Saturday, November 24, 2012

Gluten Free Forth Worth

Yee-haw!  The Traveling Celiacs spent Thanksgiving in Fort Worth, Texas!

We had dinner at my house (Sandy) on Thanksgiving day, including a smoked turkey that I bought mail order from The Salt Lick BBQ.  Delicious.  

On Friday, we entertained the kids by heading out to the Fort Worth Stockyards, a historic district with lots of cowboy-themed activities for the children.  We were there in time to see the Cattle Drive (twice daily!), which was fun, if a little underwhelming.  (There were people lined up like a Disney parade, but there was only a handful of cattle.)

I hadn't found much online about gluten free food at the Stockyards, but we took our chances and were delighted to find that Riscky's BBQ has a printed gluten free menu.  Sandy had the sliced brisket plate with red beans and potato salad.  Cathy had the Chopped Beef Brisket.  Both entrees were tasty.  I like the sauce, though everything was a little salty.  The red beans were very good.  The potato salad, not so much. The gluten free menu was extensive, so I would definitely go there again and see if I can find just the right thing to order. 

A far better meal can be had further north, on the border between Fort Worth and Keller, at Oliva, where they have an incredible array of gluten free pasta dishes including alfredo, marinara, vodka cream sauce, meat sauce, and more.  My son loves the Pasta Oliva, with shrimp, clams, mussles, and calamari over GF linguini in a wine-tomato sauce.  I love both the Parmesan chicken and the chicken Alfredo.  

Oliva is somewhat in the middle of nowhere, but it is worth the drive.  The atmosphere is cozy and romantic, but not so stuffy that you wouldn't want to take children there.  The staff has been very kind to us as well, and they know what they are doing when it comes to GF.  

Sandy