Souper Jenny Atlanta - super disappointing

We recently went to the Atlanta History Center to view the once again, refurbished Cyclorama exhibit.  Since we needed lunch beforehand, we chose to meet friends at Souper Jenny, which moved from Buckhead to this most prestigious location...how swanky!  In case you don't know, Souper Jenny has been one of the best places to find fresh gluten-free soups and interesting salads in the Atlanta area for years.  And best of all, to me anyway, they always had amazing gluten-free desserts which most people didn't know were gluten-free.  Lemon ice box cake...yes, please!

Well, we arrived at the counter and I didn't see any gluten-free desserts noted, or any in the case that housed the treats.  To add insult to injury, I'd checked the daily menu right before we left home that morning, and it had the prior day's menu listed..noting the current date.  So now I can't get anything I wanted to eat as my meal or a dessert....  I was able to get some edible rice crackers to go with my soup, instead of a gluten roll.  Since the coffee shop adjacent to Souper Jenny sells bagels, I asked to buy a bit of cream cheese and they gave it to me for free.  I tipped them for the gesture, of course ;)

I ate my crackers with cream cheese, some of my too-spicy soup and black-eyed-pea salad.  We ended up having a  lovely time with our friends, but I didn't have a nice lunch.  Had I known of the horrid changes at this location regarding desserts, I certainly would have chosen a much better place to eat!  With all the amazing gluten-free bakeries in the area, how in the world could Souper Jenny not find something suitable to offer gluten-free customers?  #souperjennyfail
 
       

True Food at Lenox Square

Recently, an old friend asked if I could meet for lunch near or at Lenox Square in Buckhead.  I told her to pick a place and I'd check on the gluten-free options.  She already had a place in mind - True Food - and she also knew there was gluten-free selection noted on the menu.

I checked out the menu online and decided it looked good enough to check out.  Mall dining is not my favorite thing to do, but True Food is on the corner of the mall with a street entrance.  You can easily forget your at the mall with the high ceilings and bustling ambiance.  There are gluten-free specialty items (like bread for sandwiches) available, but I opted for two half salads (may not be listed on the menu) and they were both delicious!

The turkey lasagna looks interesting - they use spinach instead of pasta sheets.  I think the pizza crust is from Venice bakery.  You can check out the restaurant's website and menu here.

If you have room for dessert, check out the macaron cart in front of Sephora on the main level of the mall.  They are not the best I've had, but they are decent enough if you're not a macaron snob like we are.  Another dessert option is the gluten-free cupcake at Sprinkles which is also on the front of the mall just down from True Food.  I only tried the gluten-free option once, and that was one time too many.  Hopefully, they are doing better for gluten-free folks by now ;)

  

Best gluten-free lunch value in the ATL

For many years, I've enjoyed meeting friends for lunch at Prime at Lenox Square.  There was a short period when I passed on the addictive cheese grits due to a confused (ex) chef who thought I could not have corn...  In their defense, corn has gluten in it - it's just not the kind someone with celiac has to avoid.  It's confusing to say the least.  Eventually someone figured out the goof and I began ordering the fabulous salmon lunch with grits as usual.

The fish at Prime is seriously fresh tasting and the grits are the best in Atlanta (or GA for that matter).  The place has never had gluten-free bread or buns or anything like that during my visits, but I've never once missed them.  I'm not a mall person and I especially dislike inside malls.  I much prefer places like the Forum in Norcross.  However, Prime offers a very good reason to schlep down to Lenox to fight for a parking space (I used to pay for up front parking as a splurge, but they don't have that option anymore).

It's been over a decade since Prime opened and I think my first visit there was during the first six months.  For some reason which I can't explain, I've never thought to write about it on this site.  If you like seafood and cheese grits, you won't find a better lunch value than the salmon deal for $12.  If you like sushi, you might need to carry your own travel gluten-free soy sauce packs.  Since I don't care for sushi, I'm not aware of the soy sauce situation at Prime.