Review of Early Girl Eatery

We used to love Early Girl. We love Asheville and stopping at EG was a huge culinary highlight of the trip for us due to our dietary requirements.

We were THRILLED that EG came to Charlotte and have eaten there twice so far. This was our third trip and it was a doozy. I looked online at the menu, and I even called ahead of time and verified that the ingredients had not changed for the items we planned to order. I also spoke to the manager when we were seated to confirm again that those items were safe for us. I specifically picked the fish & chips bc the menu said GF and the manager confirmed that the tempura batter is GF & dairy free (uses ginger ale instead of milk).

We ordered and were very clear with our server that we needed GF dairy free. Somehow, it all went haywire in the kitchen. My GF DF kids’ food came out with cheese all over it. Their side of gravy looked really similar to the regular gravy in the photos, so I asked both the runner and the server to confirm it was the right one and GF DF. Both said yes, it was the GF gravy. The server took back their food to fix it, and left the gravy. We waited while they re-made the kids’ food.

Then, the manager came by and apologized for the confusion…then, she saw the gravy that they left for my kids’ food. The gravy was NOT GF. We had no way of knowing that because we had asked and were told it was safe by the runner and server! Then, she looked at my plate. I ordered the fish (tempura batter) and chips that she and I discussed when we were seated. She was really upset and said that the fish and chips have regular flour. She took it away and the kitchen confirmed it was made with regular flour. I was so absolutely confused - it is clearly marked GF on the menu and I had even confirmed with the server that it was GFDF. She also implied that the fryer isn’t dedicated GF, as she said that it’s not safe for celiac due to CC with other things in there (we were told in the past that it is).

I changed my order to the safest thing I could find. Thank goodness I was waiting for the kids’ food to be re-made and hadn’t eaten any of the fish and chips. Honestly, there were other issues, but these are the GF related ones. The manager apologized for all the confusion, which was kind. Honestly, though, I don’t feel we can trust EG as a ‘safe for us’ restaurant anymore. If the items on the actual menu that are marked GF use regular flour, and we can’t trust the server to bring the correct gravy, nor trust the kitchen to ensure items are also DF (no cheese), then I just don’t know how we can trust EG and eat there safely in the future. :(

How confident are you that this establishment takes safety precautions against cross-contact?

— Not at all

Is there a gluten-free menu?

— Gluten-free items are marked on the main menu

How much of the menu is available gluten-free?

— Not Much/None

How would you rate the taste and quality of the gluten-free food you tried?

— Average

Other Characteristics

• Offers outdoor seating