By Jim Duncan CVFDude@aol.com

In the "my town is better than yours" game, points are scored with commercial acquisitions. For the last half century, having a McDonald's could separate a "town with a future" from a "dying town." And these days, suburbs tally up their franchise outlet stores, while cities tout the ethnic diversity of their businesses. The ultimate winning hand in this game is a business so nearly unique that even much bigger cities don't have one. In that context, Beyond the Grain deals a royal flush to metro Des Moines, with a completely gluten-free cafŽ.

A growing number of restaurants now cater to people with celiac disease. In Des Moines, Noah's and the Club Car both have gluten-free menus. National chains Outback Steakhouse and Chick-Fil-a do too. But Beyond the Grain, Uma Morgan and Natalie Kepford's restaurant on the West Des Moines - Des Moines border, is completely gluten-free. Before they opened in December, the closest such place we could locate was on the East Coast.

While celiacs are a devoted niche clientele, there aren't enough to support a restaurant. So Morgan and Kepford are expanding their base by accommodating other special diets - for diabetics and the lactose intolerant amongst others. All their meats and poultry are hormone-free and all their foods are MSG-free. They are still looking for milk that is guaranteed to have no added growth hormones (last week they were serving AE). And until they locate a vegetable oil that has neither trans fats, nor preservatives, Morgan says they will bake their "french fries."

While everybody loves to brag about unique places in their town, few will actually support them just because of their uniqueness. Beyond the Grain will need to attract diners who aren't there for health reasons. So the restaurant serves breakfast, lunch and dinner six days a week, plus brunch on Sundays. They fill special orders for parties and such, particularly bakery items. They also sell some specialty groceries: gluten-free foods in their cooler included some excellent frozen herbs and herb sauces. Meats included Our Family Farms pork, a Hubbard operation that raises pigs in confinements, but without hormones or antibiotics. Their beef was organic, from California.

For general appeal, two things stood out - breakfast and pizza. The cafŽ offers gluten-free pancakes, toast and Belgian waffles that rival better traditional versions, though natural syrups were still "on order." Eggs and hash browns can be ordered with excellent sausage or bacon. Pizzas were even more interesting. The thin gluten-free pies have a texture and flavor that should appeal to many. We rate them highly, not at Chuck's or Centro's level, but better than many we have tried in the past year. Because shortening is needed to break down gluten, these pies require no fats. Yet they have the kind of texture that usually only comes in pizza that has been made with considerable quantities of olive oil. They stand up well to the natural toppings and provide a chewiness reminiscent of the best whole-grain flours. The sausage topping was top notch, too.

We also tried good roast beef and grilled cheese sandwiches. Gluten-free breads toasted nicely, complementing the melted cheese. Soups were rich, with some chicken stock breaking the house rule that all sauces be vegetarian. Even better were the crackers, made by melting white cheddar cheese in sesame seeds. The bakery case drew awes from the mostly family-oriented clientele with brownies, Christmas cookies and pumpkin/carrot bars standing out.

Food news

Widespread rumors that Mondo's will close have morphed into rumors that the superb West Des Moines restaurant will convert into a bar-only operation, with no food service. Spokesmen for the restaurant tell us there is "absolutely no validity to either rumor" and that they have been "hearing these unfounded stories ever since the new mall opened." CV

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