Gluten Free Out and About: La Cocina Peruvian Restaurant

Our dinner out this week was to La Cocina Peruana Peruvian Restaurant.  earlier this year we had been to Peru and found the food there to be really delicious and fresh.  There were a few ingredients that were used we had not eaten before and it was a real culinary experience.  The most wonderful thing was that most of the places we went to for dinner had many gluten free options.  Most of the Peruvian diet is corn and potato based.
When I called to make the reservation, I was delighted to find out that everything on the menu was gluten free.  All bar one item.  This was fantastic news.  I was really looking forward to this meal.

Our starters were delicious.  I had Papa a la huacaina "My wife's a genius" which is backed potato served with yellow chilli sauce that was more spicy that originally anticipated, but good.  Husband enjoyed the Peruvian Tamales "Sundays at home" which is ground corn seasoned with spices and herbs stuffed with chicken.  Unfortunately this was the one entree that was not gluten free!!  Alas as I really wanted to try tamales.

These starters were accompanied by the national drink of Peru:  Pisco Sour.  This drink is delicious and the ones made at La Cocina Peruana are a must do when visiting this restaurant.

Main course for me was Cordero de los Andes which was char grilled lamb served with quinoa salad, yucas and rice.  This dish is rather carb heavy which is unusual for a coeliac out to dinner so I enjoyed this part.  Husband had the Aji de Gallina:  shredded chicken cooked in chills, cheese and almond sauce.  This was delicious and very enjoyable.  Both of these mains were gluten free so I was able to taste both meals.  Our side dish was a lovely fresh salad with quinoa.

The meals were very generous in portions that we were unable to squeeze in anything else!

La Cocina Peruana is a lovely meal out that is a little different to the usual thai restaurants that are everywhere and easy to visit when gluten free.  The meals are freshly made and are a lovely way for us to recall some of the meals that we enjoyed in Peru.  Whilst there is no guinea pig or alpaca on the menu it is still a lovely local restaurant to visit.

La Cocina Peruana
142 Avoca St Randwick
Phone:  02 9326 4344
Web:  http://www.lacocinaperu.com.au

monica@loveglutenfreeaustralia

Out and About - Bistro Avoca

Tonight was dinner with the extended family and we visited a local restaurant that we have been meaning to go to:  Bistro Avoca.

Having literally just returned from the restaurant I am feeling inspired to share the beautiful meal that we had.

The restaurant is run by a husband and wife team and hospitality is there from the moment you walk in.  I had made a reservation mentioning that one member of the party was gluten free and that I had taken a look at their menu online, I was delighted to see that they mark all GF items with a 'g' and there were many options for starters, entree, mains and dessert.  Yay - this was going to be a dinner to enjoy.

And enjoy we all did.  Tonight was not a night for eating everything in sight so I settled on a mains and dessert with a side that we shared:  roasted spatchcock with garlic and sage, wilted spinach, golden raisins and pine nuts and a warm soft centred chocolate pudding with kahula creme anglaise and vanilla ice-cream.

The spatchcock was flavoursome and moist.  The addition of the wilted spinach, garlic, sage, raisins and pine nuts was lovely.  The flavours were beautifully matched and nothing was too over-powering.   The Billi Billi Shiraz was a nice addition to the meal.  The side salad of pear, rocket and parmesan was delicious, although I must admit that I was the last person to the salad and did not get much, but this was fine.

Dessert was sublime.  The soft centred chocolate pudding was so gooey, but in a really good way.  The flavours again were delightful and the kahula creme anglaise was an enhancement to the pudding.

I did try the creme brulée with strawberries and this was a beautiful thick and creamy consistency and again in all the right ways.  The burnt sugar on the top was perfection.

Overall this is a lovely local restaurant for either a dinner with a group or an intimate meal for two with a great amount of gluten free dishes on offer.

Bistro Avoca
133 Avoca St Randwick
Phone:  9399 9667
http://www.bistroavoca.com.au