Category Archives: Restaurants

A Taste of History in Atlantic Canada

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One reason I love to travel is because it helps me learn about history. A couple of summers ago I went to New Brunswick for the first time. Before that trip, I had little idea how much this corner of Atlantic Canada had been transformed by America’s War of Independence. The territory — part of Nova Scotia until 1784 — was sparsely populated until 15,000 Loyalists fled here in the aftermath of the war. Their sudden arrival led to the creation of the province.

A sense of history is pervasive in New Brunswick, and some of my most memorable lessons came from Kings Landing. Located in the St. John River valley, the “settlement” contains a beautifully restored collection of 70 historic buildings from the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries. Many of the structures originated in other stretches of the river valley; they were brought to Kings Landing to prevent damage from flooding. Costumed actors depict the daily life in a small 19th-century town, but with a twist: All of the stories they tell are true. The families who lived in the original buildings have been thoroughly researched and their tales are retold in great detail. One of the most moving is recounted in a single-room cabin that housed a family that fled Ireland’s Great Famine.

Kings Landing also has a theater festival that runs from early July through Labor Day, presenting musical comedies and dramas appropriate for the whole family. Kids fall particularly hard for the site, since they can dress up in period costumes, help out the local blacksmith, and feed the farm animals. (For adults, there are workshops in rug hooking and braiding and in 19th-century medicine.)

For me, the biggest surprise was at the King’s Head Inn, an old-fashioned public house that serves as the main restaurant on the site. Several dishes on its short and historically accurate menu were celiac-safe. The staff explained that buckwheat has long been a favored crop in the region (in spite of its suspicious-sounding name, buckwheat is safe for the gluten intolerant). Not everything on the menu is safe, since barley, malt, and oats are also used (and because the menu changes frequently, call or e-mail in advance to ensure that there will be gluten-free options during your visit). The buckwheat is actually milled at Kings Landing, in a building that dates back to 1885 — and visitors can buy a pound at the gift shop to take home.

Kings Landing [address] 20 Kings Landing Road, Kings Landing (near Fredericton), New Brunswick, E6K 3W3 Canada [tel] 506-363-4999 [e-mail] info@kingslanding.nb.ca [web] www.kingslanding.nb.ca

Reader Report: Gluten-Free Las Vegas

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I haven’t visited Las Vegas since being diagnosed with celiac disease, but fortunately one of the Gluten-Free Guidebook’s readers has. Elena is a member of the Bi-State Celiac Support Group, which serves St. Louis, Missouri, and Belleville, Illinois. She spent some time in Las Vegas earlier this year, and this is what she had to say about what she found there. Thanks so much for sharing this, Elena!

ELENA’S LAS VEGAS REPORT:

I had dinner at Le Provencal in Paris. I talked to the manager before entering (I didn’t have a reservation) — apparently they get the gluten-free request a lot. The server had several options for me and I chose seafood, which was very good. I felt confident there. If you catch them at the right time there are singing waiters performing.

I had brunch at Pinot Brasserie in the Venetian. The server was unfamiliar with gluten-free, but I gave him my Triumph Dining card and he went back and spoke to the chef. It appeared the chef was aware because the server came back quickly with some options for me. I had the steak and eggs and it was wonderful.

My favorite restaurant of the weekend was Tao in the Venetian. My friends really wanted to go there but I was apprehensive, because the only gluten-free Las Vegas review I could find on the internet was a very negative one about this place. So, not to let my friends down, I called the restaurant and talked to a chef. He assured me that they had many choices for me. He also told me to use the word “allergy” when I talked to my server. That seems to be the trigger word. I made a reservation (which is necessary) and they noted on the reservation that I was gluten-free. When I got there, the waiter brought out a list of gluten-free options (the list also mentioned alterations to make menu items gluten-free). On a side note, he also had a list of common allergens (wheat, soy, egg, fish, etc) and the available menu choices. The waiter took the time to answer my questions and made sure I was taken care of. It seems they have a really good system there. Who knows, maybe it went into effect after the previously mentioned bad review. The food was outstanding!

I didn’t go to Mon Ami Gabi in Paris, but I went there before I was diagnosed and that was another top-notch restaurant. It is listed in the Triumph Dining Restaurant Guide as a place that is accommodating. (The guide states you must use the word “allergy” to get what you need there.)

The day we spent walking the Strip and checking out the new hotels was the most difficult in terms of finding something to eat. We went to the Miracle Mile shopping center for lunch, but I couldn’t eat at Cheeseburger Vegas or Blondies. They both told me straight up that they wouldn’t be able to figure anything out… everything uses the same grill, burger meat has wheat in it, etc. That day we ended up having lunch at P.F. Chang’s.

On the Road With Vanessa Maltin

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Vanessa Maltin is an inspiring person to talk to. She’s the Director of Programming and Communications at the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness, and also the author of Beyond Rice Cakes: A Young Person’s Guide to Cooking, Eating & Living Gluten-Free. She is currently at work on a second book, which explores how to cook Latin, Italian, and Asian cuisines for a gluten-free diet. Take a look at Vanessa’s blog, Beyond Rice Cakes, for more information (the book will be published by Wiley in the fall of 2009). Diagnosed with celiac disease in 2003, Vanessa has plenty of practice traveling gluten-free, and she shared her experiences and advice with me in an interview last week.

How often do you travel? I travel for work at least once a month, and usually a lot more. I just got back from Bentonville, in northwest Arkansas, which was great. They had all of the chains with gluten-free menus there, like Red Robin, P.F. Chang’s, and Mama Fu’s.

Where have you traveled since being diagnosed with celiac disease? I’ve been all over the country. So far this year I’ve been to New York, San Francisco, St. Louis, Boston, Philadelphia, Hagerstown, MD, Lynchburg, VA, and Florida. Internationally, since I was diagnosed, I’ve been to Ireland, Italy, and Prague — all places where I ate like a queen!

What foods or snacks do you pack when traveling? I always bring bags of nuts with me. I also take Pure Fit bars and Zone bars — most of them are gluten-free. Sometimes I’ll bring gluten-free Thai Kitchen soup mixes, or small packets of peanut butter, which I’ll eat with an apple.

What other things do you bring with you? My iPod and my laptop! I also take Triumph Dining cards with me wherever I go.

How do you prepare for a trip? Since most of my travel is for work, I try to get a really detailed itinerary, because you have to plan ahead. It’s not like I can stop and grab a Big Mac. Sometimes I’ll look at the local celiac support groups and see what they recommend. Normally, when traveling for work, I’m eating with non-celiacs, so I tell people I’m meeting what I can and can’t eat. I have a lot of meetings where an office provides a catered meal, so it’s really important to let them know in advance that they need to have gluten-free options.

Any favorite restaurants? I absolutely love Bistango in New York City. In D.C., my favorites are Café Atlántico, where I helped the chef develop the Latin-fusion gluten-free menu, and Zaytinya, a Mediterranean restaurant. In San Francisco, I go to Max’s Opera Café, which doesn’t have a gluten-free menu but is very accommodating. I love Brick and Solstice, which are both in San Francisco, too. In Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, I like the Yard House, and I just went to a place called Pizza Fusion, which has gourmet gluten-free pizzas. My standby place, wherever I go across the country, is Chipotle.

Any favorite hotels? The Hyatt hotels are amazing.

What’s the most memorable city you’ve visited? Bruges in Belgium. Every other store there was a chocolate shop. I had a shrimp and goat cheese salad there that I’m still craving. It was such an incredible place, and the only thing I couldn’t eat there were the croissants.

What’s your dream destination? The Amalfi Coast in Italy. I’ve read about cooking trips there where you stay in a villa for seven days and just cook every day. I’d love that.

Do you have any other advice for gluten-intolerant travelers? Keep an open mind about traveling, because it really can be done!

Photograph provided courtesy of Vanessa Maltin.

In the Shadow of the Prado

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If my trips to Madrid have been notable for one thing, it would be overindulgence. It’s not just the food, but the art. After all, Madrid has the Prado, which houses one of the world’s most exquisite collections of European paintings. As if that weren’t enough, the city also has the massive Reina Sofia museum of modern art (home to Picasso’s most famous painting, Guernica), and the Thyssen-Bornemisza, a once-private art collection that spans the history of Western art from the Middle Ages to the modern era.

Before my most recent trip to Madrid, I searched for some celiac-friendly restaurants. The Asociación de Celíacos de Madrid has an excellent website, with information available in Spanish and English; the association maintains a gluten-free restaurant list, and it offers some general guidelines about ordering in Spanish restaurants as well. The restaurants on its list include spots such as No Sólo Pasta, which may be the most famous gluten-free restaurant in Madrid, and Madrid 20. However, there was no mention of my favorite restaurant from my first trip to Madrid, before I was diagnosed with celiac disease.

Once in Madrid, I decided to give El Cenador del Prado a try anyway. Located close to the Prado, the restaurant recreates the elegant world depicted in some of the museum’s 18th- and 19th-century paintings. Located in a dramatic, antique-filled building, El Cenador is filled with gilded mirrors and trompe l’oeil paintings. Its most beautiful dining room has trellis lattices and flowers painted on all four walls, creating the impression of being seated in an opulent gazebo on a sunny day.

I remembered from my previous visit that the restaurant’s service was just as luxurious as the surroundings, and I wasn’t disappointed the second time around. Much to my surprise — and delight — my waiter knew exactly what celiac disease was. He then proceeded to call over the other servers and have them read my Spanish celiac translation card, so that there would be no confusion about what would be served to me. My waiter consulted with the chef and described to me, in a mix of Spanish and English, what my options were. I ended up having a creamy mushroom soup followed by grilled cod with potatoes and leeks. Dinner was accompanied by a selection from El Cenador’s excellent — and affordable — list of Spanish wines. For dessert, I had Spanish cheeses and fruit, which made me feel, as indulgent as I was that evening, almost virtuous.

El Cenador del Prado [address] Calle del Prado, 4, Madrid 28014, Spain [tel] 91 429-15-61 or 91 429-15-49 [web] www.elcenadordelprado.com

Dinner by the Danube

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Travel writers are supposed to avoid tourist traps. Our job is to help travelers discover the heart of a place (though those recent tell-all books by travel journalists Chuck Thompson and Thomas Kohnstamm make you wonder), and a tourist trap offers the opposite of the authentic experience most people want. I follow some basic guidelines for identifying a tourist trap. The first is by location: is the restaurant located in the main tourist thoroughfare of a city, or alongside a major attraction? Possibly a tourist trap. Another giveaway is the menu: is it available in four or more languages? Tourist trap. Is anyone eating at the restaurant a local? If not… it’s a tourist trap. These aren’t hard-and-fast rules, but they’re reliable.

I normally try to sample local dishes wherever I go, but in Budapest this was almost impossible. Traditional Hungarian cuisine — including goulash (a stew to which many restaurants add starch), galuska (wheat-based dumplings), and töltött káposzta (cabbage rolls filled with barley) — seems designed to taunt the gluten-intolerant. So I turned to other cuisines. One Greek restaurant I found, Taverna Dionysos, fit my description of a tourist trap. It was on the edge of the Danube, with a prime view of the Buda hills and the lights that cover Budapest’s bridges and give the river a glittering sheen every evening till midnight. The menu was printed in multiple languages, and no one eating there seemed to be a local.

That should have been three strikes, but Taverna Dionysos wasn’t out by a long shot. The white-painted space was open and airy, and the staff was warm and friendly. I had a card describing celiac disease in Hungarian, but found that a couple of servers spoke English, so describing what I needed wasn’t hard. My meal was standard fare — a Greek salad with black olives and feta, followed by roasted chicken, rice, and grilled peppers — but the food was delicious and satisfying. And the spectacular view of the Danube was hard to resist (in warmer weather, Taverna Dionysos has alfresco tables, for which it’s absolutely necessary to make a reservation).

One note: there is a Hungarian Celiac Society, but its pages are only in Hungarian, which Google doesn’t translate. Any Hungarian speakers out there?

Taverna Dionysos [address] District V, Belgrad Rakpart 16, Budapest, Hungary [tel] 01 318-1222

Reader Report: Gluten-Free Buenos Aires

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Gluten-Free Guidebook will be one month old on April 15th, and I’ve already received dozens of e-mails from readers around the world. Some have wanted to share their own experiences of traveling with celiac disease, while others have made specific recommendations about where to eat in a particular city. Thank you for all of your messages.

One incredibly thoughtful reader, Silvia Basualdo Róvere in Buenos Aires, sent me a list of local restaurants willing to prepare gluten-free meals. Silvia has celiac disease and is a member of Ley Celíaca (Celiac Law), an organization working to promote the welfare of Argentina’s 400,000 celiacs. She invites Gluten-Free Guidebook readers to visit the group’s website at www.ley-celíaca.com.ar; Ley Celiaca also has an online forum. The site and forum are in Spanish and can also be read via Google.

Argentina — and particularly Buenos Aires — is a destination that I’m longing to visit, and after reading Silvia’s list, I’m even more intrigued. Silvia has also graciously allowed me to include her e-mail address here (sbasualdo2002@yahoo.com.ar), so that readers can contact her directly. Below is Silvia’s list. You can find more details about these restaurants on Oleo, a Buenos Aires restaurant guide that is available in English, Portuguese, and Spanish. (By the way, Oleo also allows you to search for more eateries that serve “celiac food,” a feature I’d love to find on Open Table).

Thanks so much to Silvia for providing this list.

Boomerang RestoBar [address] Montañeses 2814, Ciudad de Buenos Aires [tel] 54-11 4782.2688 [email] boomerang2814@yahoo.com.ar

Casimiro [address] Av. Rivadavia al 6075, Ciudad de Buenos Aires [tel] 54-11 4634-3333 [web] www.lawebdecasimiro.com — Silvia notes that this is a family-friendly restaurant with a playroom for children; there are five locations in and around Buenos Aires

Celigourmet [address] Charcas 4784, Ciudad de Buenos Aires [tel] 54-11 4776 5448 [email] celigourmet@hotmail.com [web] www.celigourmet.com.ar

Comer en Compañia [address] San Martín 951, Ciudad de Buenos Aires [tel] 54-11 4312-3433

El Patio del Farol [address] Alvarado 2296 (esq. Corrientes), Ciudad de Mar del Plata [tel] 0223-494-5125 or 0223-155-285985 [email] reservas@elpatiodelfarol.com.ar [web] www.elpatiodelfarol.com.ar

La Angostura [address] Urquiza 5020 casi Juan B. Justo, Ciudad de Mar del Plata [tel] 0223-480 5528

Mezzo & Mezzo [address] Chile 362, Ciudad de Buenos Aires [tel] 54-11 4300-9419

Mole Tacos Fonda Mexicana [address] Av. Cabildo 1368, Ciudad de Buenos Aires [tel] 54-11 4896-0803 [email] contactanos@moletacos.com.ar [web] www.moletacos.com.ar

Pepino [address] Del Libertador, Av. 14475, Ciudad Buenos Aires [tel] 54-11 4792-2570 or 54-11 4733-4460 — Silvia says they serve burgers with gluten-free bread

Sensu (Japanese “fast food”), eight locations in Buenos Aires, at shopping centers including Abasto Shopping, Galerias Pacifico, and Solar de la Abadía; [tel] 081077-73678

Sette Bacco [address] Aguero 2157, Ciudad de Buenos Aires [tel] 54-11 4808-0021

Simona Ristorante (Italian cuisine) [address] Humbold 1551, Ciudad de Buenos Aires [tel] 54-11 4772-2008 [email] info@simonaristorante.com.ar [web] www.simonaristorante.com.ar

Tablas de Buenos Aires [address] Perón 7819 Ituzaingó, Ciudad de Buenos Aires [tel] 54-11 4621-7081 [email] tablasbsas@yahoo.com.ar

Tea Connection (café) [address] Uriburu 1597, Ciudad de Buenos Aires [tel] 54-11 4805-0616 (second location at O. Cossettini 1545, Loft 3, Ciudad de Buenos Aires [tel] 54-11 4312-7315) [web] www.teaconnection.com.ar

Zona Natural [address] Tucumán 433, Ciudad de Buenos Aires [tel] 54-11 4312-9333 [email] zonanatural@uolsinectis.com.ar

Rice for Brunch

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If you’ve ever read New York magazine’s “21 Questions” interview, you might be under the impression that the city’s residents want to abolish brunch. Fashion designer Todd Oldham referred to brunch as “Sunday-morning prison with a big bill at the end.” Cosmopolitan editor-in-chief and mystery novelist Kate White announced that “Brunch should be abolished.” Perhaps the most cutting remarks came from Brian Williams, anchor of the NBC Nightly News. “Brunch is an unnatural event, invented by the restaurant industry,” he said. “Life is about hard choices. Before noon on weekends, it’s called breakfast. After that, it’s lunch. Pick one.”

Ouch. Perhaps I should be ashamed to say this, but I love going out for brunch with friends. Now I’m wondering if my affection for the meal has more to do with the place that serves it. My favorite brunch spot in New York right now is Rice, a small, local chain specializing in pan-Asian cooking. It has two outlets in Manhattan and two in Brooklyn; the one I know best is the Murray Hill location, which is a tiny space at the corner of Lexington Avenue and East 28th Street. In spite of its diminutive size, it feels spacious thanks to the high ceilings and pots of greenery on the tables. The design is casual, with sacks of –- what else? –- rice tucked under the rafters and small burlap rice bags serving as light shades.

Gluten-free meals are available here at lunch and dinner, but you can’t beat the weekend brunch. If you’re dining gluten-free, you’ll need to ask for the special menu, because servers don’t automatically bring it to the table. The $12 special (which applies to both regular and gluten-free brunches) buys you a main course, side dish, coffee/tea, and juice (for an extra $5, you can throw in unlimited mimosas, too). The gluten-free menu is extensive, yet I keep returning to the frittata with sautéed greens and manchego in a hot but sweet chili sauce, with the side dish of crispy rice-and-grit cakes with jalapeño and parmesan.

Brunch-hating New Yorkers, here’s a challenge: try brunch at Rice, and then decide whether the meal needs to be abolished.

Rice in Murray Hill [address] 115 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY [tel] 212-686-5400

Rice in Nolita [address] 292 Elizabeth Street, New York, NY [tel] 212-226-5775

Rice in DUMBO [address] 81 Washington Street, Brooklyn, NY [tel] 718-222-9880

Rice in Fort Greene [address] 166 Dekalb Avenue, Brooklyn, NY [tel] 718-858-2700

All locations [website] www.riceny.com

UPDATE 01/24/2010: Rice has closed its Lexington Avenue location. The other three outposts remain open.

Home Away From Home in Cusco

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When you have celiac disease, one of the toughest things about travel is finding the stamina to dine out day after day. At home, going to a restaurant can feel like a luxury, particularly when you’re confident that the staff will take care of your needs. It’s tough to find places like that when you’re on the road and you need to explain your dietary restrictions before every breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Before I went to Peru last fall I spent hours researching restaurants that could prepare gluten-free meals. I couldn’t find a single place mentioned in a guidebook or online. When I got on my flight to Peru (which you can read about here), I was nervous about what I would be surviving on for the next three weeks.

It turned out that I had nothing to worry about. This was partly because the traditional Andean diet is based on three staples — corn, potatoes, and quinoa — that are all celiac-safe. More importantly, I found that the Peruvian people were incredibly kind and took painstaking care of me, sometimes checking ingredients three or four times before bringing my main course to the table.

This wasn’t only true of the more expensive restaurants, but in the most casual eateries. A perfect example of this is the Moni Café-Restaurant in Cusco, the city that every traveler passes through on the way to Machu Picchu. Moni is an unpretentious, inexpensive spot that’s well away from the tourist crowds in the historic Plaza de Armas, and its specialty is vegetarian cooking. The recipes are very simple (my starter was a pumpkin soup made only with pumpkin, garlic, and cream) but the food is incredibly delicious. My main course involved all of the Andean staples: called the Sacred Valley Curry, it was a combination of giant-sized corn kernels with potato and quinoa in a tomato-and-onion sauce.

The staff was incredibly kind and helpful… so much so that I went back for another meal later in the week. That’s the thing about finding a restaurant you feel confident about while you’re on the road — it makes you feel right at home.

Moni Café-Restaurant [address] San Agustin 311, Cusco, Peru [tel] 51-84-231-029 [web] www.moni-cusco.com

Pure Bliss

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In my restaurant-reviewing days, I had a bias against virtuous food, which I defined as anything you ate because it was supposed to be good for you, rather than because it satisfied your taste buds. I have nothing against broccoli (it tastes good to me, at least when paired with hummus or tzatziki), but I gravitate towards creamy cheeses, gamey meats, and dreamy desserts. When I first read about the raw food movement, I was horrified. I considered low-fat mozzarella an abomination; what could I say about a cuisine that made “cheese” out of nuts?

Silly me. One of my favorite restaurants in New York has turned out to be a raw food spot. Pure Food and Wine is just south of Gramercy Park (see photo above) on Irving Place. My husband suggested it just after my celiac diagnosis, when we were casting about for a romantic spot to celebrate our anniversary. At that point, I was nervous at the thought of eating anywhere but my own home. My husband and I called Pure Food, asking question after question to establish the staff’s ability — and willingness — to prepare a gluten-free meal. Finally I decided to give it a try.

The restaurant was a surprise: the long, lean room mixed natural woods that echoed the restaurant’s earthy mantra with bordello-red walls that reflected a distinctly sexy aura. The server was well-informed and helpful, pointing out the few items I wouldn’t be able to order on Pure Food’s extensive menu. It was a moment of pure bliss: I was just getting accustomed to the idea that there were so many things I couldn’t have that being offered so many choices felt like freedom. When the food arrived, I was pleasantly surprised: a Caesar salad with pine nut “parmesan” and nori doesn’t sound decadent, but it turns out it is. And the zucchini and roma tomato lasagna was better than any wheat-noodle version I could remember. Dessert was even more satisfying: not only could I order my own, but I could steal what my husband had ordered.

Like I said, pure bliss.

Pure Food and Wine [address] 54 Irving Place, New York, NY [tel] 212-477-1010 [email] purefoodandwine@gmail.com [web] www.purefoodandwine.com

Stalking Jamie Kennedy

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I’m a groupie. Not for rock stars or actors or even authors (well, maybe for Ken Bruen and Joyce Carol Oates and the Hard Case Crime writers), but for chefs. Toronto’s Jamie Kennedy is one I’ve been stalking for years. He’s a co-founder of the local chapter of the Slow Food movement, and his commitment to environmental issues, organic agriculture, and local producers is legendary. A decade ago, when I had a steady gig reviewing restaurants for Toronto Life magazine, Kennedy owned the sublime JK ROM, the restaurant at the Royal Ontario Museum. After that well-loved spot became a casualty of the museum’s ambitious renovation plan, the chef opened a new spot downtown.

The Jamie Kennedy Wine Bar is a perfect tapas restaurant. It’s only slightly larger than a cubbyhole, with tables for two lit by candles and barstool perches for those too tired (or hungry) to wait for a table. If you’re not familiar with Ontario vintages, this is one of the finest places to get an education: wines are available in half-size glasses, all the better for sampling. Ask the staff what distinguishes an Ontario Riesling from an Alsatian one, and you’re likely to get a taste of each along with an explanation.

When I told the server that I had celiac disease, she disappeared with my menu. A few minutes later she returned and handed it back to me. I opened the folded page and saw that the entire thing had been annotated in ballpoint pen. Dishes that were not available in a gluten-free version were crossed out, while potential modifications to others were written in. The server went over the menu with me in detail, pointing out potential problems with cross-contamination. I ended up with tapas-sized plates of asparagus with poached egg and pine nuts, tender duck confit, mushroom ragout, and blackberry sorbet.

I’ve been back to the Jamie Kennedy Wine Bar several times, and have had a menu annotated for me on each visit. I’ve also been to the restaurant with friends who suffer from lactose intolerance and food allergies, and have seen the staff lavish the same care that they do with celiacs.

Sorry, Chef Kennedy – you can’t shake this groupie.

Jamie Kennedy Wine Bar [address] 9 Church Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada [tel] 416-362-1957 [web] www.jkkitchens.com