Charming, quaint, and homey are humble words to describe the long-standing Firefly restaurant in Noe Valley. Everything from the twinkling lights to the wide-range of comfort food is bound to leave you satisfied. The food at Firefly surpasses all standards for comfort food, especially for those of us Nobreaders that are typically restricted from this genre of cuisine. Since the chef at Firefly is gluten-free herself we can rest assured that she is careful of cross-contamination and keeps a fresh turnover of GF items on the menu. In turn, most of the items on the menu are gluten-free with the exception of a few items that can be altered for gluten-free folk…
As every great meal begins, gluten-free bread was served, loaded with nuts, seeds and GF oats. It came alongside a lentil puree dipping sauce that was good enough to eat alone. Even my gluten-eating friend was surprised at how delicious the bread tasted. For out first dish we opted for the apple and sunflower seed salad that was perfectly sweet and salty and inspired by the chef’s love of slathering apples with sunflower seed butter. The other starters included Brussel Sprouts with truffle oil that were blackened and mouthwatering, Daikon Radish Cakes, and a selection of salads. Everything could be made gluten-free and the Radish Cakes are a must order.
For our main courses we split a Maitake Mushroom entree and the Fried Chicken. The mushrooms entrée was seasonal and if you see it on the menu I highly-recommend ordering this dish because my friend and I fought for the last bites. But if you were looking for something a little heartier I would highly recommend the rice-breaded GF chicken that comes with a corn muffin and mashed potatoes. The rest of the entrees provided a nice mix of vegetarian and meat options, all of which could be made gluten-free including a meatloaf and cottage pie! As stuffed as I was, I couldn’t turn down the GF deserts that they offered, including a flourless chocolate cake and homemade mint-chocolate chip ice cream. They were out of this world.
Firefly has been a neighborhood charmer for over 20 years but I wouldn’t be surprised if you’ve walked by and haven’t even noticed it was there. Firefly puts many seasonal dishes on the menu and works hard to collaborate with local farmers. It was nice to find a top-class restaurant that works hard to make sure that people with gluten sensitivity leave satisfied. Next time make sure to stop and check it out, you can thank us later.