Address: 700 Tijeras Ave NW, Albuquerque, NM 87102
Phone: (505) 508-0164
Website: http://cafelushabq.com/wp/
February 2012: This review was written by GF Lady, the previous owner of GlutenFree Albuquerque.com and is used here with her permission.
Café Lush is a small but mighty new restaurant located downtown in an historic building that has been newly renovated and is tucked behind St. Mary’s School at the corner of 7th and Tijeras. They are open for breakfast and lunch Monday through Friday and brunch on Saturday. Patrons can dine inside the cozy restaurant or enjoy sidewalk seating during late spring, summer and fall.
Café Lush’s menu is posted on the wall with ‘gluten-free’ written in several places on the menu indicating that you have the option to order all the sandwiches, pizza and even a couple desserts in gluten-free form. However, if you must avoid cross contamination as I do, you need to be vigilant. Many of the ingredients and all of the pizzas are grilled on one grill that is used for both gluten-containing and gluten-free options. Therefore, you will need to speak with one of the owners and explain your requirements.
The Davis
I was directed to ‘The Davis’ because there were no grilled ingredients and I could choose the fresh fruit for my side dish. The sandwich pictured here was filled with the most delicious New Mexico-raised beef that had been roasted and sliced at Café Lush.. My sandwich was topped with lettuce, tomato and garlic aioli and was served between two slices of gluten-free bread. The Davis was so wonderfully filling that dessert was out of the question. Fortunately, the decadent gluten-free brownies are available to go, and I definitely recommend you allow yourself this treat.
The owners of Café Lush have years of experience in several of the finest Albuquerque restaurants and they have created an atmosphere and menu that has wide appeal. Amazingly, everything on the menu is under $10. My next visit to Café Lush will be for breakfast or brunch so that I can try the French Toast made with gluten-free cinnamon bread and served with Kahlua syrup!