No gluten for you!

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This article was published 25/05/2017 (3432 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Gluten-free is a trending term these days. While many restaurants in Winnipeg offer a few gluten-free options, Cocoabeans — recently opened on the Corydon Avenue strip, having expanded from its original St. Boniface bakery location — is a completely gluten-free bakeshop and café, eliminating any possibility of cross-contamination.

By specializing in gluten-free baking, which poses real technical challenges, owner Betsy Hiebert and her staff are able to deliver high-level gluten-free versions of traditionally gluten-y products such as cookies, squares and cupcakes. The lunch and dinner menu also offers rare non-gluten versions of breaded and deep-fried foods.

Having a dedicated gluten-free eatery is a boon to people who need to avoid gluten, of course, and the menu features many dairy-free, soy-free, vegetarian and vegan options as well, including a lot of vegan baking. (Sugar-free baking is also available by special order.) And with an overall emphasis on fresh, frequently local ingredients and a range of menu options, including dairy and meat items, there are many dishes that will work for anyone, food allergies or not.

The menu starts with breakfast, including a streamlined combo of two eggs (poached are not available, unfortunately), bacon, farmer sausage or tofu, and some good gluten-free toast. Cocoabeans’ house breads manage to avoid the density and dryness that plague many gluten-free products. Also available are vegan banana pancakes, a vegan breakfast bun and vegan granola with cultured vegan yogurt.

Heading toward lunch and dinner, fry-up options include fish and chips, chicken fingers and onion rings. For the fish, the cod could be cut a little thicker, but the gluten-free batter is crisp. Accompanying coleslaw is crunchy and served with a creamy (though dairy-free) dressing and sweet potato fries (a $2 upgrade) are also good.

The pizzas feature tasty toppings. The vegetarian version includes aromatic pesto, roasted pepper, zucchini and local mozzarella, and there’s also a meat option. Gluten-free pizza crust is notoriously tricky, though, and while the Cocoabeans’ take is thin and has some crunch at the edges, it lacks the tender stretchiness of a conventional version.

Coconut chicken salad is light and quite lovely, with big chunks of white and dark meat served on a bed of delicate greens. (The promised bread somehow didn’t arrive.) The beef burger, made with gluten-free oats and goat cheddar, is boosted with lots of seasoning and served on an amaranth bun with avocado, onion rings and spicy mayo.

Cocoabeans offers robust coffee, on-tap kombucha, nicely fizzy and not overly sweet and fresh-squeezed lemonade, both the raspberry and blackberry versions are bracingly tart and terrific.

The bakery sells bread, muffins and sweets to go, as well as supplying dessert for the restaurant. A sampled red velvet cupcake with vanilla frosting — not just gluten-free but also vegan — pulls off a moist, tender crumb. Peanut butter cookies, rolled in sugar, work very well in the gluten-free format, as do old-fashioned oatmeal and date sandwich cookies.

The cherry tart was a letdown. Gluten-free pastry is difficult and this version was a little stiff, with a gloppy filling.

Decor is warm and rustic, with shelves near the front that stock gluten-free takeaway items such as quinoa, oats and cereals.

The hybrid service set-up is efficient — you order and pay at the counter, then grab a table and wait for your food to be brought to you — and servers are happy to answer detailed questions about ingredients and their provenance for anyone who has concerns.

Prices reflect the cost of specialized ingredients, but for many Cocoabeans customers, the peace of mind will be worth a lot.

 

alison.gillmor@freepress.mb.ca