For the past three years I have been following a celiac diet, a lifestyle which consists of gluten-free items and extreme caution around cross contamination. I am consistently checking labels, cleaning dishes and doing anything in my power to reduce the chances of accidentally eating gluten.
Coming to Marquette, the two things I was most worried about were being able to find food to eat and navigating the large city. Milwaukee has so much to offer beyond my university, so in an effort to not only explore a new city and find tasty gluten-free options, a group of friends and I began to make a list of ‘Gluten-free places which has food that tastes normal.’
Sweet Diner
Breakfast has always been a hard meal for me, whether that was at home or at college, the gluten-free options were always limited. When we came across Sweet Diner, they had a menu which featured gluten-filled items, along with allergy friendly ones, something I was not only happy about, but my friend who also avoids gluten was as well.
I had their gluten-free berry blast pancakes with strawberry orange juice, both of which were delicious. The pancakes were perfectly cooked with a fluffy inside, but slightly crisp outside topped with berries, giving a sweet taste. The mixture of strawberry and orange juice for a drink was a cold and refreshing drink. In addition to the meal I ate, the menu was fully labeled with the items that were and were not gluten free, allowing for a quick and easy way for me to determine what I could eat.
Blooming Lotus Bakery
As someone with a sweet tooth, this bakery was the perfect stop for my family and I during family weekend. At home, I am typically baking something sweet when I am de-stressing or just in the mood for something sugary, so when my parents asked if I wanted to try this allergy friendly bakery, I said yes without a second thought.
There was a variety of options from pie bars to brownies to breads, all of which I wanted to try. After checking out all of the options I decided to get a lemon bar which had the perfect tang of sour lemon, and the crust had a buttery and softened crisp to it which was a great pair to the lemon tart topping. Although I absolutely loved the flavors of this dish, I can only see myself returning if my parents are with me as everything had a high price.
The Pasta Tree
Pasta is a huge hit or miss in the gluten-free world, it can either be too soft, too crunchy or have an odd taste to it, but The Pasta Tree was none of these things. The meal began with an appetizer of caprese insalata, a dish consisting of tomatoes, mozzarella, basil, balsamic reduction and a lemon vinaigrette. All of the different flavors in this dish came perfectly together and created an outstanding flavor that I still think about to this day. When it came to the main course, I struggled with what to get as there were so many options, all of which sounded amazing. I finally decided upon the tomato meat sauce with their homemade gluten-free pasta. The sauce was unique and had a wonderful flavor as it did not only have the tomato basil sauce, but the different flavors from the meat. The texture of the pasta was great, it was not overly soft, but it wasn’t too firm. Overall, the meal was the perfect consistency, and it was definitely a meal I would order again.
Out of all of the different places I have tried in the Milwaukee area, these would definitely be my top three. Each place is unique and specializes in their own gluten-free meal, as well as gluten-filled options for those who are not allergic. I would say that these are all must-tries for the gluten-free community, and even for those who are not gluten-free.
This story was written by Lauren Puthoff. She can be reached at [email protected].
