The Slanted Door

Today is the last in the series of posts on San Francisco's gluten free restaurant scene and I chose to end it with one of my favorite restaurants, The Slanted Door.

The Slanted Door is a modern Vietnamese restaurant owned by Charles Phan and located in the Ferry Building.  They serve a large menu of delicious food using only the freshest ingredients possible.

Charles Phan also owns a small chain of restaurants called Out The Door which brings similar cuisine to a wider audience (the menu is less expensive).  Out The Door has locations in the Ferry Building, the Westfield Shopping Centre and on Bush Street.

The Slanted Door does not provide a gluten free menu but the waitstaff are very aware of which items are gluten free or can be made gluten free - almost everything on the menu can be altered in some way to be made gluten free!  Out The Door provides a gluten free menu for its diners.

While in San Francisco, I went to The Slanted Door once and to Out The Door at the Westfield Centre twice.

The portions at The Slanted Door are large and meant for sharing.  We ordered the Slanted Door Spring Rolls with Shrimp and Mint to start.  For the entrees, we ordered Stir Fried Organic Chicken with Gingko Nuts, Raisins, Walnuts and Cashews along with Caramelized Wild Gulf Shrimp with Garlic and Onions.

For sides, we ordered Chue Farms Baby Bok Choy with Shitake Mushrooms, Allstar Organics' Snow Peas with King Oyster Mushrooms and Jasmine Rice.

 And for dessert, I was able to have the cotton candy with a small selection of homemade candies!  Everything tasted so amazing!

When dining at Out The Door both times I ordered the same shrimp dish that I had at The Slanted Door with a side of jasmine rice.

I became so addicted to the food at this restaurant while I was in San Francisco that I was ecstatic to learn that they will be opening a location of The Slanted Door in NYC in early 2012!  All I know as of now is that it will be located in the Met Life Building.  I cannot wait to go when they open!

For more information, visit their website at www.slanteddoor.com or visit them at:

1 Ferry Building #3
San Francisco, CA 94111
415-861-8032

And The Winner Is...

Congratulations to the winner of the Katz Gluten Free Giveaway!

Jackie Coughlan of High Bridge, New Jersey will receive 5 products from Katz Gluten Free!

Thanks to everyone for entering!  Stay tuned for more contests!

The American Grilled Cheese Kitchen

If you're in San Francisco and looking for a big lunch, you should check out the American Grilled Cheese Kitchen!  As the name implies, they offer a variety of different types of grilled cheese sandwiches including ones made with gluten free bread!

The place offers some indoor seating but most tables are outside and it gets crowded, so there can be a wait for tables.

I ordered a Gluten Free Mousetrap.  This was made using Tillamook Sharp Cheddar, Creamy Havarti and Monterey Jack on Gluten Free Bread.  The sandwich was delicious but huge!  Half of a sandwich was really more than enough for a meal!  Also, all grilled cheese sandwiches are served with an orange.  They also sold an assortment of gluten free potato chips by the brand, Deep River Snacks.  I had the Rosemary Potato Chips and they were amazing!

For more information, visit their website at theamericansf.com or visit them at:

1 South Park Avenue
Suite 103A
San Francisco, CA 94107

Chez Panisse Cafe

We ventured outside San Francisco one day to Berkeley, where we got to go to the famous Chez Panisse Cafe.  Chez Panisse doesn't have a gluten free menu but since they use mostly very simple ingredients they are very easily able to accommodate someone on a gluten free diet.

For my appetizer, I had the Smoked Salmon which was delicious!  My main course consisted of California Sea Bass with Romano Beans, Purslane, Cherry Tomatoes and Aioli.  For dessert, I got to enjoy their Bittersweet Chocolate Ice Cream.

Everyday the menu changes, so you are always in for a nice surprise and are able to try new things!

For more information, please visit their website at www.chezpanisse.com or visit them at:

1517 Shattuck Avenue
Berkeley, CA 94709
Cafe: 510-548-5049
Restaurant: 510-548-5525

Mariposa

I visited Mariposa, an artisan-crafted gluten free bakery, several times during my stay in San Francisco.  Their gluten free baked goods were absolutely delicious!  Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to visit their main location in Oakland but their location at the San Francisco Ferry Building stocked quite a lot of options!

Mariposa sells an assortment of gluten free biscotti, brownies, cookies, squares, coffeecake, cupcakes, crostini, bagels, pizza crusts, cinnamon rolls and breads!  I was able to try their Chocolate Chip Cookies, their Penguino cupcakes (chocolate on the outside, vanilla cream on the inside), their Sour Cream Coffee Cake and their Cinnamon Rolls!  In addition to being gluten free, many of their items are dairy free and/or vegan.

My favorite item was the cinnamon roll!  It was out-of-this-world delicious!  In fact, I bought several so that I could enjoy one every morning with my Starbucks coffee while in San Francisco.

For those of you who aren't in San Francisco, you can order many of their items online by visiting their website at:  www.mariposabaking.com.

Their current locations include:

Mariposa's Bakeshop & Cafe
5427 Telegraph Ave., Unit D3
Oakland, CA 94609

San Francisco Ferry Building Kiosk
One Ferry Building
San Francisco, CA 94111

And they can also be found at the following farmer's markets around the Bay Area:

• San Ramon Saturday Farmer's Market
• Los Altos Saturday Farmer's Market
• San Rafael Sunday Civic Center Farmer's Market
• Palo Alto Sunday Farmer's Market

Boulevard

Another great place that didn't have a gluten free menu but was very accommodating with a gluten free diet, was the restaurant Boulevard.  

Here I started with the Bruin Farms Tomato Salad.  This included buffalo mozzarella, shaved market squash and parmesan colatura tuile, pine nuts and arbequina extra virgin olive oil.

For my entree, I enjoyed the Pan Roasted Hawaiian Walu and Gulf White Prawns which came alongside butterball potatoes with grated heirloom tomatoes, chili flake and parsley, baby artichokes, fava beans, and lemon relish.

And for dessert, I had the Chocolate Angel Pie.  This was a tainori chocolate mousse with a vanilla meringue crust, banana caramel and chocolate sauce with bananas foster.  It was delicious!

For more information, visit their website at www.boulevardrestaurant.com or visit them at:

One Mission Street

San Francisco, CA 94105

415-543-3959

Kara's Cupcakes

When visiting Ghirardelli Square, I came across a cupcake bakery that sold a few different types of gluten free cupcakes along with regular cupcakes.  I ended up purchasing 2 gluten free cupcakes and decided to save them for later.

However, due to presumably an outdoor heat lamp at lunch (San Francisco was freezing so it wasn't the climate) the cupcakes melted and I didn't get a good photograph of them.  They still tasted delicious, just ended up looking like a mess.

To get an idea of how beautiful they usually look, visit their website at www.karascupcakes.com!

The gluten free varieties they make include Sweet Vanilla (Vanilla Cupcake with Sweet Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla Frosting), Chocolate Velvet (Chocolate Cupcake with a Velvety Bittersweet Chocolate Buttercream) and Coconut (Vanilla or Chocolate Cupcake with a Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting).  I was able to sample both the Sweet Vanilla and the Chocolate Velvet.  They both came with a sugar flower on top!

Kara's Cupcakes has several locations in the San Francisco area including:

Marina -
3249 Scott Street (at Chestnut)
San Francisco, CA 94123
415-563-2253

Ghirardelli Square -
Plaza Level
900 North Point
San Francisco, CA 94109
415-351-2253

Town & Country Village -
855 El Camino Real, Suite 50
Palo Alto, CA 94301
650-326-2253

Santana Row -
3055 Olin Avenue, Suite 1010
San Jose, CA 95128
408-260-2222

Oxbow Market -
610 First Street, Suite 19
Napa, CA 94559
707-258-2253

Walnut Creek -
1388 North Main Street
Walnut Creek, CA 94596
925-933-2222

They also sell Kara's Cupcakes at SFO airport in Terminal 2!

For more information, check out their website at www.karascupcakes.com!