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Dave September 19, 2011

Tula Gluten Free Bakery – New Kid in Town

Gluten Free Berry Scone at Tula

Our friends started raving recently about a new gluten-free bakery that opened up on NE Alberta. We just went there for the first time two weekends ago, and went back for some pizza the night that they had their opening celebration. Tula Gluten Free Baking Co. is located at the corner of NE Martin Luther King Jr. and NE Alberta. Besides being a bakery, they also have lunch and breakfast items, pizza, and espresso drinks. The bakery itself is good-sized, featuring a nice area to sit and eat gluten-free baked goods.

Goodies behind the glass

Tula has a number of treats available. As mentioned above, they have pizza. Behind the counter they usually have a couple different kinds of scone, a few different tart-sized quiches, cookies, cupcakes, breads, and hand pies. You can also pick up some par-baked focaccia bread and/or delicious olive bread. Because baked goods are a particularly sore spot for the gluten-intolerant, we see it as our duty to eat lots and lots of baked goods. We do it out of our sense of duty and in a spirit of altruism. Especially when it comes to cookies.

gluten-free baked goodies

Here we have, starting at the cookie and moving clock-wise around the box: A chocolate-chip salt cookie, a mixed berry pie, a curried vegetable hand pie, and two mini quiches. The cookie ended up being the least popular item we sampled. None of us were particularly excited about it. It seems strangely greasy and besides the grease flavor, there isn’t a lot to it. We’re happy to report, however, that everything else here was really amazing. They all benefit from a little time in a toaster oven to get them warm again. We were especially fond of the berry pie, the curry hand pie, and the tomato dill mini quiche there. These all had great flavors, and the pie crust at Tula is really excellent.

Gluten Free focaccia bread

Focaccia bread is one of those things I really miss, and until now haven’t been able to replace it. The focaccia at Tula comes par baked. So you take it home and finish baking it right before you want to eat it. There’s enough focaccia there to make 4 good-sized sandwiches. The ingredients are millet flour, sorghum flour, potato starch, tapioca starch, agave syrup, xanthan gum, sea salt, olive oil, and rosemary (so it’s vegan). To finish baking, you put it in the oven at 375 degree and bake 11 to 15 minutes. Fresh out of the oven, this focaccia is soft, springy and delicious. It’s good dipped in oil and vinegar, but it’s even better with some honey!

gluten-free pizza at Tula

We also tried the pizza at Tula. The good news is that the pizza here is totally safe, since it’s made in a dedicated gluten-free bakery. I’m used to crossing my fingers every time I set foot in a pizza place that has gluten-free pizza available. Half for good luck, and half because I feel like I’m testing my fate. Many places around town are careful about cross-contamination, but to me, it’s really nice to get a pizza that you know definitely hasn’t been dragged through a pile of wheat flour. The crust style is thin, and soft. So if you’re into pizza with soft crusts, this one is for you. I found the lack of topping variety a little disappointing (they only have vegetarian options) and also Sienna and I were dissatisfied with the flavor. The sauce seems more like a ragu and is sweet. Although the cheese and other toppings are good, I felt like the sauce was seeping into the crust and losing its flavor. I think a lot of pizza places fight this by rubbing the crust with a crushed garlic piece and applying a bit of olive oil before adding the sauce.

We’ve been back a couple of times, and every time we’ve had great experiences with the people at the counter. Everybody is friendly and ready to answer questions about the items there and the bakery itself. Did we mention that the place is vegetarian-friendly? They also have vegan options. Last, they serve sandwiches.

Our final verdict: We’re really excited to have another retail gluten-free bakery open in town, and especially happy to have one that has such a wide range of products. We took the focaccia bread and made grilled cheese sandwiches out of it. This is my new favorite thing to do.

Gluten-Free Safety Rating: Gluten-Free Dedicated Facility
Times we have visited: 3 (So we feel pretty good about our score.)
Overall rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Price compared to “regular”: 1 or 2 bucks, depending on the item

Tula Gluten Free Baking Co.
Tula on Facebook
4943 NE Martin Luther King Jr Blvd Ste 101 Portland, OR 97211 / 541.306.1250

Filed Under: Restaurant Review Tagged With: Alberta, Allergies, Bakery, Bread, Breakfast, Cafe, Desserts, NorthEast, Pizza, Review, Vegan, Vegetarian

Dave August 2, 2011

Portland Places We’ve Been Recently

Sometimes we find ourselves going back to places we reviewed months or years ago, and we’re often gratified to find that we were right the first time! Here’s a quick run-down on places we’ve been recently. Some new, most not.

Seven Virtues Cafe

Seven Virtues Cafe

If you’re in the NE and want something good for lunch any day of the week, you should check out Seven Virtues on NE Glisan at 60th. They have great espresso drinks, delicious gluten-free and vegan goodies by Petunia’s (our review here), and gluten-free bread available for their sandwiches. I am especially partial to the Frazer Park sandwich, pictured above. They also make a mean iced mocha.

PSU Farmer's Market

Portland Farmers Markets

We recently saw the documentary Food, Inc and decided to see what would happen if we started going to our local Farmer’s Markets. Besides fresh veggies, cheese, eggs, and flowers from local farms, there are a lot of local gluten-free businesses which sell their goods at your local farmer’s market. The PSU farmers market on Saturday morning is host to Petunia’s and New Cascadia Traditional Bakery (our info and review here). I saw Paobread (our review here) at the Montavilla Farmers Market the last time we went there. At the Buckman Farmers Market a person can pick up gluten-free hand pies made by Queen of Hearts (review coming soon). Although we haven’t gone yet, we’ve been told that Happy Camper Bread can be bought fresh at Hollywood Farmer’s Market.

Chez Machin

We’ve stopped by Chez Machin (our review here) on SE Hawthorne now and again. Although we wish their savory crepes had more options, they keep blowing our minds with their specials and their dessert crepes. We really recommend getting whatever the special entree of the day is, as long as it can be had gluten-free.

Dessert Crepe at Suzette - Yow!

Suzette Creperie

Speaking of crepes, we went to Suzette Creperie (our review) on NE Alberta for Bastille Day, dined on delicious crepes, and listened to AnnaPaul and the Bearded Lady.

Blackwood Cafe

Blackwood Cafe

A recent Groupon or Living Social deal informed us that the Blackwood Cafe on NE 70th has gluten-free bread available. I went there by myself recently and got their special of the day, which was an intriguing sandwich with gruyere cheese, apple slices, and (if my memory serves) Prosciutto. The sandwich was really good, but the bread was like Udi’s, which isn’t really my favorite. The iced mocha was really chocolatey. They have a fun menu, but their atmosphere is kind of uncomfortable for some reason.

Favorite Things from the Farmers Markets

Things we expected to be better from the Farmers Markets: tomatoes.
Things we might not have: celery, cherries, cucumbers, cheeses, and sausages.
Celery? We found thin, kind of sickly-looking celery at the Montavilla Market recently and what a surprise! It’s got a surprising, delightful flavor. Almost herbal or floral. Mmmmm. At the PSU Market look for my favorite cucumber of all time – the lemon cucumber. Also at the PSU Market, we found Rogue Creamery’s Raw Milk Sharp Cheddar Cheese and wow is it amazing, especially with a little of your favorite jam. Finally, we’ve tried some items from Olympic Provisions and have yet to be disappointed.

Summer is Finally Here

Thanks to everyone who emailed us about Subway stores getting gluten-free bread and brownies. We kind of ignored the news because we’re more into supporting our local businesses. We do really appreciate it when people email us, even though sometimes it can take a long time for us to get back to them.

Got any recommendations for shopping at the Farmers Markets? We’re still really new at it and learning. Let us know in the comments!

Filed Under: Classes & Events Tagged With: Bakery, Bread, Classes & Events, Health, Information, NorthEast, NorthWest, Portland, SouthEast, SouthWest, Vegan

Dave June 9, 2011

Coming Gluten Free Events

The summer is finally kind of showing some enthusiasm for showing up. Maybe. Not that I’m feeling impatient or anything. The good news is that there are some great Portland gluten free events coming up soon. Here’s a quick run-down:

June 11 – Portland Metro GIG

Quick reminder that the Portland Metro GIG meeting will be this Saturday.

When: June 11 – 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM
Speaker: Rudi’s GF bakery
Where:
Legacy Emanuel Hospital
2801 N Gantenbein Ave.
Portland, OR. 07227-1623
(503)413-2200
Room E-1075/1077

June 12 – Rudi’s Summer Road Trip BBQ in Lake Oswego

Mentioned here a month or so ago, it’s coming this Sunday. From Kyra at Crave Bake Shop:

Rudi’s Gluten Free Bakery is doing a summer road trip and I’ve been helping them coordinate a GF BBQ on Sunday June 12th at Millenium Park in Lake Oswego. It is free and all ages and open to the public and there will be live music and lots of lunchy foods, like BBQ gf hotdogs and hamburgers, grilled cheese sandwiches etc (from them) and desserts (from me). And did I mention that it’s FREE? we’re finalizing the details, so I’ll be sure to get back to you, but it looks like the event will be from 11:30-1:30 PM on the 12th. Flyer to come!

June 12 Midway Farm Event

This is more of a “gluten-free friendly” event than a full-on gluten free event, but if you are interested in visiting a farm this weekend, this one is for you.

Sunday, June 12th 12pm – 3pm Enjoy a summer day on the farm! Stroll around visiting all the chickens, ducks, geese & turkeys. Meet our famous family milk cow Heidi & Dutch Chocolate our Welsh pony. This is a family fun day at Midway Farms. Face painting will be the rage along with a coloring contest. Midway Farms is located midway between Albany and Corvallis on Highway 20. For more information visit our website www.midwayfarmsoregon.com or contact us at info@midwayfarmsoregon.com

June 21 – Petunia’s Gluten Free & Vegan Bakery Class

We’ve been trading emails with Petunia’s and plan to check them out soon, I promise! In the meantime, you can find their gluten free goods at the Saturday at the PSU Farmer’s Market 8:30-2. If a class is more your speed, Lisa Clark of Petunia’s will be teaching one on June 21st. Here are details:

Tuesday June 21st from 6-9pm @ Whole Foods in the Pearl we will hold a Summer Desserts Baking Class featuring fresh Oregon  berries used in three different amazing desserts to wow your friends and family with. You must sign up and pay through the Guest Services counter in the store, or call today before it’s full! 503.525.4343

Summer Camp! and GIG Conference

Grain Damaged has posted a call for volunteers to help out at Summer Camp in July. And also details on an upcoming GIG conference in Orlando Florida.

Filed Under: Classes & Events Tagged With: Bread, Desserts, Information, Portland, Portland GIG

Dave March 24, 2011

Gluten Free Controversy on Dr. Oz

We were notified that Dr. Oz was doing a segment on gluten free diets on his TV show today. Naturally, we had to tune in. Here’s the executive summary: If you’re sensitive to gluten, then you should probably stop eating it. 99% of the people who are gluten intolerant still don’t know it. However, the gluten-free diet isn’t necessarily healthy, and is not a good way to lose weight.

For the curious, you can watch the episode online here on the Dr. Oz website.

I wasn’t actually aware that anybody was touting the gluten-free diet as being great for weight loss. So that was news to me. On the show they did some product comparisons, and the basic gist of the matter was that gluten free versions of many popular foods are more caloric and contain less fiber. Of course, we ARE talking about a TV show here, so they might have just picked out the most egregious offenders, because that makes for good TV. At the same time, we’ve spent some words on this blog talking about gluten free products and health. Mostly it’s been me complaining about how most all gluten free breads are made of starch and rice flour.

I’ve said it before, and I’m sure that I’ll say it again. If I could eat wheat, I would. First off, there are some items that you can’t get gluten free. Like a good brioche, a divine sourdough, or good bagels. Second, there is a reason wheat has been cultivated and eaten by mankind for all time: It’s good for you. Whole wheat is high in protein, fiber, minerals and vitamins. It’s an aid to digestion, and has countless culinary uses.

The segment on Dr. Oz struck me as having a dual personality. On one hand, Dr. Oz kept talking about how gluten does cause inflammatory problems in people who are sensitive to it. He even went so far as to recommend that people who have inflammatory symptoms try a two week elimination diet to see if they might have a sensitivity. But then he kept bashing the diet as being unhealthy and fattening.

It was interesting to hear the list of health problems associated with gluten sensitivity. Among the items I heard mentioned were fatigue, inflammation, depression, anxiety, irritable bowel syndrome, and even heart disease and cancer. Also, they mentioned that the inflammation caused by gluten can increase the insulin in your body, which can lead to weight problems, among other things.

Also interesting, there is a one week diet plan on the Dr. Oz website, here. Also, he has a couple of pages on celiac disease and gluten, here.

In the end, I did appreciate the show, although I thought that it sensationalized the subject matter in a way that may not have been very productive. It is a bit of a double-edged sword. I wouldn’t recommend a gluten-free diet to anybody who doesn’t need to be on it. BUT, for those of us who do, it’s truly life-changing. AND, just because something is gluten free, it doesn’t mean that it’s not junk food.

Filed Under: News Tagged With: Allergies, Bread, Celiac Disease, Health, Information

Dave January 12, 2011

Product Review and Press Release: Rudi’s Bread

We got a press kit from Rudi’s Bread last month. They are announcing a partnership with the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness (NFCA), the details of which can be found in the press release included below. Along with the press release was a little sandwich box, some promotional material, and a loaf of Rudi’s Multigrain sandwich bread.

Rudi's Gluten-Free Multigrain Bread

Rudi’s Gluten-Free Bakery was launched by Boulder, Colorado, based Rudi’s Organic Bakery. They worked with the Gluten-Free Certification Organization to make sure that their products are safe and gluten-free, and also strive to use only organic ingredients. Here are the ingredients in their multigrain bread: Water, potato extract, rice starch, rice flour, sorghum flour, organic high oleic sunflower/safflower oil, organic evaporated cane juice, organic honey, egg whites, organic inulin, yeast, sea salt, xanthan gum, organic cornmeal, organic sunflower seeds, organic millet, organic flaxseed, organic molasses.

We’re diligent ingredient readers, so we both found it disheartening to see that the first three ingredients besides water were rice or potato products. We also noticed that the bread contains inulin, which regular readers will remember is a strange sweet-tasting indigestible fiber, most likely derived from chicory root and which basically amounts to a “natural” artificial sweetener. We also noticed that the only items that have flavor, the millet and molasses, are in the last three ingredients. So yes, what we have here is American white bread with a slight millet flavor to it.

Slice of Rudi's Gluten-Free wholegrain bread

We just happened to have some Udi’s bread around to give it a head-to-head taste test with, and found that they tasted about the same. Upon tasting it, Sienna immediately pronounced the Rudi’s to be “typical awful gluten-free bread.” I have to agree. It has to be toasted to become palatable. The texture is grainy. Besides the millet, there isn’t really much flavor to speak of. We do have to include the disclaimer that if you’re into tasteless white bread, then this might be something you would like. It certainly isn’t what we look for when shopping for something called “multigrain” bread, that’s for sure.

This is where we mention that locally-made Jensen’s bread really beats the heck out of Rudi’s (and Udi’s). Their bread is so amazing that I’m going to include a link to their list of where you can buy it, here. Also, we have to reassert our position that people who are serious about their bread should probably get a book on making their own and invest in a bread machine.

Unfortunately, we still can’t get Jensen’s at Whole Foods or New Seasons. So who do we like between Udi’s and Rudi’s? If you’re at Whole Foods, get their own gluten-free bread. It’s got a weird crunch to the texture, but the flavor is way better. Between Udi’s and Rudi’s, I would have to say it’s a toss-up. I liked the slight millet flavor of the Rudi’s, but the Udi’s had a better texture. Udi’s ingredients are less healthy, though, being mostly tapioca starch, brown rice flour, and modified potato starch.

Sorry Rudi’s. We do appreciate that you’re supporting the gluten-free community and also we did enjoy the package. We wish we had better things to say. Here is Rudi’s press release:

As you may know, there are an estimated 3 million people in the U.S. suffering from celiac disease, yet only 160,000 are diagnosed. We’re pleased to announce that Rudi’s Gluten-Free Bakery is working with NFCA to support education for the diagnosis of celiac disease, with our new Spread the Bread charitable program, which launched in late December.

For every dollar coupon downloaded, Rudi’s Gluten-Free Bakery will give a dollar to the NFCA, up to $20,000, to help in its efforts to better educate physicians in the diagnosis of celiac disease. Coupons are available on the Rudi’s Gluten-Free Bakery website and Facebook page.

We are also proud to announce the launch of our new Rudi’s Gluten-Free Bakery website. We hope this new website will provide all the detail you could need about our new gluten-free breads – from product ingredients and nutrition facts to local availability – as well as helpful information about local gluten-free events, a variety of gluten-free recipes, links to our partners and educational resources, including NFCA, the Gluten Intolerance Group, Celiac Sprue Association and Celiac Disease Foundation.

In addition to the website, we’ve also launched a new blog, Baked on the Bright Side, where we’ll be providing all of the latest news on Rudi’s Gluten-Free Bakery and the gluten-free community. We’re eager to hear what you think of the blog and website!

Filed Under: Product Reviews Tagged With: Bakery, Bread, Gluten-Free Flour, Information, Review, Sandwiches

Dave November 10, 2010

News Bites: The Holidays are Coming

That’s right: The holidays are coming faster than you can believe. On the great highway of life, I always feel like I spend November and December with my foot on the brake, trying to get things to slow down! On the plus side, there is a lot of gluten-free news to be had. Let’s dig in, shall we?

November GIG Meeting this Saturday

The November meeting for the Portland Metro Area Gluten Intolerance Group is this Saturday the 13th (it’s always on the second Saturday of the month). This month they’re having a potluck. Go here for more information. There is also more info here on Grain Damaged.

Gluten-Free Meet up this Saturday

This Saturday is getting more crowded. Here is an announcement we got from Karen at Dessert Labs:

We wanted to let you, and everyone else gluten free, know that we’ve started a new gluten free meet up group. It’s a chance to get together with other gluten free people to talk, share recipes and tips, and maybe go on some field trips. We’re having our first meeting on Saturday, Nov 13th. The rest of the information is here: http://www.meetup.com/Gluten-Free-PDX/

I just visited Dessert Labs last week and hope to get an article out this week about them. Later note – that article is here.

Gluten-Free Holiday Cooking Class

Enjoy delicious gluten-free holiday foods and recipes in this enjoyable and enlightening class from Jan Gagnon ND. We’ll cover gluten-free appetizers, stuffing, desserts and more, with samples included. Jan has been gluten-free since 1978 and learned lots of good tips for eating in or out.
When: Saturday 11/20/10 1:00-3:00pm
Where: at the Garden Sanctuary in Multnomah Village.
Pre-registration required and includes directions. Cost: $35.

For more info. or to register:503-593-3360 or email jgagnon940@comcast.net


Gluten-Free Products at Winco

Reader Allyson sent us information about gluten-free products now available at Winco.

I’m not sure if you guys are Winco shoppers but I thought I’d pass this information along anyway…

I was at the Winco in Tigard today and happened to be walking in their bakery section… and happened to look into one of their refrigerated dessert cases. Lo and behold, they are now carrying Udi’s gluten-free bread, bagles, muffins, and pizza crusts. I remember really enjoying the pizza crusts and bread when I was eating gluten-free. The prices looked comparable or cheaper than other stores in the area…in the upper $4 to $5 mark if I remember correctly. I know in the past, Winco has discounted the prices of new products to see what kind of interest is out there. Now might be a great time to stock up for the holidays 🙂

Thanksgiving Pies

So far I know of two local places to get gluten-free pies for Thanksgiving. Here they are:

New Cascadia Traditional will be offering gluten-free pies. It looks like they’ll have an apple pie, a vegan pumpkin pie, a regular pumpkin pie, and a mini pecan pie. They are taking pre-orders until Friday, November 19th for Thanksgiving week pick up: 503.546.4901.

When I talked to Dessert Labs, they mentioned that they will be supplying gluten-free pies to the Food Front Co-op on NW Thurman. It looks like you can also get them directly from Dessert Labs. More info here.
Food Front – 2375 Northwest Thurman Street, Portland – (503) 222-5658

Thanks to Everyone!

As always, thanks to everyone who emails us. I owe some emails to people and I’m sorry they’re late. Talk to you soon!

Filed Under: Classes & Events, News Tagged With: Bakery, Bread, Classes & Events, Desserts, Holidays, Information, Pies, Portland, Thanksgiving

Dave October 13, 2010

Restaurant Review: Meat Cheese Bread

We love the block where Meat Cheese Bread is located. It’s a tiny island of hip art, fun buildings, a Thai restaurant that lights up a night, and now it has gluten-free bread. We heard that they had gluten-free bread at Meat Cheese Bread, and of course we had to go check it out. It turns out that they are making their own bread using the Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free Whole Grain Bread Mix and adding honey.

Meat Cheese Bread Menu

Here was the sandwich menu when we went. It bears noting that they: A) Have a plentiful salad menu in addition to the sandwich menu, and B) Will make any sandwich into a salad for a little extra cash. So, it’s not like we couldn’t enjoy a meal there before (and we had). At the same time, it’s a sandwich! Who doesn’t love sandwiches? I love sandwiches, and I especially love steak sandwiches. So I was happy when we were quizzing the guy behind the counter about which sandwiches are best with the gluten-free bread, and he said that the Park Kitchen is really good on it.

Gluten-free steak sandwich

The Park Kitchen is a cold sandwich with flank steak, pickled onions, blue cheese aoili, lettuce, and vinaigrette. My sandwich was really amazing. Good steak. Good cheese. Perfect amount of dressing. Fresh greens. The bread is tasty, although it doesn’t hold together as well as wheat bread probably would, that was OK with me.

The not-so-good news is that they don’t have a dedicated toaster. When grilled further about their cross-contamination policies, they said that while they keep things as clean as possible, they do have wheat around and so people who are terribly sensitive may want to steer clear.

Gluten-Free Safety Rating: Gluten-free Friendly but Ask Questions!
Times we have visited: 2 (So your experience may vary.)
Overall rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Price compared to “regular”: Same.

Meat Cheese Bread
www.meatcheesebread.com
1406 SE Stark St. / 503.234.1700

We want to know: Do you have a favorite gluten-free friendly sandwich in town? Had any experience with the Bob’s Red Mill Whole Grain Bread Mix? Let us know in the comments!

Filed Under: Restaurant Review Tagged With: Bread, Restaurant, Review, Sandwiches, SouthEast, Vegetarian

Dave September 16, 2010

Jensen’s Multi-Grain Gluten-Free Bread

We’ve been following Jensen’s since January of this year when they gave us some samples of their gluten-free buns. For an intro to their company, you should check out our initial post about them, but the basics are that Dave Jensen and his wife Debbie have come up with some really great gluten free buns and, now, an amazing multi-grain and seed bread. You can check out their website, here.

Their multi-grain bread looks, tastes, and feels like a real whole wheat seeded bread. When you hold a slice of the bread in your hand, it bends like real bread. Unlike basically every other gluten free bread we’ve ever had, you can eat this bread without toasting it first. Also a bonus, it isn’t entirely made from rice flour and potato starch. Here’s a list of ingredients: Eggs, Buckwheat Flour, Molasses, Honey, White Rice Flour, Brown Rice Flour, Potato Starch, Sweet Dairy Whey, Canola Oil, Teff Flour, Cornstarch, Dry Milk Powder, Tapioca Flour, Sorghum Flour, Montina flour (Indian Rice Grass), Garfava Flour, Xantham Gum, Expandex (Modified Tapocia Starch), Flax Seed, Water, Baking Powder, Yeast, Salt, Sesame Seeds, Pumpkin Seeds, Sunflower Seeds, Potato Flour, Dough Enhancer (Whey, Soy, Lecithin, Soy Tofu Powder, Citric Acid, Sea Salt, Spice Blend, Ascorbic Acid, Natural Flavor), Dry Egg Whites, Pectin, Guar Gum,Sorbic Acid, Cocoa, Coffee.

I’m trying, but I can’t really express how great this bread is. If it’s possible for sliced bread to be revolutionary, then this bread is revolutionary. I’ve tried it as toast, for sandwiches, and for hamburgers. It’s great for all these purposes. As with the Pao Bread, which we reviewed yesterday, the bread is made in Portland in a dedicated gluten-free facility. So you get to support a local small business and also have peace of mind that you’re not going to “get glutened.”

Jensen’s is available at local Lamb’s Markets, Lingonberries Market, and supplies the buns for the Corbett and Hawthorne Fish Houses. They are also supplying PGE Park with gluten-free buns. See their site for up-to-date info on where you can get it.

Filed Under: Product Reviews Tagged With: Bread, Jensen's, Portland, Review, Sandwiches

Dave August 25, 2010

Restaurant Review: Horn of Africa

We were alerted about Horn of Africa by reader Gaile at Fidgety Budgie, who reviewed Horn of Africa on her website, here. It sounded like an interesting place to check out. I don’t have that much experience with African food, and so it’s always an adventure to try. Regular readers will know that I’m on a diet to lose weight because of some minor health problems, so our ability to go out to eat has been curtailed quite a bit, and we always pick places we want to review when we do go out.

The Horn of Africa has a little something for everyone on their menu. Besides the variety of African chicken, lamb, seafood, and vegetarian dishes, they also serve the standard Mediterranean favorites like kebabs, gyros, and falafel. Their falafel plate is the vegan choice. Gaile mentioned in her review that, on her visit, there were worryingly few customers at prime dinner time, but we didn’t find that to be the case on our visit. The place is just a block or two north of NE Alberta on Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd, and is easy to find. The decor is a little dull and the ambiance is strictly no-frills family dining. Our one biggest complaint of the night was the speed (or rather, slowness) with which everything happened. On the plus side, almost everything on the menu is gluten-free, and our waitress was very friendly and helpful.

Bajiya - gluten-free chickpea fritter

For an appetizer, we got Bajiya. These are described as “Seasoned patties of ground garbanzos and split peas, lightly fried.” Of course, our first choice would have been the Sambusas (which are basically Samosas by another name), but we were pleased to find that the Bajiya was a lot like a Samosa. This item was tasty, hot, and had obviously been prepared right then, so our expectations were raised. If you order these, however, keep in mind that you only get one patty per appetizer. They are only $1.00 but still, if you are expecting a more appetizer sized appetizer, you might order extra.

Gluten Free African Flatbread

The next thing I got excited about is that they have gluten-free flat bread. It comes out in rolls like this. The bread is spongy like something made with rice flour, but is very flavorful and reminded me of the teff bread we made a long time ago. It has a yeasty flavor that is very reminiscent of light rye bread. It’s the perfect thing for sopping up some sauce to go with your next bite. Our waitress mentioned that we got lucky that they had it when we visited, and that it’s the sort of item where they can make sure to have some available if you call them the day before.

Horn of Africa Gluten Free African Food

For our entrees, we ordered the Keluna with Wild Salmon and the Marakha Lukku. The Marakha Lukku is described as “Chicken breast stewed in house-made Beri-Beri Sauce with garlic and onions.” Beri Beri is a sauce made with a lot of spices like cardamom, peppercorns, fenugreek, ginger, and the like, combined with wine, oil, and hot chillies. I ordered mine “medium spicy” and felt like it was pretty mild. The chicken was well done, but I felt like the dish ended up being a little one-dimensional. Like it needed some veggies, or maybe some yogurt on the side.

Horn of Africa Keluna with Salmon

The Keluna is their fish dish and comes with whatever happens to be in season. It is described as “Seafood in season marinated in Zanzibar-style herbs and spices, pan-seared and stewed with fresh vegetables.” This dish was a little bit like a curry but had its own character. We both really liked it and felt that it was the superior dish of the two. The salmon was cooked perfectly and the veggies were excellent.

All in all the food was good, and it seemed to me like it had been prepared when we ordered it. I have to mention as well that their rice was really awesome. As I said, the waitress was friendly and informative, but it seemed like it took a long time for our food to come out. Checking other reviews on the Internet, it seems like we’re not the only ones who have had this problem. We thought that the food was good, but not spectacular. I would summarize our feeling about the restaurant as “satisfied and curious to try more, but not blown away.”

Gluten-Free Safety Rating: Gluten-free Friendly but Ask Questions!
Times we have visited: 1 (So your experience may vary.)
Overall rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Price compared to “regular”: Same.

Horn of Africa
www.hornofafrica.net
5237 NE MLK Blvd / 503.331.9844

We want to know: Do you have a favorite gluten-free friendly African restaurant in town? Got a teff bread recipe for making flat bread? Let us know in the comments!

Filed Under: Restaurant Review Tagged With: African Cuisine, Bread, NorthEast, Portland, Restaurant, Review

Dave July 16, 2010

Product Review: Udi’s White Sandwich Bread

Our search for the perfect gluten-free bread continues with heavyweight contender Udi’s. Udi’s Bread is in Denver, and we heard about them way before this. As a matter of fact, they contacted us at some point, and then we got back to them, but we never really got it together to try some of their bread for a review until now. Now that you can buy their bread at Whole Foods in Portland, we figured it was high time for us to give them a shot.

Udi's White Gluten-Free Sandwich Bread

Long time readers will know that we find store-bought gluten-free breads disappointing on the whole, and have resorted to making our own with a bread machine. Recently I’ve been doing a series of posts detailing our experiments with bread recipes from around the Internet, and how they work out with our tester Zojirushi bread machine in the Gluten Free Portland labs.

Udi’s markets their white sandwich bread as their original style, light and fluffy white bread. So we’re probably looking at something that will approximate American white bread. Here are the ingredients:

Filtered water, tapioca starch, brown rice flour, potato starch, canola oil or sunflower oil, egg whites, tapioca maltodextrin, evaporated cane juice, tapioca syrup, yeast, xanthan gum, salt, baking powder (sodium bicarbonate, cornstarch, calcium sulfate, monocalcium phosphate), mold inhibitor (cultured corn syrup, ascorbic acid), ascorbic acid (contains cellulose and cornstarch), enzymes. Contains eggs.

We’re becoming a lot harder to please when it comes to bread ingredients, and the first thing that jumps out at me when I look at this list is that two of the three gluten-free flours in use here are starches. The first being tapioca starch. It seems like there’s something about making gluten-free bread where you need starch to do it, so I’m used to seeing tapioca starch in bread recipes, but it’s not something you want to be eating lots of, and to me, having it as the first ingredient is not a good sign. A quarter cup of tapioca starch is 100 calories, has 26 grams of carbohydrates, no fiber, no protein, and basically no vitamins and minerals except a little iron. Potato starch is even worse. Compare this to a quarter cup of sorghum flour, which has 120 calories, and has 26 grams of carbohydrates, but has 3 grams of fiber, 4 grams of protein, and also has iron, and B-Vitamins. See the attached chart on this helpful page for more information about the nutritional value of alternative grains.

Udi'd Gluten Free White Bread Slices

So OK. OK. Sometimes you just want some bread to make a hamburger or a PB&J and you don’t mind that it’s not really the best thing for you. Let’s talk about taste. Sienna and I both liked it. Being a white bread, it’s on the flavorless side. We didn’t find any strange aftertastes. As far as something you can buy at a store to make a sandwich out of, I would say that this bread has got the Trader Joe’s gluten free rice bread beat hands down. I would put it as equivalent or maybe a little better than Whole Foods own gluten free bread. Whole Foods has got a weird texture problem. Udi’s bread toasts OK and is good with some butter on it. As a replacement for white bread it does do the job, so we can see what the big deal is about.

When compared to bread that you can make at home, though, it’s still not really there for me. I would also say that you should check out Jensen’s Breads, which are available around town, are locally made, and are better.

We want to know: Do you have a favorite store-bought gluten-free bread? How about a preferred flour mix or bread recipe on the Internet? Send us a link. Let us know in the comments!

Filed Under: Product Reviews Tagged With: Bread, Gluten-Free Flour, Health, Nutrition, Review

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Dr. Samantha Brody is a licensed Naturopathic Physician and acupuncturist and the owner and founder of Evergreen Natural Health Center in Portland, Oregon. She is both a health educator and coach who can help introduce patients to new ways of caring for themselves. Read More…

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