The Cove won several San Antonio Current Best of San Antonio honors in 2006, including #1 Best Lunch Special, #1 Best Service, #2 for Best Music Venue, and #2 for Best Open-Mic Night. In February 2006 Texas Highways labeled The Cove as “The Funkiest place in America”. Now you can also enjoy a gluten-free meal at the same place.

Joe Barfield says, “A quick scan of The Cove's recent schedule suggests what the club's patrons love about it. Over the span of a few days, The Cove featured the jazz of City Sounds, the folk-rock of True Stories, the veteran garage attack of Los #3 Dinners, the New Orleans R&B of Mem Shannon & The Members, and the Americana of the Swindles.”

“The Cove comfortably encompasses these and other genres, because it draws music listeners with eclectic tastes. It's also hard to find another local music venue as family friendly as this one. In addition to their menu, which includes subs, burgers, tacos, and vegetarian dishes, The Cove offers a patio ‘playscape’ for kids and a basketball court for adults eager to compare their reverse slam dunks.”

What this means to those of us who require a gluten-free diet is that there is now a good place to visit, enjoy the music, sip a Redbridge beer, and enjoy choosing from the new gluten-free menu.

Lisa Asvestas, (owner, along with her husband Sam) sat down with me one afternoon, and we went through the complete menu to choose items that are safe for celiacs. Fortunately, their menu is simple, quick, and made from fresh ingredients. They have a grill where they cook the chicken. Over to the right there is a big griddle where they cook burgers and a different area where they cook the fish for their famous tacos.

There are various salads, Free Range Chicken dishes, and fish tacos to choose from. The tacos are served on gluten-free corn tortillas and garnished with their home made coleslaw and poblano sauce. One of the best sellers is appropriately named after Joe and called Joe's Taco. This vegetarian taco offers grilled portabella mushrooms, sautéed spinach, and grilled red onion, along with the coleslaw and poblano cream sauce. All for $3.15 each.

The Cove make their own corn chips, but alas, they are not safe for us. There is only one fryer, and the French fries are also off limits. They will have special gluten-free corn chips for us, but you will need to let them know when you order. Besides the items that are naturally gluten free, there are several more menu items that can be prepared gluten free with a bit of substitution. You can ask for chips or salad instead of fries.

Along with a carwash, laundro-mat, and playground, The Cove serves 15 flavors of Bluebell ice cream. There is a listing of the gluten-free flavors posted there for you to be sure you make a good choice. I hope you will go by soon and enjoy The Cove. Tell them Joe sent you. Visit their Web site to see who is playing. (AB January 2007)