Lucky Oyster in Virginia Beach

Lucky Oyster in Virginia Beach

If you find yourself visiting our lovely tourist town of Virginia Beach, there are several good spots for gluten free. One popular spot a few miles away from the oceanfront is called Lucky Oyster. It has a laid back vibe and is in a strip mall parking lot, but tries hard to have some sense of being near the sea with its interior and exterior decor.  Now, I’m not an oyster fan, or even a lot of fish. I do like shrimp, crab, and scallops, but I also really love chicken. Recently I learned Lucky Oyster has some gluten free options and that they had more than just seafood, so we gave it a try.

On their menu are several clearly marked GF options. In the appetizers, there were Tenderloin Steak Bites, Blackened Tuna Bites, Oysters Rockefeller, Buffalo Chicken Dip, and Lucky’s Best Ever Nachos.  We decided to share two appetizers that sounded appealing: Buffalo Chicken Dip and Lucky’s Best Ever Nachos, shown respectively below.

 

 

The chips were not fried in restaurant and were therefore confirmed as safe for celiac. The buffalo chicken dip was sadly not anything amazing compared to other chicken dips, but it was not bad either. The nachos were quite good and came with an impressively decorative guacamole flower on top. Both appetizers were hearty and safe and we enjoyed them!

Aside from the hearty appetizer options, there was a wedge salad, cobb salad, and Lucky’s Oyster Stew. For main courses, there were a ribeye and a sirloin steak option as well as several seafood options. Seafood entrees included Sweet Chile Thai Salmon or Sesame Seared Wasabi Tuna. The steamed combo (oysters, clams, shrimp, and mussels) is not listed as gluten free, nor are the steamed crab legs, but I would suspect they are, but be sure to ask or call ahead if those interest you.

I appreciated that their menu clearly marks which side dishes are gluten free, as sometimes that is an overlooked component of the menu. Those options include Key West coleslaw, Red beans and rice, green beans, chef’s mashers, and at dinner time, a baked potato. There were no gluten free desserts, unfortunately.  We were so full from the appetizers that we didn’t venture further into the meal, but we plan to return!

(I was not compensated for this review. I encourage you to check items for your own safety, but look to share my experience so you can make more informed choices about your eating out adventures. Thanks for reading!)

 

Sedona Taphouse to Charlottesville

Sedona Taphouse in Charlottesville

Recently we made the trek out to Charlottesville to visit some family. We were there for dinner and lunch (we had breakfast in the hotel room). For dinner, we went to Sedona Taphouse. The atmosphere was that of a typical taphouse or pub. We had one part of our meal that was truly great and another that was really terrible, so this is a very mixed review.

We were excited to see how many gluten free options they offered and there had been pretty good reviews online too. You can see there are options marked GF that are gluten free as they come and options with GFO, meaning they can be modified to be gluten free.  

We decided to try the Crab & Artichoke Dip and I was suprised it came with a gluten free pizza crust for dipping (I am pretty sure the crust was Udi’s, judging by its appearance, taste, and texture).  I assumed they would have something more mundane like tortilla chips.  It was a nice treat to have the pizza crust and the dip was quite good. It was a hearty appetizer that we enjoyed and would get again.

Then I ordered the Julie’s Farmer salad as my meal.  It sounded like a delicious salad and in fact looked like it was at first glance, but then I saw the chicken closer.  It was sadly very undercooked!  The chicken was even sliced in the back, so I was shocked they would have delivered it to the table looking so pink and clearly undercooked.  My husband ordered something that I didn’t take a photo of, but it also came out undercooked though not as bad as mine.  I lost my appetite at this point, so I did not eat any salad.

      

Thankfully the appetizer had filled me adequately, so we just went downtown for some ice cream and called it a night. I did not get sick from the appetizer, so what we did have was safe from a gluten free perspective at least. I’m not sure I would return because of the undercooked chicken and the customer service after we pointed this out, but I did enjoy the appetizer so if we did return, it would be for that. 

The next day we went to an old faithful in the celiac community, Burton’s. They had changed their sandwich buns from Udi’s to a brand I didn’t recognize and they were hard and tasteless. The meal seemed same otherwise and was safe and gluten free, though the roll change was a bit disappointing. I regrettably did not remember to take photos at Burton’s.

(As always, I received no compensation for this review and it is my honest opinion of the good and bad that I share so you can make an informed decision about where you may be able to eat safely as a celiac.)