Restaurants
Washington, DC is a fun and culture-rich place to live, visit and eat. This
list highlights local restaurants in the DC Metro area that represent the flavor
and culinary diversity of the area and that accommodate guests on gluten-free
diets. It is not an inclusive list of all the GF places to eat in the DC area.
Only a couple of national chains are mentioned because of their established
cultural presence in Washington. As I savor more of DC’s gluten-free delights,
I will be updating this list regularly (The Gluten-free nutritionist, August
2008)
Austin Grill
Eight restaurants in the DC Metro area; check their website for exact locations.
www.austingrill.com
Austin Grill has a couple of gluten-free dishes on their menu. Check out the
GF menu on their website beforehand.
Café Atlantico
405 8th St NW (between D & E streets)
020-393-0812
www.cafeatlantico.com
This restaurant serves food with a unique Nuevo Latino flair including a latino
dim sum brunch. Told ya DC was diverse! Chef Edgar Steele is Chef spokesperson
for the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness (www.celiaccentral.org). Café
Atlantico has also participated in a number of DC Gluten-free cooking Sprees
- Need I say more!
Café Trope
2121 P St. NW
Washington, DC
202-223-9335
www.cafetropedc.com
Serves flavorful gluten-free and lactose-free dishes. Their menu marks dishes
that contain gluten. All other dishes can be made gluten-free upon request.
Now this is a restaurant after my own heart (and stomach).
Firefly
1310 New Hampshire Ave NW
Washington, DC
202-861-1310
www.firefly-dc.com
I have loved this neat little restaurant since it opened. It was not until the
2007 GF Cooking Spree in DC that I discovered Executive Chef Danny Bortnick
was so enlightened about gluten-free meals. As a nutritionist, I am thrilled
to see that Firefly’s menu is designed to utilize products from local
farms and farmers. Not only tasty gluten-free, but fresh and healthy food to
boot.
Hank’s Oyster Bar
1624 Q St NW, Washington, DC
202-462-4265
1026 King Street, Alexandria, VA
703-739-4265
www.hanksdc.com
Winner of the 2008 Rammy Award for one of the best neighborhood gathering places,
this small restaurant has a very impressive seafood and oyster bar. It is not
difficult to find something gluten-free here. Moreover, the staff is aware of
food allergies and will let you know if something contains a food allergen.
Not only do they accommodate for gluten-free, they seemed very knowledge about
other food allergens. All their desserts are gluten-free……because they
have no desserts, except for wonderful pieces of chocolate at the end of the
meal. Hey, that is just enough for me. Desserts are fattening anyway!
Hello Cupcake
1351 Connecticut Ave. NW
Washington, DC
www.hellocupcakeonline.com
Okay, cupcakes are not really that healthy for you, but YUM – these are good! Currently, Hello Cupcake only has one gluten-free selection a day. The flavor of the GF selection changes every week. You can order gluten-free cupcakes in any of the 15 flavors in advance. Mini GF cupcakes are also available by advance order. I wish there were more flavors to choose from, but hey, I am so glad there is something available of us Washingtonians, that I will just have to make a visit once a week to test out all the flavors. The flavor for the week of September 1 is carrot cake.
Jaleo
Washington, DC, Bethesda, MD, and Crystal City, VA. Check Jaleo’s website
for exact locations.
www.jaleo.com
Jaleo’s chef participated in the 2007 DC Gluten-free Cooking Spree and
is known to serve gluten-free tapas (Spanish appetizers). Be sure to tell your
server that you are gluten-free and they will let you know what you can have
on the menu. Unfortunately, there is no gluten-free menu on their website.
Legal Seafood
Five restaurants in the DC Metro area. All but the Reagan National Airport location
have a gluten-free menu. Check their website for exact locations and Legal’s
GF menu. www.legalseafoods.com
Lelit Café
7921 Old Georgetown Rd
Bethesda, MD
301-654-5454
www.lilitcafe.com
This is a cute little café just off of the Bethesda metro station that
services a host of gluten-free items, most notably great pizzas. Many of their
desserts are made by Sweet Sin Bakery out of Baltimore. They also offer gluten-free
brunches!
PF Changs
Various locations in the DC Metro area, check the website
www.pfchangs.com
The motto of this chain of Chinese restaurants is to offer every guest a culinary
journeyer. To that end, they have accommodated those of us with celiac disease
with a special gluten-free menu. They have dishes that are both gluten-free
or can be modified to be gluten-free. You can check it the gluten-free dishes
by going to their website and clicking on “Menu”.
Tersiguel’s
8293 Main Street
Ellicott City, MD
410-465-4004
www.tersiguels.com
There are several raving fans of this lovely local French restaurant just outside
of Washington, DC. The Chef and staff are very accommodating to the gluten-free
diner. It is best to call ahead to alert the Chef that you will be requesting
a gluten-free dish.
Local Support Groups
Washington DC Gluten-free Dinner Club
www.celiacdisease.meetup.com/112
Sign up for this monthly dinner club where gluten-free diners from the DC meet
to explore new restaurants and learn from each other the “in” and
out” of living Gluten free in DC.
Washington Area Celiac Sprue Support Group (WACSSG)
www.dcceliacs.com
Meetings held in quarterly in Rockville and Bethesda. Check website for exact
dates and locations.
Next meeting is September 20, 2008
Northern VA Celica Sprue Association
www.csaceliacs.org Click
on Local support tab and select “Virginia” from the menu
Periodic outings, events and conferences
Contact Daniel DuBravec (703-304-4566
NOVA/MD/DC Area R.O.C.K (Raising Our Celica Kids) Group
Yahoo group (free)
Periodic meetings and events
Contact Linda Hickman (410-290-5224)
