Gluten Freebird

When our farmers market okra died a bit sooner than anticipated (RIP, little green friends), we made an impromptu visit to Al Crostino for dinner last night.

Gluteneer and I loved that place when it first opened. We could order a few apps and split the arugula-topped ribeye. So, we decided to hit it up again and discovered that much of the magic is gone, though there is a bit of hope.

We sat upstairs and ordered wine from Southern Italy. When the server stopped by, I told her about my gluten allergy and she grimaced before responding that there wasn’t much they could do for me. The steak and the insalata mista would be fine, she told me.

My first thought was to get up and leave. I know that it’s an Italian restaurant, but how could they be so limited in their offerings?

Luckily, she kept talking. It turns out that this server has been following the same Oprah-style cleanse that I recently attempted, so she’s well-versed in lurking gluten. Her time on the diet has helped her see what it’s like to navigate dining challenges and she turned out to be fantastic. She walked me through some options and we were set.

I ordered two apps: a grilled portobello mushroom with goat cheese (on special) and grilled scallops over lima bean puree.

Gluteneer got prosciutto with roasted peppers and a special of papardelle with lamb ragu.

Here’s the kicker: The server asked if I would like a little ramekin of ragu on the side to try his sauce without tainting myself. Are you kidding me? Sauce without having to worry about pasta goo? She totally GOT me. I could see her tip as the words came out of her mouth.

The ragu turned out to be the best part: greasy, hearty and full of flavor. I was so grateful to have had the little dish all to myself, even if I wished I’d brought some bread to sop it up. The scallops were a bit charred and gummy, but the mushroom was decent.

What I discovered was that the food was totally secondary to feeling like this woman understood what I needed.

And I didn’t even miss the pasta, though it did look good.