A female artist friend of mine who suffers from Celiac disaease (a.k.a. intollerance to anything made from wheat) reccomended the place to me when she heard I was looking for a vegan bakery. It's a little hard to find, as the golden-colored building sits behind a barber shop just off Thomas Road. I shoulda just followed my nose, as an aroma of cakes and cookies wafted over me as a approached the front door.

As its name implies, Gluten-Free Creations specializes in breads, cakes, muffins, and other baked treats that are made with nary a speck of wheat. A portion of their products are also completely dairy- and egg-free, making them suitable for vegan consumption.

The "Chocolate Delight" cookies wrapped and ready to go.

My friend urged me to give the “Chocolate Delight Cookies a try, which look just like ordinary chocolate cookies, but are made from a combo of rice flour, raisins, non-dairy chocolate liqueur, cocoa powder, dairy-free chocolate chips, and other ingredients. You get eight decent-sized cookies per package, and while the taste and texture of the baked treats are a little different than your momma’s recipe, they’re still delightful to nosh on. The raisin chunks were juicy and the non-dairy chocolate chips melted in my mouth. I polished them off with a tall glass of vanilla soy milk in one sitting.

A couple of slices of the aromatic herb bread.

I also couldn’t resist getting a loaf of herb bread to take home with me. It was frozen (as this particular kind is normally baked on Wednesdays), but it was very aromatic and smelled irresistible as I was toasting up a few slices later at home. The GFCB staff told me it’s mostly made from rice flour and tapioca starch, as well as loaded with basil, herbs, and garlic. I thought about smearing it with Earth Balance whipped spread, but instead dipped it into some olive oil mixed with a pinch of rosemary and garlic salt. It was fabulous and I never once tasted like I was eating wheat-free bread.

Hell, it was even better than the herb bread I usually get at some restaurants.

Beat that Macaroni Grill.

For more gluten free vegetarian/vegan related information.