We Must Be Dreaming

On Saturday we decided to take a trip around the Chicago suburbs to check out a local Trader Joes and a restaurant known for their gluten free menu: WILDFIRE RESTAURANT

We absolutely love Trader Joes' brown rice pastas. They are so firm and hearty; no different than any wheat pasta. Then we browsed around and Matt found a flourless chocolate cake. He is ready to dive into that after dinner with a scoop of ice cream. And the prices....holy cow!

Off to Wildfire. All I can say is this: They serve a hamburger on a gluten free bun. Matt was really anxious to order that. Think about it; since turning two he has ordered a "burger with no bun" at every McD's and Culvers. He had every right to be busting out the seams! We all took a bite and thought the bun was delicious. I asked the waitress what buns they use and before we know it the executive chef walks to our table and welcomes us. He opened up about all his gluten free culinary education and know-hows. He gave us tips and we chatted on for at least 10 minutes more. As you know Matt is a fan of the Food Network, so he was a little star-struck talking to the "big man of the kitchen" wearing his white coat and all. It was like Bobby Flay himself.

Then the dessert tray comes. Matt replies back in a nice, quiet voice (I don’t think so), “FLOURLESS CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH ICE CREAM! Oh, I am totally getting that guys!”

Unless your family knows what it’s like to live around a special needs diet, you can’t fully understand what this felt like. We were beaming!

Ok, this day can’t possibly go any better, right? Wrong!

On our way home we stopped by Wild Oats (a first time trip for us) and Matt was like a kid in a candy store. Choosing between chocolate chip cookies or butter crackers – a gluten free dieters dream! We stocked up on more than we thought and headed home.

I will conclude this post with words from Matt on our way back home: “Happy Gluten Free Day!”