Saturday, April 4, 2015

The Bald Strawberry - Melbourne, Florida

Today, we drove out to Melbourne to have lunch at The Bald Strawberry, a 100% gluten free gourmet waffle cafe and bakery.  


This was our first time dining at their new location on Sarno Road, which they moved to about two years ago.  The Bald Strawberry offers waffle pizzas, waffle sandwiches, salads, appetizers, natural beverages, gluten free beer, and a variety of baked goods.  Their waffles are gluten, dairy, egg and sugar free.  


I ordered the Garden Girl Waffle Pizza with avocado, tomato, feta, egg, mozzarella, and organic maple syrup.  I loved this pizza so much, I don't think I could go to The Bald Strawberry without ordering it.  The combination of ingredients might seem odd, but they meshed so beautifully together, and everything was delicious.  


My daughter Katie chose the Wake N' Bake Waffle Sandwich with avocado slices, tomato, fried egg, and organic maple syrup.  We really enjoyed this sandwich, which she shared with me, but we both agreed that we liked the pizza better.  


Emma ordered the Morning Melt with turkey instead of ham, fried egg, provolone and organic maple syrup.  She said it was delicious, but she was only able to finish about half of it because it was so big.  


My husband chose the cranapple turkey salad with natural turkey, cranberries, Granny Smith apples, and balsamic dressing, minus the walnuts.  He enjoyed his meal as well, so we were four for four today.  


After finishing our lunch, it was time to dig into the baked goods we picked out while we were waiting for our food.  


I loved the gluten free and dairy free spring cookie we tried, so we bought 5 ducks to bring home for Easter Sunday dessert.  


I ordered a piece of gluten free almond love cake, which was good, but would have been better with more almond extract.  My girls thought it was vanilla cake, because it lacked a strong almond flavor.  


My daughters split a piece of gluten free white chocolate cloud cake, which they chose after being told it tasted like cookies & cream.  The bite I sampled was pretty good, and they told me they enjoyed it.  


While at the bakery counter, we sampled the gluten, dairy and egg free pumpkin bread, which we all thought was delicious.  


The Bald Strawberry sells their gluten free all-purpose flour mix, which has a recipe for making their waffles on the bag.  You can also buy Take N' Bake frozen cheese pizzas and a 4-pack of plain waffles (Update - these options are no longer mentioned on their menu).


Several varieties of gluten free bread were available, and rolls and baguettes are available by special order.  The Bald Strawberry offers the following gluten free breads: buckwheat, cinnamon raisin, chipotle, corn bread, Cuban, garlic & Italian herb, golden flaxseed, Greek olive & thyme, everything bread, Hawaiian sweet bread, honey oat, Irish soda, jalapeno cheese, molasses oat, morning bread with dried fruit & almonds, onion & dill, Portuguese sweet bread, potato, pumpernickel, rosemary walnut, rye, sweet potato, sun-dried tomato & basil, and white bread.  Fresh breads are available every day, but not all flavors are, so if there is a bread you are interested in, you should call ahead and order it.  There were also gluten free croutons for sale.  

The Bald Strawberry is definitely worth the drive from Orlando, which takes a little over an hour.  On the way there, we stopped and took a short walk on the beach, and on the way home, we stopped at Port Canaveral to admire the Disney Fantasy, which we will be sailing on early next year.  

May 9, 2015 Update

Earlier today, we had lunch at The Bald Strawberry, then walked down to Flour & Spice Boutique for some sweet treats. You can read my Flour & Spice review here.  Update - Four & Spice Boutique has closed their storefront, but they are still taking special orders.  The Bald Strawberry has opened a Cake Cafe in the space formerly occupied by Flour & Spice.  They are selling gluten free pasta, packaged mixes, and a variety of baked goods.  You can read my review of The Bald Strawberry Cake Cafe here.  


My Garden Girl Waffle Pizza was just as amazing as it was the last time we ate at The Bald Strawberry, and four out of five of us ordered it for lunch.  


I also purchased a half loaf of Morning Bread, which contains rice flour, potato starch, evaporated cane juice, apples, apricots, almonds, plums, cranberry, pear, peaches, eggs, water, olive oil, yeast, sea salt, vinegar and xanthan.  I couldn't resist trying a piece as soon as we got home, and was amazed at how good it was.  As far as taste and texture goes, I don't think anyone would know that it is gluten free bread.  I personally would have liked it to be a little sweeter, like Easter Bread, but overall, it was delicious.


December 21, 2015 Update


In the past three weeks, we have dined at The Bald Strawberry twice.  After church on Sundays, we enjoy driving out to Melbourne, walking on the beach, then having lunch at The Bald Strawberry.  Here are some pictures of their menu, which has undergone some changes.  Waffle Delights are no longer on the menu, and they have added a BBQ chicken pizza.


My daughter Katie loves the new BBQ chicken pizza with organic chicken, red onion, fresh cilantro, barbeque sauce, and mozzarella.  


My husband is now just as addicted to the Garden Girl waffle pizza as I am, but he does share a piece with Katie, who gives him a piece of her BBQ chicken pizza.


Earlier this month, I tried the peanut butter brownie for dessert.  The brownie itself is a cakier brownie, and I thought it was a little bit dry, but the peanut butter frosting was divine.


Emma loved her double chocolate cake, and my husband thought it was the best dessert we ordered.


Mitch tried the chocolate chip cookie dough cupcake, and Katie ordered the tiramisu cake.


I tried all four desserts, and the only one I was not fond of was the tiramisu cake, but Katie liked it, so that's all that matters.


You can read more about the The Bald Strawberry on their website here.  

What are your favorite gluten free dishes and baked goods at The Bald Strawberry?  


7 comments:

  1. Hi, Alexis. Thank you for another wonderful review. I live in New York, so when I have the privilege of vacationing in Florida, I make sure to always check your posts to discover new Celiac–safe meals. I've really started to rely on the Yo dish app, and I follow you on it. Do you think you'll be posting this review there?

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    1. Eventually! I am behind as always on my YoDish posts. :-/

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    2. Hi, Alexis! I'm planning ahead for our November trip to WDW and DVBR, and I'm so excited that I'll finally get to try The Bald Strawberry! As always, love your detailed reviews, and the great photos.

      Judy
      (FB/JudyLuca)

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    3. Thanks Judy! I hope you love The Bald Strawberry as much as we do. Have a great trip to Disney!

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  2. Flour & Spice Boutique is also Gluten Free and just a few doors down, they have amazing treats!! Check them out next time. :)

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  3. Ok... I'm seriously going to have to try this place. Thanks so much for your reviews. They are much appreciated.

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