Pomelo

2405 Fairview Street, Unit 3 Burlington, Ontario
Tel: 905.681.8080

Type of cuisine: Thai, Vietnamese
Date of Review: April, 2010

Overall Quality Ranking: Excellent

Cost: Moderate

Gluten-Free Menu Options: Good 
Gluten Free Diner Comfort ranking: Comfortable

Description:  Pomelo is a new kid on the block and they are making every effort to impress.  The menu offers an extensive variety without going overboard.  Thai (the cuisine dominating this menu) and Vietnamese food is generally friendly for the gluten-free diner, and the wait staff were accommodating.  

The food was impressively fresh.  They obviously beat my chain grocer to the food terminal.  We started with the mango salad, which was crisp and fruity with a light, sweet dressing.  Topped with fresh mint, it was rendered substantial by a nice toss of roasted cashews.  The Pad Thai, of which there are several varieties, was again fresh, tasty, and not goopy.  Somewhat exotic to us in a Thai restaurant was the duck curry with fruit, basil, raisins and coconut milk.  How do you say "yum" in Thai?   To assuage our guilt, we added the spicy asparagus, which was replete with mushrooms, carrots, tofu, and plenty of garlic. While not the highlight, it was a pleasant addition.

The service was friendly and they were helpful and reassuring with respect to gluten.  One must always play safely, but fresh Thai  is a better starting point than most.  (Note, for example, they do have oyster sauce on the menu, which is typically wheat containing.)  The restaurant itself was more upscale and chic than is typical for Thai in this area.  While not requisite, it was more than pleasant.

Pomelo has done a great job of bringing fresh Thai to Burlington.  I look forward to returning. 

Sanafir

1026 Granville Street
Vancouver, BC V6Z 1L5
(604) 678-1049

Type of cuisine: Asian Fusion
Date of Review: May, 2010

Overall Quality Ranking: Good

Cost: Moderate
Gluten-Free Menu Options:  Reasonable
Gluten Free Diner Comfort ranking: Cautiously Comfortable

Description:  A fusion restaurant with a heavier weighting on Indian and Middle-Eastern cuisine, Sanafir provided good food and reasonable entertainment on this Thursday evening.  The menu is divided into trios and meals for one.  The trios will take one foodstuff—prawns, lamb, or the like—and serve it three ways.  So, for example, chicken may come on a kebob, as a mild Asian dish, and as butter chicken.  The dishes were good, if not stellar.  Our little trio ran four Sanafir trios, including lamb, chicken, prawns, and sablefish.  There is sufficient variety on the menu for the gluten-free eater, although not all dishes in each trio were safe.  The drink menu includes several entertainingly named beverages such as the pink samurai and memories of a geisha, the latter having a nice ginger buzz.

The wait staff was friendly and patient.  Gluten knowledge was incomplete, and there was a few moments of anxiety as we sorted out that the papadums did not contain wheat flour but rather only “might contain traces of wheat” as per the typical informative label.  But as dishes came out, the danger dishes were pointed out.

The décor is fun and funky.  With a ceiling over three stories high, this might have been part of an old theatre.  Long dramatic light fixtures hung down, with candles set high up the wall.  We were able to sit right along the opened front of the restaurant, and dined enjoying the fresh spring air.  Upstairs, for a minimal table charge, are several large platform couches that can be enjoyed by a party of lounging diners; think of a picnic in a club-like atmosphere. 

Overall, Sanafir offers good food and an entertaining environment.  You might just enjoy the clubby feeling without the pretense.