Editor’s Note: A2 has closed.
A2 The GFCF Cafe & Restaurant is bringing gluten- and casein-free fare to downtown at 1330 Washington Ave.
The restaurant is named for co-owners Audrey Faulstich and Audra Angelique. Faulstich, a registered nurse, eschewed foods containing gluten and casein (a protein found in mammal milk) in early 2014. After noticing the positive health benefits it had for her friend, Angelique also began following a gluten- and casein-free lifestyle. Angelique experimented with recipes in her home kitchen before deciding to take her health-focused dishes to the masses with a new restaurant downtown.
Starting in early November, A2 will be open for breakfast, lunch, dinner and a weekend brunch. The menu will feature gluten- and dairy-free pizzas and sandwiches served on freshly baked, gluten-free bread. The St. Louis Club will feature turkey, avocado aioli and fresh tomatoes on gluten-free, casein-free cheddar-bacon focaccia. Look also for creative takes on pasta salads, including a pad Thai salad with glass noodles and “spaghetti and meatball salad” using quinoa-brown rice noodles tossed in a sun-dried tomato dressing.
On the beverage side, A2 will offer a full espresso bar, as well as healthy, house-made soft drinks like the Audrey Temple with sparkling black cherry juice, cherry-infused water, black cherry-chia seed probiotics and honey-soaked cherries. They will also install an oxygen bar.
Angelique said she hopes to support as many local purveyors as possible. They plan to use produce from the Urban Harvest rooftop garden, coffee from Mississippi Mud and gluten-free sunflower-based flour from Think.Eat.Live. “I’m obsessed with St. Louis,” Angelique said. “I think it’s one of the best cities in the country, possibly the world.”
This article appears in September 2015.