The Red Lentil - Watertown, MA

If you asked me a few years ago if I'd ever think that vegan, gluten free food could be considered a "foodie find" I'd probably have laughed in your face. After my visit(s) to The Red Lentil, I can honestly say that gluten free and vegan absolutely can be foodie finds given the proper, loving treatment. In fact, I posit that this type of cuisine can be completely addicting and deceptively dairy free.

My first trip to The Red Lentil started with one of their most popular appetizers: Gobi Manchurian. This dish starts with cauliflower dipped in chickpea flour battered, then deep fried; it is then combined with peppers, onions, and a delightfully spiced tomato sauce. This dish is on almost every table I've seen in that restaurant...and is always a part of my dining experience. If it came by the bucket-full, I would totally order the largest bucket. It would make converts out of any non-believers in good veg fare.

If I'm seeking a lighter dinner, I generally opt for the greens of the day. My last experience was a combination of collards, chickpeas, onion, tomato, and garlic. My only critique: if you're billing yourself as a vegan/vegetarian restaurant, don't use pre-diced garlic; the real deal would be way better and bring a lot more flavor. Still, it was a delicious dish and I would order it again.

On the more substantial end, there are tomato and mushroom ragout over polenta or pistachio and herb encrusted tofu with tasty corn cakes. These dishes are topped with "creams" of different flavors and though they are made with cashews, you'd swear it's the real thing.

Other notable finds: they always have a gluten free and vegan dessert. Their dessert chef is something of a wizard. The first time I ate one of his cakes I really didn't believe it was dairy free. I asked the kind waitress to check, then double check, and following two confirmations of it being dairy free, I demanded to know what trickery was used to make it so scrumptious. Since then, I just enjoy each bite and secretly hope that the chef will give me private cooking lessons one day...

This restaurant is quite unique and is definitely worth a visit. I enjoy that the gluten free and vegan entrees are clearly marked and I like that there are always daily specials to choose from. For the foodie - there are occasional tasting menu nights!

Three and a half out of five stars.

Stuffed Portobello Heaven

Those people over at Food & Wine Magazine sure know what they are doing. There's a fabulous recipe that I made for dinner tonight (Click for Recipe). It's a fabulous, light recipe with lots of flavor...and it's GF without any substitutions. Proxy Glutard (aka my husband, who isn't GF, but eats that way out of solidarity) loved it. I'd recommend saving this one for a night that's spent on the grill or when it's not already 85 and the height of humidity, but still, I'm glad I tried this out today.

I tweaked the recipe just slightly: While I mixed in the cheese as instructed, I sliced some more cheddar very thinly and topped the giant mushrooms with them, for extra flavor. Additionally, I salted the onions and spinach while cooking in the frying pan - I'm a big believer in layering the flavors as I cook, even when the recipe doesn't call for it. I just used a lighter hand with the salt at the end (barely used any) since it was already there in the different components.

I'm a bit obsessed with cilantro right now. It happens every summer. Though there's no shortage of this wonderous herb in my cooking during the three other seasons, I cannot get enough of it in the summer. This past weekend was filled with a wonderful Yelle original salad/salsa which included black beans, mangoes, sugar snap peas...and lots of cilantro. Seriously, it's a good thing there's no issues with consuming massive amount of this flavorful stuff.

High five for the stuffed portobellos. Good work Food & Wine people - keep it up.