Rialto (Cambridge, MA)

Last night, my father in law treated us to a very lovely dinner at Rialto, a restaurant in Cambridge Massachusetts. It is located in the Charles Hotel in Harvard Square, but it is by no means a "hotel" restaurant. It is a very upscale restaurant, run by chef Jody Adams. It is an Italian restaurant, but as far away from a red sauce joint as you can get. Indeed, there was only one pasta dish -- a ravioli -- on the menu at all. They have an extensive gluten free menu (which, unfortunately, doesn't seem to be online). However, many of their regular menu items are naturally gluten free, and they can modify a number of the other items to be gluten free. The restaurant does offer a prix fixe menu as well (3 courses for $40) and we were pleasantly surprised to learn that there were gluten free options for each course. My daughter (and several others at the table) ordered the Lettuces as a first course, Seared Char with mint and peas for the main course, and Hazelnut Meringue with lemon cream for dessert. Another gluten free entree that was enjoyed by others at the table (although not on the prix free menu) was Wolfe's sirloin steak with Portabello mushrooms, arugula, parmigiano and truffle oil. As befitting an upscale restaurant, the service was very gracious and they were able to accommodate our dietary needs smoothly. Oh -- and the food was delicious as well! It is definitely a place to keep in mind for a special celebration.