so was keen to get home.) They also had gluten free bread rolls on the starter menu, which I will definitely try at some stage. This was a really tasty dinner and I highly recommend Cobar!
Saturday, August 8, 2009
One80 Lounge Bar Restaurant
One80 Lounge Bar Restaurant is associated with Copthorne Hotel on Oriental Parade.
Their menu is impressively both vegetarian and gluten-free friendly, leaving me two dishes to choose from which were both. (Actually, it's that the only two vegetarian options were gluten-free - these were available as either an entrée or a main.) Those who are gluten-free but not vegetarian had a much wider choice. There were no vegan options on the menu.
After debating whether I should order a main and dessert, or two entrées and dessert, my sister and I decided to order one main each, and go half and half. She ordered Stilton Stuffed Mushrooms (after recently discovering her love for blue cheese), and I ordered Arancini with Buffalo Mozzarella.
Arancini are essentially crumbed risotto balls. These were served on a plate of a red pepper sauce that was, quite simple, yummy! Each vegetarian dish had three 'pieces' so we swapped plates twice during the meal. The stilton stuffed mushroom was also tasty, for those who like the strength of the cheese at least, but I was pleased to start and finish with the arancini - it seemed a more filling meal.
The size of the mains was such that we were happy without having had an entrée - though we'd started with an olive and almond platter. Neil and my mum both had the fish of the day, I think with fennel and a leek purée. Most of us just had space for dessert.
The dessert I had was butterscotch crème brulée. Truly my favourite fancy dessert! This was served with chocolate-dipped gingerbread which I palmed off to mum for a work snack the next day. The crème brulée itself, I have to admit, was not the best I've had. It was very thick, and a bit heavy for my liking. This could well be a result of using actual double cream, which is difficult to find in NZ (if even possible!) Or it could have been a result of the butterscotch perhaps being too buttery. Apart from the sugar on top, it wasn't particularly sweet, either. It was probably nice, but not quite they way I would have liked it!
Neil and mum were twins again and ordered cherry chocolate crumble. This looked pretty good, but both of them said they probably wouldn't bother with it again. The crumble topping did actually look a bit breakfast cereal-y, and I guess the inside just wasn't quite right?
The service throughout the meal was good, the people were friendly. They apologised for the wait for food, but we hadn't even noticed. (Perhaps they were used to hotel patrons who want to eat quickly before going out - whereas we were having a dinner event so were happy to take our time, chat, and look at the old family photos my grandmother sent with a birthday card!)
The cost was fairly high, but not unreasonable considering a main dish was enough for a meal, rather than tiny serves where you need the whole three courses to have enough. The atmosphere was good, as was the shiny view of the city from the 7th floor location.
Given that their menu could accommodate me without adjustment, and I was impressed with the arancini, I'd definitely go there again. We'd just go without desserts!
Their menu is impressively both vegetarian and gluten-free friendly, leaving me two dishes to choose from which were both. (Actually, it's that the only two vegetarian options were gluten-free - these were available as either an entrée or a main.) Those who are gluten-free but not vegetarian had a much wider choice. There were no vegan options on the menu.
After debating whether I should order a main and dessert, or two entrées and dessert, my sister and I decided to order one main each, and go half and half. She ordered Stilton Stuffed Mushrooms (after recently discovering her love for blue cheese), and I ordered Arancini with Buffalo Mozzarella.
Arancini are essentially crumbed risotto balls. These were served on a plate of a red pepper sauce that was, quite simple, yummy! Each vegetarian dish had three 'pieces' so we swapped plates twice during the meal. The stilton stuffed mushroom was also tasty, for those who like the strength of the cheese at least, but I was pleased to start and finish with the arancini - it seemed a more filling meal.
The size of the mains was such that we were happy without having had an entrée - though we'd started with an olive and almond platter. Neil and my mum both had the fish of the day, I think with fennel and a leek purée. Most of us just had space for dessert.
The dessert I had was butterscotch crème brulée. Truly my favourite fancy dessert! This was served with chocolate-dipped gingerbread which I palmed off to mum for a work snack the next day. The crème brulée itself, I have to admit, was not the best I've had. It was very thick, and a bit heavy for my liking. This could well be a result of using actual double cream, which is difficult to find in NZ (if even possible!) Or it could have been a result of the butterscotch perhaps being too buttery. Apart from the sugar on top, it wasn't particularly sweet, either. It was probably nice, but not quite they way I would have liked it!
Neil and mum were twins again and ordered cherry chocolate crumble. This looked pretty good, but both of them said they probably wouldn't bother with it again. The crumble topping did actually look a bit breakfast cereal-y, and I guess the inside just wasn't quite right?
The service throughout the meal was good, the people were friendly. They apologised for the wait for food, but we hadn't even noticed. (Perhaps they were used to hotel patrons who want to eat quickly before going out - whereas we were having a dinner event so were happy to take our time, chat, and look at the old family photos my grandmother sent with a birthday card!)
The cost was fairly high, but not unreasonable considering a main dish was enough for a meal, rather than tiny serves where you need the whole three courses to have enough. The atmosphere was good, as was the shiny view of the city from the 7th floor location.
Given that their menu could accommodate me without adjustment, and I was impressed with the arancini, I'd definitely go there again. We'd just go without desserts!
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Restaurant Frustrations
In a fit of dread, I got my sister to call around restaurants to book for my birthday dinner tonight. I couldn't face the constant 'vegetarian AND gluten free?? nothing', or 'we have a green salad' that I inevitably get. Luckily because it's my birthday I got to delegate the booking responsibility, yet I still found the process stressful. Marika reported the results back to me as the following:
No. 1 Upland Rd - No.
Plate - No. (Though maybe a salad.)
Herd St. - Answer machine.
La Belle Histoire - Nothing on menu, but kitchen staff suggested chef should be able to do something. (Chef wasn't in yet.)
I finally got her to call one of the few places in the Entertainment Book who had some items marked as either (v) or (gf), so I thought they may be able to do something that was both!:
One80 (Copthorne Hotel) - Yes! Summary of options was: Starters - olive thing. Entrée/Main - stuffed mushroom or risotto ball. Dessert - crème brulée. So we've booked. This was the priciest of our options (and the one review I've read said excellent service, average food), but hopefully everything will work out okay!
No. 1 Upland Rd - No.
Plate - No. (Though maybe a salad.)
Herd St. - Answer machine.
La Belle Histoire - Nothing on menu, but kitchen staff suggested chef should be able to do something. (Chef wasn't in yet.)
I finally got her to call one of the few places in the Entertainment Book who had some items marked as either (v) or (gf), so I thought they may be able to do something that was both!:
One80 (Copthorne Hotel) - Yes! Summary of options was: Starters - olive thing. Entrée/Main - stuffed mushroom or risotto ball. Dessert - crème brulée. So we've booked. This was the priciest of our options (and the one review I've read said excellent service, average food), but hopefully everything will work out okay!
Friday, May 22, 2009
North Island travel gluten free
A couple of months ago, I travelled from Wellington up to Rotorua and back, keeping track of how easy or difficult it was for me to eat gluten free and vegetarian at the places we stopped - Taupo on the way up, and Napier on the way back. Here are some notes I took along the way.
Taupo
Brew Café
Marama Arcade (off Heuheu St.)
They had gluten free options for sandwiches and melts, and offered gluten free toast for the breakfast options.
I had: Scrambled eggs, tomato, and mushroom on gluten free toast.
Evaluation: The toast was good, but there was too much egg and not enough mushroom.
Note: Business was for sale March 2009.
Rotorua
Triple 1 Five
Tutanekai St.
The menu contained a number of gluten free options, including vegetarian ones, and included a note that they would assist where possible regarding any other allergies.
I had:
“Funky roll” (Rice paper rolls filled with baked mushroom and thyme, served on roasted kumara and bok choy)
Vegetable Stack
Lemon and passionfruit crème brulée
Evaluation: The entrée was exceptional. The main was fairly standard (in comparison to the entrée). The dessert again was exceptional - and I was unsure about anything but vanilla crème brulée!
Crème Brulée
Note: I was very surprised at how good the meal was for me - I usually wouldn't even consider looking at the menu of a stone grill restaurant. I must remember to be open to opportunities to be impressed!
Lovely India
Tutanekai St.
The waitress had to check to make sure the malai kofta was gluten free (it was - but she thought it may have been battered). She also advised me that the poppadom was not gluten free - and even though I asked if she was sure, she didn't check. I thought poppadoms were pretty much always just made from chickpea flour (wikipedia also mentions lentil, black gram, and rice flour). Oh well, I went without, though I doubted I needed to (cross-contamination isn't a serious concern for me).
I had: malai kofta and a mango lassi.
Evaluation: Yum!!
Solace
Tutanekai St.
The menu contained three vegetarian options - two were pasta. When I asked at the door about gluten free options, she lady told me confidently that all the items were gluten free. I challenged her about the pasta (figuring if it were gluten free pasta it would probably say so on the menu). She checked with the kitchen and lo and behold - regular wheat pasta. Regardless of this we sat down and I went about trying to determine if my other option - cheese steak on cajun rice with vegetables - was gluten free. I was most concerned about the BBQ sauce, but she said they made it themselves and used cornflour as the thickener. I asked her to check anyway, and she came back out with a bottle of Watties BBQ sauce and said actually they use that. I read the ingredients, noted the caramel colour, and said no thanks, just in case. While waiting for the meals we used the iPhone to check the manufactured food database, and saw that the sauce was listed as gluten free. When I found the waitress and told her I could have the sauce, she said “yeah, because caramel is just sugar!”, as if the artificial caramel colour were made of real caramel...
I had: Cheese steak on cajun rice with vegetables.
Evaluation: .... it was fantastic! Pity the service was so shockingly awful. Apart from waitresses who didn't even know the basics of what was in their food in general (pasta contains wheat, they use pre-made sauce...), let alone when it came to common allergens, yet spoke confidently as if she knew it was gluten free, we also witnessed many instances of the waiting staff being generally incompetent. Additionally, pouncing on people casually browsing the menu... it probably explained why the place was so empty. The food on the other hand, was amazing... well, my dish at least. Though - I realised afterwards with all the focus on the sauce, I guess I forgot to get 100% confirmation on every ingredient in the cajun rice. I didn't have any ill effects, but I would recommend checking on every single detail - I had absolutely no trust in that waitress.
Napier
Café Ahuriri
Ahuriri
They have a separate gluten free version of their menu (essentially the same as their regular menu but gluten free), which has a strong focus on breakfast. Also offered counter food. They had a sign up indicating that they specialise in accommodating people with special dietary requirements. The menu was very egg based and had very little that was vegetarian. Out of luck if you're vegan, though I assume they could have made something. They did have a brand of soy milk that was gluten free, as well as rice milk, and were happy to make all sorts of substitutions in my order.
Update: I took pictures of the menu with my cellphone!
Update: The Sign
I had: Eggs on hasbrowns, with baked beans, and mushrooms (as a replacement for bacon). Banana and soy milk smoothie (ice, soy milk, banana, and honey - without the special 'smoothie mix' which contained milk - and despite the server's concerns that the ice would curdle the soy milk).
Update: I had pictures of the meal on my cellphone!
Evaluation: Oh boy, this was a greasy sort of meal, definitely not a healthy sort of menu. On the plus side, the proportion of the eggs to beans to mushrooms was good. As a side note, though, I was suspicious of the baked beans. They looked a lot like I remember Watties baked beans (which use wheat flour - except for the lite ones). However - they had gluten free soy milk, I'm sure they checked the baked beans... ... ...
Taupo
Brew Café
Marama Arcade (off Heuheu St.)
They had gluten free options for sandwiches and melts, and offered gluten free toast for the breakfast options.
I had: Scrambled eggs, tomato, and mushroom on gluten free toast.
Evaluation: The toast was good, but there was too much egg and not enough mushroom.
Note: Business was for sale March 2009.
Rotorua
Triple 1 Five
Tutanekai St.
The menu contained a number of gluten free options, including vegetarian ones, and included a note that they would assist where possible regarding any other allergies.
I had:
“Funky roll” (Rice paper rolls filled with baked mushroom and thyme, served on roasted kumara and bok choy)
Vegetable Stack
Lemon and passionfruit crème brulée
Evaluation: The entrée was exceptional. The main was fairly standard (in comparison to the entrée). The dessert again was exceptional - and I was unsure about anything but vanilla crème brulée!
Crème Brulée
Note: I was very surprised at how good the meal was for me - I usually wouldn't even consider looking at the menu of a stone grill restaurant. I must remember to be open to opportunities to be impressed!
Lovely India
Tutanekai St.
The waitress had to check to make sure the malai kofta was gluten free (it was - but she thought it may have been battered). She also advised me that the poppadom was not gluten free - and even though I asked if she was sure, she didn't check. I thought poppadoms were pretty much always just made from chickpea flour (wikipedia also mentions lentil, black gram, and rice flour). Oh well, I went without, though I doubted I needed to (cross-contamination isn't a serious concern for me).
I had: malai kofta and a mango lassi.
Evaluation: Yum!!
Solace
Tutanekai St.
The menu contained three vegetarian options - two were pasta. When I asked at the door about gluten free options, she lady told me confidently that all the items were gluten free. I challenged her about the pasta (figuring if it were gluten free pasta it would probably say so on the menu). She checked with the kitchen and lo and behold - regular wheat pasta. Regardless of this we sat down and I went about trying to determine if my other option - cheese steak on cajun rice with vegetables - was gluten free. I was most concerned about the BBQ sauce, but she said they made it themselves and used cornflour as the thickener. I asked her to check anyway, and she came back out with a bottle of Watties BBQ sauce and said actually they use that. I read the ingredients, noted the caramel colour, and said no thanks, just in case. While waiting for the meals we used the iPhone to check the manufactured food database, and saw that the sauce was listed as gluten free. When I found the waitress and told her I could have the sauce, she said “yeah, because caramel is just sugar!”, as if the artificial caramel colour were made of real caramel...
I had: Cheese steak on cajun rice with vegetables.
Evaluation: .... it was fantastic! Pity the service was so shockingly awful. Apart from waitresses who didn't even know the basics of what was in their food in general (pasta contains wheat, they use pre-made sauce...), let alone when it came to common allergens, yet spoke confidently as if she knew it was gluten free, we also witnessed many instances of the waiting staff being generally incompetent. Additionally, pouncing on people casually browsing the menu... it probably explained why the place was so empty. The food on the other hand, was amazing... well, my dish at least. Though - I realised afterwards with all the focus on the sauce, I guess I forgot to get 100% confirmation on every ingredient in the cajun rice. I didn't have any ill effects, but I would recommend checking on every single detail - I had absolutely no trust in that waitress.
Napier
Café Ahuriri
Ahuriri
They have a separate gluten free version of their menu (essentially the same as their regular menu but gluten free), which has a strong focus on breakfast. Also offered counter food. They had a sign up indicating that they specialise in accommodating people with special dietary requirements. The menu was very egg based and had very little that was vegetarian. Out of luck if you're vegan, though I assume they could have made something. They did have a brand of soy milk that was gluten free, as well as rice milk, and were happy to make all sorts of substitutions in my order.
Update: I took pictures of the menu with my cellphone!
Update: The Sign
I had: Eggs on hasbrowns, with baked beans, and mushrooms (as a replacement for bacon). Banana and soy milk smoothie (ice, soy milk, banana, and honey - without the special 'smoothie mix' which contained milk - and despite the server's concerns that the ice would curdle the soy milk).
Update: I had pictures of the meal on my cellphone!
Evaluation: Oh boy, this was a greasy sort of meal, definitely not a healthy sort of menu. On the plus side, the proportion of the eggs to beans to mushrooms was good. As a side note, though, I was suspicious of the baked beans. They looked a lot like I remember Watties baked beans (which use wheat flour - except for the lite ones). However - they had gluten free soy milk, I'm sure they checked the baked beans... ... ...
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