A Peaceful Oasis in NYC - Day Four of our Gluten Free Vacation!

After three busy days in the city, we decided to take a break from the hustle and bustle and head up to The Cloisters

Museum, located at the very northern tip of Manhattan. It's part of the MET but we'd never heard of it before a friend in Atlanta mentioned it just prior to our trip. We are so glad we took the jaunt to this ever so lovely and peaceful place. It's beautiful there and the views are absolutely spectacular!

We toured inside the Museum on our own before getting a bite to eat at the outdoor cafe. We'd packed energy bars, pretzels and chocolate chip cookies from Everybody Eats since we only knew there was a cafe, not that I could find anything safe there. Luckily, we were able to split a large cranberry/goat cheese salad and some gluten free chips. We ate our own cookies for dessert. It was a gorgeous, warm day and the shaded cafe tables have a view of one of the Cloisters (above left). After a most satisfying gluten free lunch, we headed inside to meet up with the 1 pm tour, which offers an overview of the history of the Museum and more detail about many of the plantings in the three Cloisters located there. The flower below was an even more brilliant hue of magenta in person than shown here, and the plant on the right is Rhubarb, which I'd never seen in person before. The leaves are actually poisonous and the stalk is the edible.

One of my husbands favorite pies is Strawberry-Rhubarb and now that I'm a more confident gluten free baker, I'm going to attempt making him one ....eventually. We recently discovered we live only ten miles from a Strawberry Farm, so I can't put if off much longer...lol!

After The Cloisters guided tour we headed back to the 190th Street subway station and got off the train near Central Park. From reading about Shauna's NYC adventure and her time at the John Lennon Imagine Memorial at the park, I wanted to go pay my respects there as well. Along the way, we passed the man who calls himself the Mayor of Strawberry Fields. He announced quite loudly that he would return momentarily - we're not quite sure he was speaking to.... Anyway, we had a moment of silence and took some photos and left before the Mayor returned. However, we ran into him the following day near The Dakota.

Tonight we're going to see 'Hairspray' so after a short stroll around the lower west side of Central Park (which is gargantuan), we made our way back to Wyman House to get ready for an early dinner and the show.

Through a Celiac listserve query, I found out about a place called 'Cesca on the UWS, that offered gluten free options, but did not have a gluten free menu per se. I noticed too, that Catherine had it listed on her favorite NYC restaurant guide so we decided to give it a try. We'd made advanced early bird reservations and noticed that the pre-theatre menu posted on the website asked that no substitutions be made so I assumed that the $31 deal was out for me. But when we arrived, our server (who'd been made aware of my gluten free needs through the opentable.com note) explained that the special theatre menu allowed gluten free options for each course that evening. And so I was able to take advantage of the special theatre menu and my meal was one of the best of the trip - and only $31!

To start I had a buffalo mozzarella salad...amazing of course. My main course was a chicken dish that had a balsamic reduction with grapes, served over mashed potatoes. I'm not talented enough to describe how incredible this dish was...my husband's risotto was wonderful and could not hold a candle to my entree. Since my meal was so filling I opted for the sorbet for dessert, instead of creme brulee. It was a combination of blood orange, mango and blueberry - one scoop of each. Without question, this was the BEST sorbet either of us had ever had. We could not get over it...I've never had sorbet that I wanted to eat until I was sick but this was that fabulous! Luckily, my husband was there to help consume it, as it was a very generous portion. For a place without a gluten free menu, 'Cesca takes great care in understanding what gluten intolerance is. And so eating there was a worry free and delicious experience. The ambiance is wonderful here and there is not an air of pretentiousness about it, even though it's a very upscale place. Another fabulous find in NYC!

With very full bellies - we left 'Cesca and headed to the Niel Simon Theatre to see 'Hairspray - the Musical'. Remember that I mentioned out tickets were free? While they were not bad seats, upstairs in the dead center, my 6'1" husband likes and aisle seat so he can stick out his long legs for comfort. Our smack-dab-in-the-middle of-the-row seats didn't allow for that and he was fairly uncomfortable. And to be honest, I'm almost a foot shorter than him and I was pretty cramped as well. But the show was fabulous and George Wendt (from Cheers) played the Mama role. We had no idea he was in the cast, or that he could sing! The entire cast was wonderfully talented, as most Broadway Actors are, and I loved this production of Hairspray better than the first movie. I haven't seen the John Travolta movie version yet. If you like musicals and big hair, go see this show!

Day Three in NYC - More Fabulous Gluten Free Food!

Today is our 19th wedding anniversary. I've been with my husband half my life. It's hard to believe really but it's true...I guess the calendar doesn't lie. Today we are going to take our time getting around so we can have a stress free day and enjoy this great city and each other. We start by making breakfast from our leftover chicken from Sambuca. We had eggs and goat cheese in our little fridge so we made goat cheese and chicken scrambled eggs which were excellent! We also split a hearty bagel from Everybody Eats and had some fruit.

After we'd planned this vacation, I was notified by a trade group I belong to, that they would host a large National trade show in NYC at the Javits Center during the time we'd be there. After much consideration I decided not to attend the show. This is our main vacation of the year and taking two days out of it for work just didn't feel right. However, as part of the show package (which is free to members) we were able to get free tickets to the musical 'Hairspray'. The only downside was we had to go all the way to the Javits Center in person to pick them up. The tickets were given out on a first come, first serve basis so we allowed Tuesday morning to get there and pick them up, before heading to a very special spot for lunch.

Though Trip Advisor I knew which bus to take straight to Javits. We took the subway to Columbus Circle and headed to the bus stop and promptly got on the M34 bus - going the wrong way. Of course we figured this out the first stop and hopped off, crossed the street and waited for the M34 but going towards Javits. While waiting for the correct bus, I wandered into 'The Sunglass Hut' and was surprised to see several beefy security guards there. Then I realized there is not a pair of sunglasses in there for less than $150 and many ran over $300! Fearing that I might drop a pair and be held liable for payment, I decided not to try anything in there on. Maybe they should change the name of the Manhattan location to 'The Sunglass Boutique'. We exited the store just in time to hop the correct M34 bus which let us off at the Javits Center about 10 minutes later.

Over the years, I've been to many trade shows in Las Vegas, Orlando and Chicago but none of those convention centers holds a candle to Javits regarding size. It's simply massive and there were something like four huge shows there and our group was the smallest of them all. But we were on a mission and didn't dilly dally around. We went downstairs to the registration for our show and quickly exchanged e-tickets for show badges and then went to the attraction booth to pick up our 'Hairspray' tickets. It was barely 11 am by the time we got back on the bus, but I was ready to head to Greenwich Village for lunch. Can you guess where we're going yet?

On the tour bus yesterday, we went through a part of the Village and I really wanted to hop off the bus, hop into a cab and demand to be taken to the mecca for all gluten free visitors to NYC - Risotteria. But I restrained myself - I would get there soon enough and I could only hope it was as good as the hype I'd read about it on every gluten free blog from here to tin-buck-two. And I'd prepared myself that it might not be, and that would be okay. I am after all a very picky gluten free patron.

When we got off the subway we decided to stop into a few stores and check out the tourist goods along the way. Then we spotted a used record store and I knew my husband would love checking it out and so we went in and were amazed by the massive collection of albums. Many of them were collectors' items and surprisingly, many were very well priced. We have a record player (yes, we're getting old....er) and love collecting music from our youth on vinyl. For me that's The Bee Gees, Billy Joel, Dan Fogelberg, Rod Stewart and even Bread and The Love Story Soundtrack. For my husband it's Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Allman Brothers, Credence Clearwater Revival and Clapton. How have we remained married for 19 years? Just kidding! Though we left without making a purchase, we loved experiencing this place - such gems are far and few between these days. If you're ever on Bleeker St. in the Village, look for the record store and enjoy! Oh and you might see the largest cat you've ever seen in there as well - there are two of them in fact. I took photos of them but those pictures were the only ones that did not come out...the cats looked like large dark grey blobs...it was really odd. They must have had some security device in the store that interfered with my camera.

OK - the most anticipated restaurant visit of the trip was about to become a reality. There it was. The world famous (or at least US famous) Risotteria. I felt like I was in a dream but I was wide awake...the sun was shining so brightly it was blinding. I was about to have pizza (that I didn't have to make) for lunch....again. This is the third day in a row I've had pizza. I wanted to make myself get sick of it so I would not miss it when I returned home. This didn't happen, of course. Since we'd spent a fair amount of time lolly gagging on the way here, it was not peak lunch time when we arrived, but 1:30 pm. We entered and there were many open tables which was great. I was told not to come here during peak meal times because it's crazy busy and they don't take reservations. This would be the only leisurely lunch we'd have on vacation and I didn't want to feel rushed in any way.

We chose a table where I'd have a view of the whole place. It's quite small but did not feel cramped at all. The extensive gluten free menu chioces were overwhelming to say the least....pizzas, pastas, risottos, panini sandwiches and desserts. I ordered a Redbridge beer before noticing they had my favorite gluten free brand - Bard's Tale - so I had two beers during our long lunch. I'm not even a big beer drinker but I can't order Bard's Tale out at home so I wasn't passing this opportunity up. My husband wanted to try a gluten free panini but I didn't care what he had as long as I had pizza. I settled on the goat cheese, pesto and arugula personal pizza and enjoyed a gluten free bread stick with my beer. The bread sticks weren't hot but I didn't mind since I needed to save room for pizza, another beer and dessert! I'm not a big bread stick person anyway, but even at room temperature these were pretty good!

As we waited for our food, the place started getting busy which I thought was odd, considering the time of day. When my pizza arrived it sort of looked like a salad - there was so much lovely arugula on it! But underneath those greens,

pesto sauce and goat cheese was the thinnest, crispiest gluten free pizza crust I'd ever had. I've been trying to make this type of crust for over two years without success. The pizza was not good by gluten free standards - it was excellent by pizza standards, regardless of ingredients. It was some of the best pizza I've EVER had and I've had gluten pizza in Italy. Since it was so bright inside (two walls of windows) I had my sunglasses on and I was glad I did. Though many of my gluten free friends have told me of this happening to them, I had never experienced it personally. I started crying. They were tears of joy obviously, but it felt odd to be crying over something like food. Then I remembered that it wasn't about food at all. It was about being able to enjoy something as simple as pizza in a restaurant. Just like every other American can do any time they please. I have not been able to do do this in over two years and I felt like I was walking on cloud nine! Oh and my husband's sandwich (above left) was one of the best panini's he's ever had - and it was the only one he's had gluten free. He shared a bite with me and I could NOT believe it was gluten free!
After we finished our lunch (all but one piece of my pizza which I took with me) it was time for dessert. I went up to look at the pre-packaged gluten free treats and spotted a black-and-white cookie. Since it was warm out, I knew the icing would melt if we didn't eat it there so we split it (it's huge) and took two pieces of pound cake to go. The cookie was very good and soft, something hard to find in a gluten free cookie unless you bake them at home. We also bought two bags of their pizza crust/bread stick mix as well. As we left I realized the place was totally full of people and it's 3 pm on a week day. Nothing else in the area was busy at that time. Risotteria RULES! Thanks to owner Josheph Pace who runs the place and developed so many great gluten free recipes! He's a true hero in our community and now he just needs to franchise!

After lunch, we headed back to the UWS to hop on the Gray Line bus tour for the loop that goes through Harlem and the UES. Unfortunately, the tour guide on this bus was not only not any good, he was bad for NYC tourism. He said some less than kind things about the public school system in NYC which was bad enough, but then he broke out in song for no reason, during lulls in his spiel. And he could not sing at all so he best not quit his day job. I ignored him and focused on the scenery and was shocked to see the Guggenheim Museum with scaffolding all around it. There went my money shot....I wanted to take a really good photo of it but that didn't happen this trip. Before this loop was over, we started running out of time and had to hop a cab to the Inn so we could get ready for dinner.

Based on Debra's recommendation (from Sunday) we'd made reservations at Tini's Ristorante Italiano on the UES for our anniversary dinner. We decided to treat ourselves to a cab since there is no subway line that runs from Central Park West to Central Park East. We'd have to take a train south and then another north. We arrived slightly early and were seated immediately by the window. Tuesday is the slowest night for most restaurants and they were not too busy. Even though they offered gluten free pasta, the rosted pork loin infused with apple reduction, served

with garlic mashed potatoes sounded so tempting that I ordered that instead. Luckily, I can get gluten free pasta at several places in Atlanta. Both our meals were delicious and even the salad was one of the best we'd had on vacation. But what was just as great was dealing with the highly educated staff at Tini's. How refreshing it was to order from a menu with interesting and extensive gluten free offerings, and know that the everyone there was dedicated to doing everything humanly possible to feed you safely. The staff at Tini's knows how to court the gluten free set and that's exactly what I'm looking for these days.

After dinner, I asked Enzo (the host who I think is also part owner) for permission to post the photos I took on my blog. He was thrilled to oblige me and promptly sent over complimentary after dinner drinks. Enzo's brother Giuseppe is the very talented Chef here. Oh yeah, I had one of the best chocolate mousse desserts of my life - so thick the spoon stood up in it. The only place I've ever had anything like this before was Paris. It's a truly remarkable treat but my husband couldn't taste it, due to the dark chocolate thing. And so I took some of it with me to go. We had a lovely anniversary and I highly recommend Tini's for a romantic dinner for two, or for a great dinner with good friends! But hurry, the building they're in is being torn down so they will close on June 30th. They will re-open at 1574 2nd Avenue under the new name of 'Opus', in mid to late July. They plan to make gluten free bread and pizza in the new space. Good luck guys and we'll definitely return on our next visit to check out Opus!

NYC Gluten Free Vacation - Day Two

I woke up today realizing I'd get to celebrate Cinco de Mayo with actual New Yorkers for the first time ever. We'd been invited to visit Everybody Eats in Brooklyn for their company party, which several customers were also invited to. We'd be the only out-of-state guests there, and I was excited to finally to meet owners Bruce and Pedro, as well as the people who actually bake my favorite gluten free bakery bread - their French baguettes and deli rolls.

First things first though, we had pre-purchased tickets for the Gray Line hop-on / hop-off bus tour online, and wanted to do the downtown loop segment (there are four total) before having lunch and heading to Brooklyn for the party at 2 pm. After a short subway ride and a five minute walk, we arrived to the Gray Line office and exchanged our e-tickets for real ones. Another quick walk to the downtown loop bus stop and we were finally on our way to enjoy the sights the easy way -sitting down. It was a lovely sunny morning...beautiful blue skies...the perfect day for such a tour. We had seen most of the sites on this tour before but not from this perspective. One of the best parts was the tour guide - one of the most entertaining we've had ever, on any type of tour. He was a true born and bread New Yorker and was proud of it. We admired the passion and enthusiasm he had for his most fabulous city! I think we completed about 90% of this tour and decided to get out very close to where we were heading for lunch. This photo (which I took from the bus) is pretty much the scene in the etching print I bought at the artist market yesterday.

Remember Debra, the lady we sat with at the Meetup event? She told us to go to Mozzarelli's for pizza and to ask for David. When we arrived there it was peak lunch hour and the place was overcrowded to say the least. It's a long narrow space with limited seating capacity. There are a few tables and a long bar along the wall with stools. We lucked out and snagged as table when two patrons got up to leave. After going without restaurant pizza for over two years, it's a bit daunting to see four gluten free pizzas on the top shelf of the pizza line and have to pick just one. They sell it by the slice so we ended up with three of the four types of pie anyway. I think most people with Celiac would be worried about cross contamination but Mozzarelli's is doing their absolute best to keep the gluten free food truly gluten free. If you want them to explain their process to you, they'll be happy to do so - just ask. The first thing I noticed was that the gluten free pizzas were all rectangular, and the others were round. The gluten free pizzas were on top of the display - they could contaminate the gluten pizzas with crumbs, but not the other way around. You pick the pizzas slice(s) you want and they heat it up on foil - for gluten free slices you get a huge square that almost fills the paper plate they serve it on. At $4 a slice, it's quite the bargain indeed!

I started with the pepperoni pizza and my husband started with the sausage and pepper...I think. He immediately started raving about his and said it was the best gluten free pizza he'd had to date - then he quickly added that he meant except for the ones I make at home. Good try Sweetie but I'm woman enough to admit the truth. As good as my pizza is, it doesn't compare to Mozzarelli's - period. While I'm trying to savor every bite of my delicious pizza...gooey cheese and all - my husband scarfs his piece down and heads back up for another piece. I notice a couple to my left who seemed like tourists to me. It was clear that most, if not all of the patrons were locals, but this couple stood out. Then I noticed the lady picking up her pizza - it was square. She was a gluten free sister and so of course, I started up a conversation with her. She and her husband were there on vacation from the Midwest. She pulled out her list of places they'd either already been to, or were planning on going and we compaered notes. One place they absolutely loved was Lumi so that's on my short list for the next trip. We knew this place was excellent, but we could not go to every great place in one trip.












During our delightful conversation, the couple told us about their trip with Bob and Ruth's Travel Club for the African Safari. Oh my gosh - that's one of my my dream vacations - and now I know I can go on it gluten free! These people had the time of their lives on that trip and the husband said the gluten free food was so much better than the gluten offerings that after the first meal, he only ate gluten free and loved it! I've heard good things about Bob and Ruth's Travel Club but have not joined them for a trip yet. I'm going to have to look into that for sure now.

On our way out, I finally met the owner David, as well as Elan who made our tasty pizza (that's him in the photo below). I'd asked for permission to photograph the pizza behind the glass for my blog, and mentioned that Debra sent us. After granting me permission to snap some shots, David explained that they host a totally 100% gluten free day there once a month - always on a weekend day, when they are normally closed. They serve gluten free pizza, pasta and tons of other gluten free goodies - how fabulous is that?! Then David took me to the cooler by the front door. There he showed me some gluten free desserts in take out containers - peanut butter cookies and chocolate chip biscotti. Biscotti always reminds me of Italy so I picked up a container and went to pay for it. 'No - please enjoy it with our compliments' said the pretty lady at the register who might be David's wife. You know, New Yorkers are some of the nicest people you'll ever meet - and coming from the land of Southern hospitality, that's saying a lot! If you're ever in NYC, stop into Mozzarelli's and have some excellent, inexpensive gluten free pizza tell them TJ from Atlanta sent you. OK - they probably won't remember me but I'll never forget them and their fabulous gluten free pizza! Thanks Guys - for supporting the gluten free community - we appreciate it more than we can say!

After our informative and delicious lunch, we headed to the subway on route to Brooklyn. From the station, it was a quick three walk block to Everybody Eats but we did go the wrong way on one street. After our two minute detour and we got back on track and got to the building where we thought the bakery was...the address fit and we were on the correct street but the first door we entered was not Everybody Eats. However, they told us to go two more doors down and finally we got there. The bakery had been transformed to a party space - complete with a gluten free Mexican buffet! Of course, we were totally stuffed from lunch so we could not partake in too much of the food....or I should say I could not eat much. As usual, the husband always finds a way to fit more food into his 'thin as a rail' frame. Everything I did nibble on was delicious and I had the BEST guacamole I've ever had. The secret was smoked avocados...who knew?! Please don't ask me how to smoke an avocado though - I just enjoyed it - I didn't ask for the recipe.

Our party hosts were Bruce and Pedro - the owners of the bakery and they are as delightful as I'd imagined they would be. Their employees Iris and Arturo were just precious - a young married couple shown in the photo below. There were pinatas hanging up and colorful decor galore. Bruce even went to the trouble of making a gluten free pinata with cornstarch and water. He learned the hard way that you have to boil the mixure in order for it to work as a paste..lol!


from left to right: Pedro, Iris, Bruce, Arturo

In any event, his project turned out great and it certainly looked like something you'd find in a store that sells pinatas. I'm sorry to say I somehow left without a photo of it. We had Cinco de Mayo music playing on a very impressive stereo CD gadget I've never seen before, run by a laptop. Pedro got most of the ladies (even me once) to dance and everyone had a most festive time. We met so many wonderful people - from Andrea Meyers Catering was Chef Andrea Meyers and her cooks Billy and Rick, from Choice Cooking Co. next door was Chef Ryan Brown, cook Andres and dishwasher Felicita and I think that Margaret from Funny Girl Catering ltd. was the one who made the oh-so-tasty guacamole. One guy there used to live in GA - in Marietta, actually. Julie, a long time customer was going to Panama City, FL the following week to visit her Mother for Mother's Day. I was born and raised about 40 miles away in Port St. Joe, FL. What a small world it really is! Once the pinatas were busted (the cornstarch one was almost impossible to break) the party wound down and we had to say goodbye to our new friends. But we left with memories that will last a lifetime. Thanks to the Bruce and Pedro, the crew and friends of Everybody Eats in Brooklyn - we hope to visit you again one day!

It turned out that guest and loyal bakery customer Julie, lives on the UWS and she offered us a lift back into the city. How nice was that? We enjoyed a pleasant but brief trip back to Manhattan and strangely did not run into much rush hour traffic, even though it was around 5 pm. After sharing with us a couple of places she thought were worth trying for dinner during our visit, Julie dropped us about a block from our Inn, at the Westside Hwy. exit near 77th St. We thanked her for her hospitality and restaurant tips and headed to our little apartment with gluten free goodies from Everybody Eats. Though the bakery is only open on Saturday for walk in traffic, they were kind enough to let me pick out a few things I really wanted to try - ravioli, chocolate chip cookies and bagels.

We had not actually made reservations for dinner that night and so we called Bouley Upstairs to confirm they could accommodate us with gluten free meals and they said they could accommodate all allergies. Julie eats there often without issue but it's always best to check before you arrive some place new to you. Chefs do quit or get replaced and a safe place for us today, might not be good for us tomorrow. Since the place is tiny and they don't take reservations, I felt a little appetizer at our home away from home was in order. Spinach-Ricotta ravioli anyone? Knowing I'd have to eat the ravioli in NY since it's frozen, I'd already picked up a tiny jar of pasta sauce at Fairway. I've never seen such a small jar of sauce before but it suited our needs perfectly. At the party, Pedro had explained how to prepare the pasta correctly - boil it over medium heat for about 10 minutes, drain and add sauce. It was super easy but it tasted like something you'd be find while dining in Italy...like it was made by hand with great care. That is of course, because that is how everything at Everybody Eats is made. To say the ravioli was great is a huge understatement. I have six packs of it arriving today - overnight shipping and all. If you ever try it, you'll be hooked for life so consider yourself forewarned.

OK - we've rested up a bit, had a scrumptious snack - in case we have a long wait for dinner - and changed attire. We head to the subway to get to Bouley Upstairs. Along the way, we pass the regular Bouley, the more expensive restaurant owned by the same person - Chef David Bouley - who also owns the Bouley Bakery, below Bouley Upstairs. It sounds confusing but it's not when you're there. We climb a narrow staircase to the restaurant to find we can be seated almost immediately. If we'd arrived about 10 minutes later, we would have been on the waiting list. The table where we were seated was next to (I mean touching) another table for two so I figured if someone else was seated there, we'd be pretty hard pressed to have any privacy. Next to us was a corner table and so when the couple there left, we asked to move over a foot to that table. At least now I had a great view of outside and the entire restaurant. I think by NYC standards, this place wouldn't be considered tiny but to us, it was exactly that. There was space for about 28 diners at tables, and maybe 6 at the Sushi bar. You could see the Chefs cooking and we enjoyed that.

I must say that our meals were exceptionally fantastic, truly gluten free (as all my meals of the trip were) and the artisinal cheese plate we had for dessert was the best we've had in while - it almost transported me to Paris. I ordered the Chatham Bay boat lobster dish and loved it but can't explain it to you. However, the cramped space and hearing everything being said at the tables next to us is just not our thing. Plus, when the server arrived at the table and I mentioned I'd need a gluten free meal, he looked like he'd never heard the word before, and then returned a moment later acting as if he'd written a book on it. He got our vote for the worst server of the trip and must be an actor trying to pay the rent. I'm sure a regular customer would enjoy the experience more, and be used to tight dining spaces. I'm sure we'd love Bouley next door but our budget would not...lol!

So - that in an extremely long nutshell - is the summary of our first full day in NYC. It was a most entertaining adventure - from the double decker bus tour, to another pizza lunch with strangers, to the party at Everybody Eats, to an amazingly delicious dinner. We finally settled into our little apartment and anticipated how great it would be to celebrate our 19th wedding anniversary in one of the best cities in the world!

My Gluten Free dining tour of NYC - Day One

After waiting two years to get there, I finally made it to the Big Apple for a gluten free eating tour of the city, but I was surprised by how hard it was to pare down the enormous list of safe places for me to eat. So much great food and so little time! I posted a question on the Celiac listserve, asking for New Yorkers' fave places for great gluten free meals (NOT bland meals such as plain fish, rice and steamed veggies) and ordered 'The Gluten-Free Guide to New York'. Not surprisingly, I was inundated with great ideas and tips on where to eat in NYC, as well as where to shop for gluten free food by my listmates, and the NY gluten free guide book was well worth the money. It includes sample menus from many of the places mentioned, and gluten free friendly restaurants for NYC and far beyond. When the month of May arrived (we try to vacation on our wedding anniversary) the time came for us to board the plane and head up to New York. I could hardly wait! This wasn't our first trip to the city so we'd done all the touristy things before - this trip was all about the fabulous gluten free food! Sightseeing would be planned around where we were eating and not the other way around. Oh the strange lives we lead when gluten free.

Since I'm an organizer for the Atlanta Gluten Free Dinner Club, I contacted the same group in NYC prior to the visit and found out they had a pizza party planned for the very day we arrived - how perfect was that? We were to land at 11:30 am, and their party was downtown at 3 pm - sign me up! We did land on time, but since the Five Borough Bike Tour was that very day, and almost every bridge into Manhattan from Laguardia was closed, we had quite the time getting to the UWS (Upper West Side) to our Inn. But finally, after a very long and interesting cab ride, we did make it to Wyman House. Our room wasn't ready yet and while dropping our bags off, we met some ladies checking out that told us to to to the flea market up the street, and the artist fair across from the market. We had the time before our pizza extravaganza and so we headed off to peruse the flea market wares first. Though the offerings were interesting, quite varied (from produce to jewelry to beaded handbags) and well priced, I didn't find anything I could not live without. So we headed across the street to the artist market where I found an etching print that I could not pass up. It was that famous scene at Times Square that I've always loved...you know that enormous sign in the middle there? After making my first and only non food purchase of the trip (I was SOOOO good!), I called PizzaBolla - the restaurant hosting the NYC gluten free pizza party - to make sure the event was still on and confirmed our directions.

Upon arrival to the 72nd street subway station, we purchased 7 day Metro Cards that offer unlimited use on the subway and regular buses. At $25 a card for a week, it was the best deal going in NYC. Because it was Sunday afternoon, and we were headed downtown, the subway was refreshingly uncrowded. We took the 1 train down to Chambers St. and walked a few blocks to PizzaBolla. We arrived just after 3 pm and were surprised that we were the first people there for the pizza party...but eventually seven more people showed up and they started making our pizzas. The guy running the place - Jonah - even asked us what kind of pizza we wanted. I asked for the 'white' pizza and others asked for various other types. In the end, I tried three different flavors and the 'white' pizza was my least favorite. Jonah served us a fresh green salad and even baked us chocolate chip cookies! I smelled something burning a bit and it turned out to be the cookies...lol! We had to discard the black edges but the cookie part that wasn't burned was gooey and incredibly delicious!

At PizzaBolla, we sat with a 'real' New Yorker named Debra who gave us some great tips about where to eat - or not - and based on her advice, we changed our dinner reservations for our anniversary on Tuesday. We're so glad we did - thanks Debra! That's her in the photo holding some pizza, and I'm in the hat with Jonah. He was very funny and was eager to please the gluten free set. It was wonderful to feel so welcomed and appreciated as a gluten free patron. Due to the small space we were in, we didn't get to chat much with the other gluten free diners there, but I met Liz (the organizer of the event) and she was quite nice. Oh and I had a Redbridge beer with my pizza since they didn't have Bard's Tale, my favorite domestic gluten free beer. Can you imagine?...gluten free beer, pizza and chocolate chip cookies....priceless! Sure I can have this all at home any time - as long as I want to make it myself. But someone else made all this fabulous food and it was quite tasty with no gluten free texture or taste. If you're in the Financial district of NYC, be sure to stop by PizzaBolla and they have another location as well - I think on the UES (Upper East Side). The downtown location is about a block from the World Trade Center site.

So, we left our pizza party full and happy around 5 pm and my husband said we didn't need to have dinner. I knew in a couple of hours he'd feel differently and sure enough he did. So we headed by foot to Sambuca, an Italian Trattoria on the UWS, less than a mile from our Inn. This place serves 'family style' and they have two sizes of main dishes - regular and large. We ordered a chicken dish in the regular size, same for the salad, with a side of mashed potatoes. When the chicken plate arrived we though there was a mistake - surely this isn't the regular size....except it was. And the mashed potatoes would easily feed six people. Oh well, we couldn't send it back and so we ate what we could and had the extra packed to go. Our little apartment had a full kitchen so could eat it later. I also took their gluten free brownie to go, frozen and without ice cream since there was no way for me to consume it that night. My husband is allergic to dark chocolate so I had to eat the whole huge brownie all by my lonesome. It took me three tries and the last bit wound up at home in Atlanta with ice cream on top...it was THE BEST gluten free brownie I've had to date!

In between our pizza party and our dinner at Sambuca, we visited a rather famous grocery store near our Inn, called Fairway. I knew from my listmates that the gluten free section was upstairs so we headed up there first. Sure enough they had quite a few things we don't have here but they didn't have anywhere near the selection we have at home. I heard the best pickings are in the suburbs and that make sense - the shelf space probably cost less than half of what it does on the UWS of Manhattan.


By far, the best part of this shopping trip was that I saw, and was about two feet away from, an actor whose work I've always enjoyed - John Slattery. His most recent tv role was on 'Desperate Housewives' where he played Gabrielle's husband 'Victor'. He was also Julie's fiance on the show 'Ed', and he did a short stint on 'Sex and the City', where he was Carrie's love interest for about a minute. My husband saw him first and tapped my shoulder. I turned around just in time to see this gorgeous man walk right by me. He looked at me and I'm sure he was afraid I was going to run after him and beg for an autograph because I looked just like I felt - totally starstruck! This guy looks pretty good on camera but this does not compare to how great he looks in person. I just stood there like I didn't know what to do next. Then I noticed John had a kid with him so I respected his privacy and left him alone. He went over to the supplement section and checked to make sure I wasn't following him...lol! I smiled and turned to the stairs and he looked relieved. I was SO proud of myself and my husband still can't get over the fact that I was so unlike myself at that moment. If the kid hadn't been there...that privacy thing would have gone out the window and I would have tried to get a photo or autograph or both!

So I guess you could say that I had a pretty good first day in NYC! I felt like a kid in a candy store where everything in the candy store was gluten free. Of course, NYC is in the US so it's not as great as being in many parts of Europe or Australia, but it's about the best place stateside for great gluten free offerings. I went to sleep in our gorgeous room at Wyman House wondering how the next day could be any better.

Surviving a non Celiac family reunion - it can be done!

There is a little joke amongst the gluten free set - many of us agree that there are three places we typically don't enjoy going, due to our diet restrictions. Those events are weddings (of non Celiac friends), funerals (OK, no one likes those for obvious reasons) and family reunions where there are no Celiacs in attendance but us. For all these events, we can't pick where the group will be dining or what food will be served and that's that. Therefore, we take our own food and try not to complain when there is nothing for us to eat - except what we brought ourselves, of course. Such is the life of a Celiac.

My husband's extended family likes to get together much more often than mine. Unfortunately, I'm the only one at these reunions who eats gluten free. My husband is about 99% gluten free but he's not going to get sick if he eats gluten - he's simply not going to sleep well that night. But I will get sick and therefore I've got to know that every bite of food I'm putting in my mouth is gluten free. I can't just assume that this or that dish 'should' be okay - that's simply not an option for me. We all know the saying 'when it doubt, leave it out' and that's what we have to do - a lot!

Now, this particular reunion came at a very bad time for us for many reasons including having to hire a professional squirrel removal service (a family took up residence in our attic) and our upcoming vacation to NYC, among other things. In the end I decided to go, instead of sending my husband alone. The latter idea came to me upon hearing that the weekend trip would be in Savannah, GA. This fair city won an informal poll as being the least gluten free friendly tourist city in the entire Southeast US. The land of Paula Deen - no, it's just not a good idea for people with Celiac to dine out in Savannah, unless they don't mind spending $100 or more, for two people for dinner. We'd have young kids at the reunion, and places that were good for me were not kid friendly, so from the get go, I felt we might not be able to eat out with the family, as we'd always done in the past.

For some reason, this reunion was much more unstructured than others we've attended. There were no formal plans made for dinner out Saturday night before the weekend started. Therefore, I had to make plans for just us since I couldn't just hope the family would pick a restaurant that had more than a salad to feed me. Luckily a quick Google search of 'gluten free' and 'Savannah, GA' led me to a link about a place in Savannah's historic district called Gallery Espresso that had gluten free cake! Wait a minute....gluten free cake in a coffee shop in Savannah? We don't even have such a treat in Atlanta! I contacted the place and sure enough, they still offer daily gluten free pound cake but now they have a gluten free cheese cake as well - complete with a gluten free crust!

Obviously our first stop on arrival to the lovely Southern city was this coffee house. An e-mail exchange with the owner prior to our trip, led me to bring my own dressing for the salads this place offered as safe lunch choices for me. And I'm thrilled to report that both the mixed berry pound cake with lemon glaze and the blueberry cheesecake were outstanding in taste and texture! The many glutenoids that enjoy these treats daily have no idea what gluten is - they just know the desserts totally rock! The pound cake recipe even made it into the new book 'Savannah Classic Desserts', now available at bookstores everywhere. How fabulous to have a piece of cake that I didn't make, or that wasn't being served at a support group meeting. Wow! We thought we were 'all that' in Atlanta, with our extensive gluten free restaurant list, but we don't have a place like Gallery Espresso here, so we'll have to work on changing that. Whether you're gluten free or a glutenoid, when visiting Savannah, you should stop into the Gallery Espresso for a treat! It actually reminded me of the set of the TV show 'Friends' which I was lucky enough to visit for a show taping years ago in LA. It's wonderfully charming! And what a treat to visit a 'unique' coffee shop for a change, instead of an impersonal chain.

For the family dinner at the beach house (where most of the group stayed) on Friday night, the ingredients in the low country boil couldn't be deemed safe for me by the people making it, so I took all my own food for dinner. I made Dijon mustard bacon wrapped scallops, homemade crab bisque and a key lime bar dessert with a fabulous ginger cookie gluten free crust (available at Pamela's site), and homemade whipped cream for the topping! My husband grilled my scallops to perfection and the bisque was one of the best batches I'd ever made - according to my husband anyway. The lemon bar mix I use from Krusteaz (throwing out their crust packet which contains wheat) is excellent, but the lime bar mix was lacking in some way....I think I was expecting it to taste like Key lime pie filling and of course it didn't. But added to my tasty pie crust, and topped with whipped cream, this dessert was outstanding! The crust and topping totally made up for the average tasting lime bar middle.

For Saturday night dinner, we'd made reservations at The Hunter House on Tybee Island, after speaking to the owner and finding out their Chef actually knew what gluten was, as they had a regular Celiac patron from Savannah. Saturday nights aren't the best night for people with food allergies to eat out but, I made 7 pm reservations and then we arrived early and were seated right away. Good - we beat the dinner rush, giving the Chef time to prepare my food safely. The Hunter House is an old house that's been converted to an Inn downstairs with a restaurant below it. The dining rooms are three separate spaces, all quaintly decorated with eclectic art adorning the walls. The service was very casual for a place with such a gourmet menu but we don't like 'stuffy' places so that was fine by us. The wine list was fairly impressive as well, considering Tybee Island is not that upscale of a vacation destination, in comparison to Savannah.

As usual, when checking out the appetizer options on the menu, I thought I'd have to skip this course but I was happily surprised to learn that the Chef could make a cornmeal batter for his fried green tomatoes and cook them in a pan for me. There was some sort of chutney on top of the dish that we never figured out the ingredients of, but we both enjoyed this dish. My husband and I both ordered fish entrees and then argued about whose was the best tasting...lol! The Mediterranean Grouper my husband ordered was delicious to be sure, but my Halibut with apple wood smoked bacon and horseradish cream sauce, served over Boursin cheese mashed potatoes, accompanied by lime bean and tomato succotash was not to be believed. I tried to eat very slowly, to savor every bite....it was truly that fabulous! It was one of the best meals I've had outside Atlanta (in the US) since being gluten free. That's saying a whole lot, since it's sort of a hobby for me to seek out such meals these days.

Our dessert was unspectacular but still very good. We had milk chocolate creme brulee, for the first time I think. When you eat gluten free and like to have dessert out in the US, you eat a LOT of creme brulee so it was nice to have a different flavored one for a change. When we first found out we had to go to Savannah, all I could think of was how there was hardly a worst place for the family to choose for a reunion - for me anyway. However, after my delightful experiences at Gallery Espresso and The Hunter House, I'd go back in a flash...just not for a family reunion...lol!

It is possible to eat out safely gluten free - here's a way to get started.

Back when I was diagnosed with Celiac in early 2006, the food labelling laws had just changed, so wheat had to be listed if it was in any packaged food, in any form. This didn't take care of barley, rye or oats - but wheat is the largest problem I've run into, so the law made all our lives much easier, at least as far as deciphering food labels. But what to do when trying to eat out? That was by far the largest obstacle I had to overcome, once I was living gluten free. I don't remember how I found it, but something led me to http://www.triumphdining.com/. Once there, I quickly ordered their gluten free dining guide and dining cards, and I'm so glad I did!

This book gave me hope that I really could find a way to eat out gluten free, at least in many places in the US. No, it would not be as easy as it was in many parts of Europe - and it may never be that easy here - but finding safe dining options was possible, thank goodness! This guide helped me tremendously in those early days of maneuvering through a world full of gluten, and I could not have gotten along without their gluten free dining cards. I had the 2006-07 edition but the new improved 2008-09 edition is even better! Even the dining cards have improved, with the addition of French, Greek and Italian options, which were not in the pack I ordered in 2006.

Of course everyone with Celiac knows that eating out is a risk. It's always going to be a risk, but your odds of eating safe meals go up sharply if you at least start by supporting restaurants that know what the word gluten means. That's where the Triumph Dining Guide comes in - it's divided by state, then cities and other ares within each state. It lists restaurants that offer gluten free menus and those that don't have such menus, but do have Chefs that know how to modify some of their dishes to be gluten free. The places listed have Chefs and employees that understand the term 'cross contamination', and that making the slightest mistake with the wrong cooking utensil might make someone sick for a week.

Like any such guide, the information printed was true at the time the book went to press, and could have changed since then. After all, restaurants get bought by new owners, Chefs quit (or get fired) and what's true today isn't always true tomorrow, regarding gluten free knowledge at each place listed in this guide. However, it will at least get you started, in looking for safe places to eat out at, in your corner of the country. For places that offer gluten free menus, the guide even has those printed in a special section in the back of the book! It lists websites when available, phone numbers and addresses. All you have to do is call to verify this info is still valid before showing up to eat there. And sure, you'll occasionally find places that might not should be listed in the book - like Johnny Carino's -who know nothing of gluten (at least in the Atlanta market). But much more often than not, the places listed in this guide are there for a reason. They deserved to be there because they are trying to safely accommodate gluten free diners. It makes good business sense to do so, since most places report their business increases from 5-10%, once they start offering gluten free meals.

If you don't already have this dining guide, and you are unsure of how to eat out safely, this might help you take that first step towards eating out gluten free. No matter how many times people tell you eating out safely is not possible, that is simply not true. It's hard to learn how to do it - just like it was hard to learn how to eat safely at home gluten free. However, it can be done - if you just put your mind to it, and use the tools available to you, which can point you in the right direction. Remember, the more of us going out asking for gluten free meals there are, the better off our entire community will be.

And please keep in mind that this dining guide can not possibly list every safe place in the US we can eat. That list changes daily, after all. Each month we are adding new places that we feel are safe to eat at in the Metro Atlanta market. I'm sure other cities are doing the same, more so when the gluten free community is rather large, as it is here. If you find a great place in your town that isn't in the Triumph Dining Guide - I'm sure they'd love to know about it!

From Soups to Nuts - more gluten free favorites

Sorry this post is late but I had to report the fabulous gluten free wedding event before I could get to this. Below is a list of my favorite shelf stable and frozen products. In most, but not all cases, I've tried the competitors of these products and found them either not good, or not good enough to feed the small wildlife animals that call our backyard home.

SHELF STABLE ITEMS

Pasta

*Bionaturae (contains soy)

*Tinkyada (used for lasagne only)

Soups / Broths

*Wolfgang Puck - gluten free items listed on their website

*Amy's - gluten free options marked on can

*Pacific Organics - gluten free options marked on box

Crackers / Pretzels / Baked Goods

*Ener-G - regular and onion flavored crackers, sesame pretzels

*Valpi-Form - Salty Crackers, Madeleines , Mini Marble Cakes - available from I Can Eat It

*Schar - buttery flavored crackers

*Glutino - twisted and stick pretzels (use for making gf Chex-like party mix)

Salad Dressings / Pasta Sauces

*Drew's - gluten free marked on bottle, some are dairy free also

*Amy's - use this lines' dressing packets for travel - available from Minimus

*Newman's Own - gluten free list on their website

FROZEN FOODS

Muffins / Scones / Biscuits / Pie Crusts

*Gluten Free Bakehouse - lemon poppyseed muffins, cranberry orange scones, cheddar biscuits (available only at Whole Foods)

*Foods by George - blueberry muffins

*Natural Feast - this pie crust is good for pre-made but very small

Pizza / Entrees / Dips

*Glutino - I use their plain crust to make my own mini pizza

*Amy's - cheese enchiladas

*Cedar Lane - 5 layer Mexican dip (packaging recently changed to note gluten free)

Desserts

*Sherbetter - lemon sorbet

*Sharon's - raspberry and coconut sorbet (latter not fat free but incredible)

*Gluten Free Bakehouse - ginger cookies, brownies

When I posted my first 'favorites' list, including gluten free mixes, I had not tried a line from Tracey's Treats. Now that I have, I have to say their bread mix makes an excellent bread and a fabulous pizza crust, and you could open a bakery selling just muffins from the muffin mix. They are that incredible tasting! I had a little batter left over after filling up the muffin tin so I made a mini blueberry breakfast cake by sprinkling brown sugar on the top of the remaining batter and baking in a loaf pan (shown below the muffins). The pizza below was topped with pesto sauce, smoked turkey, artichoke hearts, white American chesse and Kalamata olives.

I'll end by saying that there is the most fabulous food you can imagine out there, some easy to obtain, other things you have to work to find. Either way it's up to you to buy, try and decide for yourself what your own favorites are. And don't settle for something that's good, considering it's gluten free - please set your standards higher than that. Make sure it's good enough for glutenoids and then it should be good enough for you!

A Gluten Free Wedding Reception - how maaavelous!

For most people, a wedding reception isn't that much to get excited about - and if you follow a special diet for health reasons, like I do, you're likely to assume you must eat before you arrive at the venue, so you don't starve when there's not one thing you can eat there. So when a gluten free friend of mine explained that most of the food at her upcoming swanky wedding reception at Swan Coach House, was going to be gluten free, I was thrilled for her. You see, my friend originally picked out her menu right before her Celiac diagnosis so everything had to reviewed and revamped to be gluten free. Luckily most everything on the first menu was easily modified to be safe for the Bride, and they would seemingly be wonderful tasty dishes!


My husband and I have grown to know the engaged couple quite well over the past year, and even though they are much younger than us, they are lovely, sincere, and very fun people whom we adore hanging out with. Therefore, we were honored to be invited to their wedding, which was mostly attended by family members and dear friends of many years. One of the guests had known the Bride since they were only four years old!


As the big day approached, I got a little obsessed and excited thinking about the fact that I'd actually get to enjoy the food at the wedding reception. To tell you the truth, when I ate gluten I don't ever remember eating any stellar food at any wedding - ever. No matter how fancy a wedding was, not one meal or dish stood out in my mind as memorable. Why then was I thinking about how great it would be to eat at this event? I'll try my best to explain it, in case some of you reading this are glutenoids (people who consume gluten).

When most people attend a company holiday party, a friends birthday or anniversary party or a wedding reception, they just eat whatever is being served - assuming they don't have any food allergies to worry about. When we attend such functions we have to employ all kinds of tricks and tips to insure we don't try and eat the white linen tablecloths that drape the lovely tables, or gnaw our own arms off in desperation. This is because in the US, gluten is in everything and on everything (the food I mean) and that's just a fact we have to accept and be prepared for, every time we leave our homes. You know that AMEX commercial 'never leave home without it?' - well, our saying is 'never leave home without food'. From pretzels, crackers and energy bars to dried fruit, nuts and salad dressing packets - if it's gluten free, shelf stable, and edible we try to keep it on hand at all times. We just never know when we'll be stuck out in public without anything safe to eat. Sure we can always find convenience store and grab a soda, candy bar and chips but that's really not a meal - or very healthy for that matter.


So actually, it is a very big deal to attend a function - any function - where I can actually eat and enjoy the food. I have been gluten free for over two years and have attended many events where my food options were surprisingly varied and delicious. But this past Saturday night I attended the best event of them all. Not only did I get to witness my friends exchange their vows and meet their wonderful families, I got to feel like every other guest at the reception following the beautiful service. I really don't miss gluten at all...OK - I guess I'd be psyched if Krispy Kreme brought out a gluten free doughnut...but I do on occasion miss being 'normal' when it comes to food. Not only do I sometimes feel like an alien invaded my body, but many times people treat me like they believe that as well. And that is the only bad part about having Celiac for me.

I wake up every day feeling incredibly blessed that I found out what was wrong with me, and that by eliminating gluten from my diet, I feel better than ever! I only wish that others out there who are still suffering, were as fortunate as me. For now, I'll have to settle on doing my part to drive Celiac diagnoses' in the US. With the current NIH plan addressing this issue, we're looking at another ten years of widespread suffering. We can't just sit around and wait for the government to do this for us.

Oh yea, I should probably tell you about the food at the wedding reception. It was so overwhelming that I forgot to take pix, even though I had permission from the wedding photographer to do so. There was a huge gorgeous Salmon with cucumbers decorating it like scales (darling), roasted seasonal vegetables, stuffed chicken with goat cheese and sun dried tomato, rosemary potatoes, spring mix salad with balsamic dressing, baked brie and another type of fantastic baked cheese, scrumptious fresh fruit and even a gluten free bread basket which included homemade banana nut bread. And all of this was gluten free and absolutely delicious! The chocolate sauce for the fruit could not be confirmed to be safe so we skipped it. There were gluten crackers and dinner rolls which were easy to avoid. There were three wedding cakes - the main wedding cake contained gluten, as did the Groom's cake (a precious GA Tech yellow jacket), but there was a miniature replica of the main cake that was gluten free and chocolate to boot! The Bride is a chocoholic so that was only fitting. The gluten free wedding cake was of course beautiful (just like the large cake was) but it was also very good - moist with a great 'real' texture to it and the butter cream frosting complimented it perfectly as well!

In the end, since I didn't have to worry even slightly about the food, we had a perfectly wonderful time at the party. I felt liked I'd actually moved to Europe or something. It was totally amazing to just go enjoy something like that - not stress about what's in this or that dish...driving the servers crazy with a zillion questions about gluten - or worse explaining to them what the word gluten even means...lol! This party will go down in my book as another 'gluten free event of a lifetime', right along with the Gluten Free Cooking Spree. Of course, the wedding reception was even better because we didn't eat out of tasting sized cups (lol!) and we even got to dance! By the way, the reception was full of glutenoids and you know what? They all loved the food as well. I'm sure many of them didn't know they were eating mostly gluten free...lol!

These are a few of my favorite (gluten free) things!

In my gluten free circle, I'm known as a bit of a food snob. Basically that means that I have high standards for my gluten free food. Something can't just be edible for me to eat it. If I don't love a product, I'm not spending my hard earned money on it - period. Several of my dinner club members, and a few of you, have asked me to post a list of my favorite brands of products. Many of the following items listed are made in dedicated gluten free facilities but not all of them are, in case that matters to you. I'm only listing products that I LOVE and most companies listed offer more than what I buy from them. Below are my favorite products in two catagories. My fave ready-made shelf stable and frozen product lists will be in my next post.


Gluten Free Mixes:


Gluten Free Naturals - cornbread mix, yellow cake mix, brownie mix (crust top), pizza crust mix, bread mix (NEW!) and THE best pancake mix on the market, regardless of gluten content. The yellow cake mix makes a fabulous pineapple upside down cake - recipe on their website.


Breads by Anna - bread and pie crust mixes, the latter being the only crust that I've tried that is indistinguishable from those containing gluten.


123 Gluten Free - pan bar mix, pound cake mix, biscuit mix and brownie mix (fudge type). Gluten eating kids and adults love the pan bars, and they make great mini cupcakes with frosting.


Gluten Free Pantry - all purpose flour blend and scone mix. Their flour is great for coating crab cakes, chicken and shrimp and works well as a thickener for sauces, soups, etc. It can also be used for quick breads - just use a tablespoon less of it than regular flour, per cup.


Sylvan Border Farm - lemon poundcake mix. I have to ship this from CA and it's worth every penny!


Bob's Red Mill - chocolate cake mix (use chocolate milk to overpower the bean flavor). I use Silk chocolate milk and get rave reviews from gluten eaters every time.


Pamela's - pancake and baking mix (used for quickbreads, homemade brownies - not pancakes) and choclate chunk cookie mix. I make cookie bars instead of cookies and have to hide them from gluten eaters if I want some for myself! The recipe for bars is on the package.


Namaste Foods - spice cake mix. I add in raisins, nuts and 1/2 cup of natural unsweetened applesauce for the best spice cake ever! Also makes a great zuchinni bread - recipe on bag. Don't add applesauce when making bread.


Gluten Free Bakeries


Everybody Eats - French baguettes and deli rolls


Celiac Specialties - cinnamon buns, powdered sugar doughnut holes and doughnuts


Joan's GF Greatbakes - bagels (all varieties) and English muffins


The Grainless Baker - premade pizza crusts, graham crackers, choclate creme cakes (like a whoopie pie)


A Bountiful Harvest - various cookies and cakes

My criteria for buying gluten free products (more than once) is pretty simple - I have to think it tastes like a gluten containing version of it, or better. When gluten eaters enjoy them as well, that's just the icing on the (gluten free) cake! I've served most of the products listed above to gluten eaters, including kids. Most of them had no idea they were gluten free, or what the word gluten even means. They just knew that the cakes, cupcakes, brownies, cookie bars, pan bars and doughnut holes were delicious.

When people (who eat gluten) actually ask me for the recipe of something I have to laugh, because I know if I put a sign saying 'gluten free' by the food, most people would not even try it. Over the years there have been more horrid products than goods ones, so the misperception that all gf food is bad is understandable. If you're following the gluten free diet and eating food that tastes like dirt (yes they still make products like that), then you need to get to a Whole Foods, Trader Joes, Wegmans or your local co-op or health food store asap! The days of eating bland, gritty and tasteless gluten free food is so last century. Contrary to the funny line in the cancelled ABC tv show 'Cavemen', all gluten free cookies do not taste like dirt...lol!

I really believe that people who are miserable on the gluten free diet fall into two categories - they either havn't tried the best products out there or they have much deeper issues to deal with, that are most likely not about food at all. Certainly, I agree that we have to pay way too much for great gluten free food in this country and that has to change. But don't tell me there isn't any good gluten free food available. Instead just say that you can't or won't spend the money on the best products out there. It's true that the US is about 10 years behind most European countries in terms of variety for gluten free foods, as well as dining out options. The only way this will change is if we all ask for better options, more gluten free menus...whatever we want. Why not do your part? What's that saying I love....'be part of the change you want to see in the world'. Yeah...do that!

Afternoon Tea at the Four Seasons - Gluten Free Style!

Just over two years ago when I was told I'd have to follow a gluten free diet forever, one of the first things I knew I'd greatly miss, was Afternoon Tea service at the Four Seasons in Atlanta. It wasn't so much about the food, which was perfectly delightful, but it was more about the pomp and circumstance of it all. You see, having Afternoon Tea is a rather regal thing to do - and you don't have to be wealthy to enjoy this special treat. After considering the traditional tea menu, I sadly realized that most every bite offered was now off limits to me forever. I could still have the tea of course, though some teas contain barley. So you even have to check the gluten content of tea.

While researching my visit to London in 2006, I found out almost every single place there that served Afternoon Tea, offered a gluten free menu with advance notice. In my previous post about the trip I noted how fabulous the sandwiches in London were, and that my husband was sure they could not be gluten free and tasty at the same time. They in fact turned out to be both! When I returned home I set out to find someone here to offer me a gluten free version of Afternoon Tea. Surely this would be possible considering London is not exactly the culinary capitol of the world. If they could do it, surely we could do it better here.

The Executive Chef at the Four Seasons (mentioned in my Cooking Spree post) offered to make me gluten free food for the Afternoon Tea service served there. I tried it and found it surprisingly good so we recently took our Gluten Free Dinner Club there for an event. The event itself was lovely and most of the food was very good. The salmon crepe cakes were heavenly as were the chocolate covered strawberries and the lemon curd and Devonshire cream. The cheesecake was divine and I don't even like cheesecake particularly. The bread served for the tea sandwiches was from Whole Foods and I didn't find it very appetizing. I feel sure the Chef will come up with some awesome gluten free bread for us eventually. Since his gluten free Southern cornbread is amazing, I know he can make a decent gluten free bread if he chooses to.

Here are some photos I took of a couple of our members (father and daughter)

and a close up of our dessert plate. The cheesecake had a nut crust that was about the best cheesecake crust I've ever had...oh and best cheesecake too!

You too may enjoy this special treat with a two day notice at the Four Seasons Hotel in Atlanta. You might even want to request a small cup of gluten free lobster chili with corn muffins to start. That's what several of our members did for our event. Knowing I'd be full from the tea treats, I ordered my chili to go, and savored it over the next two days!

Dr. Fesano comes to Atlanta!

Somehow, through a strange twist of fate, the Atlanta Metro Celiacs support group booked Dr. Allesio Fesano to speak at the 2008 kick off meeting. The meeting was last Saturday and snow was expected mid morning which usually means no one, and I really mean no one that isn't on their way to work, leaves their home. Too dangerous driving in bad weather and all that...lol! Well in all fairness I should mention that we Atlantans, for the most part do not know how to drive in the snow or ice, so the fact that most of us stay home during the rare snow or ice storm is actually a very good thing. I could barely believe I was going to get to see the esteemed Dr. speak and maybe even meet him briefly....what a treat for our group!

I got up early on Saturday and checked the weather/traffic/roads, and to make sure the meeting was not cancelled. For all I knew flight delays and cancellations could have kept Dr. Fesano from even arriving the night before. No blanket e-mail had been sent out indicating this happened so the show would go on. Thank goodness! The snow would not arrive until 11 am or so and we'd already be in the meeting by then. At least I could make it there - I'd worry about getting home when that time came. Nothing was going to keep me from getting to this meeting - period. I was concerned that no one else would show up and how horrible that would be....the auditorium seats several hundred and we surely should be able to fill it up with such a respected speaker - under normal weather conditions that is. Luckily I was not the only person excited to see Dr. Fesano in person. We had people driving in from others states for the event. With them and those in our group that made it, we did pretty much fill up the space. Yea!

Dr. Fesano has a lovely Italian accent (he's from Italy of course) and has a great sense of humor and was very entertaining to say the least. It's hard to think someone could make learning statistics about Celiac disease fun but Dr. Fesano did just that! He told of how he started his Celiac Center and why he did it - what type of specialists he got to staff and run it, etc. The bottom line was he knew we had a LOT of people in the US who had Celiac. Problem was that doctors here didn't know much, if anything, about Celiac so how could they be diagnosing it properly? Answer of course is they were not diagnosing it, almost at all. Dr. Fesano didn't think this was fair to us - those with Celiac whose lives could be greatly improved by going on the gluten free diet. And so his journey to prove how many Americans have Celiac began.

Fast forward to when the study about the prevalence of Celiac in the US is complete. Ok, so now we know that about 1/100 of us have Celiac. To date less than 10% that have it, know we have it. To say I consider myself one of the lucky ones that does, is quite an understatement. It's one of the greatest blessings of my life. Certainly Dr. Fesano deserves some credit for my own diagnosis. His work set the tone for doctors in the US to start testing for Celiac, even though we still have a long way to go, of course.

Dr. Fesano's insightful and informative talk was eye opening in several ways. It's likely that most of you already know the National Wheat Association has a powerful lobby in Washington but I never knew that was true about the Barley Growers of America...interesting, huh? Well regardless of their power, apparently they were no match for Dr. Fesano. It was his work and that of his center that led to the new labelling law requiring companies to list the word 'wheat' on food labels. He testified on Capitol Hill so often many Senators knew to turn the other way when they saw him...lol! So now when you see 'wheat' on a label, you can think of Dr. Fesano as you put it back on the shelf and find a gluten free version of the product.

Many of you are wondering about the magic Celiac pill. Yes it's still being developed by Alba Therapeutics but there might not ever be a day that you can just pop a pill and call Dominos Pizza. Only time will tell - it might be that medication can just reduce the effects of gluten which would greatly help those with severe reactions, so they could feel safer eating out and travelling. Most interesting to me was the fact that eventually there will be a vaccine for Celiac. This will only work for infants and is 15-20 away from being available. Still, it probably means that my niece and nephew that have the Celiac gene, will be able to keep their kids from ever developing Celiac - very good news indeed!

Another intriguing fact about Dr. Fesano's findings is that a current study that is not quite complete has a very good chance of proving that babies who are kept off gluten for a full year after birth might have a much lower risk of developing Celiac in the future. This is compared to infants that are given gluten at the normal age of six months. Certainly the study needs to be completed to be sure. But if it were me having a child, knowing I had the gene (or disease) myself, I'd certainly keep the baby off of gluten for an extra six months. It's not like that would harm the child in any way. You have nothing to lose and maybe a LOT to gain.

I could go on and on but neither of us have the time for that. The take away for me is that we all have Dr. Allessio Fesano to thank that the US medical community is finally getting educated on Celiac, for an improved Celiac panel test his center developed, and for the new label laws (current and on the horizon) that make all our lives easier. In the end, Dr. Fesano just wants us to have the quality of life we deserve. Just like the Ceiacs in most of Europe. I kept thinking throughout the talk that Dr. Fesano must have Celiac himself, or maybe his kids did, but apparently that is not the case. He's just a good guy - period. Oh and of course he's brilliant too! If every doctor was more like him we'd sure have a much better world in which to live. So thanks Dr. Fesano SOOO much - for coming to Atlanta and letting us know there is actually someone out there that cares about us. To learn more about Dr. Fesano's research and how you can help, click here.

In closing I'll leave you with this thought. If you can get a Big Mac in parts of Europe and Australia WITH a gluten free bun - for goodness sake - surely this is possible in the good 'ole USA. Remember to ask for what you want in life - even if it's just a burger with a bun!