What's for Dinner? - Olive Garden

So, DH suggested a lunch date today....Olive Garden. Not the location that had the insect issue, so I figured safe enough. And they have a Gluten Free menu I wanted to try. I checked out the menu online ahead of time, so I could focus on that and not all the lovely pasta dishes I shouldn't be eating :( So sad and so tempting knowing what I could have been eating...sigh.

Anyways, I did enjoy their salad (waitress kindly brought the croutons on a side plate for DH without being asked!). No breadsticks for me, but DD polished off a few. Pasta dish from their special menu is called Penne Rigate Pomodoro. It's corn pasta with a very light (aka skimpy) tomatoe sauce.

First off, I've never tried corn pasta. And I didn't care for it...plus it's a bright yellow colour? The picture doesn't do it justice. I don't think it was cooked long enough because it was crunchier than al dente should be. For a pasta restaurant you'd think they should know how to cook pasta....even if it is GF. I'll stick to my rice pasta, thank you!

Secondly, I wish there was more options for sauce then just tomatoe. Maybe a nice bolognese or something? Oh well.

Third, very small portion I would have to say. I had two big plates of salad, almost a whole order of mussels and nearly all the pasta. For lunch, that's huge amount of food for me. Before the pasta came out I didn't think I would be eating any of it since I was already borderline full. Oh well.

Will I eat at Olive Garden again? Probably, although not high on my list.
Will I order the Penne Rigate Pomodoro? Probably not :)

What's for Dinner? - Gluten Free Panago Pizza

That's right. If you had not heard, Panago now offers a gluten free pizza! Tried it a while ago, just after it came out. Was pretty good. I froze the leftovers and they reheated really well too!

I ordered online, and they had a warning come up on the screen regarding this product not being suitable for Celiacs or those with gluten intolerance. They are just covering themselves. Realistically there will probably be flour dust or some type of small amount of gluten that makes its way onto your pizza. If this is a problem for you, don't order from them.

Panago will also call you within minutes of the online order going through to reconfirm you understand they can't guarantee it's 100% GF. I was impressed! No phone call second time around, maybe they know me now? Box comes "sealed" and gives you your third and final warning before diving in.

You only get one option - medium starting at $14. And it's hip to be square. I guess that makes it easier to identify the GF from the regular. Doesn't matter to me what the shape it. If it's pizza and it tastes good, I'm in! Seemed to be a full choice of toppings and sauces. Enough for me anyways.

Since DH is away, and I've been busy with my fall deep cleaning and redecorating today, I figured it was a good day for pizza. No energy to cook tonight. So we're ordering in, giving Panago another try. Hopefully it's as good as the first time around!

And that's what we're having for dinner tonight! :)

What's for Dinner? - The Old Spaghetti Factory!

We were in Banff for the September long weekend, and for some reason it has become ritual to eat at Old Spaghetti Factory. We never eat at this restaurant any other time. Odd.

Anyways, I was happy to see they had a Gluten Free menu this time around (it's been a few years since we've been to Banff and consequently eaten at OSF).

I ordered the Cheesy Baked Tomato Chicken Pasta. It was about $14, including your appetizer salad and ice cream for dessert. I didn't have any of their bread, but that's brought to your table too.

It actually tasted almost identical to a chicken dish that I used to make before turning GF. The chef could have been more generous with the sauce, but it was still good.

If you don't feel like cooking tonight, this could be what's for dinner! :)

 Here's the link to their full GF menu!