Tuesday, April 5, 2016

Zoes Kitchen

Yesterday, my daughters and I had an early dinner at Zoes Kitchen, a fast casual restaurant serving Mediterranean-inspired cuisine in Oviedo.  Zoes Kitchen will soon be opening a second location in the Orlando area on Sand Lake Road.  They currently have restaurants in 18 states.  You can view their restaurant locator here.  


I have been wanting to try Zoes Kitchen for a while, because my husband has been raving about it for months, and my friend Amanda has a great review on her website The Gluten & Dairy-Free Review Blog.  My daughters had a volleyball game last night in Oviedo, so it was the perfect time to stop in for an early dinner after school.  I feel much safer eating at restaurants when they are not busy, because hopefully there is less of a risk of cross contamination.  I checked out Zoes' online gluten free menu before we got to the restaurant, but gluten free menu items were clearly marked on their menu above the counter.  Vegetarian and vegan options are available as well.  


I decided to order the chicken kabobs entree, which usually comes with two kabobs with grilled peppers and onions, rice pilaf, a side Greek salad, and pita bread.  Obviously, the pita bread was out, and I wasn't interested in salad, so I asked for a side of braised white beans, and I was given some hummus and cucumbers.


I love chicken and vegetable kabobs, and Zoes version did not disappoint.  Everything was seasoned well, and I loved eating each bite with some of the rice pilaf.


The star of my meal though was my bowl of braised white beans with fresh rosemary.  They were so incredibly flavorful, and reminded me of a thick bean stew.


Zoes hummus is very good too, and I was happy I had some cucumbers to dip in it.


My gluten-eating daughters loved their meals as well.  Emma had the Mediterranean chicken, and Katie had a Greek chicken pita sandwich.

When I ordered my meal, I mentioned that I have celiac, and can't eat anything with gluten, and asked that my order be marked as an allergy order.

April 12, 2016 Update



Last night, we had dinner again at Zoes Kitchen before my girls' volleyball game.  We all shared the Mediterranean baked feta topped with cherry tomatoes, olives, extra virgin olive oil, basil, and Calabrian peppers, one of my husband's favorite dishes at Zoes Kitchen.  It is usually served with pita chips, but they gave us cucumbers instead.  I thought it was very good, and my daughters liked it too.


For an entree, I ordered the shrimp kabobs, which are served with zucchini and rice pilaf.  I asked for braised white beans instead of the cucumber raita and the side Greek salad it is usually served with.  I loved the zucchini, and the shrimp was good, but I preferred the chicken I had last week.  Next time, I plan on trying the protein power plate with flat-grilled chicken and caramelized onions over mayo-free slaw, which was recommended by my mother-in-law.

April 19, 2016


Last night, we had dinner at Zoes Kitchen for the third Monday in a row.  It's an easy place to grab a quick meal before our daughters play volleyball, and our whole family loves the food.  I ordered the protein power plate with flat-grilled chicken and caramelized onions over mayo-free slaw.  On its own, I thought the slaw could use a little more dressing, but I liked that it contained feta.  Eaten in combination with the chicken, which was seasoned nicely, and the caramelized onion, it was very good, and overall, I really enjoyed my meal.

You can read more about Zoes Kitchen on their website here.

What are your favorite gluten free options at Zoes Kitchen?

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