Monica's Restaurant

Fantastic place!!! Some dishes are real Italian, not American Italian. Celiac friendly, lots of gluten free options and good understanding of celiac. Thank you!!

My wife and I have been to Monica's 3 times in the past month. I worked in the restaurant business for over 15 years. My grandparents owned a fine dining continental cuisine restaurant for over 25 years. The food at Monica's is well-presented and delicious. The atmosphere is like an old-style Italian restaurant almost like in someone's home. However, on our most recent visit (3rd) on a Friday Night at 7:30 after the rush, my wife, who has gluten-Celiac issues ordered the fish special (called Swai). She asked the waitress if there was flour on it for sauteeing because she couldn't eat it if it was. The waitress went and asked the chef and came back and told her they could make the fish special. She then told us that if it was busy the chef wouldn't be able to make it gluten free. Really??? The menu states in bold red italicized letters that they do "Gluten free and vegetarian entrees can be prepared upon your request". Under the "SPECIALS" section it stated: "TIME IS ESSENTIAL IN THE CAREFUL PREPARATION OF FINE FOODS. WE GRATEFULLY REQUEST AND APPRECIATE YOUR PATIENCE. UPON REQUEST, WE WILL PREPARE YOUR INDIVIDUAL DIETARY NEEDS". Now, the menu mentions special dietary needs can be prepared. It doesn't say "because we're busy we can't prepare dishes with dietary needs". I suspect very few people would ask for such a dietary dish on a week night when it's slower or a busier night. All the chef would need to do is to either broil the fish, or if sauteed, if the sauce had flour, use arrowroot, almond flour, tapioca flour, or potato flour instead of the regular flour (made with wheat), or eliminate the gluten ingredient. My wife's Celiac issue is not highly allergic so the kitchen doesn't need to be shut down just to make her dinner. She just can't eat items that have wheat in them. It makes her sick. I was a 2nd line cook and manager in very high-paced restaurants and we made special dishes for dietary needs. When I heard that from the waitress, my blood boiled. I was pretty upset for the entire dinner. It was my birthday, and that's the last thing I wanted to hear at dinner. My wife wasn't as upset but obviously she was the next day. If you advertise you prepare gluten free and vegetarian entrees and will prepare according to individual dietary needs, then DO IT!!!! If you advertise and then say you can't do it when it gets busy, that's false advertising and consumer fraud.