The Wheat-less White North

This past weekend my husband and I made a trip up to Ontario (Canada not California) to visit some family of mine. It was a crazy non-stop weekend of visiting, eating and drinks.

I used to be terrible about asking if a restaurant was capable of working around gluten-intolerance. No one wants to be the difficult person at the table but since I've started asking I've found people to be really helpful and friendly.

One morning we decided to stop for brunch with some friends and family at Pure Spirits Oyster House in Toronto's Distillery District. I have spent many years near Toronto and amazingly never visited this area. If industrial chic is a thing though, they are doing it well. It IS a thing right?

I was happy to see that right at the bottom of the menu they said that they would substitute in gluten-free pasta for any of their dishes at no additional cost. I am usually willing to pay the premium but I'm happy when I'm not forced to. I started my meal sharing an order of their PEI Mussels Provencal in white wine, tomatoes and fresh herbs with my husband. The mussels were beautifully cooked to a perfect tenderness and had no rubbery qualities to them.

Then, since I have always loved mac and cheese I decided to give theirs a go. It is called the Pure Mac 'n Cheese and is made with salmon, shrimp and mascarpone cheese and topped with a beautiful smoked salmon. It was very rich and even a small bowl was more than I could have wanted. Between this, the mussels and a Toasted Marshmallow Martini - although my husband says it's a vodka cocktail if there is no gin in it - I was more than satisfied. Also, I have never been served a drink with actual toasted marshmallows in it but I feel like it is a thing that needs to happen more often.

Although their dessert menu looked very interesting I decided to walk across the street and check out The Sweet Escape Patisserie whose chalk board told me they had many gluten-free options. They are a tiny place inside a hall of interesting shops but very quaint and welcoming. My husband and I picked up a chocolate mousse trio, some macaroons and a chocolate chip cookie - all helpfully listed as gluten-free on their signs. I was incredibly happy with all of these things.

The mousse had a cakey bottom layer with some wonderfully smooth middle layers and a topping of heavy chocolate ganache. The macaroons were crispy with a sweet cream center and the cookie was a bit crunchy with excellent flavor and very good quality chocolate chips. If I was more local I would certainly be a regular at this little shop. There is nothing I had from this place that I did not enjoy.

In the end, I have discovered that if you are in downtown Toronto and looking for some amazing gluten free food and drinks the distillery district has you covered.