A night in the big City... a few hot spots to hit!

Top 10: Gluten-free Options in NYC

by Sarah Mintz, Contributing Writer

January 13, 2012

There seems to be a misconception that being gluten-free also means being banned from eating many foods and in general, eating out. No more bread, soup, pasta, sauce, beer, cake, or cookies. Wrong! Gluten-free options and full gluten-free menus are becoming quite commonplace around NYC. From what we've found, gluten-free alternatives often taste better than regular menu items. Here's our top 10 restaurants for all of our gluten-free friends:

10. Lilli and Loo 792 Lexington Avenue nr. 62nd Street

Navigating Asian cuisine with a gluten allergy may be near impossible. Wontons and dumplings? Wrapped in wheat. Lo-mein noodles? Made from wheat. Fried dishes? Battered in wheat. Savory sauces? Almost all contain some wheat derivative. Not at Lilli and Loo! Along with a great regular menu for your non-celiac pals, Lilli and Loo offers a gluten-free menu with over 50 items to choose from, such as dumplings with gluten-free soy sauce, rock shrimp tempura, Kung pao chicken, and even pad thai.

9. Sambuca 20 West. 72nd Street nr. Central Park West

Head to the Upper West Side for family-style Italian at this neighborhood gem. Sambuca has offered a separate gluten-free menu in addition to its regular menu for over seven years - quite ahead of the trend! Don’t expect pasta with red sauce here; instead, you'll find almost 40 gluten-free dishes including chicken scarpiello, spinach ravioli, and pesto pasta. You can also expect gluten-free beer, dinner rolls, chocolate truffle cake, and warm brownies!

8. Risotteria 270 Bleecker Street nr. 6th Avenue

Everyone gets a taste of a gluten-free lifestyle at this West Village risotto haven. Every meal starts with light and airy gluten-free breadsticks, whether or not you are gluten-free. Don’t worry, refills of these tasty sticks are on the house so let your non-celiac  friends indulge! The menu is extensive and clearly indicates with a "g" every dish that is gluten-free. Choose from options such as meatballs with bolognese sauce, risotti (creamy Italian rice without the cream) with calamari, roasted garlic, and Italian parsley, as well as paninis and pizzas. Definitely save room for the gluten-free éclair! Risotteria doesn't take reservations and with only 20 seats (re: this place is really tiny), I recommend arriving early to avoid a wait. For a restaurant that calls itself “gluten-free heaven”, you almost have to check it out!

7. S'Mac 345 E. 12th Street nr. 1st Avenue

Lip smackin' mac n' cheese comes out piping hot and fresh at this East Village eatery that's been around since 2006 - essentially a lifetime in the NYC dining scene. The best news is that a gluten-free lifestyle can fully indulge here. After extensive testing and overhauling ingredients in 2009, S'Mac successfully found ways to make every regular menu-item without gluten. Béchamel can now be made without wheat flower, and breadcrumbs are made from gluten-free cornflakes. I recommend the classic 4-Cheese skillet (cheddar, Muenster, gruyere, and Pecorino) and the Parisienne, which combines creamy brie, roasted figs, roasted shiitake mushrooms & fresh rosemary. This Parisienne is definitely unorthodox in the mac' world but is an amazing balance of savory and sweet. Eat-in (limited seating), take-out, or for a truly indulgent meal, get it delivered!

6. The Meatball Factory 231 Second Avenue nr. 14th Street

Not to be confused with the Meatball Shop, the Meatball Factory and its chef,Top Chef alum Dave Martin, offer three gluten-free meatballs and six gluten-free sauces among the plethora of menu options. Braised and ground pork shoulder, bacon fat, mascarpone and a dash of red chili paste? Yes please. Fire roasted marinara sauce with fire roasted tomatoes, garlic, & sweet onion, fresh basil and sherry? Yes please. Sauces are made from scratch, atmosphere is casual and prices are more than reasonable. And for your friends who don't mind a little gluten in their diet, there are plenty of salads, pizzas, and additional meatball options to choose from. Don't let them leave without trying the Black Truffle Mac ‘n’ Cheese. And as of 2012, The Meatball Factory delivers!

5. Taim (222 Waverly Pl.)

No question, Taim makes the best falafel in city. Taim offers three types of falafel daily, all of which are gluten-free and fried to order in 0% trans-fat oil. Taim also makes the freshest gluten-free hummus that is always a perfectly smooth yet creamy consistency. I'm partial to the green falafel, a traditional flavor combination with parsley, cilantro, and mint - it's basically perfection in a pita. Others prefer the falafel platter, which provides a sampling of all three falafel flavors, hummus, tabouli, and Israeli salad. Keep your eye out for Taim Mobile driving around town if you don't want to head to the West Village!

4. Bistango 415 Third Avenue nr. 29th Street

Get lost in the charming ambience and limitless gluten-free options at this family-owned Italian trattoriain Murray Hill. Bistango used to have a separate gluten-free menu, but the owner Anthony has since decided to make everything on the entire menu adaptable to be gluten-free.Tell your server you're gluten-free when you sit down and you will be served complimentary bruschetta on a piece of fresh radicchio rather than the typical bruschetta. Menu items include wild mushrooms & ricotta ravioli, spinach & ricotta ravioli, and cheese tortellini. For an extra $2 dollars, Bistango is more than happy to make any pasta item on the menu gluten-free, including gnocchi with slow-cooked short-rib ragu. Don’t forget to order one of the two gluten-free beers and top off the meal with one of eight gluten-free desserts including carrot cake with buttermilk frosting.

3. Tu-Lu’s 338 E. 11th Street nr. First Avenue

When owner's Tully and Jen were diagnosed with gluten intolerance, they became determined to eat the things they had always loved in the past. The hardest replacements for Tully to find were high-quality baked goods, so she took it upon herself to make her own and share them with others. This is how Tu-Lu’s was born. This 100% gluten-free bakery features cupcakes, cakes, muffins, cookies and even paninis. With dense and moist brownies (with chocolate chips!), chewy oatmeal, cranberry and white chocolate chip cookies, and fluffy cupcakes with rich creamy frosting, it is essentially impossible to tell that the treats are gluten-free.

2. Blue Smoke 116 E. 27th Street nr. Park Avenue South

BBQ lovers rejoice - Danny Meyer to the rescue! Blue Smoke in Flatiron and its Executive Chef Kenny Callaghan offer a separate gluten-free menu in addition to its full-fledged stick-to-your-ribs barbeque menu. The gluten-free menu includes appetizers such as iced oyster, deviled eggs, and baked chipotle wings. Main courses range from citrus-crusted tuna and shrimp & grits, to filet mignon and NY strip steak. With additional gluten-free BBQ options like Kansas City spareribs, Memphis baby back ribs, and Texas salt & pepper beef ribs, there is no reason to feel “left out” at dinner!

1. Rubirosa 235 Mulberry Street nr. Prince Street

Ranked “Best Slice” by NY Mag in 2011, #5 on Eater’s January 2012 “38 Essential New York Restaurants” and #1 on its “15 New York Restaurants with the Hottest Servers”, and #1 on our Gluten-Free Top 10, Rubirosa has taken the NY pizza community by storm since it opened in 2010. This classic pizzeria with chic Nolita flair serves super thin-crust yet supple pizza (the family recipe is over 50 years old!) along with a host of other Italian classics including fresh pasta made in-house and chicken parmigiano. The gluten-free menu includes pure deliciousness such as risotto balls with marscapone and prosciutto, calamari fritti, penne pasta, and six pizzas. Do not, I repeat, do not leave Rubirosa without trying the vodka pizza. Creamy, alcohol-spiked tomato sauce with fresh mozzarella? What more could you ask for? Gluten-free items are cooked in separate pots, pans and fryers as to not cross-contaminate any food items. 

Doggie Style... Another Choice for Gluten Free Beer

Dishing With . . . Sam Calagione

Delaware's Dogfish Head Brewery has long been an innovator in America's craft beer movement, so when the company announced last summer that a newcertified gluten-free beer would be released in 2012, the gluten-free community took notice.

Tweason'ale - which will begin to hit shelves nationally later this month - is the brewer's first 12-ounce four-pack in nearly five years and will retail for about $9.99, comparable to the company's other four-packs.

In this "Dishing With..." segment, Dogfish Head's founder, Sam Calagione, talks about the development of Tweason'ale, its taste profile, and how to enjoy this seasonal release throughout the year.

What prompted Dogfish's development of a gluten-free beer?
The number-one request we got last year was for an off-centered gluten-free beer that didn't taste like it was a standard lager beer base ingredient approach.

Dogfish is known for its non-traditional beers. What makes Tweason'ale different from other gluten-free beers?
The recipe. I think we are the first company to combine buckwheat honey - which is super dark and malty and in that way boosts the complexity and beer-essence - strawberries, sorghum and a bit of hops.

How did you settle on Tweason'ale's profile? 
We wanted to make something complex, fruity, malty (but not made with malt) and champagne-esque that also just happens to be gluten free.

How much of a learning curve was there to develop a beer that doesn't contain gluten? 
A bit more elaborate than our normal R&D [research-and-development] process. We made three test batches before we did the first big production batch.

Did you speak with gluten-free beer drinkers along the way?
Just incidentally, as we did the test batches and put them on at our pub for feedback. We have never done focus groups or formalized outside tasting panels. We trust the palates of our co-workers and our regular customers more than we would a room full of MBAs.

What kind of response did you get when you had Tweason'ale at the brewpub last summer?
Really good. The first batch was a bit too bitter because we didn't expect the sorghum itself to contribute bitterness, so we dialed back the hops.

Will Tweason'ale appeal to beer drinkers that don't have to avoid gluten?
So far it does seem to appeal to a really broad range of people, both wine and beer drinkers alike. It doesn't have a lot of hop character but it has malty notes and fruity notes and great complexity. It also pairs very well with spicy foods and chocolate.

Why did Dogfish decide to pursue gluten-free certification?
It cost us many thousands of extra dollars to certify but we want customers to have confidence we did this the right way.

What's the idea behind releasing Tweason'ale at various times of the year?
It comes in four-packs and every bottle has the date it was packaged inked onto the the neck of the bottle. We believe this beer is best drunk within four months of the bottled-on date. By releasing it quarterly, people who dig it can stock up four times a year and never run out. We don't have the ability to brew it any more frequently because demand for our other beers is so much higher than our brewing capacity and our ability to supply.

How will you measure whether Tweason'ale is successful?
We encourage people to give us feedback online, when visiting at our pub [in Rehoboth Beach] and brewery [in Milton], and events throughout the country where we pour this beer. We hope people will use the Fish Finder page on our website and hunt down Tweason'ale and give it a try!

Date Night- As long as it is a Monday or a Tuesday!

Santa left me his cookies this year!

The holidays are gone and Santa left ME cookies under the tree! Since then, it's been a weekly bag, a nightly nosh, and a daily sneak!

Glutard or not, Tate's has always been one of the best cookies... it's just that now we get to enjoy them too! Every chocolate chip morsel of them :) I dare you to try to compare any other cookie against them ! Dive it, enjoy! Locally- The Village Market in Wilton sells these but they can also be found at the triple B- Bed Bath and Beyond, and with a 20% coupon- it's quiet the steal!

https://www.tatesbakeshop.com/p/product-cookies/GPCky6PackGFCC.html

Chipotle, an amazing video and a place to eat!

Chipotle was on to something... 

The video says it all! I hardly have to post... What's your next taco bowl going to be :)

Super Tuscan!!!!

So there have been a few extra bites these past few months, I could blame it on the holidays but honestly, I just like to eat!! Furthermore I like to eat good food and it's been such a nice change lately because restaurants are expanding their gluten free options!!!

One noteable newcomer is The Tuscan in New Canaan. The tip came over facebook when I put up a gluten free post and a friend that works there told me that they had gluten free pasta! No need to say more, I was there that evening. I kindly reminded the waiter to make sure they use a different pot of boiling water (one should never assume) and asked for their suggestions for the rest of the meal. The menu was easy to dicipher what I could have and what was not gluten free (although I have gotten better at this, it's always a bit difficult going anywhere new!). One menu item I have to mention is the lobster bisque- it is gluten free- really!!! No rue involved here :) it was amazing, creamy and full of flavor. Any type of bisque has definitely been something I have missed and so this was an amazing surprise, I had to order it! Don't think the lobster stopped there, you can not pass up the Insalata de Aragosta, it's insane (although I had this at brunch on another occasion!). Of course after pasta and soup I nearly had to be rolled out of there... that was until someone mentioned salted caramel gelato. I did a stretch or two, a little wiggle and magically I had room for more. I will warn you now, no matter how stuffed you are- one scoop is not enough!!!

Good things do not have to come to an end because let it be known, there Sunday brunch is amazing too!!! I think I have found my new spot... for now at least :)

http://www.thetuscan.com/

PAULI'S Deli

A little piece of heaven for all us glutards awaits right on route 7! Over the course of the past 6 months I have received many a phone call to let me know that this local deli has gluten free bread (Rudis), but it all began with a text from my dear friend Gina... "Did u know that PAULI'S has gluten free bread?" I hate to admit that I didn't even know what or who said Pauli was. Since that text, I would call myself a regular at this establishment. I have had grilled cheese with bacon, pastrami with munster and Russian, turkey with lettuce and tomato- don't forget the ranch!!! Like any GF who has finally found something they find edible.... I always order two ;) just in case.
Now let's dive a little deeper and discuss this man we call Pauli... He is in one word-kind. His door is always rotating, his store is always bustling, but he always has time to say hello and ask you how your day is. I always tell him to raise his prices, it's a joke between him and I. You see, everyone else charges extra for anything gluten free, not Pauli. When I ask why, he simply says I want you to come back and eat another sandwich. He gets it!!! He also gets why it is important to have side options for us too- cookies, chips and more gluten free hidden gems are right next to the register.
So next time you are in Norwalk looking for a quick bite, stop by, say hello to Pauli and don't forget to grab an extra sandwich for the road!!!

http://www.paulisdeliandbagels.com/