Gluten Savvy

 I’ve just started a new job in the City so it’s time to start poking around for lunch time spots. I’m not too far from Hardware Lane, so I wandered down there and discovered a crêperie that advertises "gluten-free, lactose-free and vegan available on request". I have to say that French crêpes cooked on the side of the road with a little jambon and an egg broken over them have been a favourite of mine since I was an exchange student in Paris too many years ago to mention. So I went in and asked whether it was possible to get gluten-free and dairy-free all in the one crêpe…

Thankfully, it was easy. As a Breton institution, what’s served here are actually galettes, not crêpes, usually made with a mix of buckwheat and wheat flour. The galettes here are gluten-free thanks to being made completely with buckwheat rather than partially but they don’t have that bitter flavour that I have to mask with sugar and vanilla when I make buckwheat crêpes at home. The owner says that’s because the buckwheat he gets here is very finely ground and different from the buckwheat he worked with in France. I’m guessing it’s worth looking at the country of origin on my next sack of buckwheat flour or going directly to the mill myself.

Le Triskel uses gluten-free soy milk, so not only would my galette be safe for me to eat but I could finish with a café au lait. Almost everything on the menu comes with cheese or bechamel, so if you’re one of the lucky ones, you’ll be fine. I was content with old standards — egg, ham and mushroom or egg and tomato. The cheesy options look absolutely delicious (oh, how I miss melted gruyère…).

All meals are served with a green salad, which is small but fresh and dressed well.

The owner wasn’t quite sure whether any of the French ciders were gluten-free and none of them said so on the label. I took a flyer for one (Manoir du Kinkiz) and tried to look it up online but the site didn’t mention it either. I’ll try to find out and update this review at a later date. 

Of course there are dessert crêpes: pear and melted chocolate, banana and almonds, cinnamon apple with calvados… which can all be done on a 100% buckwheat crêpe instead of the traditional sweet wheat crêpe. 

For a quick lunch at a reasonable price, Le Triskel will stay on the list of places to go for me. Merci a tous. Je vous verrai a la prochaine.

Rating:

Le Triskel,
32 Hardware Ln,
Melbourne 3000
Phone: 0466 406 404