Gluten-Free Dining
Portland's flavor-rich food scene offers a full menu of gluten-free eateries.
John Patrick Pullen
Having ushered in dining trends like farm-to-table meals and gourmet food carts, it’s no surprise that Portland has answered the latest culinary call and offers plenty of gluten-free dining options.
100% Gluten-Free
Corbett Fish House, which has filled Portland with the aroma of delicious fish and chips since 2002, has an entirely gluten-free menu, from their dressings to their desserts. Using rice flour, which has no gluten, they fry up cod, walleye and oysters.
Corbett Fish House, which has filled Portland with the aroma of delicious fish and chips since 2002, is entirely gluten-free.
Teote swaps out tortillas for arepas (Venezuelan-style corn cakes), making Southern American cuisine that’s accessible to all. Dishes like their carne mechada mole, made with Painted Hills shredded beef and homemade mole sauce, are delicious regardless of your diet.
Entirely gluten-free, vegetarian and mostly vegan, Southeast Hawthorne Boulevard’s Harlow serves three healthy and hearty meals a day, from oatmeal-banana pancakes to quinoa bowls to raw “pasta” made of shredded green papaya, carrots, collard greens, scallions and broccoli and tossed in almond-butter pad Thai sauce. A full range of fresh juices is also on offer. Harlow’s sister restaurant in the Pearl District, Prasad, has a smaller menu but offers the same sort of healthful and satisfying meals and a juice bar where they blend together everything from drinking vinegar to kale.
Even the city’s food carts are getting in on the action: Cultured Caveman, boasts two paleo-diet-friendly carts and opened their first brick-and-mortar location in summer 2014. These guys are all about their meats, with gluten-free options including mini meatloaves and sweet potato mash keeping everyone (including vegans) well-fed.
And as a city with more than 75 breweries, of course Portland has a gluten-free beer company. Ground Breaker Brewing puts out a range of ales using gluten-free oats and chestnuts in place of wheat or barley and malt. Seasonal offerings include the innovative Coffee Pale Ale and the gastropub menu ensure that everyone can get in on happy hour.
Gluten-Free Options
These Portland eateries also go against the grain, offering great gluten-free fare:
- Andina: Peruvian tapas go gluten-free at this beloved Pearl District eatery, which features an extensive selection of flavorful options, including mouthwatering seafood dishes.
- Blossoming Lotus: Specializing in vegetarian fare, this Northeast Portland fixture has an innovative menu full of gluten-free options, including tofu scrambles for breakfast and flavorful Thai salad for lunch.
- Deschutes Brewery & Public House: In addition to brewing gluten-free suds, Deschutes delights with an entire menu for the gluten-free diner, including exclusive eats like spicy paprika fries and a quinoa and cashew burger.
- Jade Teahouse: A popular Thai spot in the Sellwood neighborhood, this eatery offers mostly gluten-free items, from fried coconut shrimp skewers to delectable pastries.
- Mi Mero Mole: This Mexican street food restaurant serves up a wide range of tacos filled with flavor-rich, stew-like guisados and all items are gluten-free unless served with a flour tortilla.
- Pambiche: Colorful and Cuban, this local Northeast Portland standby has a full-fledged “alternativas” menu that caters to gluten-free, vegan and vegetarian dieters, with items like tostones, fried green plantains served like french fries.
- Seres Restaurant and Bar: With gluten-free happy hour dishes like crispy deep-fried chicken and curry rice noodles with tofu, this Chinese eatery offers everyone a taste of the Far East. They even have wheat-free Tamari or soy sauce upon request.
- Verde Cocina: Using certified gluten-free corn masa, this farm-fresh, family-friendly restaurant and farmers’ market regular makes its tortillas by hand and highlights local ingredients in its Mexican cuisine.
Gluten-Free Bakeries
But Portland’s gluten-free meals hardly stop there — in this city, you should be certain to leave room for dessert. Back to Eden Bakery specializes in organic and vegan baked goods, like their cupcakes, whoopee pies and macaroons, and Petunia’s Pies & Pastries provides your fix of flakey crusts, with slices like bumble berry peach pie with hazelnut coconut streusel.
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