Yesterday, we had lunch at Hot Krust Panini Kitchen, which is located next to the Whole Foods Market on Turkey Lake Road. I have had great feedback from blog readers about this fast casual restaurant, the Orlando Celiac Support Group recently had a meetup there, and my friend Amanda wrote a review on The Gluten & Dairy-Free Review Blog that convinced me I needed to try Hot Krust.
When I asked about gluten free options, I was told that any of the panini can be made gluten free, and the cactus chili and butternut squash soup were marked gluten free on their menu. Hot Krust uses Udi's, which appeared to be their whole grain bread, and they leave blue cheese off sandwiches for gluten free orders. Gluten free panini, which cost 75 cents extra, are double wrapped in paper and foil to protect them from cross contamination before being placed on a panini press. My friend Amanda has detailed information on the precautions they take to prepare allergy-friendly food in her review of Hot Krust Panini Kitchen, which you can read here.
I was told that my food would take a little longer to prepare than the rest of my family's order, which was not gluten free. A few minutes after our other panini arrived, my food was brought to our table.
I have always loved panini, though I seldom make them at home anymore, even though we own two panini presses. I ordered the mango chardonnay shrimp panini with grilled shrimp glazed with mango chardonnay sauce, pesto, red roasted pepper, spinach and provolone cheese.
My sandwich was nicely grilled on the outside, and had plenty of filling on the inside. I think it could have used a little more pesto or mango chardonnay sauce for added flavor, but overall, I enjoyed my first experience eating a seafood panini. My gluten-eating husband and daughters loved their baa baa lamb, gobble gobble turkey, and Philly steak panini.
I ordered a side of baked sweet potato waffle fries, which looked a little brown around the edges, but they tasted great.
After lunch, we headed over to Whole Foods, where I ordered a Bombay Sunrise juice with carrots, orange, ginger, turmeric and lemon. It was a perfect palate cleanser after eating seafood, and it was so delicious, it was gone before we walked to the car.
My family will definitely be returning to Hot Krust Panini Kitchen, because we liked the food, I felt safe eating there, the prices were reasonable, and the service was great. I also love that they roast all their meats in house, so no processed deli meats.
You can read more about Hot Krust on their website here, and check out all the 5 star reviews they have on the Find Me Gluten Free app here. There are over 20 different panini to choose from, so you might want to look at their menu before you go.
What are your favorite panini at Hot Krust Panini Kitchen?
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