Gluten-Free Ontario Dinner - Feb '12

On Wednesday, I attended the first Gluten-Free dinner hosted by Jax (@JaxGFOntario) from Gluten-Free Ontario. She is the most adorable person you will ever meet. :)

Villa Restaurant

Dinner was at Villa Restaurant in Bloor West Village (between Jane and Runnymede on Bloor Street West.) It was a nice restaurant which has many gluten-free options. On Wednesday, we had a $30 prix fixe menu. Not bad for an appetizer and entree, especially for a gluten-free meal. The restaurant made custom menus with the Gluten-Free Ontario logo, placed at each place setting. I thought this was very cute! :)

$30 Prix Fixe Menu w/ Jax's new biz cards

I am not gluten-intolerant or Celiac, but my husband is gluten-intolerant. I don't actually know how I came across Gluten-Free Ontario, but after chatting with Jax on numerous occasions. I had to come down to support her first dinner. (I feel like we have been friends forever. Again, so adorable!)

I ordered the Mixed Greens and Wild Mushroom Pizza. The salad was awesome. It was dressed just enough and not dripping with sauce. The Lemon Thyme dressing was great. The pizza on the other hand was way to greasy. Personally, there was not enough brie and too much basil oil. The crust was super crispy but the middle was super soggy. Flavour was there, texture was not. :(

Mixed Greens

Wild Mushroom Pizza

My husband ordered the Mushroom and Leek Puree Soup with Fusilli Alfredo with Grilled Chicken. He really enjoyed the soup, but wish they had offered some Parmesan for the soup. The pasta was good, but was a tad on the under cooked side. I think it's because Brown Rice pasta is so easily overcooked. I would rather my pasta a little under cooked, then mushy any day!!

Mushroom and Leek Puree

Fusilli Alfredo with Grilled Chicken

My husband also tried his first Gluten-Free beer. It was La Messagere Gluten Free beer. The colour of the beer was very light. The flavour was also very light. It reminded me of a Corona Light. It would be refreshing on a hot summer day, but I still prefer my Stella or Brahma. :)

To end an awesome evening of meeting new amazing people and having some great gluten-free meals, Jax gave out some PatsyPie treats. I was lucky to get a bag of Gluten-Free peanut butter cookies (my husband's favourite type of cookie) and a couple of pie crusts. I have to say, PatsyPie's peanut butter cookies are pretty darn good. Almost as good as regular peanut butter cookies. The only reason why I say almost, is because there are no peanut butter chips in them. (There are actual peanuts instead. Still awesome!) I haven't use the pie crusts yet. I have bribed my husband with a Banana Cream Pie with a Peanut Butter Caramel Crumble topping, just so he won't eat the pie crusts as a snack. LOL! Wish me luck! :)

Thanks Jax for the invite! 

Here are a few links for more information on Celiac Disease and Gluten-Intolerance:
     Gluten-Free Ontario - http://www.glutenfreeontario.ca/
     Celiac Disease Foundation - http://www.celiac.org/
     Toronto Celiac - http://www.torontoceliac.org/