Sushi for Celiacs in New York

For many people, fast food means the Golden Arches or a food court; for me, it used to mean sushi. I know many New Yorkers who feel the same way. Unfortunately, after I was diagnosed with celiac disease, my sushi consumption dwindled. It wasn’t just the fact that I had to smuggle a bottle of gluten-free soy sauce with me into restaurants — I’ve been shameless about that. But sadly, it turned out that some seemingly innocuous ingredients in sushi were sometimes marinated in soy sauce, and that the fake crabmeat used in many maki rolls is made from wheat. Fortunately, Lilli and Loo has come to the rescue.

I’d first heard about the restaurant in the spring, when one of my favorite bloggers, Allergic Girl, hosted the first of her Worry-Free Dinners there. The first time I tried the restaurant, months later, I found that it offers great gluten-free lunch specials. The pan-Asian options run from Kung Pao chicken to Singapore noodles and Pad Thai, all of which are served with green salad (the non-noodle dishes come with white or brown rice, too). The specials are served Monday to Friday from 11am to 4pm and cost $10.95 each.

Still, dinner is what really won me over. There’s a long list of gluten-free appetizers (including tender chicken satay with a sweetly spicy peanut sauce) and entrées… and then there are the sushi rolls. There aren’t a lot of options, but what is on offer is special, like the Tuna Lover’s mix of spicy and fresh tuna with pomegranate vinaigrette and avocado, or the Black Angel’s blend of rock shrimp tempura and spicy tuna with purple basil. LIlli and Loo also gets points for convenience — since you can dine in or get your order to go — and for food-allergy awareness.

I haven’t yet tried Lilli and Loo’s new sister restaurant — Lili’s 57 — but I’ve heard that its celiac-safe sushi offerings are more extensive. Gluten-intolerant New Yorkers, get your chopsticks ready.

Lilli and Loo [address] 792 Lexington Avenue (between 61st & 62nd streets), New York, NY 10021 [tel] 212-421-7800 [web] www.lilliandloo.com

Lili’s 57 [address] 200 West 57th Street (at Seventh Avenue), New York, NY 10019 [tel] 212-586-5333 [website] www.lilis57.com

Roundup: With a Little Help From My Friends

It’s always a pleasure to get restaurant recommendations from readers. But I need to acknowledge another group that has been sending a lot of great information my way: my non-celiac friends. Blessed with eagle eyes, they are sharp when it comes to picking up gluten-free news, and thoughtful when it comes to passing it along.

My friend Leslie, author of The Ladies’ Room Reader Quiz Book: 1,000 Questions and Answers About Women and the Things They Love, has a particularly keen eye. While researching a story on Tampa, Florida, she discovered that the Lee Roy Selmon’s restaurant chain (named for the first Tampa Bay Buccaneer enshrined in the National Football League’s Hall of Fame) has an extensive gluten-free menu. Another of her finds is Café Formaggio, a Long Island, NY, restaurant that serves gluten-free pasta, pizza, brownies, and beer. Her most unusual discovery so far has been Chiarelli’s Religious Goods, also on Long Island, which makes gluten-free Communion wafers. Leslie also discovered the impressive Gluten Free Diet Center on Eating Well’s website, which includes extensive information about the diet, many recipes, and a Q&A with the executive director of the Gluten Intolerance Group.

Another friend — Yvonne, author of The Everything Family Christmas Book: Stories, Songs, Recipes, Crafts, Traditions, and More — told me about a new cafe in Calgary, Alberta: Primal Grounds Cappuccino Bar & Eatery. It has two locations and a broad list of gluten-free meal options that includes curry pineapple chicken, shepherd’s pie, and beef lasagna, as well as sandwiches that can be prepared with rice bread.

Jenna, who co-writes The Haiku Diaries, found out that Firefly restaurant in Washington, D.C., offers a glamorous menu for gluten-free gourmets, and that Panzano, an Italian restaurant in Denver, bakes gluten-free focaccia. Both properties are owned by Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants.

Stephanie, who lives in Toronto, passes along the names of celiac-friendly restaurants she hears about from a co-worker who has celiac disease. She was the one who told me about Four, which I wrote about in June. One spot she told me about recently is Mio RistoBar, which is located in Toronto’s Financial District and offers gluten-free pasta and entrees.

Some of my friends find gluten-free spots even when they’re not looking for them. Ellen was taking her kids to the optometrist’s when she passed an Italian restaurant offering a gluten-free menu. It turned out that the restaurant, Sambuca, was one I’ve dined at but haven’t yet written about for this site; it’s an institution on Manhattan’s Upper West Side.

As I was finishing off this column, my sister-in-law Michelle e-mailed me about gluten-free recipes from Gourmet magazine, including one for chocolate chip cookies and one for lemon layer cake. The recipes are from Gluten-Free Baking Classics by Annalise Roberts, a book that has just been reissued. That reminded me of all of the help I’ve had from certain family members… but that will have to wait for another time.

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I’m leaving for Turkey tomorrow (November 6th), so this blog will be quiet for the next two weeks. But I will be back after that to share my latest finds.

All About Joe’s

The news across the U.S. seems to be all about guys named Joe these days. Average Joes, Joe Six-Packs, and — of course — Joe the Plumber are dominating headlines, thanks to the imminent presidential election. I know I’m contributing to Joe-overload by writing this, but I wanted to share a new discovery: Not Your Average Joe’s.

A few months ago, I mentioned visiting my brother-in-law and his family in San Diego and the great gluten-free restaurants he found for me there. The family has since moved to Acton, Massachusetts, and for my first visit there, my brother-in-law went through the research process again. The city of Boston has many options for gluten-free dining, but Acton, a town roughly 21 miles west-northwest of Boston, is a quieter spot. Fortunately Not Your Average Joe’s Creative Casual Cuisine has an outpost there.

The restaurant is part of a chain that has 15 locations in Massachusetts, in towns such as Needham, Watertown, and Hyannis. There is also a location in Leesburg, Virginia (two other locations are slated to open in Virginia in the next few months). Not Your Average Joe’s has a lengthy regular menu that includes pizzas and pastas. However, for celiacs, it offers a short gluten-free menu that features salads (Cobb salad, grilled chicken salad), fish and seafood dishes (grilled salmon, rosemary-skewered scallops), meat and poultry dishes (flank steak with garlic mashed potatoes, grilled chicken breast), and a bun-free burger. The options are limited, but the food is good and the service is thoughtful. Everything on the menu is available for takeout.

The restaurant is also very much a child-friendly zone. Not Your Average Joe’s offers a separate menu for children (with a couple of gluten-free options), crayons to decorate placemats, and high chairs for the littlest diners. It was a hit with my three nieces, so we’ll be back soon.

Not Your Average Joe’s [web] www.notyouraveragejoes.com; 15 locations in Massachusetts and one in Virginia, including:

Acton: [address] 305 Main Street, Acton, MA [tel] 978-635-0101

Hyannis: [address] 793 Iyannough Road, Hyannis, MA [tel] 508-778-1424

Leesburg: [address] Lansdowne Town Center, 19307 Promenade Drive, Leesburg, VA [tel] 571-333-5637

Needham: [address] 109 Chapel Street, Needham, MA [tel] 781-453-9300

Watertown: [address] 55 Main Street, Watertown, MA [tel] 617-926-9229

On the Road With Gluten-Free Girl

Even before I interviewed Shauna James Ahern, I felt as if I knew her. That was because of the many incredibly warm, humorous, and inspiring posts she has made on her blog, Gluten-Free Girl, which she created after being diagnosed with celiac disease in 2005. The success of the site led her to publish a book, Gluten-Free Girl: How I Found the Food That Loves Me Back… & How You Can Too (Wiley, 2007), which was selected as one of Amazon’s best books of the year. Since going gluten-free, Shauna has met and married the man of her dreams, and in July 2008 she gave birth to a daughter, Lucy. Shauna and her husband, Daniel Ahern, a chef, are currently at work on a new book, Dancing in the Kitchen, about love and food and how they intersect. Shauna is also working on a book she calls Feeding Us, about eating during pregnancy and through a child’s first year of life.

How often do you travel? Normally, it’s at least three or four times a year. Last year I traveled much more because of the book tour, but now that Lucy has arrived I probably won’t travel as much, at least for a while.

Where have you traveled since being diagnosed with celiac disease? I’ve been to New York and Los Angeles many times; also Chicago, Portland [Oregon], San Francisco, Vancouver, Tucson. I also do a lot of local travel around Washington state. Danny and I went to Italy for our honeymoon. It was the biggest surprise to me — everyone thought you couldn’t go there because of all the pizza and pasta, but it was the best place in the world. People care about feeding you very well, and most food over there doesn’t even require gluten, it’s all about what’s fresh and in season. Every drugstore has gluten-free food, and you can bring gluten-free pasta to a restaurant that doesn’t have it and they will cook it for you. I also learned that Italians with celiac disease get two paid work days to go shopping each month!

What foods or snacks do you pack when traveling? We all know that on planes they don’t feed you. For example, on the flight to Italy they claimed they had a gluten-free meal but they ran out. When I fly I take a yummy grain salad, like a red quinoa or brown rice or millet, with goat cheese. I keep it cold in the fridge so it’s ready to go. When traveling with a baby, you need something you can hold in one hand, like a granola bar. [Editor’s note: For a gluten-free granola-bar recipe from Shauna, click here.]

What other things do you bring with you? I always travel with an iPod and a journal to write in. You get good writing time on a plane!

How do you prepare for a trip? I don’t like to overplan — it’s not like I map out day-by-day where to go — but I like structure, and I never walk into a place blind. I like Google Earth; before we went to Italy, we used to look at towns in Umbria, where we stayed for a week, and to see the road between towns. I research everything. I ask all my friends, and friends of friends, because I really believe in word of mouth. I love guidebooks. I also spend a lot of time Googling. The more you look for a specific town, or a specific neighborhood in a town, the more you find.

Any favorite restaurants? When we were in Umbria, we went to this tiny village, Gubbio. It’s a fortified 12th-century city where nothing has changed in 500 years. A friend told me about this place, a medieval banquet hall called Fornace di Mastro Giorgio, where we ended up having a 3-1/2 hour lunch with friends. It was incredible. [For Shauna’s post about her travels in Italy, click here.] Another of my favorites I found in New York at the start of my book tour: Gramercy Tavern. My husband used to work there, and the fall tasting menu that week was gluten free. We also went to Hearth in the East Village; it was really superb, and made us feel very welcome. In Portland, Oregon, there is a fish-fry place, Hawthorne Fish House, that is entirely gluten-free — you can have fish and chips, onion rings, everything. Portland is incredible for gluten-free food. Seattle is too — I can’t think of many places there where I can’t eat.

Any favorite hotels? A farmhouse-style lodging, Brigolante Agritourism, just outside of Assisi [Italy].

What’s your favorite city to visit? New York. I lived there for years, from 1997 to 2001. I love the Upper West Side. I go to Danal, Gray’s Papaya (where I get a hotdog without the bun), Babycakes, and Tea & Sympathy. Plus I always love discovering something new.

What’s your dream destination? My husband and I both have Irish heritage, and we want to go to Ireland together. I’ve heard it’s got the largest number of diagnosed celiacs in the world.

Do you have any other advice for gluten-intolerant travelers? Don’t approach it with fear. You can’t approach travel that way, and you can’t approach eating that way. Do your research so you have some ideas where to go, but once you’re there, let go and enjoy the place. You can’t shut down your life. Be brave and try everything that’s gluten-free.

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Editor’s note: While Shauna didn’t mention it by name, she knows of another great restaurant that takes excellent care of its gluten-free guests: Impromptu Wine Bar Cafe, where her husband is the executive chef. This well-reviewed spot is known for its romantic ambience, moderate prices, and sensitivity to food allergies.

Impromptu Wine Bar Cafe [address] 4235 E. Madison St., Seattle, WA 98112 [tel] 206-860-1569 [web] www.impromptuwinebar.com

UPDATE (10/21/08): Daniel Ahern is taking a break from the restaurant business, and is no longer cooking at Impromptu. However, he has trained its new chef to cook gluten-free and to keep the kitchen safe from cross-contamination. For Shauna’s post with this news, click here.

Photograph provided courtesy of Shauna James Ahern.

Raw Food Bliss in San Diego

There are several ways that restaurant reviewers, for better or worse, judge a restaurant before they taste even a morsel of food. The most obvious step is to evaluate the location and the décor. A more subtle way is looking around at who is dining there (and if there’s no one else in sight, that’s considered a bad sign). Naturally service is considered, too: does a staff member greet you and seat you upon arrival, or are you left to languish by the door?

However, this set of criteria can be trumped by a truly excellent meal, as it was at Cilantro Live in Carlsbad, California. The restaurant was recommended by Gluten Free in SD, a must-read website for any celiac living in or visiting the San Diego area. However, I didn’t fall in love with Cilantro Live on sight: located in an unremarkable mall, the restaurant proved tricky to find inside the complex. Its décor was utilitarian, to put it kindly, and the restaurant was empty when I arrived and stayed that way until a few minutes before I left, when a couple wandered in. And while the service during the meal was good, there wasn’t a staff member in sight to greet me when I first arrived. In spite of these faults, the quality of the food was outstanding, so much so that I ended up eating two meals from the restaurant (one at the restaurant, one takeout).

The cosmetic problems may go a long way to explaining why the small Cilantro Live chain, with its three San Diego-area locations, closed earlier this year. The good news is that the Carlsbad location is open again, under a new name: Blissfull Living Food & Juice. The new eatery’s menu is much shorter than its predecessor’s, but it’s continuing to serve up raw food cuisine and it’s still celiac-friendly. While some of the dishes are similar to offerings at Cilantro Live, they’re not identical (let me just note that Cilantro Live did an amazing “burger,” and I’m glad to see there’s one on Blissfull’s menu; ditto for the Caesar salad). I hope that the reinvented Blissfull is able to fix the small but noticeable problems that plagued the other, because the delicious vegan dishes should be appreciated for their fine quality.

Blissfull Living Food & Juice [address] 300 Carlsbad Village Drive, Suite 106 (lower level), Carlsbad, CA 92008 [tel] 760-730-9782 [fax] 760-730-9868 [web] www.blissfullfood.com

Great Egg-spectations at New York Diners

After I was diagnosed with celiac disease in 2004, I started eating a lot of omelettes. I wasn’t on an Atkins diet, but eggs seemed like a safe bet. It turned out that this wasn’t always true. Some restaurants use a pre-mixed egg replacement product instead of real eggs, and that can contain starch. Some add pancake batter to eggs, but don’t mention this fact on the menu. Not all omelette ingredients are safe: for example, the ham in a basic ham-and-cheese omelette might be more wheat than meat. And of course, there’s always a risk of cross-contamination.

I was grateful when a friend introduced me to Peters’ Gourmet Diner/Restaurant. She doesn’t have celiac disease, but she lives near the diner and had already discovered it as a great brunch spot on New York’s Upper East Side. Peters’ (yes, the apostrophe is in the right place — the restaurant walls are covered with photographs of famous Peters, from Peter Parker to Peter Sellers) is a member of the Gluten Free Restaurant Awareness Program, working in cooperation with the Westchester Celiac Sprue Support Group. The menu is laden with low-fat and low-calorie options, which I pretty much ignore (I mention them because I know others aren’t as careless as I am about this). I’m only interested in the many gluten-free options, which include great omelettes (served with a side of rice bread), Eggs Benedict, pancakes, hamburgers, sandwiches, salads, and pasta dishes. There are also “Blue Plate Specials,” which include chicken marsala and London broil with mushroom gravy. I’ve visited a dozen times for lunch or brunch and have always been impressed.

Another Manhattan member of the Gluten Free Restaurant Awareness Program is Bloom’s Delicatessen Café. Located two blocks south of Grand Central Station, it’s got a great location and a short list of gluten-free options. The menu is a mix of deli and diner — think smoked fish, omelettes, and steaks, plus burgers with gluten-free buns and French fries cooked in a dedicated gluten-free fryer. While I’m more partial to the food at Peters’, I appreciate Bloom’s central location and its commitment to celiac awareness.

Peters’ Gourmet Diner/Restaurant [address] 1606 First Avenue (between 83rd & 84th sts.), New York, NY [tel] 212-734-9600 [web] www.petersrestaurant.com

Bloom’s Delicatessen Café [address] 350 Lexington Avenue (at the corner of 40th Street), New York, NY [tel] 212-922-3663 [web] www.bloomsnewyorkdeli.com

The Return of Bistango

When visiting New York, there are certain sights that should be on every traveler’s checklist: the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Brooklyn Bridge, Central Park, the Frick Collection, and Century 21 (come on, who doesn’t want great discounts on designer clothing?). For gluten-intolerant visitors, that list should also include Bistango.

Haven’t heard of Bistango? The restaurant is located in Murray Hill, and it’s been in business for 15 years. There was an interruption of service this spring, when Bistango closed for renovations. The original plan called for it to be closed for only a month, but as the timeline stretched on and on, I started to worry whether it would return.

Happily, Bistango is back. If you’ve been there before, you’ll notice that the bar is shorter (making more room for tables), and that the brick walls have given way to red-painted plaster (with stylized portraits of the owner’s three daughters on the walls). What hasn’t changed is the restaurant’s commitment to its gluten-intolerant diners. The first sign is when bread is brought to the table: I love the warm slices of gluten-free bread — baked by Everybody Eats in Brooklyn — and the individual bowls of oil and garlic for dipping (that way, there’s no cross-contamination).

Almost every item on Bistango’s menu, with the exception of a couple of stuffed pastas (such as the ravioli), can be prepared in a gluten-free version. (Many dishes are naturally gluten-free, and all of the sauces are.) Celiac-safe starters run the gamut from the Bistango salad (a mix of mesclun, sliced apples, goat cheese, and pine nuts), to the plate of prosciutto and Gorgonzola with fig compote. Main-course dishes include rack of lamb in a rich cognac sauce, and chicken breast topped with spinach and mozzarella in a marinara sauce. There’s also gluten-free pizza and pasta to choose from.

While the food is consistently excellent, what really makes a meal at Bistango stand out is the graciousness of its staff. The owner, Anthony, goes back and forth between the dining room and the kitchen, talking to everyone and making sure that diners are comfortable. The servers are just as thoughtful, making Bistango a rare find.

Bistango [address] 415 Third Avenue (at the corner of East 29th St.), New York, NY 10016 [tel] 212-725-8484 [web] www.bistangonyc.com

Roundup: North American Gluten-Free News

I love it when people tell me about their great gluten-free dining experiences. One reader, whose husband has celiac disease, contacted me about their dinner at Rick Bayless’s Topolobampo restaurant in Chicago. They were deeply impressed by the thoughtfulness of the staff. It was clear from the start of their meal, when the restaurant’s manager came to their table to talk, that the restaurant took gluten-free dining seriously. Because the chef was concerned about cross-contamination (apparently the chilies in some sauces were flash-fried in a deep fryer, and could have been exposed to gluten particles), the two gluten-free dishes that made their way to the table were variations of menu items. Topolobampo’s sommelier also did a fine job pairing wines with the special dishes. The reader wrote:

We travel and eat out extensively and have never come across this level of dedication and exemplary service. The manager kept apologizing that our meal was going to take a little longer than normal. It was unreal and did not break the bank either…

Another reader wrote to tell me about Leaf Cuisine, a Los Angeles restaurant that is virtually the only place where she will dine out (in addition to being gluten intolerant, she has allergies to casein and corn). Leaf Cuisine is a raw-food restaurant, meaning that none of the food is heated above 110 degrees Fahrenheit. All of the menu items are vegan and reasonably priced. The restaurant also sells some of its creations in local stores (including several Whole Foods outlets in Los Angeles) and offers courses in raw-food preparation.

One reader told me about a website created by her daughter. It’s a wonderful resource called Gluten-Free Ontario, and if you’re traveling anywhere in the province, take a look at it. The long list of cities represented includes Toronto, Ottawa, Hamilton, Barrie, London, and Sault Sainte Marie. A lot of work has gone into the site, and the results will help many people make decisions about dining out.

Finally, I wanted to alert U.S. readers that a couple of medical centers are offering free screening for celiac disease. This past Saturday, the West Virginia Gluten Intolerance Group and the Department of Pediatrics at the Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine at Marshall University worked with the Cabell-Huntington Hospital to provide free blood screening (I wish I’d heard about it earlier, and I hope that they will repeat this event in future). The University of Chicago Celiac Disease Center offers an annual day of free screening; the next one will be on October 18, 2008. That may sound like a long way off, but participants need to pre-register by calling [tel] 773-702-7593 after August 15, 2008. For a calendar of events of interest to the gluten-intolerant, including free blood screenings, check out the calendar at Gluten-Free Forum. For a list of the Gluten Intolerance Group’s branches and partner offices, click here.

Gluten-Free Pizza Perfection in New York

I’m on the road right now, researching my next edition of Frommer’s Toronto. Over the next several weeks, I’ll be reporting on some of my finds in Toronto and southwestern Ontario. But right now, I want to let you know about a restaurant I visited for the first time this past weekend. Palà Pizza Romana is on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, and I first heard about it through a post by Kelly on Celiac Chicks.

On Saturday, Kelly organized a tasting event with Palà’s owners, to get the word out about the restaurant’s incredible gluten-free pizza. The crust is a blend of several flours — including garbanzo bean, white sorghum, tapioca, and fava bean — and the results are amazing. My favorite slice was the Zucca, which blends pumpkin puree, mozzarella, pancetta, smoked scamorza cheese, and parsley. But I can also recommend the Arrabbiata (fresh cherry tomatoes, hot pepper, and garlic), the Mediolanum (gorgonzola, asparagus, mozzarella, and tomato sauce), and the Zucchina (zucchini, goat cheese, cherry tomato sauce, mozzarella, and rosemary).

Since the gluten-free pizza dough is made in small batches — and with different equipment than what’s used for regular dough — Palà‘s owners suggest diners pre-order by 6pm to ensure that the restaurant doesn’t run out on a busy night. For the lactose intolerant, Palà also offers soy mozzarella, available in regular (2% casein), and vegan (casein-free) versions.

If you’re looking for great gluten-free pizza in New York, Palà is worth checking out.

Palà Pizza Romana [address] 198 Allen Street, New York, NY 10002 [tel] 212-614-7252 [web] www.pala-ny.com

Roundup: Gluten-Free Dining Across America

Celiac disease and gluten intolerance have been in the news lately (May is Celiac Awareness Month, after all). I’ve been pleasantly surprised to find mainstream media coverage of the subject. ABC-7 in Chicago featured a story, “More Gluten-Free Restaurants in the Chicago Area,” that is still up on the channel’s website. The long list of restaurants, bakeries, and shops includes Adobo Grill, Vinci Restaurant, Swirlz Cupcakes, and Venus. It also includes a link to the Celiac Chicago blog.

The Boston Globe ran a series of articles about gluten intolerance, including “Gluten Free Dining Out.” This list includes Elephant Walk, Rendezvous, and Rocca, and is still available online (you may need to sign up to use the Boston Globe’s website, but registration is free).

Vanessa Maltin, the Director of Programming and Communications at the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness and the author of Beyond Rice Cakes, e-mailed me after our interview to let me know about another restaurant she found in Florida. Vanessa wrote:

I went to dinner tonight in Jupiter, Florida, at Masa’s Sagami. It was incredible. It is a hibachi-style Japanese restaurant and the chef who cooked at our table was a dream come true. I brought my own bottle of Tamari sauce and he was so careful to make my food in a clean area of the cook top and even made me a special batch of fried rice that was gluten-free. He didn’t even flinch when I asked. He simply called for the kitchen to bring him fresh ingredients to cook mine with. it was awesome and made for a fabulous night out!
(Masa’s Sagami [address] 1200 Town Center Drive, Jupiter, FL 33458 [tel] 561-799-6266 [web] www.masassagami.com)

Vanessa also mentioned that the new Nationals Park in Washington D.C. has a Noah’s Pretzels with gluten-free pretzels and Redbridge, the celiac-safe beer brewed by Anheuser-Busch. Even if you’re not a baseball fan, you may want to take in a game if you find yourself in D.C. this summer.

One of my favorite bloggers, Allergic Girl, was featured in New York magazine (“Ask an Allergic”) with her tips for successful allergy-free dining. Also, my friend and Frommer’s colleague Bob Fisher, who has a life-threatening allergy to peanuts and green peas, wrote an article called “Travel Health & Safety: 7 Food Allergy Tips” for Frommers.com. It ran a few months ago, but it’s still up on the site and it’s a piece everyone should read.