Gluten-free Chicago

May 9, 2018August 19, 2020 Red Rose & Honey3 Comments

It has been a LONG time since I posted here! Not sure when life got so busy, but it has totally derailed my blogging schedule. I am wrapping up an online course this week and looking forward to having some extra free time {anyone else work full-time and go to school? I feel ya!}. Last month, I surprised my cousin and maid of honor in Chicago to meet her new, sweet baby girl! This was my first trip to Chicago. It was a short weekend, but luckily I was able to find some good gluten-free eats!

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Summer House Santa Monica

We went to Summer House for breakfast on Saturday morning. It is such a cute restaurant! The decor is light, airy and as the name suggests, makes you feel like you stepped into the summer season. It’s a pretty big restaurant, but from what I could tell, it fills up quickly. You should definitely make a reservation beforehand. We made ours the night before and there were only a few openings left for 8:30am.

Summer House offers a separate gluten-free menu. I ordered the three egg breakfast without crispy hashbrowns and a cappuccino. I was very impressed when the waitress told me that the kitchen has a separate toaster for gluten-free bread. In the almost 6 years I have been gluten-free, this was the first time I have been to a restaurant that has a gluten-free toaster. I also loved that my toast had an “allergy stick.” This extra little step always makes me feel like the kitchen and servers are very aware of their customers. We all loved our breakfast and I bought a huge gluten-free chocolate chip cookie at the bakery counter on our way out.

City Winery Chicago Riverwalk

We spent Saturday afternoon on Michigan Avenue. When we made it over to the Chicago River, we stopped at City Winery to warm up and relax at bit. This wine bar is right on the river with indoor and outdoor seating. It was a pretty chilly day, but fortunately indoor/tented area was heated. This restaurant does not have exclusively gluten-free options. However, if you are gluten-sensitive, you could opt for the meat and cheese platter, skipping the bread. We shared a bottle of Caves São João Rosé Bruto {Sparkling Rosé} from Portugal. The bartender told us that City Winery is the only place outside of Portugal to serve this wine. I’m not a huge fan of rosé, but I thought this one was great. Gluten-free or not, I definitely think this restaurant is an awesome place to stop at if you’re in Chicago; especially if the weather is nice! I am looking forward to going back.

Homeslice

Saturday we stayed in and ordered pizza from my cousin’s go-to place – Homeslice! Gluten-free pizza is hit or miss, but I am always looking for the perfect GF crust. There are only a few places near my house in NY that actually have great GF pizza. Sometimes GF pizza can be soggy, so I usually play it safe and don’t order many toppings. I ordered the Jr. Cheese pizza from Homeslice. It was so good! The crust was thick and crisp. Not soggy at all. I would definitely recommend this place if you’re in the area. After enjoying our pizza, we rented The Greatest Showman {affiliate link} and stayed in for the night. I am not a huge fan of musical movies, but I really enjoyed this one!

The Vig

After walking around the Lincoln Park Zoo, we took a long walk over to The Vig for lunch before I headed home. To our surprise, Sunday at The Vig was quite the brunch party. If you’re looking for a quiet brunch spot, skip this place. If you’re looking for good 90s jams from a live DJ with a side of dance party, go here. Definitely a great location for birthdays, bachelor or bachelorette parties.

The Vig offers a decent amount of gluten-free options on their menu. I ordered the Chorizo Skillet and was not disappointed! This personal sized skillet came with potatoes, crumbled chorizo and a fried egg. I definitely want to try to re-create this dish in my own kitchen! It had tons of flavor and was just the right size. Our waitress was really friendly and provided us with food and drink recommendations too.

Classic Marinara Sauce for Two!

March 19, 2018August 19, 2020 Red Rose & Honey1 Comment

Hi blog friends! Thanks for stopping by again. Today, I want to share a quick and simple recipe that I think everyone should know how to make — Marinara Sauce! This sauce can be served with pasta, meatballs, on pizza, eggplant parm, chicken parm and so much more. I use this recipe as a base to all red sauces I make too. Like many of the dishes I make, this one starts with olive oil, garlic and onions. I really believe that if you always have these three ingredients, you can whip up a tasty meal with whatever else you have in your kitchen.

Tea Kettle / Stand Mixer / Spoon Rest (similar)/ Pot/ Mason Jar (similar)/ Backsplash

I first started making my own sauce my junior year of college. I could often be found making a pot of sauce and baked ziti before my 8am class. Although I didn’t do very much meal prep in college, I did find it easy to make a head some dinner here and there so I could heat them up quickly after late classes. A girls’ gotta eat, right?

One of my first blogs ever was about my homemade sauce {check it out here} and reading that blog now is kind of funny. In that post I mention that oregano was my least favorite dried seasoning, but now I would say that I love oregano and don’t care for parsley. Sometimes I even leave parsley out. I also find it really funny that I mentioned I was making Mike {who is now my husband} strawberry shortcakes with homemade whip cream. He was the pickiest eater in college! I totally forgot that there was a time he ‘hated’ strawberries until I re-read that blog. Boy have times changed!

Now that I’ve taken you on a trip down memory lane, let’s get back to my current recipe! Although I haven’t changed much since I first started making sauce there is one change that I think was for the better. I almost always add very finely chopped or grated carrots. Carrots really cut down on the acidity of red sauce. I am a bit prone to heartburn and acid reflux. I have found that when I add carrots to my sauce it is much less likely upset my stomach. If you’re in the same boat, I definitely suggest you give carrots a try!

Classic Marinara Sauce

Servings: 2-4
Time: 1 hour
Difficulty: easy
Print

Ingredients

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 small onion, finely diced
2-3 small garlic cloves, finely minced
2-3 tbsp carrot, finely grated
14.5oz can petite diced tomatoes, unsalted*
8oz can tomato sauce, unsalted*
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp salt (more to taste)
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp dried parsley
1/4 tsp black pepper
*Can substitute 1 28oz can of unsalted tomato sauce/puree

Directions

-Saute onions in olive oil over medium/low heat until they’re fragrant and translucent, about 5-7 minutes
-Add carrots and saute for another 5-7 minutes
-Add garlic and sautee for about 3 minutes
-Stir in diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste and seasonings
-Once sauce starts to bubble, bring down to a simmer for 30 minutes or up to two hours.

California Gluten-Free Guide: San Francisco

December 29, 2015May 25, 2021 Red Rose & HoneyLeave a comment

The last stop on our trip was beautiful San Francisco. We spent only two days in the chilly city, so we had to cram in as many sites as we could. Shortly after arriving in San Fran (and after spending a significant amount of time looking for parking) we went to Mariposa Baking Co. for gluten-free eats. Mariposa had so many gluten-free options that I rarely get to enjoy. I decided on the ham and cheese puff pastry. I am not kidding when I say it brought tears to my eyes. It was so delicious; buttery, flaky crust with a warm ham and cheese inside. Pure heaven I tell ya!

While in San Fran we visited Lombard Street, the San Fransisco Bridge, the Embarcadero Center and did plenty of walking through the city. We were really hoping to ride a trolley, but after waiting on line for almost an hour a trolley broke down just as our turn came up. Luckily, a nice person standing next to us told us that we were holding metro passes that could be used on all public transportation. After asking several people for directions we finally found a bus to take us to the bridge. I am so happy we got to walk across the San Fran Bridge, but we definitely could have used jackets. I definitely recommend packing layers for San Fran because the weather was much cooler than I was prepared for.

For dinner we stopped at Jamber Wine Pub which had a cool vibe and outdoor seating. Many of the menu options were gluten-free, although they were not marked on the menu. Our waitress was very helpful in pointing out which items I would be able to order. We shared spicy buffalo cauliflower as an appetizer. It was a bit too spicy for me, but I liked that it was not dipped buffalo sauce and was coated in a dry rub instead. For dinner I ordered a salad, which was on the small size, and Mike enjoyed a delicious burger.

This is the last of post of my California Gluten-Free Guide. I hope you have enjoyed my posts and picked up a few new restaurants to try.