Gluten-Free Menu by Akinto at Wink & Nod

Disclosure: I was invited to a complimentary dinner to try the gluten-free menu at Wink & Nod. I wasn't obligated to blog about it, but it was so delicious that I wanted to share.

Last month Ben and I had the opportunity to attend an amazing gluten-free dinner for Boston-area bloggers at Wink & Nod, a unique restaurant & bar in the South End that features a rotating kitchen. That means every six months a new chef takes up residence there to serve their own menu alongside Wink & Nod's cocktails and other libations. Right now Chef Patrick Enage is cooking his Akinto menu, which is heavily influenced by his Filipino heritage and features many gluten-free items. You can read more about the chef and his menu here. Also, you might want to get over there soon, because he'll only be there through the end of the summer!

The dinner at Wink & Nod was one of the best restaurant meals I've ever had. (You might think I don't eat out much because I'm so busy cooking myself, but you'd be wrong! I have always loved eating out and do it way more than I should, so I've been to my fair share of great restaurants.) Everything we tried was both delicious and beautiful, which, as a wanna-be food stylist, I really appreciated. Each dish was built with contrasting flavors, colors, and textures that made the food really satisfying and interesting at the same time.

The evening started with small and then medium plates, which included kabayaki-glazed swordfish belly with Taiwan lettuce and duck egg vinaigrette (first photo), pickled cucumbers (second photo), and pork hash with quail eggs and shrimp in coconut curry (both pictured above). The swordfish was perfectly cooked and accompanied by a bright yellow sauce that was appealingly mustardy. I took one bite of the shrimp before I realized the dish contained coconut (I'm allergic)--it was super yummy and I popped a Benadryl and was fine. The rich and savory pork hash with quail egg yolks was one of my favorites, and Ben, who is usually very skeeved out by undercooked eggs, also loved it.

I didn't get to try this chicken tom kha gai with lemongrass and lime because it had coconut in it, but everyone else seemed to really enjoy it. 

I apologize for this blurry phone photo (it was tough taking pictures at Wink & Nod because it's an underground speakeasy with no natural light) but I had to include this dish. It was my absolute favorite! It's 18-hour pork belly with kabocha squash, and we also got little individual dishes of pho broth to dip it in. The pork had layers of tender, crunchy, and meaty textures and the squash had just the right amount of sweetness. The pho broth added a bit of umami to round out what I would consider a one of the world's most perfect food combinations.

I was excited about the eggs in this vegetable and pineapple fried rice, but it wasn't my favorite thing on the menu. It tasted good and I would definitely eat it if someone were to serve it to me again-- however, it was totally outshined by the other menu items. In my opinion, the ratio of rice to egg to pineapple and vegetables was not quite right.

These marinated shiitake mushrooms were served cold, which was a bit of a surprise when I first bit into one. I love shiitakes, though, so I quickly got into it.

These are flowering chives! It was my first time trying them and they taste like a happy cross between ramps, green beans, and scallions. The crab butter on top made them extra tasty.

By the time dessert rolled around, I was totally stuffed. I did manage to take a few bites of this chocolate bar, which was served with matcha green tea powder and almonds. The almonds and matcha did pair well with the chocolate, but dark chocolate has my heart and this milk chocolate paled in comparison.

I expected to like the chocolate bar much better than this mango sorbet--I love chocolate and normally consider sorbet a poor excuse for a frozen treat and infinitely inferior to ice cream. However, the mango sorbet was super refreshing after such a large meal, and the chili powder on top offset the sweetness of the mango just enough to keep things interesting. I would totally recommend ordering this for dessert (and I have never ordered sorbet in my life).

We were also brought adorable mini cocottes filled with the most succulent braised oxtail, which did not photograph well at all. I got to take home some leftovers, though, and that oxtail made a breakfast for the ages the next morning with a crispy egg and a glass of agua fresca. I think the oxtail was my second favorite after the 18-hour pork belly, and it was even more amazing the next day.

If you're planning a night out in Boston this summer and want to stick to a gluten-free diet, I highly recommend Wink & Nod. Get in there before the kitchen rotates again!

Do you have a favorite restaurant (in Boston or in your city) with a good selection of gluten-free dishes? I'd love to hear about it in the comments. Also, would you like to read more restaurant posts on A Calculated Whisk, or should I just stick to recipes? I'd love your feedback!

Disclosure: I was invited to a complimentary dinner to try the gluten-free menu at Wink & Nod. I wasn't obligated to blog about it, but it was so delicious that I wanted to share.