Julie Moreno's idea to start a gluten-free restaurant started out of necessity. One of her children needed to go gluten-less and with six kids, she needed to be able to make good eats that would please the whole family. She started with an Internet-only bakery business called Jewel's Cupcake Shop, which eventually grew into a gluten-free breakfast and lunch bistro, Jewel's Bakery and Cafe.
At the restaurant Julie oversees the bakery side, while her daughter Justine serves as chef and restaurant manager. The good news is that Mom Moreno's baked goods -- including a near-perfect candied bacon cinnamon roll with sweet syrup and salty bacon -- are as good as ever. The bad news is that the restaurant' menu of gluten-free and vegan lunch and breakfast items falls mostly flat.
See also: Cuttlefish Ocean Kitchen in Scottsdale: Mixed Bag with Some Real Hits
Here's an except from this week's review:
Julie's baked goods are wonderful. But Justine has been less successful than her mother at making "weird food" taste better. Her less-successful menu of gluten-free and vegan lunch and breakfast items falls mostly flat. While it's nice that people with food allergies have a place to go for lunch, I -- a person who can digest wheat flour just fine -- would return only for Jewel's cupcakes and cookies, which are excellent and not over-sugared, like so many altered dessert items tend to be.
Hungry for more? Check out the full review of Jewel's Bakery and Cafe.
