A member of our support group recently told me that Pesto's, a local Italian restaurant, was starting to offer gluten free options. So last month before our support group meeting I stopped in to have a chat with the management to ask them more about it.
I spoke with a nice young man and he took the time to show me their menu. They are currently serving gluten free pizza, made on the French Meadow pizza crust. The benefit of this product is that it comes in its own tin, which helps to prevent cross contamination. They also will make any of their sandwiches on this crust as well. The big plus in all of this is currently there is NO upcharge for the gluten free crust.
They do not currently have gluten free pasta, but will serve any of their pasta sauces over rice for those who are celiac or gluten intolerant. They did recently test some gluten free ravioli that they may start carrying in the future.
They do also have gluten free desserts, although they are currently made in the same area as their regular desserts, so there is risk of cross-contamination. They do make sure to use dedicated utensils and pans, and if I remember correctly, they prepare the gluten free items at the beginning of the day before everything else. I did get a chance to talk to the manager about the GREAT kitchens program being offered through NFCA, and he was appreciative for the information and very interested.
They were nice enough to give me copies of their menu to hand out to each of our support group members. Many of our members were excited to learn about this new restaurant.
This Thanksgiving I would be serving over 35 people from our church and local homeless shelter. So on the night before Thanksgiving, my husband and I decided to try Pesto's for ourselves. I ordered the Wolverine sandwich, and my husband ordered the meatball sandwich. My sandwich consisted of ham, blackened chicken, mozzarella , Gorgonzola, red onions, a chipotle barbecue salsa, mixed greens, tomato, and a cucumber dill dressing. From the above picture you can see that it's REALLY huge. I told myself that I was mostly full after eating the first half, and I should save the other half for home. But it was so good, I just kept eating it. My sandwich came with homemade coleslaw and a pickle.
My husband really was excited, because his Calypso Meatball sandwich came with meatballs made with all sirloin beef and NO pork.It also had Monterrey jack & cheddar cheese, banana peppers, pesto, and that wonderful chipotle barbecue salsa. Yeah...I think he was in sandwich heaven. His ordered a side of french onion soup, topped with beautifully browned cheese. Again, my husband does not eat gluten free, and what he ordered was NOT gluten free, but I wanted to mention their attention to detail and their creativity.
Our waitress Lisa was also celiac, so it was nice to know that I had someone who really understood my dietary restrictions. I highly suggest asking for her personally when you stop in.
In return for me getting the word out about their restaurant to my support group, they were nice enough to give me a free piece of their pumpkin cheesecake to take home. (Originally $6.49 a slice!) The boss made it in their own home, to prevent cross-contamination. The crust was crumb-like and was made on an almond meal crust. I chose to eat it on Thanksgiving night, after a day on my feet cooking for everyone. I meant to take a picture, but my stomach spoke faster than I could get my camera. It was really good!
All in all it was a great meal, and we will definitely go back again!