Last weekend a friend from high school was visiting and exploring Chicago since she may be moving here. One of the first questions she asked was if restaurants in Chicago are gluten-free friendly, since she is unable to eat gluten. A quick tweet resulted in friends listing dozens of gluten-free friendly restaurants. Many Chicago restaurants have entire gluten free menus while other restaurants mark gluten free options on their menu.
Some of the best places for gluten free dining are the Lettuce Entertain You restaurants. Each of their eateries - which include Stella Barra, Cafe Ba Ba Reba, Bub City, Summer House, and Beatrix, have separate gluten free menus. Last week I dined a Beatrix with another gluten free friend and I learned that french fries are gluten-free just as long as the oil isn't contaminated with gluten. (always ask your server)
Beatrix aims to be River North's healthy neighborhood restaurant (the french fries are a rare more indulgent menu item). It has a casual vibe and lots of healthy eating options ranging from shots of juice to a selection of salads. They also have the most incredible french fries, pictured above.
Over the weekend my friend and ate at Summer House and were impressed that the gluten free menu was huge! This wasn't just a handful of items that could be adjusted to be gluten-free. Rather, this was an entire menu with lots to choose from. There were so many gluten-free entrees that my husband and I got gluten-free meals too!
During the weekend we discovered that Old Town Social marks gluten-free items on their menu, and that Boystown has an entire restaurant devoted to gluten-free eating called Bountiful Eatery. It was at Bountiful Eatery where my friend had a gluten-free pita for the first time. On my friend's last night in Chicago we went to Bavettes, which as a steakhouse had many gluten-free options even though they weren't marked on the menu. We ended up eating at the bar, and the gluten-free bartender was a huge help and she knew each and every gluten-free option and substitution.
Know of another gluten-free friendly Chicago eatery? Let us know in the comments. I want to give a shout out to the site Gluten Free Pearls for being a great resource!
