My best girlfriend Stephanie suffers from a very serious gluten, soy and peanut allergy along with several other food allergies, so I'm no stranger to gluten and allergen-free eating. I've seen how detrimental it is to avoid cross-contamination of certain ingredients and how the body will attack the tiniest trace of what it believes to be foreign" particles. This past weekend after the snow and crazy winds, I started to get stir crazy and decided to join my friend for lunch at one of her favorite gluten-free spots.
One Dish Cuisine in Ellicott City, MD is a great little gluten-free cafe that we like to hit up every once in a while. The cafe is the perfect go-to for people suffering from food allergies and food sensitivities, not to mention its owned by a lady named Maureen Burke, who suffers from a gluten hypersensitivity disease herself called Celiac.
Maureen became passionate about providing allergy-friendly foods that didn't compromise taste or quality. In addition to Celiac Disease, Maureen also has an intolerance to lactose and later found a way to make foods that didn't include allergens but also tasted delicious. In 2012, Maureen opened One Dish Cuisine in Ellicott City, MD to share her delicious foods with the gluten-intolerant public. However, anyone can enjoy dining at One Dish Cuisine because the food is just that good.
What I really liked about the place was the color-coded menu system to help keep everything clear and direct on what ingredients are and aren't in all menu items. Sometimes eating out can become tedious for allergy sufferers by having to ask so many questions about the menu and substituting this for that. One Dish Cuisine makes it easy to understand the menu and provides the relief of not having to worry about cross-contamination.
One Dish Cuisine also has a certified gluten-free kitchen so we never worry about cross-contamination or any possible mistakes being made when it comes to her food sensitivities. The staff has been thoroughly trained and are all well skilled when it comes to dealing with different types of food allergies.
Stephanie and I both ended up ordering deli-sandwiches, she had the Reuben and I had the "Rachel" which is pretty much a Reuben but instead of corn beef its made with turkey. It's was pretty tasty and not to mention, huge! I ordered my sandwich with a side of chips and Stephanie had their home-cut fries, which tasted delicious and very fresh. These french fries were cooked almost perfectly and a little more on the crisp side. We were both very pleased with our meals!
Gluten, Soy and Dairy Free "Rachel" Sandwich
The dining room is comfortable and although its pretty small, it never feels overcrowded or tight. I like that the deli is partially self-serving. You are free to move about to get refills on coffee, tea, condiments and cutlery. There is a refrigerator that holds all of their handmade condiments including ketchup, mustard, thousand island dressing, honey mustard and many more allergy-free sauces. All of their sauces are made in-house and outside food is not allowed in the dining room to eliminate cross contamination of any sort.
If you're ever looking for a gluten or allergen-free restaurant in the Baltimore-Metropolitan area, be sure to hit up One Dish Cuisine in Ellicott City for anxiety-free eating, you can even follow One Dish Cuisine on Facebook to receive updates on new menu items.
One Dish Cuisine
8001 Hillsborough Rd
Ellicott City, MD 21043
Phone: 443-759-6344
Open 7 days a week- Mon-Thurs: 9am-8:30pm | Fri & Sat: 9am-9pm | Sun: 11am-7pm
