Caviar & Bananas Gourmet Market & Cafe - Charleston

For lunch today, we ate at Caviar & Bananas Gourmet Market & Cafe in Charleston, my parents' favorite lunch spot.  My mom said it was like Dean & DeLuca, which isn't surprising, considering the owner used to be a Dean & DeLuca general manager.  

We had stopped in yesterday to check out their gluten free selection, and I was impressed by how many gluten free items were available.  

Today, I chose the "naked" kale salad and the quinoa salad for lunch.

The quinoa salad contained gold quinoa, feta cheese, scallions, dried cranberries, and a lemon vinaigrette.  I absolutely loved this salad, and plan on making it when we get back to Orlando.  

The "naked" kale salad was amazing as well.  It contained raw almonds, dried cranberries, dried blueberries, aged gouda, grape tomatoes, and a lemon vinaigrette.  

I finished off my meal with a huge piece of gluten free banana bread with a peanut butter drizzle.  I must admit, the banana bread I make at home has never tasted this good!  Caviar & Bananas had other gluten free treats that looked amazing, but they were sitting way too near gluten-filled baked goods to make me feel comfortable, so I went with the banana bread that was displayed separately on its own plate. Hopefully in the future, Caviar & Bananas will display all their gluten free baked goods in their own area to avoid cross contamination.  

The gluten free items in the display case were plentiful.  I could have also ordered smoked chicken pecan salad, grilled herb chicken with imported spoleto black truffle butter, brussel sprout coleslaw, or roasted vegetables.  

Caviar & Bananas also sells other gluten free items, like Tate's Bake Shop Gluten Free Cookies and Pop Chips.  

You can view the menu for their George Street location, where we ate, here.  The menu for their Historic Market Street location can be viewed here.  Both locations serve housemade gluten free oatmeal for breakfast, either with roasted granny smith apples, cinnamon and caramel, or dried cranberries, candied pecans, golden raisins and white chocolate chips.  They also have gluten free bread for sandwiches, but the menus contain a warning that the sandwiches are prepared on the same surfaces as those containing gluten.

I might have to try the oatmeal before we leave in the morning.  The next stop on our summer road trip is Colonial Williamsburg.

Have you ever been to Caviar & Bananas?  

Yogurt Mountain -- Charleston

Last night, as we were walking down King Street in Charleston, I spotted Yogurt Mountain.  After eating dinner at Basil Thai Restaurant, we decided to stop in. 

I was excited to see that the flavors that were gluten free were clearly marked above each yogurt machine.  

I decided to try two flavors, banana rama and chocolate.

With self serve, my yogurt is never pretty, but it definitely tasted great.

Yogurt Mountain's frozen yogurt reminded me of a frozen custard.  It was super creamy, and I enjoyed the flavor of both the chocolate and banana.

You can view a full list of Yogurt Mountain's gluten free flavors here.  Dairy free sorbets are also available.

Yogurt Mountain has 11 locations in Florida, and has stores in Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, West Virginia, Maryland, and Ohio.  You can view their store locator here.

Have you ever eaten at Yogurt Mountain?  What is your favorite frozen yogurt store?

Basil Thai Restaurant - Charleston, South Carolina

Tonight, we had dinner at Basil Thai Restaurant in Charleston, South Carolina.  On the drive up from Orlando, I checked out Charleston restaurants on the Find Me Gluten Free App.  We chose Basil Thai because we love Thai food, the restaurant had great reviews, gluten free items are marked on the menu, and it was within walking distance of our hotel.  

I have always been a huge fan of chicken satay, but I don't think I have eaten it in six years, because it has never been a gluten free option at the Thai restaurants we eat at.  

We ordered both the chicken and beef satay, which were served with the most heavenly peanut sauce.  I don't think there was a drop left in either bowl by the time we were done with our meal.  I thought I would like the chicken satay better, but both my husband and I preferred the beef, while our daughters said the chicken was the best.  Both were delicious though, and are items I would order again.  

I was so excited when they brought us out a big bowl of steaming rice, because I love rice with peanut sauce!  

We couldn't pass up ordering the Pad Thai, which is a family favorite, and according to Basil Thai's website, the national dish of Thailand.  Their Pad Thai is described as rice noodles stir-fried with chicken, shrimp, eggs, bean sprouts, scallions, peanuts, and Pad Thai sauce.  I loved that it included both chicken and shrimp, and it had just the right amount of sauce, egg, and finely chopped peanuts.  It was definitely one of the best Pad Thai dishes I have ever had.  In Orlando, you can order gluten free Pad Thai at Orchid Thai in Winter Park.  You can read my review here.  We have also eaten really good Pad Thai at Mythos in Universal Studios Islands of Adventure, and Saigon Flavors in Oviedo.

The final dish we ordered was the masaman curry with chicken, potatoes, onions, and cashews.  The masaman curry was super flavorful, and the chicken and vegetables were cooked perfectly. Everything was so good at Basil Thai, it was hard to pick a favorite. If we lived in Charleston, we would be going back soon, and ordering the same four dishes.

Basil Thai Restaurant has locations in Charleston, Columbia, and Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina, and in Charlotte, North Carolina.  I love that their gluten free choices are plentiful, and clearly marked on their menu and website.  You can view Basil Thai's full menu here.

Have you ever eaten at Basil Thai Restaurant?