Ribalta

One of my college roommates is in town for a work conference.  Typing the phase "in town for a work conference", combined with my 28th birthday being last week, makes me feel really old.  Anyway, she's here and I couldn't be more delighted to see her.  She told me to pick a restaurant for dinner last night and I was going to choose one of my old standbys when I saw a tweet yesterday afternoon about someone's gluten free pizza at Ribalta.

I had never heard of Ribalta.  When I looked it up on the internet I was happy to see it is conveniently located near Union Square (12th Street at Broadway).  I often meet people for dinner in Union Square so I'm happy to have another place to add to my list.  Not only do I like Ribalta's location, I also liked the food, so really it was a win all around.

Amanda and I split the brussels sprouts to start.  I love brussels sprouts.  Especially when they are covered in bacon and cheese.  I then got the gluten free vegetable pizza.  It was quite large and I thought it was pretty good.  Amanda had some gluten filled pasta and was happy with it.  They do have a gluten free almond chocolate cake for dessert but we didn't get it.  You probably should though, because, you know, dessert.

Sweet Christine's Bakery

Awhile back I received a box of samples from Sweet Christine's Bakery in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. Summer is the crazy busy season at my job so I am quite late on writing this post.  In fact, things have been so busy that I haven't even been able to try everything I was sent!  In early August Sweet Christine's sent me: a loaf of bread, a baguette, 6 small pizza crusts, a cookie, and a brownie.  The day I received the package I immediately opened and shared the cookie and brownie with my stressed co-workers.  The brownie was good and as I sit here writing this I wish I had another (ignore the fact that it's 9 am).  The cookie had the taste and consistency of what I remember Chips Ahoy cookies tasting like, which isn't my preferred cookie, but for a prepackaged cookie is pretty good.

I must say I don't love the bread.  It is a bit sweeter than I like.  I haven't tried the baguette yet but it looks great and I'm keeping it in my freezer until I cook something worthy of serving it with (I'm imagining lasagna).  The pizza crusts are interesting because it says you can use them as pizza crusts, or as wraps or quesadillas.  It suggests to use a pizza stone or right on the oven rack versus on a baking sheet.  I don't have a pizza stone and I was weary of cooking them right on the rack so I opted not to try them as pizza crusts.  First I tried them as soft taco wrappers which didn't work so well, but as quesadillas I really liked them.  I don't think I've had any quesadillas since going gluten free and these were great.

Sweet Christine's has a storefront in Kennett Square, but after doing some research on their website they do so much more.  They are partnering with schools, colleges, and stadiums to get gluten free products available in places they traditionally aren't, which I think is great.

Luigi's Restaurant

Last night I had the best gluten free pasta I have ever had.  It was so good that after a few bites I was convinced it was not gluten free and made the waitress confirm it for me.  She assured me it was and informed me that they make it themselves in house.  I was impressed.

I'm in DuBois, PA, where, according to the internet, there is basically nothing gluten free to eat.  I stumbled upon Luigi's by accident.  I had planned to go to a Mexican restaurant next door because Mexican is usually pretty GF friendly, but it was closed.  It was getting late so I walked into Luigi's (an Italian restaurant) expecting to just order a salad when I saw a sign at the hostess stand that said "Ask about our gluten free menu."

The gluten free menu has gluten free pasta, pizza, sandwiches, salads, and meat options.  I got gluten free penne with Tia's Tomato Alfredo sauce.  Have I mentioned how good it was?  Honestly, the best GF pasta I have ever had.  I wish I could go back and try the pizza.

Luigi's has two locations, one in DuBois, PA and one in Clymer, PA.  From looking at the website, I don't think the Clymer location has a GF menu.  DuBois is located along Interstate 80 which runs across the entire state of PA connecting New York and New Jersey with Ohio.  It's a long highway with few food options along the way.  This is such a great find that I plan to post about them on every gluten free travel site I can find.

A big thank you to Luigi's for letting me eat such a good meal in DuBois, PA.

Healthy Living Market and Cafe

I was in Vermont again last weekend.  This time I went for work.  I had to sit at a table in Burlington for several hours and hand out information about my company.  Not my normal job, but I'm always willing to help out when needed...especially when it means I get to go home for free.

Knowing that I was going to be sitting at a table for the majority of an afternoon, I wanted to bring lunch with me.  I went to the trusty Gluten Free Travel Site and searched Burlington, VT.  It was there I stumbled upon a review for Healthy Living Market and Cafe across from the University Mall.  It was a perfect quick stop before I headed downtown for an afternoon on the waterfront of Lake Champlain.

At the risk of sounding like the dorky gluten free person I am, Healthy Living Market was amazing.  They have an entire gluten free section when you first enter the store.  I don't mean a small section of an aisle.  I mean a whole mini store within the store.  It gives G-Free NYC a run for it's money.  Here's a low quality picture I took in my excitement:

You can't really tell how amazing it is from the picture, but they have everything.  What you see here are mostly the dry goods.  There is a row of freezers all along the left hand side with only gluten free stuff.  To the right before the food there is a section with gluten free magazines and books.  In the middle there is beer and behind that fresh baked goods and bread.  Nearly every gluten free product I've ever seen was here.  I even saw (and purchased) the new New Planet beer everyone's been talking about.  I also got the Bakery on Main instant oatmeal I've been wanting to try.  Seriously, this store has everything I could ever want for my gluten free needs.

But that's not all!  That only covers the market part.  They also have a cafe with lots of gluten free goods.  I got a gluten free raspberry muffin that was great.  And then... I was able to order a sandwich from the deli for the first time since I was diagnosed with Celiac 2 years ago!

For those of you that don't know me, this is very exciting.  I miss sandwiches and being able to order them for lunch.  We had to play an icebreaker with the summer interns at my job in June.  Everyone had to write down a t-shirt slogan that describes them and then other people have to guess who's slogan goes with who.  Mine said "I miss sandwiches."  I hate icebreakers.

I wish I could tell you I loved my sandwich, but I wasn't that happy with the bread. I did really really appreciate it though.  They have a hot bar with lots of gluten free options and I hear they even have gluten free pizza sometimes.

If you are gluten free and live within an hour of this place you have to go.  Or, if you are visiting lovely Burlington, VT, make sure to stop by.  Honestly, it's better than Whole Foods.  That's right, I said it.

Joan's GF Great Bakes

I've been hearing about Joan's for a long time now but hadn't had the chance to try her products until recently.  Not only was I able to finally give her products a try, but I was able to meet Joan in person at Whole Foods a few weeks ago.  I was there for a book signing, but there were also a lot of gluten free vendors around the store giving out free samples.  Joan was one of them and Erin, the leader of the NYC Celiac Meetup Group and author of Gluten-Free Fun, told me I had to go try some of Joan's products.  I'm glad I did!

I sampled Joan's Corn Toaster Muffins, English Muffins, and Double Chocolate Muffins.  They were all amazing.  I ended up going home with the Corn Toaster Muffins and Multi Grain English Muffins.  The English muffins make a great addition to breakfast and the Corn Toasters are a nice evening treat.  Next I'd like to try Joan's pizza.

Not only were Joan's products really good, but she was very nice herself!  Overall, a winning combination.  Nice work Joan, and thanks for the great products!

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.

Eating Gluten Free AND Healthy on the Road - Is it Possible?

I'm on the road again for work.  I try to have most of my meals planned out ahead of time, but there are always a few that I have to figure out on the fly.  This isn't usually a problem, and as I've mentioned a few times, when things get bad I always resort to french fries, although I really prefer not to.*

Even if I've done my due deligence and found restaurants to eat at along the way with gluten free menu items, these restaurants usually highlight gluten free pizza or pastas.  Which is great, but not always so healthy.  My problem these days is eating gluten free AND healthy on the road.

Many gluten free people bring along gluten free snacks when they travel: nuts, gluten free bars, etc.  This is a good idea, but I have this problem where if I have food around me, I eat it.  Knowing this about myself, I tend not to bring extra food along.  If you have more self control than this, I highly suggest you bring some snacks.  But the problem of eating healthy remains.  Yes nuts are good, but wouldn't you like some fruits and vegetables?  I know I would right about now.  Some people even bring a cooler along with these kinds of food.  Also a great idea, if I could just manage not to eat it all at once.  You also have to make sure you are staying at hotels with fridges if you go this route, which is not always possible.

Yesterday I had to figure out all my meals on the fly.  It did not go well.  It started off ok with a nonfat plain yogurt and some fruit at the train station in New York.  Then I took the train to Philly and from there a three hour drive to North Central PA.  By then I was starving and had no ideas for lunch.  I stopped at a rest stop with some of the usual options - burgers, french fries, pizza, pretzels, and coffee.  There was also a sandwich place that offered some salads, but when I checked them out it was brown ice burg lettuce, unripe tomatoes, and weird looking deli meet.  Not exactly my idea of a good lunch.  So, french fries it was.

And then it was time for dinner.  I am in rural PA and there were no restaurants in sight.  More french fries for dinner.  I felt gross, and still hungry.  Sad times.

So, I know it's possible to eat gluten free, but is it also possible to eat healthy on the road?  I'm sure it is, but I haven't quite figured it out yet.  I think for my next trip I need to not only research places with gluten free food, but also restaurants in general that may have some healthy vegetables and protein.  There are probably restaurants around that could give me a decent meal, but I just don't know where they are.

On my last trip I was actually able to construct a healthy dinner out of food I found at a gas station:  Yogurt, fruit and cheese (meant for children...), and veggies and dip.  I tried to find something like this last night but couldn't.

Anyone have any tips on healthy gluten free traveling (besides the obvious answer of gaining some self control and bringing food along)?  Help please.

*Note: Many people choose not to eat fast food french fries for cross contamination and gluten in the oil reasons.  People have gone back and forth on this issue.  Unless french fries are coated in gluten, I personally eat them and have never had a problem.

The Wild Tomato

Today is my "blogiversary", as the kids say.  For those of you not so hip and with it, that means I've had this blog for a year today.  That's a pretty long time.  But at the same time, being gluten free is such a part of my life these days that sometimes it's hard to believe I've only been gluten free for a year and a half.

But anyway, I digress from the point of this post.  I'm back in Pennsylvania for work again and I stopped by The Wild Tomato in Harrisburg yesterday.  I learned about it a few months back when I was doing my initial research on gluten free restaurants in Pennsylvania.  I didn't actually need to be in Harrisburg this trip, but I had to drive through the area and was deciding between stopping at The Wild Tomato or Pizza Sorrento in Hershey. Then, I was reading my new issue of Delight Gluten Free Magazine on the train here and they coincidentally had a small blurb about The Wild Tomato from someone in the area and I just had to go.

The Wild Tomato is a small family owned and operated restaurant that does take out, delivery, and catering.  They specialize in pizza, grinders, and pastas.  97% of their menu can be made gluten free.  I tried the Little Italy gluten free pizza.  It was great.  What I especially liked about it was the tomato sauce.  I'd also be interested in trying the Sausage and Peppers pasta and one of the sandwiches.

For those of you that only like to eat at certified gluten free restaurants, this place is certified by the Gluten Intolerance Group (GIG) and seems to really understand and care about food allergies.  Between the good food, friendly staff, and gluten free assurances of this place, I would definitely come back. I suggest you try it too.

Bob's Red Mill

Bob's Red Mill is my favorite overall company for GF products.  Bob has all types of flour, gluten free oats, and baking mixes galore.  His products are available all over the place making them not only good, but very convenient.  And he looks so nice, how could you not love Bob?

You may have noticed that I use Bob's All Purpose GF Flour Mix for most of my baking.  It has done pretty well by me thus far, but I think I'm just about ready to branch into trying my own flour mixes.  For Christmas this year I have asked my mom to get me all the gluten free flours I'm too cheap to buy myself - which is basically all of them except rice flour.  I finally want to try baking with almond, coconut, millet, amaranth, quinoa, teff, etc. flours.  Bob has them all.  I'm very excited.

Bob also has gluten free oats for my winter breakfasts.  In case you don't know, oats in of themselves are considered safe for people with celiac to eat, but because they are usually grown on the same fields as wheat in alternating seasons, they are deemed too cross contaminated to eat.  Bob gets his from fields really far away from wheat.

And now for the mixes.  Sometimes you want homemade products but don't know exactly how to make them.  Bob makes it easy with his gluten free pancake, biscuit, bread, corn bread, brownie, cookie, cake, and pizza dough mixes.  I've tried several of them and they are all really good.

So head on over to Whole Foods or your local health food store and stock up on Bob's.  Then let me know which your favorite is.

Relish

*I have learned that Relish is now closed.* - March 2013

I found Relish on the Gluten Free Travel Site and made a point of going when I was in Allentown, PA.  They have so many gluten free options for breakfast, lunch, and dinner that I was sad I only had the time to go once.

For such a casual place, the menu is pretty impressive.  For breakfast they have pancakes, french toast, waffles, omelets, and eggs benedict.  For lunch they have numerous salads and sandwiches.  At dinner they add on some appetizers and entrees.

I was bound and determined to get the mac and cheese, and seeing as it was only a side dish, I got the Thai Cobb Salad to go along with it.  The salad had mango, coconut, peanuts, snow peas, and carrots on a bed of lettuce.  It was different and fun.  The macaroni and cheese, unfortunately, wasn't as good as I was hoping for.  It consisted of globby gluten free pasta with some cheese on it.  I was expecting more of a bechamel cheese sauce, but I guess I was just hoping for my mom's mac and cheese and that's not really fair.  For dessert I got some amazing cheesecake to go from Moondance Desserts.

Despite not loving the mac and cheese, there are so many other things at Relish I want to try: blueberry pancakes, eggs benedict, asian pear salad, fresh grilled chicken wrap, southern pulled pork sandwich, pizza, mini potato pancakes, crab cakes, mozzarella sticks, tropical tilapia, pork chops, gluten free ravioli, and pretty much everything else.  I can't wait until my next meeting in the Allentown area.  I'll definitely be stopping by Relish again.

Deliso Pizza

My first gluten free stop on my Pennsylvania work adventure was Deliso Pizza in Gettysburg.  My man friend agreed to come on this road trip with me, but unbeknownst to us, it was fall weekend at Gettysburg College and all the hotels in town were booked.  After much searching I finally found a room at the Motel 6.  We checked in on a Saturday afternoon and I had to run off to my work meeting.  I left him in a room that felt dirty, damp, and smelled like pool.  The reason for the pool smell was that the indoor pool and hot tub were right on the other side of our room's window.  It was weird, but I had to run.

After my meeting, where the hostess graciously made a full gluten free lunch for me, I picked up my man friend and we went to see the sights of Gettysburg.  We went on a tour of the Shriver House and checked out the National Cemetery where we saw where Lincoln made his Gettysburg Address.

After all this cultural history it was time for some dinner.  We drove a mile or so outside of town to Deliso Pizza.  It is a very casual pizza place where families were eating pizza and police offers were having some subs.  My man friend and I decided to get some food to go.  They had gluten free baked ziti and I was sold immediately.  We decided to get a six pack of Woodchuck hard cider and really make a party out of that old Motel 6.  I was very happy with my baked ziti.  It's just the kind of thing I used to order from takeout before my gluten free days.  I missed it in my life.  Matched with the Woodchuck Cider and Boardwalk Empire on the lap top, it was a very successful evening.  We even went in the hot tub and prayed not to catch the clap.

If you ever find yourself in Gettysburg, PA, I recommend you stop by Deliso for some gluten free baked ziti, or pizza if that's your thing.

Rubirosa

I've been to Rubirosa twice now.  It's a cute little Italian place in SoHo.  Dark and cozy, it's a good spot for a fall or winter evening dinner.  The hostesses are a bit sassy, but if you ignore them then it's a pleasant place.

Their gluten free menu isn't on the website, but they do have a separate menu.  There are several appetizers, entrees, homemade pastas, and pizzas.  I've tried the meatball and mozzarella stick appetizers.  The meatballs were good and you really can't go wrong with fried cheese.  I'd also like to try the rice balls.

When I went last night I had the sausage ragu penne for my entree.  It was really good.  The other time I went I had the chicken parmesan.  The portion was quite large and it was definitely enough for two meals.  Next time I go, and there will be a next time, maybe I'll try the pizza.

This place is great because it's good Italian food for gluten and gluten free eaters alike.

Anyone else been here?  How's the pizza?

Pala Pizza

I keep a list of gluten free restaurants in my phone.  It's a mixture of places I've tried and places I've been wanting to try.  It has the restaurant name, type of food, and location.  With this list I can satisfy any food craving or find a place to eat within a 20 minute radius of whichever Manhattan neighborhood I am in.  It has come in helpful time and time again.  It it much longer than the list of restaurants I have reviewed here, but I'm working on adding them all to this site.

Pala Pizza has been on my list since I first went gluten free over a year ago.  I'm not sure why I'd never been until yesterday, but I finally made it there.  The menu has appetizers, salads, pastas, and pizzas.  Just about everything can be gluten free.  Not only do they have gluten free pasta and pizza, but they have three varieties of gluten free pasta - which is very exciting for us gluten free folks.  They also have a large vegan menu if that suits your fancy.

I had the risotto ball appetizer and gluten free spaghetti with meatballs for my entre.  I liked the risotto balls.  They were crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside, and served with a marinara dipping sauce.  The spaghetti and meatballs were fine, which was kind of disappointing because I was hoping it would be great.  The spaghetti itself was good, but the sauce had a really strong taste that I couldn't identify.  The portion was also a bit small in my opinion.

I left a little disappointed.  The guy next to me had ordered a gluten free pizza that looked pretty good, so I did the fat kid thing and went back today to try the pizza.  I didn't want to review the place as "meh" without having tried their specialty.  I ordered the zucchini pizza with goat cheese and cherry tomatoes.  It was good.  It was served on this pizza board, which clearly marked it as gluten free:

They go out of their way to ask if anyone at the table has any food allergies and make you feel comfortable that your food will be safe.  This is a plus for the very gluten sensitive folks. 

Even with going back to try the pizza, I wasn't overly excited by this place.  It is good, not great.  Fortunately for me, but unfortunately for them, there are many places in NYC that serve good gluten free pizza.  That being said, it is a good restaurant to keep on my list in case I find myself in the Lower East Side needing a place to eat.  I'd like to try more of their pastas, and I'm kind of wishing I had some of those risotto balls to eat right now.  It's also close to Babycakes, which is a plus for dessert (although I like Tu-Lu's better).

Keste Pizza

Keste Pizza has gluten free pizza options on Mondays and Tuesdays.  Today is Tuesday and I went to try it with two lovely ladies from my old job.  The menu is really just pizza and wine.  Oh, and some salads.  There are only three gluten free pizza options: marinara, margherita, and a meat choice.  Why stray from the classics, I guess?  Lisa and I split a caprese salad and a margherita pizza.  There was wine all around.  I liked the pizza a lot, but Lisa (a gluten eater) confirmed that it was actually good (I'm starting to lose touch with what is "good" and what is "good for gluten free").  This pizza was good.

Ok ok, I wasn't thrilled with the $18 price tag of the pizza.  But this is New York City, and this is also gluten free, so I guess I'll have to suck it up.  The only other thing to note is that Keste is literally right across the street from Risotteria.  Seeing as I don't travel to the West Village very often, if I was standing in the middle of the street with Risotteria on one side and Keste on the other, I might tend to pick Risotteria.  This is really just because of their amazing bread sticks and the fact that I am generally more likely to order risotto than pizza.  This being said, if you are big into pizza, I would definitely give Keste a try.  It's worth it.  This is me and our gluten free pizza:

Compliments of Lisa Y.

And now that I feel sufficiently dorky for sharing a picture of myself...good night.

Pie By The Pound

Friday after work I went to Pie By The Pound for some gluten free pizza.  I had never been there before but it was on my list of restaurants to try.  I'm glad I did.  Pie is a casual pizza place that was full of locals and school children getting slices and free cookies (I'm not sure why they had free cookies, but yay for them).  Their regular pizza is already prepared and you choose how much of each kind you want.  I saw many people mixing and matching.  They make their gluten free pizza to order, so I chose the zucchini and red onion and sat down to wait.  They told me it would be about 10 minutes.

I got wrapped up in my book, but approximately 10 minutes later they brought my pizza over to me.  I got up to get some napkins and overheard a man asking the counter lady who the gluten free pizza was for.  I pipped up that it was for me and a few minutes later he came over with his own gluten free pizza and joined me.  Turns out he is the owner and has been gluten free for six years.  He was very friendly, gave me a slice of his custom order gluten free pizza, and even gave me a free gluten free beer.  His neighbor from uptown also stopped by and the three of us sat and chatted.  It turned out to be a great first experience.  With such a convenient location near Union Square, gluten free pizza that actually tastes good (really good), and such a friendly staff, I will definitely be back to Pie again.

Risotteria

Risotteria is hands down the most well known gluten free restaurant in New York City.  I have been several times, even before I knew what gluten was or that I couldn't eat it.  The food is excellent, whether you are gluten free or not.  But, if you are gluten free, you are in some luck.  Risotteria has pizzas, paninis, pastas, salads, desserts, and of course, risotto.  Almost everything on the menu can be made gluten free.

Risotteria is located in the West Village where I am bound to get lost every time.  But, once you find this small bustling restaurant, it's worth it.  To start they bring you the most delicious gluten free bread sticks.  These are the standard bread sticks for everyone, gluten eating or not.  Then you have the daunting task of deciding what to order.  I've tried several of the risottos, a few pizzas, a few salads, and the meatball appetizer.  I've never had something I didn't like here.  This is a perfect restaurant to order a few different dishes and share with your lovely companions.  I've heard great things about the desserts, but I've never had the room to eat any desserts after a hefty portion of creamy risotto.

The only problem with this restaurant is that it's very small and they do not accept reservations.  With a seating capacity of 20, it's best to arrive early and with only one friend.  I highly recommend this place - especially in the fall or winter when the risotto can warm you from the inside out.

Mozzarelli's Pizza

I've been meaning to try Mozzarelli's for a long time now.  Today, after my unfortunate lunch experience, I decided it was a good day to try it.  Mozzarelli's is a regular New York pizza place with a pizza counter and a few seats.  They serve pizzas, pastas, salads, calzones, and desserts.  They also have gluten free pizzas, pastas, salads (of course), and desserts.  There were three gluten free choices: cheese, pepperoni, and veggie.  I got one pepperoni and one veggie slice.

Look I actually took a picture.

The pizza was surprisingly good!  In fact, it was the second best gluten free pizza I've ever had (the pizza I had in Albany still places #1 in my book).  Not only that, but they had a huge selection of gluten free desserts from My Dad's Cookies.  I had never tried any of these products before so of course I had to try something.  It was a tough decision between the cake and the cookies, but I decided to try the black and white cookies.  They were pretty good.  In general I'm not sure who needs dessert with their pizza, but that's ok.

My favorite part of this place is that it really is just a regular casual pizza place.  I haven't been able to stop for a slice like this in almost a year.  I'll be back, and next time I plan on trying the gluten free baked ziti.  Mmm.

I haven’t had a good rant for awhile, so here it is:

There are hundreds of places to eat lunch in midtown Manhattan.  Hundreds.  They are all basically the same.  Delis with overpriced salads, sandwiches, and soups.  Some of them have make your own pasta.  All of them have chips, a variety of beverages, and candy.  Sprinkled in are a few other places: dollar pizza, Chinese, Mexican, burgers.

Most of the aforementioned foods I cannot eat.  I try to bring my lunch as much as possible, but that doesn’t happen as often as I’d like and as a result I’ve had more create your own salads than I can count.  Today I didn’t bring lunch and I couldn’t eat another salad.  What to have, what to have?  I couldn’t think of anything.  I just wanted a sandwich.  Or a slice of dollar pizza.  But no.  Finally I decided on sushi and then realized I didn’t have any more gluten free soy sauce at work.  Next I decided on pasta from this place that has gluten free pasta.  Turns out it closed down.  I wandered around for half an hour trying to find something I wanted and could eat.

I ended up with lentil soup from Pret A Manger.  As I was eating I remembered that ingredients often change and I should check the site again to make sure their lentil soup was still gluten free.  Turns out, it wasn’t.  Seven dollars and an hour of my time later I was too grumpy to care.  I ate the soup anyway.  No symptoms so far but I’m sure my tummy villi are pissed.

Gluten Free Vermont: Positive Pie

I was home last weekend and needed to grab a quick dinner.  My brother mentioned pizza and I remembered that Positive Pie now has gluten free pizza!

Positive Pie opened in Plainfield VT many years ago and they opened a second one in Montpelier not long after.  They have several specialty pizzas with silly names like the Green Man (pesto, spinach, broccoli, zucchini, tomato, and mozzarella) and Carcass (pepperoni, meatball, sausage, mushroom, and mozzarella).  We went through a phase of eating a lot of Green Man pizzas and Garden of Eden salads in high school.

I was excited to try their gluten free pizza.  I ordered a personal size (the only gluten free size available) veggie deluxe.  I didn't hold my hopes too high, since most gluten free pizza I've had has only been so so.  This pizza wasn't much different.  It was a thin crust, as is most gluten free pizza, and tasted rice based.  It wasn't bad by any means, and I would order it again.  With all their fun topping choices you are sure to get a pizza you like.  Their regular pizza is also very good if you are going with a gluten eating companion.

A Mermaid, a Celiac, and a Jew walk into a bar... (Restaurant Review: Viva Herbal Pizza)

*Update 1/25/2014: I was out in the East Village last night and once again needed a piece of pizza.  I tried to go to Viva but it was closed.  As in no longer exists.  Don't worry though, because S'MAC is only a block away and they are open until 1 am on Friday and Saturday nights.

Viva Herbal Pizza is a funny place.  Most of the stuff is vegan, everything is Kosher, and they have some gluten free options.  My manfriend and I walked in around 11:30 pm a few Saturdays ago after being out and needing a snack.  He got a regular cheese slice and I got a broccoli gluten free slice.  Shortly after 3 people walked in dressed as mermaids.  They were vegan.  While we were eating a bunch of 20 something Jewish couples came in.  They were Kosher.  So in this tiny restaurant late on a Saturday night was a really grumpy Asian man running the counter, 2 Mexicans working in the kitchen, 3 people dressed as mermaids eating vegan pizza, an interracial couple (us) eating gluten free pizza, and 10 conservative Jews eating kosher pizza.  It was an odd mix of people but this little place had something for everyone.  Only in New York.

It wasn't a great piece of gluten free pizza, but it was pretty decent and I was happy it was there.  Sometimes you just need some Saturday night pizza and Viva Natural is open until 2 am and conveniently located in the east village near Union Square.