Goldbaum's

A few weeks ago I received a box of samples from Goldbaum's.  I have to admit I had never heard of Goldbaum's, but I was pleasantly surprised by the variety I received from them.  They sent me: fettuccine, french onion flatbread crisps, two flavors of quinoa crisps, onion & garlic pop potato chips, ice cream cones, and chow mein noodles.  Ice cream cones and chow mein noodles?  You guys are already the coolest.

Last weekend I worked the New York City Wine and Food Festival.  It was a really fun few days but also long hours and very hectic.  These Goldbaum snacks really saved me.  I brought the flatbread crisps for lunch with some cheese and let me tell you, these crackers are delicious.  I would definitely buy them.

I also really liked the multigrain quinoa crisps.  They are only 100 calories a bag and come in barbecue, sea salt, and onion & garlic.  They are prefect for on the go snacking.  They also have popped potato crisps if that's more your thing.  The brown rice fettuccine came in super handy for quick dinners.

It isn't exactly ice cream season in New York anymore, but I can't wait to try the ice cream cones.  And I'm really not sure when I'm going to use the chow mein noodles, but believe me, that will happen.

Thank you Goldbaum's.  This box of goodies was a very pleasant surprise.

Pappardella

I stole this picture from the internet.

My brother doesn't really go above mid-town Manhattan.  In fact, he generally tends not to go above Union Square if he doesn't have to.  But tonight I convinced him to meet me for dinner on 75th and Columbus.  Way out of his comfort zone, but since we have eaten at most of the restaurants with gluten free menus in the city, it's always nice to have somewhere new to try.

I learned about Pappardella on twitter a few weeks ago and have been excited to try it ever since (see, twitter can serve a purpose).  I've been meaning to eat healthier recently, but tonight I accidentally ate gluten free garlic bread, gluten free bruschetta with a fava bean spread, gluten free pasta bolognese, and flourless chocolate cake with hazelnut gelato and caramel sauce.  Oh, and my brother had the gluten free salmon dish and I tried some of that too.  Oops!  Don't worry, we shared it all but the pasta.

But here's the thing, with all their gluten free options, I had a hard time deciding.  The gluten free menu was huge and covered everything from appetizers and salads, to pizza and pasta, to meat and fish, to dessert.  They use Schar for their pasta, and I'm pretty sure their bread as well.  The gluten free substitutes were pretty good, but next time I would be interested in trying one of their naturally gluten free dishes such as their grilled rack of grass fed Austrailian lamb with caramelized cipollini onions, and creamy parmesan polenta, or the grilled NY strip steak served with a port wine reduction and garlic mashed potatoes.  And after that I'd like to try their pizza.

Go ahead, go to the Upper West side and give it a try.  Then let me know what you think.

Gluten Free Ice Cream Cones at Sustainable NYC

Saturday was one of the hottest days of the year here in NYC with temperatures rising above 100 and not a cloud in sight.  My dear friend Morgan told me about a store in the east village that has gluten free ice cream cones and Saturday was the perfect afternoon for us to try them.

Sustainable NYC is a store boasting local, organic, fair trade, recycled, re-purposed, biodegradable, and alterative energy products and gifts for women, men, kids, babies, and pets.  They also have a café in the back with fair trade & organic coffee and vegan soups, snacks, baked goods, and ice cream.  I was there for the ice cream, not because it was vegan, but because of the gluten free cones!  In fact, I didn’t even know the ice cream was vegan while I was eating it.  Morgan and I both got peanut butter chocolate chip ice cream.  It was delicious.  Not only didn’t I notice that the ice cream was vegan, but the cone tasted just like a regular sugar cone.  They didn’t even charge me extra for it, I don’t think.

I highly recommend this little treat for any gluten free, vegan, hippie, or regular Joe that isn’t squeamish about trying new things.