As a self proclaimed foodie, I feel very strongly about this quote by Julia Child, “People who love to eat are always the best people.” I guess you could say that food is a love language and searching out good food is one of my favorite things to do. On top of being a foodie, I also eat gluten free due to some health issues and sometimes it is difficult to find tasty gluten free options. As a business owner in downtown Minot, I often order lunch from a downtown restaurant so I am fairly well versed in my options for gluten free eating.

Since I know it can be difficult to find gluten free and other allergen friendly meal options, I thought I would compile a list of some of my favorites so if you or someone you know has issues with gluten, you can feel good trying these various restaurants. Now, be mindful that these restaurants also serve non-gluten free food items so they can be cross contaminated. Make sure to always talk with your server to make your experience the best it can be.

Ironhorse Kitchen and Bar: 21 Central Ave, Suite 101
While they don’t shout it from the rooftop that they have gluten free options, Ironhorse has gluten free menu items including a gluten free bun option that I have to say is delicious. My go to option is the Chicken Cordon Bleu sandwich on a gluten free bun. They have many great salad, burger, and sandwich options that are great. Like I mentioned previously, the menu doesn’t necessarily shout gluten free options so make sure to ask if you are unsure.

Prairie Sky Breads: 3 1st St SE, Suite 3
Prairie Sky Breads offers a limited menu of gluten free, but their gluten friendly scones are delicious. From raspberry to lemon blueberry and even seasonal pumpkin spice, the scones are fresh, soft, and covered in a sweet glaze. They also offer gluten friendly bread to purchase by the loaf and you can have them make you a sandwich on gluten friendly bread. Just make sure to discuss your allergies with them because they are primarily a gluten filled bakery and it can be very difficult to ensure that the foods haven’t come in contact with wheat. This is why they specifically say gluten friendly and not gluten free.

Starving Rooster: 30 1st St NE
If you are in the mood for pizza, Starving Rooster offers a gluten free crust option for their brick oven pizzas. They have fun options like the Starved Rooster, the Hawaiian, Cuban, and The Pioneer, among others. Make sure to discuss you allergies with the server as some of their brick oven pizzas do have ingredients on them that are not gluten free. My favorite menu item at Starving Rooster is the Thai Chicken Lettuce Cups. They are a nice mix of sweet and spicy and are loaded with rotisserie chicken, pickled veggies, and a yummy cucumber ranch dressing.

Don Tapatios: 7 1st St SE
While looking at the menu, you may not note a lot of gluten free options at Don Tapatios, but they are very helpful in guiding you to the options that they offer. Chips and guacamole are a great start. I enjoy their enchiladas, street tacos with corn tortillas, choripollo, and fajita nachos. I really love that you can customize a lot of the menu items to your liking with different sauces, adding additional veggies, and more. Their food is very flavorful and you will not leave hungry!

Cookies for You: 117 Main St S
When you walk into Cookies for You, you will notice a small display case that is filled with a handful of gluten free treats. While it is not a huge selection, they typically have a couple of kinds of cookies and cupcakes to choose from each day. They also have macarons each day and while they may not be listed as gluten free, macarons are made with almond flour so are generally gluten free. You can also order gluten free cookie bouquets to be picked up or delivered, which make a nice gift for someone who has to avoid gluten.

Whiskey Nine: 109 W Central Ave
One thing I really love about the Whiskey Nine menu is that it is very specific about what menu items are gluten free or how they can be made gluten free. It makes it very easy to navigate. To start the meal, the bourbon candied bacon is delicious and a must try. They offer a variety of salad options that are unique and can all be made gluten free. Gluten free buns are available for all of their sandwich options. My go to is the Prime Rib French Dip on a gluten free bun. For sides, you have to try the Bourbon Bacon & Pecan Caramel Green Beans or the Sweet Potato Waffle Fries with Marshmallow Cream

As I mentioned earlier, I eat gluten free for health issues and may not be as sensitive to gluten as many people so my list is items that I am able to eat, but may not be suitable for someone with more serious allergies. Always discuss your food concerns with the server at the restaurant and understand that they do the best they can to provide quality and delicious foods to those of us with food allergies, but it can be very difficult in a restaurant kitchen to ensure that allergens are not present.

All the restaurants listed above make delicious foods for all palate tastes so even if you don’t have food allergy concerns, give them a try. Support local small businesses because they are the heartbeat of our community. The dedication that goes into running a local restaurant is to be admired and with the rising food costs, difficulty finding employees, and the hours of preparation that are needed each day to make the foods that we love, showing support in whatever ways we can is essential to keeping our local food establishments going so we can all enjoy a meal out in downtown Minot.