Monday, September 29, 2008

Ole! Gluten Free in the Bay~


So...I fully intended to snap lovely photos of the incredible Tapas that my dear friend Alison and I savored and devoured during our "girl's" evening at Va de Vi in Walnut Creek last weekend, but instead...we became entranced by the "Mystery Reds" wine flight that we were tasting...so this was the only snap shot we came away with!

The joy of visiting Walnut Creek is watching this once tiny town, transform itself continuously into a chic, Little House on the Prairie-meets Rodeo Drive (for the shopping only, not attitude!) kind of spot that one can never get tired of walking all around, finding delicious little spots to eat at, such as Va de Vi. Earlier this year, a friend had told me about this Tapas bar and bistro, so this past reunion weekend with my dear pal Alison seemed the perfect time to check it out.

I had called ahead to the restaurant to make reservations, but most importantly, to ask if a Celiac was safe and able to eat there. The answer was a resounding, "Yes, we are very familiar with gluten-free eating"...and they were. Our waiter, though a bit over-hyped about his job, was VERY diligent about me being able to eat safely and well! He even went through the entire Tapas menu with me and helped choose our delicious Spanish delights. It was a huge relief and I trusted that he knew what he was talking about, and thankfully he did. Each plate that arrived was a vision and perfectly gluten-free.

It always delights me to rediscover over and over again, just how well a Celiac is able to eat/dine and how many delicious foods and flavors are out there for us to savor. It's also exciting to me when I find a new restaurant that "GETS IT!" So the next time you are visiting the East Bay/ Walnut Creek area be sure to visit Va de Vi and please, please order the Pomme Frits...ils sont cest' manifique!!

By the way...I did guess the origin of one out of the three reds we were tasting - it was a delicious 2004 Artessa "Elements" Cab Franc/Syrah/Tempranillo from the good old Napa Valley - love the California reds.

Eat well.

and...Eat delicious food!

1 comment:

Joe Lewis said...

Thank you for reminding me about this place. I ate there a while back and it was delicious as well as being very accommodating on the gluten-free front. Plus the wine flights are hard to argue with...