b.good - healthy, local, delicious and gluten free

b.good is a restaurant we fell in love with on a recent trip to Portland and Wiscasset Maine. We visited the Portland store at least three times in our five days in Maine. The other two days we were in Wiscasset.

The Portland, Maine store employees were friendly and helpful in keeping our food gluten free and so delicious. The six of us tried just about every gluten free item on the menu from burgers to salads to kale and quinoa bowls. Everyone absolutely loved everything. Especially awesome are the kids meals. We loved it so much it just didn't seem worth the bother to look up other safe restaurants.

The photo on the right is our last visit up in Maine. Loved the brick and the photos of the local farmers.

So the wait for the Raleigh store seemed ever so long. But open it did last week!

Chris, Joe and I went on Friday for lunch. This was their second day open and the line started clear across the restaurant. We obviously were not the only people anxiously waiting for them to open. The line moved quickly and the young man taking our order was friendly and capable. He quickly told us the couple of items we couldn't have and assured us the rest were safe.

The look of the Raleigh store is fresh and new and the farmer photos are local to our area. I was happy to later hear that JMF Photography took their photos.

We ordered and found a spot at the counter in front of the window to sit.  While I all but stopped drinking sodas years ago, at b.good I indulge with their outstanding Maine Roots soda. My family loves lots of their flavors but I always get the root beer. It's just like what we had growing up ages ago - creamy and perfect.

The guys' burgers and my chicken sandwich were perfect. The toppings are fresh and local, as are the burgers and chicken breasts. The veggie patties are house made and vegan (but not gluten free).

But the fries are amazing. If you're gluten free you know what a big deal safe gluten free fries are but at b.good you can get sweet potato or regular fries. Both are absolutely awesome.

The next day Marc, Marie, Aiden and I ran in for lunch. We arrived just before the doors opened and by the time they did open there was another family waiting with us. Several others filled tables before long.

The crowd Friday at lunch was definitely a work crowd and the Saturday lunch crowd was mostly young families. Steve Woodward, the owner said he was pleased with the lunch turnout but also pleasantly surprised by the dinner crowds, many of whom live in the apartments above the restaurant. How convenient would it be to just pick up dinner and take it right upstairs?? It seems a perfect location for everyone.

Marc and Marie ordered burgers and I ordered the spicy avocado lime kale and quinoa bowl.  It was my first b.good bowl and I ordered it as a healthy and maybe lighter choice. It was such a great combination of fresh veggies with a very spicy and flavorful sauce that I have a new favorite. So fresh and satisfying.

One thing I really love about b.good is their kids meals. Our sweet Aiden loves to eat and Marie and Marc feed him real, whole foods. The kids meals at b.good live up to their requirements and Aiden loves them.

Saturday he enjoyed a bunless turkey burger (freshly grilled and juicy) and a side of veggies. He loved the tomatoes, mushrooms, carrots and kale.

Aiden - so happy and busy with his kid's meal.

It's so nice to be able to walk into a restaurant and know that we can all enjoy healthy, local and delicious food without a worry about gluten. I can't recommend b.good highly enough.

Happily shared on Gluten Free Wednesdays at Gluten Free Easily!

Labrems Cookies & Martin's Curry Rice

The always amazing Marie surprised me with a visit last week.  She'd been at Whole Foods and met Roxana Moss of Labrems Cookies.  Roxana makes all natural, flour free, gluten free cookies and she graciously sent a box of four different cookies for us to sample.  Roxana is also gluten intolerant and, like me, has problems with too many carbs.  These are the kind of cookies I would bake myself. She sells them at Whole Foods and online and they are soooo good.  My favorite was the dark chocolate, of course, but they are all yummy.  Her website is still in the works so I've included a link to her facebook page. Roxana has been to Whole Foods stores all over the south lately so many of you should be able to find them.

Martin's Curry Rice is one of our favorite places.  It had been a while since we'd been when I noticed that Martin had updated his facebook page with a note about making tandoori chicken at the farmer's market earlier that day.  He said that the tandoori chicken was on the menu that night so we zipped right over.  Martin made a veggie curry for Chris and I to share with our chicken and packed everything up for us to take home. We curled up on the couch with a dvd and our dinner.  The dvd was awful but our dinner was delicious! It was the best tandoori chicken I've had since we moved away from California several years ago, smoky and spicy and so flavorful - not too hot and perfectly grilled. Now if I could only figure out gluten free naan to go with it.  Anyway, check out his page for specials like tandoori chicken and his all local ingredient menus.

Martin's Curry Rice - Gluten Free Curries!

Tonight we had a spicy gluten free meal that I didn't have to cook and I have to share!  We'd read about Martin's Curry Rice in Morrisville and their create it yourself curries.  You choose the protein, pick any of the vegetables you like and then choose between mild yellow, medium green or spicy hot red curries. Some of their produce is from local farmer's markets. Your meal is then freshly cooked and quickly served over brown or white rice with a little cup of delicious yogurt salad on the side.  The curries and salad are naturally gluten free but there are other items on the menu that are not. The website says they've been open since July - I can't imagine how it's taken us so long to find out about them. Hope you get a chance to try it soon.