Nebo Restaurant

With this being my virgin post on Gluten Freeways I’ll introduce myself – I’m Alison, a college friend of Stephen’s who joined him as a Celiac in January. Though I am not lucky enough to live in sunny California, I really enjoy his blog and am ecstatic to be contributing some GF reconnaissance from Boston.

After my diagnosis, I essentially shunned the North End. A haven to all things glutinous – pasta, cannolis, and garlic bread – it seemed as though I’d never again experience gustatory pleasure in this historic neighborhood. Then my friend Miranda brought Nebo to my attention. She saw it advertised as having a GF menu and promised we would go.

Looking forward to our Friday night reservation helped coax along an otherwise tiring week. Miranda, another college friend and I decided to order a number of items from the GF menu and share them all. The selection was impressive with a wide array of appetizers, salads, pastas, and pizzas to choose from.

We settled on two appetizers and two pizzas. Starting off with a shrimp and polenta dish proved a great choice. The shrimp were cooked to perfection and the polenta practically melted in your mouth. Though I’ve used polenta in my home cooking, I have been unable to masterfully prepare this corn concoction. A caprese salad quenched our cheese and tomato cravings.

Next came Nebo’s true test as we were served our pizzas. Out of a diverse variety of topping combinations we chose one featuring artichoke hearts and fresh ricotta and another with goat cheese, pepperoni, and arugula. Visually they weren’t too impressive, but one bite confirmed Nebo knew GF pizza crust. It balanced crunchy and chewy with a hint of sweetness. My friend Mel insisted it could double as a pie crust! The toppings themselves weren’t anything to write home about and were a bit overshadowed by a liberal application of cheese. Another disappointment was the $4 surcharge for the GF crust, resulting in each pie running around $20. I would also recommend being very clear with your server about dietary restrictions; if we hadn’t reminded our waiter I think we would have unknowingly ended up with regular crusts!

Our dinner at Nebo was enjoyable, if not spectacular. It’s great to know there is an option for Celiacs in the North End.

Do you love it or do you love it?
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Nebo Restaurant
90 N. Washington St.
Boston, MA 02114 (Map)
617.723.6326