A few weekends ago, my husband and I headed out to a super fun dinner with friends in Hollywood. While the company was top-notch, our dinner was a little shaken up by an insanely loud fire alarm that went on for at least 10 minutes, during which time the four of us were out on the fire escape/stairwell because the noise was too painful to endure back at our table. Sure our food got cold, and no discount was offered for our trouble, but I did get one tip that (almost) makes up for it: Stout Burgers & Beers.
Our waiter—who was lovely, other than that whole, what discount? thing—has a wife with a gluten problem, so when I told him about my special needs, he knew exactly what I was talking about. He also recommended Stout for the gluten-free me and this was very exciting for my burger and beer loving family. Even with that thumbs up, I was still so pleasantly surprised by our dining experience when we went to a place that specializes in mad amounts of gluten. First, I saw this on the menu-
Yep. They’ve got your gluten-free beer. And your gluten-free cider, and your gluten-free wine. They also have an incredibly knowledgeable staff (I know it wasn’t a fluke, because we spoke to more than one employee) who have a firm handle on what a celiac can, and cannot have. Sweet potato fries have rice flour and corn starch, and are perfect-o alongside a lemon aioli and chipotle ketchup dip. Regular fries are okay too, but skip the beer battered onion rings.
And as you can see in my freaking delicious gluten-free Goombah burger above (that’s not bacon, that’s crispy prosciutto, yep), they put their mouth-watering burgers on top of a bed of arugula for those of us who have to skip the bun. Nice. Very nice.
Also, not one single fire alarm went off during dinner, although a zillion fire trucks did drive by in the middle of a very important conversation on the topic of whether or not I could finish an entire bottle of Julian’s cider (hint: I COULD). LA is burning, people. But at least it’s gluten-free.
Do you worry about cross-contamination with the fryer? I always stay away from anything from the fryer because even if what I’m eating is OK- I’m nervous what was in there before.
Interesting question, Jen. In about 50% of the places I go I ask about this situation. Many times once I bring up gluten, someone will tell me the fries are in a gluten-y basket. I do not think I asked at Stout. I was clearly playing fast and loose with my intestines. But if I ask, or someone tells me, that gluten has been in my fryer, I skip the fries.
Yesssss. I want that right now. Definitely going there soon. 🙂