Gluten Freebird

Restaurant Week is back. In years past, it was a week of $20-something lunches with $30-something dinners. Nowadays, the week is often 2 weeks or even a month and that dinner has become $35.08 rather than the expected $30.08. I’ve gone to more than my fair share of restaurant week meals (it was a part of my old job), so I’ve been around the resto-week block a few times. It’s still a good deal, but you have to strategize …

Here are a few nuggets of advice.

If you have an allergy (gluten or otherwise), it’s probably not the best time to hit up a restaurant, especially for the first time. Restaurants are often operating beyond capacity, rushing patrons in and out, cooking at above-peak levels. Now is not the time to trust that a kitchen will be able to keep your food gluten-, nut-, dairy-, or allergy-free. They’re too focused on getting food out the door.

If you do decide to go, plan to get the most for your money. Try somewhere new and make sure that the tab ($70.16 plus tax, tip, liquor, and any supplemental fees) is actually a deal. Note: To me, this would likely weed out places like Casa Oaxaca, Oyamel, Ulah Bistro, Café Trope, and Rumberos.

Don’t be afraid to go at an off time. Go right at 5:30 and get your choice of items before the menu becomes totally picked over. If you go at the end of the night, relish that you won’t be rushed out like patrons in the prime times.

Be patient and generous with your servers. Summer is always slow in D.C. restaurants, but the economy has made this summer a turtle’s pace. So these servers are going from leisure to mayhem and making significantly less than a regular tab. Tip well.

So, without further ado, my favorite Restaurant Week choices:

Ashok Bajaj’s restaurants consistently amaze me. The restaurateur owns Rasika, 701, Oval Room, Bombay Club, and Ardeo/Bardeo. His restaurants offer full menus of seasonal ingredients with impeccable presentation. I’ve written about Rasika before, but Tony Conte of Oval Room and Bobby Varua of 701 present contemporary flavors that can easily and expertly accommodate dining restrictions.

It’s more tricky to find gluten-free dishes at Passion Food Hospitality’s restaurants, but Acadiana, TenPenh, DC Coast, and Ceiba are renowned for their generosity during Restaurant Week. Ten Penh’s Asian flavors mean ample soy sauce, while Acadiana and DC Coast use a fair bit of batter and frying, so Ceiba is probably the safest option for gluten-free dining.

Kinkead’s is a good choice for lunch with seafood as good as the restaurant has ever turned out.

Vidalia is superlative. I ate there last week (expect a post to come along soon) and loved the tuna in a spicy tomato nage, shrimp and grits and pork, all which could be gluten-free. Also, the garden-fresh mint ice cream is a killer.

Zola is generous with menu offerings, including lamb, skate, and their glutenous lobster mac ‘n’ cheese.

Avoid very limited menus, as with the Prime Rib, Sushi Ko, and Charlie Palmer Steak.

Phew. That should get you through, right?