5 Places to Happily Eat Gluten Free in Everett

I’m one of those annoying people. I can’t eat the wondrous protein called gluten. Over the past few years being gluten free (GF) has gone from obscure to a fad, but for me it’s a medical necessity. And as a self-proclaimed foodie, it’s a royal pain in the rear.

Finding food that makes me happy and doesn’t feel like a sacrifice can be tricky. I don’t expect every place to fully accommodate my needs. I’m here to tell you that gluten free pizza crust ain’t all that. However, it’s pretty depressing when the only thing you can eat off a menu is a green salad.

Luckily, my gluten loving husband and I have found a few places that make both of us happy. Oh and did I mention I’m pregnant at the moment? Yeah. Sometimes a pregnant lady just wants certain foods. Here are 5 of my favorite places to eat gluten free in Everett.

1. Terracotta Red

Asian food can be tricky. The challenge lies with soy sauce. All mass produced soy sauce is made with a blend of wheat and soy, meaning it contains gluten. This makes many Asian foods challenging. (You can get gluten free soy sauce. It’s just expensive and uncommon.) Chinese is basically a no-go.

If I’m craving some wok fried food slathered in yummy umami sauce, I’m usually out of luck. Terracotta Red makes being GF easy. About half their menu can be made GF with only a request, and that includes items breaded in cornstarch. Please excuse me while I clean up this drool.

2. Kai Sushi

Thankfully, gluten free has become so “popular” that most sushi places will have a bottle of GF soy sauce in the back you can ask for. But not that many sushi places fully understand what GF means and where gluten can lurk in their foods.

Kai Sushi gets it. They can break down every menu item for you if needed. It does mean that many of the complicated rolls are off limits, but personally I’m ok with that. Give me all the yummy sashimi. Or vegetarian sushi until I’m not a cranky pregnant lady any more.

3. Sol Food Bar & Grill (Now Sol Food Express)

Latin American foods can be some of the easiest and safest to eat gluten free. Once you get over the inability to eat flour tortilla wrapped burritos, there is a whole world of corn based foods to explore.

This is one of the reasons I love Sol. Its menu offers a diverse range of foods, beyond just tacos, with everything marked upfront if it’s GF. Not that tacos aren’t delicious, because really, they are. But I’m also all about the tostones.

4. Red Rock Subs

Lots of places are offering a GF bread option on the menu, but I’m here to tell you that not all GF bread is created equal. Some are more dry than cardboard and disintegrate if so much as mist them with a little mayo. Yuck.

Red Rock is delicious and their gluten free bread doesn’t skip a beat. Eating a sandwich piled high with all the goodness you can want is sooo satisfying. (Also offering delicious GF bread? The Valley. Yum.)

5. Burgermaster (Everet Location is closed)

One of the first things that is completely off limits when you go gluten free is fast food. Unfortunately, sometimes all you really want is a burger. Not a gourmet, fancy cheese, baby greens, super expensive burger. A burger laden with American cheese, sauce, shredded iceberg lettuce, and some salty fries on the side.

Enter your savior from stage left: Burgermaster. With grass-fed beef, real ice cream milkshakes, french fries that don’t make me sick and a gluten free bun option it hits all of the cravings.

*Note: the author has Celiac disease but is able to tolerate small levels of cross contamination which are inevitable with a kitchen that isn’t dedicated GF.