Caffe Andiamo

For a while Thursdays were Date Night… then work got super busy (yay!) and by the time we’d stumble home in the evenings we’d be exhausted and dirty and not really interested in going to all the effort of getting cleaned up AND presentable and then going back out into public. Netflix and delivery became too tempting.

We made it one of our 2020 goals to get out and try more new things. Having food allergies/intolerances can make trying new restaurants unnerving, but it does certainly force us off the beaten track of chain restaurants and fast food.

Usually I find new restaurants on the Find Me Gluten Free app. I love being able to read others’ reviews before I put my own tummy on the line. There are lots of gluten free options where we live, but we have this one area that doesn’t have many places that I’m wild about. I started scrolling through Google Maps searching for ‘ gluten free’ and Caffe Andiamo popped up in one comment. I contacted the restaurant and they replied right away that they did have plenty of gluten free options. Woo hoo!

First 2020 date night! Caffe Andiamo

They didn’t have a separate Gluten Free menu, but the hostess said to talk to our server and they’d be able to direct us.

Our server said that any of the pastas could be made gluten free (spaghetti or penne noodles). He was quick to pop back to the kitchen to check that certain dishes were gf, but I had to keep reminding him that we were gluten free. At one point he offered us bread, again, and I had to tell him ‘no, it’s a serious gluten issue.’ ‘So, no bread,’ he asked. Yeah, no bread. Ugh. I felt pretty confident in the kitchen, but our server needed a lot of reminding. He asked Brian if he wanted to add meatballs to his spaghetti. I asked if they were gluten free. ‘Oh no, they have bread crumbs.’ Aaarrrg! I get that a lot of things are just routine like the bread and adding meatballs, but… BUT… I shouldn’t have to ask and remind every single time! By dessert he had gotten better. When he brought the dessert menu he’d checked that there were actually gluten free options. So, I’m giving him the benefit of the doubt that he was just having an off evening since he was good about checking with the kitchen and did at least seem to understand.)

Dinner was excellent. I ordered the special Vodka ummm… oh, crud. I’ve forgotten the name… Vodka something or the other with seafood and Brian ordered the Spaghetti Bolognese.

Dessert was actually really impressive. Many places only offer sorbet for gluten free desserts, but there were three options!

Brian chose the Chocolate Creme Brûlée (they also had a regular Creme brûlée)

I ordered the Bomba. Absolutely delicious! It’s a cherry, wrapped in vanilla and chocolate cinnamon ice cream and dipped in chocolate ganache. Absolute heaven! I’m going back just for this!

There were plenty of pasta dishes to choose from and honestly, I’d be happy just going for the desserts and a glass of wine.

I’m looking forward to taking Mom back for lunch and hopefully catching a server that I can grill about the menu a bit more. There appeared to be several other dishes that looked like they should be gluten free too. I’ll keep you posted!