Join us for another of our restaurant meetings to enjoy gluten free food and discuss the gluten free lifestyle. The May meeting will be held at Thai Spice in Westlake. The address is 25099 Center Ridge Rd. Phone number is, 440-835-9228. They have a large selection of gluten free on their menu and can also make gluten free dishes upon request. We will meet at 6:30 p.m. You can browse the menu here
Category: News
Progressive Field – CLE Indians Ballpark 2017
Accessed from the MLB.com Ballpark app
Scroll to Food & Beverage
Choose Special Dietary Needs
options include Gluten Free, Vegetarian, Kosher, Peanut-Free, Food Allergy Information
Choose Gluten Free – here’s the screen shot
NOTE: previous post listed Section 156 but the correct Section is 153!
Enjoy your game fare and GO TRIBE!!
Dining Out G-F in NEO
April, 2017
NEOCN first published the link to Jilly’s Music Room back in Sept. 2014 when Jill contacted us to register as a presenter at our April 2015 Vendor Fair. I’m embarrassed to say that it took me almost two years before I ventured out to JMR to check out the menu and dine on-site. JMR is 100% gluten-free!
What a wonderful surprise awaited us on a lovely Saturday afternoon! We started with fried mushrooms and fried artichokes and then……
we followed up with a sampling of sliders,
Grilled brie, applewood smoked bacon, and fig jam.
Fried bologna with yellow mustard and pickle.
Tuna slider with field greens and vinaigrette.
Flank steak, roasted red pepper, cheese, and fig jam.
Ice cold Bard’s beer and this Saturday afternoon was a complete success.
JMR sits in an area of Akron that will be experiencing some real construction headaches in the coming months. Like many areas of NEO. Let this not deter you, please!! —- RATHER —- make it a point to persevere and head there anyway. You will be treated to amazing delectables and be providing a community service to a local shop that will need guests to make the effort for them. Businesses struggle under our road construction projects so it is in our interest to go the extra mile or more! You’ll be glad you made the trek.
In the past month the name of Astoria Market and Cafe came up in at least 3 different conversations. How could I not be intrigued. We headed out to Astoria on a Thursday evening after work and before heading back downtown to the theater. Our arrival coincided with a private event going on at the cafe so we were considering turning around and heading back downtown but happily we continued to our destination. The market portion includes Mediterranean specialty cheese and meat deli, coolers of beer, wines, and other beverages, freezers of frozen specialties and shelves of interesting dry goods. The cafe portion is spacious and comfortable with a staff that is attentive and welcoming. It turns out that they have a separate party room so the cafe had lots of room for walk-in guests. By the time we were served our meals all the tables in the cafe were filled.
The cafe menu is Tapas style but the big plates are generous and filling so there is something for everyone.
We shared a bowl of olives and started our meal with Avgolemono Chicken Soup with Rice – a classic Greek soup of chicken broth, egg yolks and lemon juice.
Following the soup we shared Stuffed Grape Leaves – some of the best I have ever eaten!
I did not choose an entrée this night because I was full from the hearty soup and grape leaves.
But my husband, who does not require a g-f diet, chose an entrée of Ricotta Ravioli and Meatballs. He declared the dish ‘amazing’.
Dine. Sip. Shop. Chill. This is the motto of Astoria and they are doing a great job of making it happen. Check it out.
If you’ve been following my posts you know that I go to The Fairmount in Cleveland Hts. a lot! There are many good reasons for going – the location, the food, the beer (Bard’s), the phenomenal staff!! the great atmosphere, the outdoor patio, the camaraderie and energy! All I really want to share here, this month, is the picture of my recent burger. Because this burger was plated with such care it was presented as a piece of art! And, every dish that is presented at The Fairmount will leave you feeling that your meal was made special for you!
NEWS NOTES and things to KNOW!
Progressive Field 2017 
As of the date of this newsletter we do not have the complete list of stands at Progressive Field but we do have at least one stand visited on opening week! In section 156 – out on the main concourse, next to the fan services office, a dedicated gluten-free stand where you can get hot dogs on buns, burgers on buns, Redbridge beer, some packaged snacks but, as of this week, no pretzels in sight.
Here’s the GREAT crew who was manning the stand this week!
They were gracious and helpful even while they were challenged with frozen buns they were trying desperately to get thawed out for a long line of guests. I’d like to see the stand offer bags of chips and I also heard guests asking for popcorn. The need to travel all over the stadium in search of things to eat becomes ever more challenging if you have wait a long time for the line and the buns to thaw.
If you go to the game and stop in at the stand follow up with a message to the vendor and fan services. Let them know about your experience so that they can address issues AND/OR post your comments here and we’ll follow up.
As always, civility and polite requests are most welcome:)
Have Fun, Enjoy your Eats, and GO TRIBE!!
…….AND check out the discussion from cleveland.com on making your best choices for adult beverages!
http://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2017/04/which_alcohol_choices_are_safe.html
IN THE NEWS: Is a virus sparking our genetic predisposition to CD?
https://arstechnica.com/science/2017/04/heres-how-an-otherwise-humdrum-virus-sparks-celiac-disease/
Help!! I’ve been glutened:(
http://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2017/03/what_to_do_if_youve_been_glute.html
COMING SOON!! 
Cleveland’s First G-F Craft Beer.
http://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2017/03/sibling_revelry_brewing_makes.html
ON THE ROAD: TRAVELING WITH YOUR G-F DIET….
Recently we had a guest to our site reach out asking for information on dining out recommendations for another city. Because we have not been keeping a log of all our travels we can only offer as suggestions the tools we have used in the past while traveling.
Here are some sites you can look to for assistance on your travels!
http://www.findmeglutenfree.com/
https://www.glutenfreeliving.com/gluten-free-foods/shopping-gluten-free/top-10-gluten-free-apps/
yelp.com/add the name of the city you are interested in searching.
tripadvisor.com/add the name of the city you are interested in searching.
Comments about Dining Out G-F in NEO
Last month (March 2017) in my ‘Dining Out…’ post I shared the pleasure of my experience with having a g-f pancake breakfast at The Original Pancake House. After the newsletter hit the email circuit I received an email criticism for writing that post. I’m not sharing the original post titled ‘Concerned in Cleveland’ because the author of the post chose to use both an anonymous name and contact information leaving me no ability to respond directly. Still, it occurs to me that the ‘concern’ of one individual may reflect the concerns of others who did not write so I want to make sure I share with those following the posts at this site.
One of the points made in the email message was with regards to possible cross contamination due to the prevalence of airborne traditional flour from the mixing of the traditional batter. While this is always a possibility – in any traditional restaurant – that is a point we must each be aware of when making our choices. There is no reason to assume that a pancake house has any more airborne particles than any other traditional restaurant kitchen. Airborne flour in a bakery or pizza kitchen would be a concern for me due to the potential of this to happen with the rolling and flouring of the products being produced. For me, I have not witnessed any activity at the pancake house that gives me reason to believe that ‘flour is all over the place’. In any kitchen, cross contamination can happen with use of pans, utensils, plates, ovens, toasters, hands, crumbs, etc. Again, as I have previously posted – Always be your own advocate. If something from the kitchen doesn’t seem o.k. – question it! Share your needs with your server, if the server does not seem interested or knowledgeable talk with the manager. Understand that any kitchen that is not g-f dedicated will have higher need for your diligence.
If you have not already seen our Tips to Dining Out page – check it out here https://www.neohioceliac.com/going-out-tips-for-eating-gf/
The dining out post also brought us comments from guests with suggestions for additional restaurants to try and suggestions for already posted restaurants to be modified and updated. This is a project we will be working on moving forward. AND, we have received information about a new gluten-free beer soon to be introduced from one of our very own local brew houses – Sibling Revelry! More on that in the coming months:)
So, stay posted for information every month to keep yourself connected. And consider coming to a meeting or to one of “Dinner With…..” member planned events.