Category: Restaurants

Club Isabella

Little Italy, University Circle/Uptown Area

Club Isabella on Facebook

2175 Cornell Rd
in Little Italy at the corner of Random Rd. and Cornell Rd.
Cleveland, OH 44106

216.229.1111
 Club Isabella does not have a dedicated gluten-free menu however meals are made to order and many menu items can be modified to accommodate the g-f diner.
The dining room at Club Isabella is quite lovely making this a very nice option for an evening of Fine Dining.  The restaurant is conveniently located for dinner before Cleveland Orchestra events or to complement a trip to any of the University Circle museums including the Cleveland Museum of Art, Museum of Contemporary Art, Botanical Gardens, and the Cleveland Historical Society!

Starbucks

Everywhere

Starbucks has introduced a Gluten-Free Smoked Canadian Bacon & Egg hot breakfast sandwich.

From Starbucks’ website:

At last, a breakfast sandwich for our gluten-free friends. Tasty cherrywood-smoked Canadian bacon, an egg patty and reduced-fat white cheddar on a gluten free roll. It’s all prepared in a certified gluten-free environment and sealed for your safety. We then warm and serve it in its own oven-safe parchment bag to avoid any cross-contamination.

Starbucks has been increasing the number of gluten free offerings. Since the introduction of the Marshmallow Dream Bar Starbucks has been adding additional certified gluten free packaged snacks. You can find a range of chips, cookies, jerkies, yogurt and bananas. But it is only now that you can get a sandwich.

The GF roll stood up well to the heating and eating without crumbling, even having a slight chew. The filling is comfort food: soft and a bit salty.

The Starbucks workers at one location opened the package before heating. Do make sure that the item you receive has remained sealed in its package.

It’s nice to know I can find a meal while traveling thanks to the ubiquity of Starbucks.

As always, Starbucks says:

We cannot guarantee that any of our products are free from allergens (including dairy, eggs, soy, tree nuts, wheat and others) as we use shared equipment to store, prepare and serve them.

Mia Bella Little Italy

East, Little Italy, University Circle

http://www.mblittleitaly.com/

12200 Mayfield Rd
Cleveland, OH 44106
216.795.2355

Mariann writes:

Mia Bella – Little Italy, located at the corner of Murray Hill Rd. and Mayfield Rd., has much to offer the g-f diner.  In every section of the menu – Soups, Salads, Appetizers, Pizzas, Entrees and Sides there are items to choose.

Our party of 6 had a reservation this past Saturday evening and we were happy that we reserved in advance.  The dining room is small and super busy, but we were impressed that they are sufficiently staffed to make it all happen.  

Reservations are most highly recommended!!

We chose salads to start our meal off.  The selections at our table included Roasted Beet Salad, Caesar Salad, and Albanian Chopped Salad.  All  were freshly prepared with nice crisp vegetables and great dressings.  The entrees chosen by our party included Seafood Risotto (the scampi were huge), Cheese Tortellini (pictured here)
Cheese Ravioli with Artichoke Hearts, and Mushroom Risotto.  

My fellow diners declared each and every dish to be wonderful!

For the g-f diner Mia Bella offers a g-f pasta with most pasta dishes able to be modified to accommodate.  According to the on-line menu there is also the option for g-f pizza although I did not notice this while in the restaurant so will need to go back and do some investigating on that. The Risotto dishes are g-f – the seafood option has a red sauce and the mushroom option has a white sauce.  G-F Entree options include Lamb Chops, Ribeye Steak and Scallops.  To finish the meal my fellow diners chose Espresso’s or digestive liqueurs – me – I chose the Spumoni Gelato!

I’m looking forward to going back to dine at Mia Bella – to try the pizza or one of the pasta dishes and also the calamari appetizer.  

And to have another Spumoni…….

 

 

 

Gigi’s on Fairmount

Cleveland Heights

 

https://www.facebook.com/gigisonfairmount

Intimate bistro serving locally sourced, Italian-inspired American fare with wine & cocktails
3477 Fairmount Blvd
Cleveland Heights, OH
44118

Phone: 216.291.7237

Lunch, Dinner and Brunch menus are available.
Check the facebook page for daily hours.

Mariann writes:

The menu at Gigi’s on Fairmount is styled on Small Plate Appetizers, Salads and Soups, and a variety of Bruschetta.  They also offer 3 entrees at dinner which your server will describe as they change daily.  There are a number of items on the menu that are naturally g-f but the restaurant carries g-f bread (Udi’s) so even the Bruschetta can be accommodated.

On my first visit to Gigi’s our table shared an olive medley and cheese platter that were both substantial and beautifully presented.  We also had salads that were plentiful enough to be entrees.  Of the three entrees offered on the day I dined 2 of the 3 were g-f.  My choices were Seared Scallops on garlic grits and Braised Lamb Shank over mashed potatoes.  Both dishes included a lovely selection of beans and carrots in the plating of the entrees.
The dining experience at Gigi’s was very pleasant.  Our server was gracious, attentive and knowledgeable.  The room is a bit on the dark side but there is candlelight and reflections on all the mirrored walls so the room appears large and welcoming.  The adjacent lounge has a bar and lovely sofa and cluster seating for a group gathering.  On nice weather days the sidewalk patio looks to be quite welcoming.  
While the wine list is limited it includes some very wonderful wines from around the world.  Our party enjoyed a Savignon Blanc from Australia, a Montepulciano from Italy, and a Pinot Noir from Oregon.  Cocktails are also served at Gigi’s.