Louisiana Purchase

We finally made it out for the first dinner club meeting of the year and it was a smashing success. A total of 13 people made it, with only 5 of us being diagnosed Celiacs and the rest being friends/family of Celiacs. Louisiana Purchase did a fabulous job of accommodating our special gluten free diet. Allyn (the manager) was great at listening to our concerns and did a great job throughout the evening.
When we were ready to order they were able to modify just about everything on the menu to be gluten free (with the exceptions of 3 of the soups, 2 appetizers and 2 of the entrees), and even pan fried or baked items that they normally do in the fryer. It is important to let your server know that you need a gluten free meal every time, so that they know to modify your meal if necessary and to cook it in a non-contaminated area.
The night started out great with gluten free dinner buns from Kinnikinnick (they do not normally keep these on hand, but had them ordered specially for us!). A few of us brave souls decided to try the appetizer special, alligator cubes on a skewer with hot sauce on a bed of black beans. The overall consensus was positive. If you didn't know that it was alligator it would probably just taste like a pork/chicken blend, but with a little more texture. The entrees came out, and they all looked great! I personally had the Chicken Lafitte, an absolutely fabulous dish with chicken and smoked salmon with a herb cream cheese & roasted red bell pepper sauce. It was served with delicious seasonal vegetables and your choice of potatoes or rice. I also sampled some of the Pecan Pork Medallions from Nick's plate. They were so tender! Jenny's Natchez Shrimp were also a great choice. At the end of the meal, a chocolate lover's dream appeared in the form of Natalie's birthday cake. Both the flourless chocolate cake and the strawberries with a balsamic sauce are gluten free.
Louisiana Purchase is a great Celiac Friendly choice that I highly recommend. Your taste buds will thank you! (Warning: Louisiana Purchase is a Cajun style restaurant, so many of the menu items are spicy).

Lousiana Purchase is located at 10320 111 Street. Call 780-420-6779.