Gluten-Free In Oklahoma City: Whiskey Cake Kitchen & Bar

Two things you need to know about our trip back home before we arrived at Whiskey Cake Kitchen & Bar: 1) Late dinner the night before was a trial at a Denny’s in Nowhere, New Mexico and it was a disaster that included me overhearing our server mocking me from the back and then asking for the manager when she returned to our table to check on us (if you’re going to talk shit about me and don’t want me to know, don’t do it so loud that I can hear it); & 2) We had tried to go elsewhere for lunch but they did everything they could to not serve us…me…saying the only thing they could serve me was the gluten-free bread, plain. All the experiences on our five-week journey had been mostly positive. There were places where “gluten-free” on the menu didn’t really mean gluten-free – shared toasters, shared waffle irons, etc. You get the picture.

Having two horrifying experiences fairly back to back almost wrecked me. Between dressing down the manager rather publicly for being mocked by one of her staff for a medical condition that I didn’t choose to have and then being denied service I was ready for a breakdown. The latter experience is why I stopped using the Find Me Gluten-Free app. The restaurant we attempted to eat at was given good reviews on the app. This was the final sign to me that there are more users using the app that don’t have to be gf and muddying the waters. The other signs over the course of the road trip were the aforementioned places where gluten-free meant shared equipment was used instead of dedicated equipment.

So there we were, on a late sunny afternoon walking into Whiskey Cake when a smiling friendly face welcomed us and Chaz promptly returned the greeting and let the man know that I can’t have gluten.

The man glanced between us and said with absolute confidence, “We can accommodate you. And if you have other food allergies, we can accommodate those too.”

It was then my shoulders lightened. I didn’t realize I had been carrying the weight of the world on them until I wasn’t anymore.

He seated us, letting us know he’d be our server and informed me of the options, including the gluten-free bread/buns that are made locally. Even when he came back later, he was patient when I asked questions to verify – like are the housemade chips really gluten-free? Are they fried in a dedicated fryer? Yes and yes.

I ordered a Pink Drink (non-alcoholic) because it had guava juice. Who knew guava went so well with grapefruit?  The burger with the aforementioned locally made gf bun was delicious and the homemade chips (dedicated fryer) had just a hint of BBQ seasoning.

I described Whiskey Cake on Instagram as having a country hipster chic vibe. I liked how they used repurposed items for table decor: old bottles for the sugar and sweeteners, old lightbulbs to hold a sprig of rosemary, and cardboard for the coasters. Pretty clever repurposing I think.

I kind of wish we lived in OKC just to go back to this place.

 

 

Advertisement