Gluten-Free Lunch at Grumpy’s

You all now how amazed I was during my first visit to Grumpy’s, with all of the gluten-free bread, buns, cookies, and cheese cake…[mouth begins to water]…so of course I had to return.

Being that this downtown Toledo establishment is only open between the hours of 8am and 2pm, I am not able to stuff my face there as much as I would like. I suppose that is good for the figure though. But a girl can only hold off for so long, so this past week I scheduled an extended lunch, made my way downtown, and shared a gluten-free feast with my friend and fellow g-free’er, Elaine.

I walked in the restaurant and was greeted with, “Are you the gluten-free girl?” by Co-Owner Dustin Hostetler. Yes, Sir, that would be me!

I was seated at a table for two and waited for Elaine’s arrival. Looking at the menu literally excites me at this place. Why? Because you can basically have everything made gluten-free! Any sandwich, any burger…even the pizza! All Grumpy’s does is substitute that wheat-filled junk with some fresh gluten-free gloriousness.

This time around I decided to try the Hot Texas Chili for an appetizer because I like a little spice in my life. The chili was very tasty, and of course had that kick I was looking for. It was so good in fact that I didn’t realize I forgot to snap a picture to share with you all until the bowl was half gone. Woopsie daisies.

Being that Grumpy’s has a gluten-free pizza and I had not tried it yet, Elaine and I decided to split one. Of course to any normal human being, half of a pizza would suffice as their meal. Well, not me. I also ordered the Jennifer’s Special sandwich [because I am basically obsessed with the sandwich], and Elaine ordered a nice, healthy, low-cholesterol gluten-free grilled-cheese sandwich.

When the pizza came out it was one of those Is this really the gluten-free crust? kind of moments.

It was indeed.

We ended up eating all of the pizza except for two slices, leaving one for each of us to take home. I also ate half of my sandwich, because it is just TOO darn good to NOT eat, even if your stomach is telling you Hey, I’m full, you can stop now? I usually just reply with a Hey, I know. I’ll just run an extra mile later to make up for this whole fat-cell expansion thing.

Yes, I did just talk to not only myself, but to my stomach. Totally normal.

Elaine enjoyed her grilled-cheese, which looked really amazing. We opted for no dessert this time around since we had already done so much damage to every other portion of the menu.

As we boxed up our pizza [one slice each], and the second half of our sandwiches, I knew in my heart that not all of my leftovers would make it home. It takes hard work and dedication, but yes, I did eat my final piece of pizza in the car, on my way back to the office. That’s what good gluten-free food does to you. I can’t help it.

So what do I want you to take away from this post? 1) The urgency to visit Grumpy’s and give yourself the best gluten-free lunch ever, and 2) If you are not gluten-free, I want you to take another look at those pictures of the food and realize that we don’t live a life full of bland flavors. Time to break the myth!

Tagged celiac, celiac disease, gluten free, Gluten free dessert, gluten free menu, gluten intolerant