Spring and Summer at Glutenfreeda Foods is all about food shows.  Traveling around the country means eating out and eating out as we all know presents its challenges and sometimes results in delightful surprises.  Last month I experienced a delightful surprise in Portland, Oregon at the Corbett Fish House.  

My husband and I were traveling through Oregon on business.  For me, this usually means bringing food to eat in the car or stopping at grocery stores where I can get cheese, fruit and other gf food items.  Between meetings, we had planned a visit with my sister-in-law who lives in Portland.  We arrived around dinner time and she suggested we try a neighborhood fish & chips restaurant that served gluten-free fish & chips.  I must admit I was a bit skeptical but the thought of eating gluten-free fish & chips was more than I could resist.  It’s been over ten years since I’ve even thought about eating fish & chips in a restaurant!

The Corbett Fish House was more than I hoped for; a neighborhood restaurant reminiscent of a neighborhood restaurant one might find in the burrows of New York; small and comfortable with a staff that remembers your name.  Upon entering the restaurant, we were welcomed by the enticing aromas of a variety of fried fish.  At this point, nothing in the world sounded better to me than fish & chips and a cold beer; but experience has taught me caution.  Through many disappointments I have learned that in the restaurant business and in the world of a Celiac, things are usually not as good (or safe) as they seem; OK, I’ve become a skeptic.

Regarding this restaurant, I have five words:

The Corbett Fish House Delivers!

I can’t say enough about this restaurant and their menu!  This is not a fish restaurant with a gluten-free menu, this is a fish restaurant that uses rice flour to bread their fish as a course of business.  Almost everything on the menu is gluten-free.  All the fried fish, shellfish and chicken is dusted with rice flour and everything is absolutely fantastic!  (Well, I didn’t actually eat everything, although I would have had I had enough time).

Here is a sampling of the menu:

Appetizers: “Bait”

• Oyster Shooters
• Calamari- Yes! Gluten-free!
• Bay Shrimp Quesadillas- Yes! Gluten-free!
• Steamer Clams
• Steamer Mussels
• World’s Greatest French Fries

Soups

• New England Clam Chowder- Yes! Gluten-free!

Fish & Chips

All Fish & Chips are breaded with rice flour then flash-fried.  The result is super-fine breading surrounding perfect fish.

• Chili Fried Catfish
• Pacific Cod
• Oysters
• Yellow Perch
• Walleye
• Halibut
• Prawns
• Fish Tacos
• Halibut
• Catfish
• Buttermilk Garlic Chicken Strips- Yes! Gluten-free!
• Broiled Salmon Filet
• Broiled Yellow Fin Tuna

And what is the perfect beverage to drink with fish & chips?  Beer of course!  Yes, you guessed it, the Corbett Fish House serves Redbridge, the gluten-free beer by Anheuser Busch.

How about dessert?

• Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
• Chocolate Torte
• Yes! Both gluten-free!

What makes the Corbett Fish House unique is that it is not a specialty restaurant, but more a restaurant that caters to mainstream customers with a unique rice flour breading, making it’s meals gluten-free.

For those who are wondering what I had for dinner?

Clam Chowder
Halibut & Prawns Fish & Chips
Beer
Shared Carrot Cake and Chocolate Torte!

I highly recommend the Corbett Fish House and plan to eat there every time I visit Portland!  

Corbett Fish House
5901 SW Corbett
Portland, Oregon  
503.246.4434

www.corbettfishhouse.com

The Corbett Fish House has a sister restaurant, Hawthorne Fish House located in Portland’s eastside.

4343 SE Hawthorne
503.548.4434

Chef Yvonne