Marché Artisan Foods: Brunch Bouquet

As of March 2012, “Sweet Tea & Wheat-Free” has had nearly 20,000 views. Thank you, Readers, from the bottom of my Gluten-Free heart!

Also, I am over-the-moon to report that this Gluten-Free Gal is getting married! In April 2012, I will start a new life in yet another great Southern town – Nashville, Tennessee.

There, I will continue my Quest for Gluten-Free Food in the South.

My family remains in the Triangle Area, and so I plan to return often and continue reviewing restaurants in this area, too.

Regardless of the restaurant location, it is my sincere hope that posting these GF options will help you feel empowered to seek out healthy GF meals for yourself and your families.

So, next up is a review of a Nashville, TN establishment called Marché Artisan Foods. Enjoy!

Where: Marché Artisan Foods, (located near “Five Points” in Historic East Nashville) 1000 Main Street, Nashville, TN 37206

GF Menu: No.

What I ate: Omelette du Jour, Soup du Jour, and Risotto

How to order it: Unless you are ordering at IHOP (where even the omelets are filled with fluffy pancake batter), you can generally feel good about choosing eggs. As always, though, if you are extremely allergic, be sure to ask the server whether the pan or griddle on which the item is cooked has come into contact with any gluten.

When considering a soup or a risotto, always ask the server whether the broths are Gluten-Free. In pre-packaged broths, gluten is sometimes added as a preservative to extend the product’s shelf life.

A note about cheese: I hope I’m not the first person to tell you this. You may already know that blue and gorgonzola cheeses are off-limits to those on a Gluten-Free diet (as their blueness comes from bread mold). But are you aware that some companies use gluten/wheat flour to dust their packaged shredded cheese? Apparently, the gluten helps keep the cheesy shreds from sticking to one another in the bag. So, whether buying cheese to cook with at home, or ordering an item containing shredded cheese at a restaurant, ask your server/chef whether the cheese packaging denotes a risk for those with gluten allergies.

My server checked with the kitchen, and assured me that the broth was made in-house, without gluten, and that the items I ordered were gluten-free.

What it looks like:

Can you see the vapors rising up from this steaming hot, colorful, hearty cup of soup? Cauliflower conversed with green beans, carrots, tomatoes, onions, peppers, and herbs. This soup had texture. The veggies were not soft from over-boiling; they retained their integrity.

I want to take omelet-making lessons from this chef. The form was so light and fluffy, and also cooked to perfection – not runny on the inside, and not burnt on the exterior. It arrived hot-off-the-pan, and each cheesy bite just begged to be combined on the fork with the cool, crispness of the greens, seasoned lightly with a vinaigrette and a sprinkle of sea salt.

Fresh butternut squash, herbs, and parmesan. Sounds simple, right? Due to the expert balance of these ingredients with the risotto, the taste was so rewardingly complex.

Green Note: Marché creates delicious meals using local and seasonal ingredients. Their website contains a page called “Partners & Friends” in which they list their local farm sources for produce, meats, and market goods. You can purchase free-range eggs produced by local hens, artisan chocolates from Nashville’s own Olive & Sinclair, and other culinary delights at Marché.