A Gluten Free One-Two Punch: Lasagne and Macarons!

Gluten Free Lasagne from Cibo e Beve restaurant in North Atlanta area.  Bolognese, ricotta.  Pretty good.  I'd order it again.

The frozen mini-macarons I buy at Trader Joe's.  Chocolate & vanilla, so yum!

Macaron Queen at kiosk in Lenox Square Mall in Buckhead area of Atlanta.  Excellent and made with almond flour!  

Once a month, my Marine gets home early (6PM).  And, like tonight, he promptly fell asleep as soon as he sat down to pet the cat.   I "accidentally" woke him up 15 minutes later and we went out to dinner at a place I've been wanting to try.  I found it on the "Find Me Gluten Free" app.  I review LOTS of restaurants on this app, which is the reason I rarely do restaurant reviews on my blog anymore.

Anyway, we did not have a reservation but were easily seated outside on the patio near the parking lot. Buckhead is full of parking lots and garages, so not so shocking.  Anyway, the service was friendly and knowledgeable.  There was no gluten free menu, but the server and hostess (as well as the app) recommended the lasagne, and so my arm was twisted.  I had an aperitif of Moscow Mule (Oprah's favorite drink) made with ginger beer and vodka, obviously of the gluten free varieties, and served in a chilled copper mug.  The drink had a slush inside and was not full very full for $10, in my opinion, but it was good.  The best one I ever had was in a posh sports bar in Chicago, but alas, Oprah probably goes there.

Moscow Mule in chilled copper mug just like Oprah makes.

The lasagne was tasty.  The sauce was very tomato-y and I could taste a meaty, bolognese flavor.  The cheese noodles, however, were the texture of tofu.  All in all, it was good and I'll go back again.  I forgot to bring along a piece of bread (Against the Grain baguette, anyone?), but next time I shall.

Afterwards, I wanted to hop over to Lenox Square Mall to test out the real French Macarons at Macaron Queen (a chain?) in a kiosk there.  It seemed a bit disorganized, with an abundance of flavors randomly mixed in bags of 3, 5, and 8.  I bought a bag of 8 but had no idea which 8 flavors would be in there.  After taking a bite of each one (classy, I know), there was a red one with a white and red cherry filling, a mango or fruity something that had a swirl of red on the orange color, a brown sugar or burnt caramel flavor, a white super-sweet one, a pink, and a yellow lemony one and...
My 3 faves were:  a green one (pistachio?) with lemon filling, a red one with white filling (red velvet?), and a beige one (caramel?) with crystal sugar sprinkles on top.

The most exquisite French Macaron I've ever had...it was at Epcot's French Cafe in  Disney.

Did you know real French macarons are made with almond flour (not wheat flour) so they are naturally gluten free as long as nobody cross-contaminates them?  Same with real chocolate mousse, creme brulee, real hot water corn bread, etc.  Like many French confections, they are difficult to make.  I've tried.  The pastry chef on YouTube said it took her a few tries to get macarons right.  The trick is to get the "feet" on the bottom (it looks like dried foam) and have them be slightly puffy and crisp on the outside and soft on the inside with a small amount of cream in between, Oreo style.  The Macaron Queens passed the test.  However, my all-time favorite French Macaron is from Epcot at Disney.  Ahhh-mazing!  Exquisite!

Buckhead Pizza- Pretty Good Pizza!

Shrimp FLATBREAD at Buckhead Pizza Company in Georgia.  Pretty good, but similar to the pizza.  Thicker than most gf crusts.

BUCKHEAD PIZZA: gf pizza crust available on reg menu-multiple locations in Atlanta area-I like the gf pizza here.  The crust is not too thin and doesn't get too mushy.  They serve Redbridge gluten free beer.  It tends to take a long time and be busy and loud there.  One time I got a burned pizza that took almost an hour.  Some locations have entertainment at night.  They also have a gf flat bread that is from the same pizza dough.  

Yeah! Burger

Hot Dog on a gluten free bun with fries from a dedicated gluten free fryer at the eco-friendly Yeah! Burger.  

(Atlanta-Virginia Highlands & West End on Howell Mill)-gf menu-I recommend this place.  GF onion rings, fries, buns, hot dogs, etc.  I prefer the fries over the onion rings (I make my own onion rings with Orgran bread crumbs that are far superior).  The West End location grills the buns and has better service.  The buns fall apart, but who cares?  The hot dog is tasty.  Good food, diner atmosphere.  I also found a coupon when I checked in on my cell phone on Facebook and Foursquare.  They also have a frequent diner card.  They even had a copy of a gluten free magazine to peruse while I waited.  Casual, you order at the counter.  Indoor and outdoor seating.

Cheeseburger in Gluten Free Paradise

Bacon Cheeseburger on Gluten Free Bun at Cheeseburger in Paradise with freshly fried potato chips.

Potato Chips with nacho toppings, a gluten free appetizer I eat as a meal when I'm being naughty.

My boyfriend loves Cheeseburger in Paradise.  There is a sports bar here and it's right near Perimeter Mall in Atlanta.  I've had most everything on the gluten free menu: burgers on gf buns, bbq chicken sandwich, salads, fish, fish sandwich.  It's all tasty and filling.  It's very loud there.  The managers bring your food out when you are gluten free.  The gluten free bun is fine, it does fall apart.  I'm happy for any gf bun.  I had an odd experience at a location in Florida where the manager got confused about gluten free and fryers, but I never did get sick.

Little Azio's Gluten Free Pizza (and pasta)

 

Look what I found on the Find Me Gluten Free iPhone app: Little Azio's Pizza- an Atlanta chain! They have gf pizza crust and pasta. I had the gf pizza -$2 upcharge. It cost $11 and was the size of a large dinner plate.  The quality and freshness of the toppings is amazing! Yum! The crunchy, rolled edge of the crust is great and the texture of the crust is neither crumbly, nor gummy.  The flavor of the crust has room for improvement- needs olive oil n spices, but it is a great, uncrumbly vehicle for toppings! I visited the East Atlanta location in a trendy, little shopping block.  Inside Azio's is a casual, contemporary atmosphere. You order at the counter. There is a Cupcakery next door that told me they are in development stages of a gf cupcake. More suckers trying to reinvent the wheel!  I'd buy a Betty Crocker gf cupcake if they made those!

Eating at Farmburger in Decatur, GA. With a Pure Knead gluten free bun and pork belly