A Kitchen Philly Gluten-free review

The chefs at the A Kitchen, two of whom are gluten-free, whipped up this nice plate of sauteed veggies for me for a work lunch last week. I had called a couple of days before after perusing the menu and not seeing anything that particularly screamed gluten-free and vegetarian. The woman on the phone gave me the "Oh yeah, there's plenty on the menu that you can eat." It wasn't true and I knew it, since I was looking at their menu online. But it was a work lunch and I had to go and I figured I'd just make them work that much harder when I arrived. Or I'd get a salad.

So I told the server when we arrived that I needed a gluten-free vegetarian dining experience. She was the one who told me that two of the chefs were gluten-free and she asked me enough questions about my needs to make me feel reassured that they knew what they were talking about and how to prepare the food. A Kitchen has an open design, so if I'd wanted to go watch the food being prepared, I could have. In the end I got a plate of sauteed veggies that they had on hand for their menu items -- carrots, mushrooms, ramps, yellow beets, broccoli rabe, and maybe some asparagus -- with a side salad. For the table we got two orders of fried potatoes, one of which we asked they make gluten-free. In all the food was fresh and delicious though not earth-shattering. My colleagues reported that the gluten and non-gluten spuds were similar in flavor, though those dusted in flour were apparently a little crunchier. Despite not being an "OMG that was the best!" sort of experience, it is so nice to have a reassuring dining experience from the server to the chef, whom I thanked for a nice gluten-free experience on my way out. I liked his answer: "My pleasure! I'm gluten-free too!" Or maybe he said, "No problem! I've got celiac too!" I can't quite recall. Whatever he said, it was just the right thing.

[Just two days left to get So What CAN You Eat? A Gluten-Free Paleo Vegan (mostly) Recipes for Health and Weight Loss. Visit the home page and sign up for the mailing list to get it and other updates, offerings, tips and more! (I never sell or share my mailing list.)]

---