Sunday, July 3, 2011

Idgy's is ALL gluten free.

Idgy's opened a couple of months ago and I've tried really hard to like it.  As a matter of fact... I do like it.... but (yes Virginia there is a "but") they still have a few kinks to work out.   It's in Union Station Plaza (Rt. 6 at exit 8) next do Domino's Pizza.  There is always plenty of parking.  The interior is cute.  They use chalkboards for the menu and they are all done in bright colors adding to the decor.  The fabric on the chairs is adorable.  The restaurant is always clean and bright.  The outside has lovely window boxes with herbs and flowers in them and I think there is an outdoor table or two (don't quote me on that one).

Like the title of this post, Idgy's is ALL gluten free so you don't have to worry about cross contamination or "mistakes".  I don't think owners Erika Berg and Deb Collins have gluten issues themselves but they have been in the restaurant business a long time and know good food.  I've spoken to one of them every time I've gone in there and they seem like dedicated professionals.

They have an interesting and varied menu:  breakfast - eggs, french toast, waffle's, quiche, english muffins, sausage, scones, and even a breakfast burrito.  I have to be honest and say I've never had breakfast there.... I get up really early every morning but I don't get going early.  One of these days I'll get up and get moving in time for breakfast.

On the lunch/dinner menu: Panini's, regular sandwiches, salads, appetizers, pizza, entrees, sides, a kids menu, a few vegan dishes, and even desserts.  They have a lot of healthy drinks, juice, coconut water, Holistic Herbal Elixirs, and smoothies.  So they cover all the bases.

I've had a couple of Panini's and they were good.  Certainly it is the first time I've had a Panini in 9 years.  The bread they use (I'm not sure if they make it but I'm guessing they do) is thin and doesn't taste or feel like a GF bread product.  I've had the Chicken Parm and the Roasted Portabella panini's and both were tasty but I'd like the Chicken Parm one a bit wetter (more red sauce and more cheese).   Both plates came with roasted beets which I ate but my daughter turned her nose up at.  I've asked about the beets, it is an unusual side dish, and they said people love them.  I happen to love beets but honestly I don't know anyone else who does.  I've had the Terriyaki Chicken Wings too and they were excellent.  On my next trip I'm going to try the Quesidilla appetizer.

On another visit I had a regular turkey and cheese sandwich which was excellent.  I asked for all the stuff that can go on it, mustard, mayo, lettuce -  the works.  It was big, hearty, and juicy - exactly the way I order it and the way I like it.   An excellent sandwich I've ordered a few times and it's been perfect each time.

The other evening my daughter and I had an early dinner there.  She loves spaghetti and meatballs and was anxious to try them.  I had trouble deciding what to order but finally settled on Chicken Marsala which came with mashed potatoes.  The spaghetti and meatballs were excellent, Cay loved them (she loves meatballs and I don't cook as much as I use too).  My meal looked a little pale... beige chicken, beige potatoes and although the flavor of marsala wasn't as strong as I would have liked, it tasted great, the chicken was done perfectly - tender and flavorful.  We really enjoyed our meals.

On to desserts.... they do them very well.  We've had brownies, cheesecake, cookies, and carrot cake. All have been excellent, the chocolate chip cookies are the best GF cookies I've ever had, really they are just great cookies, gluten free or not.  Lots of chips, nice big cookies, great flavor, crispy on the outside softer on the inside.  I think their desserts are responsible for the few pounds I've gained because I've never gone to Idgy's and NOT gotten a dessert.

So what are the kinks you might be asking?  Some of them are personal and may not be an issue to you... the tables are too small for 2 people, 2 dinners and 2 drinks.  When we had an appetizer we had to use the table next to us.   Slightly larger tables would make it feel more like a restaurant and less like a take out place.

The two owners have their act totally together but the rest of the help are in need of more training.  One time it took the woman behind the counter 10 minutes to figure out how to run my credit card (and this was a month after they opened), I stood there while she played with it and she didn't turn in the order while she was having trouble.  So we had a long wait to pay and get our food.

This last time the girl behind the counter was cleaning up (we got there about 30 minutes before they officially closed) and had on big blue rubber gloves to clean with.  Sadly she delivered dinners with the gloves still on!!!  A huge ewwwwww.

I find the menu board a bit difficult to read.  There are arrows all over which I find hard to figure out and all the item headings are called xxxxIdgy.  Appetizers are appetidgy's, panini's are panidgys, sandwich's are samidgys.  It's a little too cutesy and hard to read for me but as I said some of this is just my personal taste.

Let me say upfront I like a lot of flavor, spice, and even heat in my food.  Some of Idgy's food is just a shade not flavored enough for me.  For example I put salt on virtually every entree I order there.  I'd like them to punch it up a tiny bit more.  Lastly, I've emailed them with a GF suggestion... french fries.  It is very difficult for us GF people to get french fries (or fried anything) anywhere because in most restaurants they use the same fryolator for gluten items (like flour battered fish) to fry the french fries in.  So the french fries end up containing gluten.   I think a lot of Idgy's menu is "healthy food" so maybe they don't want to add something "unhealthy" like french fries (it's a veggie, right?) but I'd love them and I'd go there more often if they had them.

All in all, I like Idgy's a lot and I recommend it on my Gluten Free on Cape Cod list, which you can get, free of charge, just by emailing me.  I think they are off to a good start, I certainly hope if you are GF you will try it, it is SO nice not to have to worry at all about getting "glutened".  And your friends that don't have to be gluten free will enjoy it too.  Be sure to try their excellent desserts!

Idgy's  (click to see their website)
23 S. White's Path
S. Yarmouth, MA 02664
508-694-7451

4 comments:

  1. Greetings from Scotland! I enjoyed reading your articles.

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  2. They have made many positive changes to their menu and staff. Erika Berg was never an owner of Idgy's and she no longer works there.

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  3. WE LOVE IDGY'S!! THANK GOD THERE IS A 100% GLUTEN-FREE RESTAURANT ON THE CAPE WHERE I AM SAFE FROM GLUTEN!! THEY ARE SUCCESSFUL AT MAKING PASTA AND PIZZA, SOUPS, SANDWICHES, BREAKFAST OMELETS AND FRENCH TOAST. EVEN IF YOU DON'T HAVE TO EAT GLUTEN-FREE FOOD, YOU CAN STILL EAT THERE AND HAVE A HEALTHY MEAL.

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  4. Hey I love Idgys too! The Dennisport natural market is great for gfree groceries! I ordered email list of Resturant about 4 days ago an have not yet received it my paypall account

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