Gluten Free Feast at Bella Monica

It has been 7 months since I have been able to walk into a restaurant and be able to eat anything on the menu...until this past weekend. Since I was one of the bloggers for the Gluten Free Allergen Free Wellness Expo in Durham, I was invited to join fellow bloggers and organizers for a gluten free dinner with wine pairings at Bella Monica.

First of all, if you haven't been there, go! It is the closest to authentic Italian cuisine that I have found in the Triangle...and I lived in Italy for 2 months! This is a family run restaurant, based on family recipes and everything is delicious! The best part about Bella Monica, is the separate gluten free menu. They have gluten free pizza, pasta, ravioli, even gluten free tiramisu, my fav!!

But this past Friday, Bella Monica's chef really went above and beyond for us bloggers! They made an entirely special gluten free feast for all of us, and even catered to those with nut and dairy allergies.

Gluten free Foccacia bread, their staple first course, is made locally by de'Lure' Bakery. This was amazing and didn't taste at all like gluten free bread. It is crispy on the outside, gooey in the middle and then covered in warm olive oil and fresh herbs!! I think I ate 3 pieces before the first course.

Next up, Roasted Eggplant and Garlic Soup with Parmesan Crostino. This was delightful and caught most of us by surprise. The roasted garlic was perfectly paired with the eggplant flavor and the crostino was the just the addition needed to scrape the bottom of the bowl.

The group also went crazy over this Tomato Tarte. We were begging the chef to let us know what was on this...tomatoes, red onion, basil, thyme, goat cheese, olives and cream cheese. The crust was buttery, flakey and thin. This was the point of the evening when I knew I was going to roll out of the restaurant! Pictured below is a Peach and Prosciutto Salad with a Brown Butter Vinaigrette.

   

Gluten free Gnocchi Sorrentino!! And a huge vat of it!! Covered in Nana's gravy!! What else can I say except this made many gluten free eaters VERY happy.

   

Then they brought out Shrimp Primavera with zucchini noodles, local shrimp and arugula pesto. Good to know I am not the only one that has discovered zucchini noodles! Next time, I will mix in pesto though, yum!

The pork dish (Porchetta) was also very good, but by this point I was so full, I could barely eat one more bite. The tenderloin was covered in a spice rub, then perfectly cooked along with broccoli rabe and pearl onions. It was served with Fennel al Forno that was so good I wanted to swim in it!

I knew it was coming, and forced myself to make room for it. How could I turn down a Strawberry Shortcake made just for our group! It was perfect, spongy and cakey, sucking up all the sweet berry juices and whipped cream in the middle. Ah, I was in gluten free heaven!

I thought I had tasted it all after this feast, but then I went got to the Expo the following day. That is for another post though...