Orgran's Garlic & Parsley Rice Pasta

Brand: Orgran

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Product Name: Garlic & Parsley Rice Pasta

Location Purchased: Whole Foods

Cost: $3.99

Total From A to Z: 4 Stars

A's Review: * * * *
More aesthetically pleasing than anything else, these shells made a good impression when plated. They were pretty close to regular pasta in terms of texture and flavor as well.

Z's Review: * * * *
I quite enjoyed these medium-sized pasta shells. The texture was pretty close to regular pasta and they had a really good consistency. They didn't get mushy and they didn't fall apart. I have to admit that I didn't really taste the garlic or parsley in them, but it did make them attractively speckled with green. I would certainly use this pasta again.

Ancient Harvest's Linguine

Brand: Ancient Harvest

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Product Name: Linguine

Location Purchased: Sunflower Farmer's Market

Cost: $2.59

Total From A to Z: 5 Stars

A's Review: * * * * *

The only difference between this and other Ancient Harvest quinoa pasta is the shape. The flavor and texture are still better than wheat pasta (for me anyway).

Z's Review: * * * * *
I am in love with this quinoa pasta. It is honestly some of the best pasta I have ever had - gluten or no gluten. It's extremely flavorful and the texture is always great. I have to admit that the linguine did break a bit after it was cooked, so they weren't always super-long strands. But it tasted great!

Mrs. Leeper's Cheeseburger Mac

Brand: Mrs. Leeper's

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Product Name: Cheeseburger Mac

Location Purchased: Whole Foods

Cost: $3.99


Total From A to Z: 5 Stars

A's Review: * * * * *
We made this with ground buffalo meat instead of beef, but that was the only change. The noodles were the perfect texture and the sauce was excellent.

Z's Review: * * * * *
This smelled amazing while it was cooking - it made my mouth water. And it was pretty simple to make, too. We used ground buffalo (instead of beef) because it is healthier for you. The meal turned out being more of a chili consistency (meat that happened to have some noodles in it instead of noodles with a little meat in it) but it made for a really enjoyable and tasty dinner. I think we'll be having this again for dinner sometime soon!

Amy's Kids Meals Baked Ziti

Brand: Amy's

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Product Name: Kids Meals Baked Ziti

Location/Cost Info: Amy's website





Total From A to Z: 3.5 Stars

A's Review: * * * *
This dish left me feeling tricked. Usually I can spot non-dairy cheese a mile away, but I didn't even notice until I was reading the box long after I finished eating. There was also some GF focaccia that was very good as well. My only complaint? Not enough of this.

Z's Review: * * *
This is a full-on TV dinner: pasta, broccoli, focaccia (a little piece of Italian seasoned gluten-free bread), and a little apple dessert. It is marketed towards kids and even comes with a temporary tattoo. The pasta itself is a little bit mushy without that much taste. The broccoli has a little bit of pasta sauce on it, which would probably make it more appealing to kids. The focaccia was actually pretty satisfying. And the apple-cinnamon dessert was actually pretty satisfying too. Not sure I would buy this one again, but it was certainly interesting.

RESTAURANT: Global Cafe

A&Z

at
Global
Cafe

Restaurant: Global Cafe

Location:
Buena Vista - 222 Hwy 24 South - (719) 395 - 8092
Full-scre
Gluten-Free Options: Gluten-free options are marked on the regular menu and include bread for sandwhiches, pasta on the dinner menu, and cookies!

Total From A to Z: 5 Stars

A's Review: * * * * *

What a find. We stumbled upon this place about a year ago when it had only been open for a week. At the time, Z was not yet GF and so the full handwritten whiteboard menu was open to her. Last month, we were passing through Buena Vista again and needing lunch, we stopped at Global Cafe. It has grown into a full service oasis with a much larger menu including an extensive wine list and they tell you where they get the ingredients for the food (most are local to Colorado). They have also added a full GF menu section, with GF panini for sandwiches. Z was ecstatic. We were very pleased to see it grown and doing well. Most certainly worth stopping here anytime you are in Buena Vista.

Z's Review: * * * * *
We usually review restaurants in the Boulder/Denver area, so Global Cafe is a little bit outside our usual range. We happened to stop at Global Cafe on our drive back from Great Sand Dunes National Park, where we had spent the weekend camping. I figured I would be at least able to get a nice salad for lunch. But I was super surprised to discover that Global Cafe works hard to cater to its gluten-free guests!! They had gluten-free bread for sandwiches, gluten-free cookies, and they even offer gluten-free pasta on their dinner menu! I can't tell you how excited I was to order a panini for lunch. And it was seriously delicious, as was the peanut butter cookie I enjoyed for dessert. Global Cafe also has a really nice atmosphere. It is located in an old gas station, which gives it a sort of recycled charm. It also has an adorable thrift store next door. And well-behaved pets are welcome on their patio, so we had a lovely lunch on the patio (complete with a glass of wine) with our puppy getting to take a break from being in the car too. If you are ever in Buena Vista I highly recommend Global Cafe.

Annie's Rice Pasta & Cheddar

Brand: Annie's

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Product Name: Rice Pasta & Cheddar

Location/Cost Info: Annie's website




Total From A to Z: 3 Stars

A's Review: * * *

This is very much like the non-GF version: very drab. It needs...spice...flavor...something. The texture of the noodles is fine; it just doesn't taste like much. I've thrown in hot dogs and Mongolian fire oil (separately, but they might work together) and that made the dish much more flavorful.

Z's Review: * * *
Here's all I have to say about this: meh. Not bad, but not particularly good either. Pretty bland, even for macaroni and cheese. Kids would probably like it, though.

Ancient Harvest's Veggie Curls Pasta

Brand: Ancient Harvest

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Product Name: Veggie Curls Pasta

Location/Cost Info: Ancient Harvest's website



Total From A to Z: 5 Stars

A's Review: * * * * *
This pasta rocked my world. I never knew that pasta could be so flavorful. This puts wheat flour pasta to shame. Quinoa is my new favorite grain and definitely my new favorite pasta. Plus Z's improvised saucea were excellent too.

Z's Review: * * * * *
Right on the box it says "You'll never go back to plain noodles again!" and I think they might be right! This pasta was delicious. It had, by far, the best consistency of any gluten-free pasta I have tried up to this point (except maybe the fresh fettuccine served at Laudisio). This pasta is made of organic quinoa combined with natural, non-GMO corn flour. It turns the water yellow when you cook it, but that is normal. You end up with fun, multi-colored pasta squiggles that kids would probably love and that taste great and are very nutritious! Somehow both time I've served this pasta I didn't have any ordinary pasta sauce in the house - so I had to improvise! The first time I served this pasta with zuchinni and yellow grape tomatos in a spicy cream sauce (that I threw together with half-and-half leftover from the quiche, a little bit of cornstarch, and some red pepper flakes.) The second time I used buffalo, crushed tomatos, and some leftover bruschetta for a sauce. Even without regular sauce this pasta was great! We will be eating this pasta again for sure!

RESTAURANT: Noodles & Company

A&Z

at
Noodles
&
Co.

Restaurant: Noodles & Company

Locations:
National Chain

Location We Visited:
South Boulder - 2850 Baseline - (303) 247 - 9978
Full-scre
Gluten-Free Options: The Pad Thai (without chicken), beef (braised and sauteed), shrimp, and cucumber tomato salad. Apparently it may be possible to get them to substitute rice noodles in other dishes, but we're not positive about that.

Total From A to Z: 2.5 Stars

A's Review: * * *

I was surprised when I heard that Noodles & Company had GF noodle dishes. The staff said there was only one dish they could guarantee, the Pad Thai, but it looks like you can substitute rice noodles in just about every dish. Z ordered chicken, which apparently is not GF, but this wasn't mentioned by the staff. We were lucky since Z can handle the occasional dose of gluten, but this would be unacceptable if someone were really sensitive. I would say check with the staff to make sure, but evidently this isn't even a certainty. The best bet is probably to explicitly ask about every single item in your dish and if they don't know or don't make you feel confidently, don't eat it.

Z's Review: * *
We have heard from a couple of different places (like Gluten Free Steve and Celiac.com) that Noodles & Company might actually be quite accommodating to gluten-free guests (though other sources disagree, like Gluten Free in SD). To me, a chance to get quick, reliable, gluten-free noodles was worth a shot. However, our experience at the South Boulder Noodles & Company didn't turn out so well. At first they told us that most of the dishes could be made with rice noodles, which sounded great. Then they changed their minds and said that only the pad thai would be ok. So I ordered the pad thai with chicken breast. Now, to be fair, I don't remember if I specifically asked about the chicken breast. However, the staff was well aware that I was looking for a gluten-free option. When I went to write this post I did some research and discovered that the chicken breast at Noodles & Company is apparently not gluten-free. Luckily, I'm not celiac, so it didn't make me sick. While part of the blame might be on me for not checking more carefully, I thought it was handled pretty poorly by Noodles too, since they were aware that I was gluten-free.

UPDATE: The official stance on gluten-free dining at Noodles & Company can be found on their website, which says:

Currently, the only menu items that do not knowingly contain wheat/gluten are the Pad Thai, beef (braised and sautéed), shrimp and cucumber tomato salad. The noodles, sauces and preparation methods all contribute to the gluten content of our food and substituting rice noodles will not make a dish gluten-free.

We’ll try hard to accommodate your needs, but please consider that we do have wheat in our restaurant and we can’t guarantee no cross contact. We urge you to inform a manager of your needs every time you dine with us.

The lesson I learned? If you are really sensitive/concerned about gluten, you may need to do the research yourself before visiting a restaurant because unfortunately it seems you can't always depend on the staff to inform you properly. Either that or ask for a manager!

RESTAURANT: Laudisio Italian Restaurant

A&Z

at
Laudisio

Restaurant: Laudisio Italian Restaurant

Location:
Boulder - 1710 29th Street - (303) 442 - 1300
Full-scre
Gluten-Free Options: Laudisio offers a gluten-free lunch menu and a gluten-free dinner menu that includes gluten-free pasta and even gluten-free breadsticks! They also carry New Grist if you're in the mood for gluten-free beer!

Total From A to Z: 5 Stars

A's Review: * * * * *

We started off with with an appetizer of seared thin-sliced buffalo with a horseradish cream sauce and all of the GF bread sticks we could eat. The manager came out and told us all about Laudisio's GF menu and procedures they follow in the kitchen. I asked if they could do some kind of chicken parm dish with GF breading and he told me he would look into that since they were trying to find something to with the leftover GF bread crumbs (I am keeping my fingers crossed because chicken parm is one of my favorites!) But what the manager was most exited about was this new GF fettucini they were using: fresh and apparently quite impressive. It definitely lived up to the expectations. GF pasta done right! It was tender and the texture was right on. As far as I am concerned, they could replace all of their pasta with this GF pasta and few people would ever notice. When you add in the fact that Laudisio created their entire GF menu based on requests from their customers, you end up with something magical.

Z's Review: * * * * *
We had an amazing gluten-free dinner at Laudisio. We started with gluten-free breadsticks, which we dipped in olive oil and balsamic vinegar. The breadsticks were on the crunchy side, but with the rock salt sprinkled on them they were pretty tasty. For an appetizer we ordered the buffalo carpaccio, which was thinly sliced seared buffalo with arugula and horseradish cream sauce. The salty buffalo with the bitter arugula was heavenly! For dinner I ordered the pasta, prawns, and rock shrimp, which came with fresh rice fettuccine and artichoke hearts and olives. It was the first time I have been able to order pasta at a restaurant since I became gluten-free and I really enjoyed it. The pasta itself was a great consistency and didn't seem to suffer from any of the downfalls of other gluten-free pastas I have tried. I was also delighted that the gluten-free menu turned out to be so generous that A and our two friends (none of whom are gluten-free) happened to choose gluten-free dishes as well! So I also got to taste A's dish, the seared sea scallops with risotto, and the chicken scarpariello - all of which were delicious. My only complaint about Laudisio is that it is too pricey for us to afford to eat there very often!

Tinkyada's Brown Rice Pasta Spirals

Brand: Tinkyada

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Product Name: Brown Rice Pasta Spirals

Location Purchased: King Sooper's

Cost: $3.59

Total From A to Z: 3.5 Stars

A's Review: * * * *

This is my favorite GF pasta so far. They come out of the pot with a proper texture, not mushy or overly sticky like other GF pastas. The flavor is different than wheat based pasta, but it is still good and with butter or some good sauce, you quickly forget that there is anything unusual. I think this would make good pasta salad also.

Z's Review: * * *
This pasta does taste a little bit different than regular pasta when you are eating it with tomato sauce. I guess people aren't really used to the rice flavor paired with "Italian" flavors. It is also a slightly different consistency than regular pasta. It's a little bit softer than I expected, sort of like regular pasta that has been overcooked. But if you are looking for a pasta substitute for a meal, this one does the job. We had it with our meatballs!

Glutino's Gluten Free Macaroni & Cheese

Brand: Glutino
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Product Name: Gluten Free Macaroni & Cheese

Location Purchased: King Sooper's

Cost: $4.39 for one frozen meal

Total From A to Z: 1 Star

A's Review: *
Um...ew. This dish did not look, smell, or taste remotely appetizing. I can't really think of anything else if it can't manage any of those three basic qualities of food. The picture on the box looked really nice, which added to the negative impression of the real thing.

Z's Review: *
Ladies and gentlemen, I am sad to say that I have discovered my very first One Star gluten-free product. This macaroni and cheese was, unfortunately, just really gross. When I followed the directions on the package, I got a soupy mess of pasta and cheese water. I managed to thicken the cheese slightly by nuking it for an extra two minutes, but it was still pretty disgusting. I smelled mine and even took a small taste, and then the rest went right down the garbage disposal. And it wasn't a fluke because A had a similar experience with his. The glorious looking mac & cheese on the package is certainly not what is to be found inside!

Glutino's Chicken Pad Thai

Brand: Glutino
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Product Name: Chicken Pad Thai

Location Purchased: King Sooper's

Cost: $5.19 for 7.1 oz frozen meal



Total From A to Z: 4.5 Stars

A's Review: * * * * *
My only complaint about this dish was that my serving was gone before I realized anything had happened. There also could have been more chicken, but the flavors were excellent. I was shocked that this came from a freezer by way of a microwave to my plate. The noodles were just the right amount of chewy. I could eat this frequently and not get tired of it.

Z's Review: * * * *
Like Glutino's Chicken Ranchero with Brown Rice, this pad thai is not the most visually appealing meal I've ever had. It comes out of the microwave looking sort of brown and mushy. Interestingly, it's also 2.1 oz smaller than the Chicken Ranchero, even though it cost the same amount. The box says: "Traditional Thai brand dish prepared with tender strips of chicken breast meat, rice noodles, and a variety of vegetables in a mild lime infused sauce," but as for vegetable variety I saw only carrot bits. But, what it lacks in visual appearance and quantitiy I think it makes up for in taste. The chicken strips are a generous size and the noodles are pleasantly chewy. I don't know how traditional the sauce really is, but I thought it tasted good, though perhaps a little thick. All in all I thought it was a good, quick, gluten-free meal.

Amy's Rice Mac & Cheese

Brand: Amy's
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Product Name: Rice Mac & Cheese

Location Purchased: King Soopers

Cost: $2.99 for 9 oz frozen mac & cheese


Total From A to Z: 5 Stars

A's Review: * * * * *
The highest achievement for any gluten-free food is for it to be indistinguishable from its gluten-y equivalent. This mac and cheese is about as close to that as I've had since we started this adventure. You can hand this to anyone and they won't know anything is different about it unless they are a foodie or if they really, really love mac and cheese. So very tasty.

Z's Review: * * * * *
I love love love this mac & cheese. I've become totally obsessed with eating it for lunch on cold winter days because it's so warm and tasty and homey. And it isn't mushy like some of the other gluten-free pastas I have tried. And the cheese sauce is delicious! My only complaint is that the directions on the package for heating seem to be a little bit of overkill, at least in my microwave. The directions say to nuke for 4 minutes, stir, and then nuke for 2 or 3 more, but I think about another minute does the trick. And I should know because I've eaten a metric ton of this stuff since I became gluten-free!