Wild Wood Art Cafe and Bakery

Address:
3663 Bee Caves Road
Austin, TX
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Part of Town: Westlake
Phone: 512-327-9660
Cost:
Type of Food:
URL: They have a website on the way at http://www.wildwoodartcafe.com/

This recommendation thanks to Lynn Rainwater

In Austin for a birthday party, I ate at Wild Wood for the third time and had a great gluten-free meal. I went up to the counter and asked for Mariah Justice, the owner, who was in. She remembered from my previous visits that I have celiac disease. She asked "How about lasagna?" I boggled, then quickly replied "Yes, Yes!" or words to that effect. She had used rice pasta in making the lasagna. It was meatless, with tomatoes, mushrooms, and zucchini. She asked if I could have cheese. I am not lactose intolerant, so no problem. And I didn't really miss the meat, the lasagna tasted so good! The cheese was delicious, as were the flavorings. And a man-sized portion, filled the plate.

I had a salad to go with it. Fresh greens; I didn't recognize what they were. A couple of cherry tomatoes and lots of carrot strips. She asked if I could have vinegar, then offered two different vinegar dressings. I took the balsamic vinegar; it was served separately in a covered plastic container. A good sized salad, nice and fresh.

She had several different gluten-free cookies. I took the big crispy one. It was very good. She also had gluten-free peanut butter cookies and gluten-free chocolate cookies. The cookies were not labeled gluten free as they had been on previous visits, so when you visit you should ask Mariah which ones are gluten free. She uses a clear covered cake display for the gluten-free cookies; they are not mixed in with non-gluten-free ones.

As on my previous visits to Wild Wood, the two soups of the day were gluten free. These are available by the cup or by the bowl. I had ordered the bowl of soup on each earlier visit, and the soups were hearty and filling; a meal in themselves. The second time I was there, she had fresh gluten-free bread. I had a slice with my soup. I could have had a sandwich instead of the soup.

Mariah is allergic to wheat. She told me that at first she started offering a few items that were wheat free, but she got requests for gluten free, so she began offering gluten-free items as well, such as whole loaves of gluten-free rice bread, cookies, and muffins.

I mentioned to her that one of our San Antonio members had eaten there on my recommendation. Mariah wasn't there, and the experience was not so good as mine. Mariah said she is working to familiarize the other employees with the gluten-free diet. However, it would probably be a good idea to call (512-327-9660) before you visit and ask if Mariah is there. You could also get a preview of what gluten-free cafe and bakery items are available that day.

Wild Wood Art Cafe and Bakery is at 3663 Bee Caves Road, behind Breed & Co. at the corner of Bee Caves Road and West Bank. The number is not visible from the road, but if you are going west, just turn left at the end of the 3600 block (there is a sign saying 3700 on the corner of the next block) and then after about 50 feet turn left into the shopping center. Wild Wood is at the near end of the building on your right. Hours are 7:30 am – 6 pm, Monday through Saturday

 
Kyoto Restaurant

Address:
315 Congress
Austin, TX
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Part of Town: Downtown
Phone: 482-9010
Cost:
Type of Food: Japanese

Recommended Items: Salmon and Tuna Sushi (The fish is on top of the rice) and Veggie Rolls (be careful to make sure there is no tempura in your veggie roll) Steamed soybeans.

Sashimi is just plain fish and also a good option,

Comments: For the first time, I had some trouble brining my own soy sauce somewhere. =(

The Japanese woman who I believe runs/owns the restaurant was nervous about me bringing my soy sauce. She said that sometimes people will call and threaten lawsuits over "bad fish" even when the whole restaurant ate the same thing and only one person got sick.

(Remember, this is always a risk with raw fish, and I do not believe Kyoto is in any way a restaurant that can't be trusted to be clean, etc. It is a good restaurant. )

I explained my situation, and she came around and was very gracious. Again, big tip, because I had to be real clear about cleaning the knife so that for example, a knife used to cut a roll with tempura was not used to cut my sushi rolls.

The soybeans were only prepared with salt (watch out: some restaurants marinate their soybeans in soy sauce) so that was good as well. overall, a good experience.

Other locations:there is a location out north, but I would not feel comfortable commentiing - even with the same ownership, managers and waiters are so different at each location that I would not want to say =)

This recommendation thanks to anonymous

 
Lamberts

Address:
1716 S. Congress
Austin, TX
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(Part of Town: Downtown)
Phone: 383-8877
Cost:
Type of Food: Bistro

Recommended Items: salmon -- steak- steamed spinach - salad

see below for ordering

Comments: I loved Lambert's before celiac and was really hoping I could enjoy some of my favorite dishes with both celiac and dairy restrictions.

The good news is that Lou Lambert, who is the chef and owner, is wonderful about accomodating special diets.

Every time I have eaten at Lamberts I have called the day of my reservation and talked to Lou. Because all of their meats are marinated and made with a roux, Lou will set aside meat for me that only has demiglace (veal stock, spices, etc) and make sure to make my meat away from anything w/ flour.

They normally have some fish dishes that are easily adaptable. They have a wonderful shrimp pasta dish, and I haven't tried yet, but I think Lou would be open to my bringing in my own special pasta - havent tried that though!

If you go, make sure to make a reservation. It is a small restaurant, and the kitchen is open inside the restaurant, so it is really an atmosphere where you feel like attention is being paid to your requests.

Its only for special occasions for us, because I always try to tip nicely because I am a high maintenance customer!!

This recommendation thanks to anonymous