The Kinsale - Boston, MA

There is little else that bothers me than restaurants that go through the "effort" to mark items as "gluten free" and then don't do this thoroughly.  The Kinsale tries to give you a head's up on what's gluten free which I appreciate, but only marks about three items as such. If you look at those items you can deduce a fair number of other options that can be safe for a gluten free diner. For instance, their mixed grill is marked "GF" and it includes their steak tips (marinated, not in BBQ sauce), turkey tips, banger sausages, and colcannon potatoes. Yet, the steak tips entree, the turkey tips entree, the bangers & mash, and the side of colcannon potatoes - all of these aren't marked as "GF." Some of these might have an easily left to the side sauce (or so it seems), but it seems a shame that they wouldn't mark items with an asterisk that could be gluten free with a few alterations. Upon further discussion, you can discover a few other options that can be made safely for someone eating gluten free. 

So, aside from the digging you have to do on your own, this place gets some major props for having not one, but TWO gluten free beers. Um...one of those being Bard's (not my favorite, but not undrinkable) and the other being on tap!! I don't know if they always have a GF rotating brew, but last night I finally was able to try the much lauded but difficult to find Dogfish Head Tweason'ale!!!! Um, YUM. Finally a more complex gluten free brew - oh, did I mention that it was ON TAP?  I was pretty excited and damned happy to say the least. I will be reviewing the actual beer in a separate post on gluten free beer...more on that later.

In the end, I had an average turkey burger with fresh avocado and a spicy aioli - nothing to write about. This was paired with a side salad and I ordered a separate side of the colcannon potatoes. The potatoes were easily my favorite. Colcannon potatoes are a combination of spuds, cabbage, and speckled with carrots. I would totally go back for more of those. Next time, I think I may stick with Irish food at the Irish Pub. Another diner ordered the bangers & mash (aka colcannon taters) and was quite pleased. When I go back for another pint of Tweason'ale, I'll be having some sausage with those potatoes! 

Food - two and a half stars out of five.

Beef - five stars, period.

Uncommon Grounds - Watertown, MA

I haven't eaten pancakes outside my own kitchen since...well, I can't remember that point, but I was young. Today changed that. Uncommon Grounds in Watertown, MA made me my very own gluten free blueberry pancakes with real maple syrup! These pancakes did not disappoint! One of the best parts: the blueberries are served on top, not in these fluffy cakes, which makes them all the more delicious in my opinion. Perhaps my favorite option is that you can order the pancakes either solo, double, or as a triple stack. Those of us who aren't used to eating them (ahem...me) had trouble finishing the ambitious two I ordered because they were so filling.

Uncommon Grounds has all kinds of traditional breakfast fare, like eggs and omelettes, that are naturally gluten free. Breakfast, for me, is usually a safe bet yet always lacks something because I have no toast options - well, not at this place. They serve up Udi's multigrain toast (my wonderful Hubs ordered it with his meal) alongside eggs, homefries, and any meat you might like. Having such great bread translates into being afforded delicious sandwiches in the afternoon hours. I can't wait to go back and try one.

I highly recommend Uncommon Grounds, but it has limited seating and fills up quickly. So if you have gluten-free tiny humans, you might want to be there early.

Three and a half stars out of five.