When I was first diagnosed with my gluten sensitivity, I was so scared to order food at restaurants. Marinades usually have gluten, sauté pans are typically covered in butter, and when you ask for something ‘plain’, you never really know WHAT you’re getting. So anytime I went to a restaurant, I always asked for my entrees to be cooked plain with OLIVE OIL ONLY…
When I saw that Fig and Olive was more than just wine, cheese, and bread, I was happy to make the trip. nobread-ers aren’t able to partake in the starter crostini/crudo/cheese plates, but that’s okay because there are plenty of other NOBREAD approved options! I highly recommend starting with the zucchini carpaccio with pine nuts and olive oil, and if you can handle dairy, the burrata and beets is a popular starter as well. All entrees are perfectly prepared using a range of olive oils and with the most pure ingredients. Main dishes I highly recommend include grilled branzino glazed with balsamic vinegar, the chilean sea bass marinated with lemon thyme and mascarpone harissa olive oil emulsion, and the provence roasted chicken marinated with herbs, rosemary, garlic, lemon, pimenton aioli. I also love Fig & Olive’s salads– the shrimp and salmon on arugula with avocado is tasty and filling. Now to my favorite part of a menu: the sides. I eat potatoes in any form; roasted, fried, baked- you name it. The one way I unfortunately CANNOT eat a potato is mashed, as mashed potatoes typically have dairy and milk ingredients. The olive oil chive mashed potato at Fig and Olive is dairy free and heavenly! What can I say? nobread, morepotato.
Fig & Olive is the perfect place to host your next large group get together. At brunch, a pre-fixe menu is served, making ordering easy, and although there isn’t any gluten-free bread, countless gluten-free dishes will have your back in no time.