Featured Review

October/November 2009

Gluten-Free Dining, Shopping and Lodging in Mendocino, California

Welcome to GlutenFreeTravelSite.com! Each month we'll highlight an especially useful travel review submission as the Featured Review of the Month. The winning reviewer receives four of Triumph Dining's Restaurant Dining Cards (one each for American, Chinese, Italian, and Mexican cuisines).  Be sure to also check out our past Featured Reviews found in our Archives.

This month, we’re showcasing a restaurant, an inn, and a grocery store in the Mendocino area on Northern California's coast. If you're traveling in the area, you'll be in good hands staying at, dining, and shopping at these Celiac-friendly places. Thanks to our reviewer, Amy, for sharing her experiences from her recent trip to the area for a family wedding...

5.0 Palms	Ledford House Restaurant
Review Type:	Restaurant
Location:	3000 North Highway One, Albion, CA (about 5 miles south of Mendocino)
Phone:	(707) 937-0282 Ask to speak with owners Lisa and Tony Geer
Website:	http://www.ledfordhouse.com/main.html
Trip Type:	Family meal/vacation
Travel Dates:	August 2009
Review Posted:	September 29, 2009

The View of the Northern California coast from the Ledford House Restaurant in Albion, California was awesome, the food fantastic, and the service perfect!

We were heading to The Ledford House Restaurant for a reception dinner after a family wedding. I called them a few days in advance to ask whether they have gluten free options or if we would need to bring food for my son. I ended up speaking with the owners (Lisa and Tony) who knew exactly what I was talking about when I mentioned Celiac Disease and gluten free. Lisa said that it would be very easy to prepare all three of the main dishes being offered for the reception as gluten free - no really big changes at all.

We arrived a day before the wedding and stopped by the restaurant with the bride to drop off their wine. At that time I was able to briefly meet Lisa and Tony and put my son's face with the previous phone call. They were so kind even though it was clear they were heading into their dinner rush. On the day of the meal there, my son had a fantastic meal - ate the same as everyone else except for with the appetizers that we never concern ourselves with anyway. (I had not talked with them about appetizers ahead of time.) He did have the salad which was delicious and prepared slightly different from the others to be gluten free. The main course offerings were lamb shank, swordfish and one other choice. These were prepared gluten free for everyone without telling the other guests. Then when it came time for the wedding cake (which of course was not gluten free), they were kind enough to bring my son a dish of sorbet that was "out-of-this-world delicious" (date sorbet). It was just so great that we didn't even need to ask for a special dessert - they just realized that our son would need one and brought it out!

Great experience eating at the Ledford House. Not necessarily a place for rowdy young kids... more of an adult restaurant - but this was the perfect place for the reception of the family wedding which included several young boys ages preschool through elementary school. The other areas of the restaurant contained small, intimate tables and a quieter venue. It is a beautiful place both inside and for the views.

5.0 Palms	Little River Inn
Review Type:	Hotel
Location:	7901 North Highway One, Little River, CA (south of Mendocino)
Phone:	(707) 937-5942 or toll-free 888-INN-LOVE   Ask for Lynne at front desk
Website:	http://www.littleriverinn.com
Trip Type:	Family meal/vacation
Travel Dates:	August 2009
Review Posted:	September 29, 2009

Little River Inn -- A great place to stay and dine gluten-free in the Mendocino area of Northern California

We stayed at the Little River Inn and had a great experience twice eating gluten free in their restaurant on site. Paul was our waiter the first meal... his girlfriend also eats GF, so he knew without checking which items on the menu were gluten free and all about how to request that the kitchen prepare my son's food without cross-contamination. The hostess (who seemed to know her way around gluten free as well) specifically set us up with Paul because of this. My son's meal was delicious... sausage with fresh fruit was what he chose, but he could have chosen many other items from their menu.

The next morning we were with a very large party of about 25 people. Although Paul was not our waiter, the hostess and the waitress assigned to our group were again wonderful and seemed to understand the gluten free needs and cross-contamination issues. For both meals, all went well and my son ate delicious meals without any gluten. If there had been gluten, we certainly would have known several hours later with his reaction. All was well and delicious! I wish I could say we looked at the whole range of menu options that are gluten free, but we really only ate breakfast there.

There is not a separate gluten free menu or anything - but the staff in the restaurant seemed quite informed about gluten free options. We did not need to speak directly with anyone from the kitchen. What we ate was wonderful! The service was very good and the food delicious. The atmosphere is nice - fine for young children who can behave properly in a restaurant. The hotel itself is very nice and family friendly and includes access to many activities (beaches, golf, etc). The views of the Pacifiic Ocean from most of the rooms are breathtaking as this is right on the coast. Dogs were allowed to stay with you in some rooms too.

Harvest Market makes finding all your gluten-free groceries easy when visiting the Mendocino area

Havest Market is a great, local grocery store now with locations in both Mendocino, CA and in Fort Bragg, CA (just north of Mendocino on Highway One). This grocery carries a great selection of gluten free foods. When I phoned them (a couple of years ago), they nicely faxed me a listing of the gluten-free foods that they carry. This was a huge help to me as we were new to eating gluten free at the time. Their gluten free items are mixed in with all the other foods in their store. According to their web site, they deliver in the area near their stores, too!

Harvest Market (Fort Bragg store) is located at 171 Boatyard Drl, Boatyard Shopping Center (easy to miss, near McDonalds, look for gray wood-siding buildings for this shopping center). Phone: 707-964-7000. Harvest at Mendosa's (the Mendocino location) is at 10501 Lansing St., Mendocino, CA 95460 Phone: 707-937-5879

I found the people working in the store to be informed about gluten free products and helpful. Plus they are very "green" and have a great selection of organic produce. Definitely makes our trips to the area much easier!In addition, they've added a recipes section on their website which includes recipes for special diets including gluten free... http://www.harvestmarket.com/healthnotes.php?org=harvest&ContentID= 4559000