Flash back to summer 2010.  Mozzarelli’s and I were acquaintances then, their frequent free pizza samples were the highlight on my 15 minute walk home from the subway.  The food was nothing special, in fact the only thing that set them apart from the other pizza joints littering 23rd street was a sign advertising gluten-free products.

Flash forward to November 2010 and my diagnosis.  That sign carried a whole new weight.  Mozzarelli’s was the first establishment I knew of in New York City that sold gluten-free products.  One day, when the fridge was empty and I was in need of a quick, inexpensive meal, I called Mozzarrelli’s to place an order for a pie.  Not only did they not deliver to my apartment even though the boundaries were less than a block away, their prices were outrageous.  I hung up the phone, swore that I’d never give them business, and never looked back.

Flash forward again to Tuesday.  I was on my way to my food writing course at the Institute of Culinary Education on 23rd street (more on that later) and needed a quick bite to eat -what better than a slice of pizza?  Even though it pained me slightly, I bit the bullet and bought a $4.95 slice of gluten-free artichoke and spinach pizza from Mozzarelli’s.  I was hoping to be transported back to the time before gluten-free when I tasted the most unusual but delicious combination of foods at Artichoke Pizza.  I wanted so much for this slice to be creamy garlicky goodness, but it fell seriously short.  Mozzarrelli’s artichoke and spinach pie looks like the famous 14th street midnight snack, but that’s where the similarities end.  My pizza was lukewarm and bland.  The only flavor that came through was the slight bitterness of the spinach and artichoke, which was overcooked. The cheese was a confusing mixture of mozzarella and mystery dairy product.  The only good thing about this pizza was the crust, was was in fact, great.  It was crisp on the edges and firm in the middle, without a trace of xanthan-gum’s trademark bitter aftertaste.  A great gluten-free crust is nothing to sneeze at.  Had the flavor and toppings been better on my slice, this pizza could have been magnificent.

Was I disappointed?  Yes.  Was it a bad experience?  No.  Mozzarelli’s is perfect for the gluten-free New Yorker who desperately misses being able to simply, grab a slice of pizza.  I am that New Yorker and if you are too, Mozzarelli’s is your pizza joint.  Heck,  I’ll probably even return to sample another mediocre  slice just for the novelty.

How about you?  Do you miss participating in the quintessential New York eating experience?  Would you eat mediocre pizza just to relive it?

Wednesday, prompted by a meetup from the Celiac Meetup group, I made the 10 block trek to Heather’s Bar in Alphabet City to drink some gluten-free beer.

Heather’s, which is located at 506* E 13th, between avenues A & B, treats the gluten-free customer well.  They have cider on tap (which ALex mistakenly ordered, thinking it was beer), wine, and (the grand finale) TWO kinds of gluten-free beer.  I chose Bard’s over Redbridge.  It was a little nippy last night to be guzzling ice-cold beer and I admit I would have rather been drinking warming red wine, but I was pretty stoked to be able to order a beer at a bar.

I realize that gluten-free beer is sometimes lost on some celiacs or gluten-free folks because they stopped consuming gluten before they acquired a taste for beer, but for me, gluten-free beer is heaven.  If, like me, the one thing you miss the most about a normal gluten-filled life is beer, head over to Heather’s and rejoice!

*This is a necessary asterisk.  You NEED to know the address because there is no sign or discernible way to tell that this place is open to the public and a bar.  It’s hidden behind frosted glass windows and black unmarked doors.  Listen for the general bar commotion to be sure.   Oh and don’t be concerned by this quirk, it’s a lovely bar with good music and a great, friendly, atmosphere.

Earlier, I wrote about weddings and dietary restrictions in the context of Chelsea’s non-vegetarian food but gluten-free wedding cake.  I wondered if it was rude in any sense to deprive my guests of gluten, because of my dietary needs.  I got over that pretty quickly, my wedding will be entirely gluten-free.

Since my wedding is a big part of my life right now, I’ve decided to introduce a new category of posts- my gluten-free wedding adventures.  My first adventure occurred over Thanksgiving Day weekend.  I took advantage of the long weekend to go to Rochester, celebrate Alex’s 25th birthday, and wedding plan.  On my list of things to do this trip was explore my dessert options.

ALex and I decided a while back that we wanted cupcakes.  The thing about wedding cake is that nobody eats it.  Even when I could eat the cake, I didn’t.   I was too busy dancing to think about grabbing a slice, a fork, a plate, and then find a seat to get my sugar fill.  So I knew from the start we didn’t want to blow our budget on something few guests enjoy.  Cupcakes are a great alternative.  They don’t require more than maybe a napkin to enjoy and they allow more flavor options.  Lastly, I think that gluten-free cupcakes would hold up better than a three tiered cake.

Rochester has two gluten-free bakeries, which is pretty remarkable considering its size.  New York City only really has two dedicated gluten-free bakeries itself (babycakes and Tu-lu’s).  Similarly, one of the Rochester gluten-free establishments is also vegan.  Since we haven’t made a decision yet on which to go with (or we haven’t told our vendors) I’m not naming names here.  We’ll call the gluten-free only bakery, GF and the gluten-free vegan bakery, GFV.

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For lunch this week, work served up a Thanksgiving inspired menu, with turkey, cranberry sauce, stuffing (not GF), and sweet potatoes.  It put everyone in the holiday spirit and inspired me to talk about  gluten-free Thanksgiving.

I’ve mentioned before that I was diagnosed with celiac disease last year before Thanksgiving.  I contemplated not going gluten-free until after the holiday. but decided against that.  Some people don’t really understand why I didn’t just wait it out, but for me, it was important for my health and my mind to take on the challenge of a gluten-free Thanksgiving immediately.  My family was entirely on board and I made my first and only gluten-free pie crust which turned out well and some sugar cookies, which didn’t.  I missed out on the stuffing, but I was able to enjoy the potatoes, veggies, turkey and the flour-less gravy.

In fact, a gluten-free Thanksgiving meal is pretty easy to accomplish.  Most of the stars are naturally gluten-free (turkey, veggies, sweet potatoes) and those that are not (stuffing, gravy, pie) can be easily.  The couple behind Friedman’s Lunch in Chelsea have some pretty good advice for adapting the traditionally gluten filled Thanksgiving to gluten-free, including using Udi’s bread for stuffing and going for naturally gluten-free desserts like pumpkin creme brulee.  Read more about their gluten-free Thanksgiving here.

This year, we going a non-traditional route of celebrating at a restaurant.  While this seems odd and even sacrilegious to some, it is actually a common occurrence in New York City.  If you are going out for Thanksgiving this year, the following gluten-free friendly restaurants will be open and ready to serve:

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Last weekend, my best friend traveled all the way from Austin, TX for a New York City visit.  Since she had fed me so well when I went to Austin, I had to return the favor.  The problem is, there are so many good restaurants in the city, how to choose?  Well, sometimes narrowing choices to a neighborhood helps.  Friday night, we made a plan to go bowling at The Gutter in Williamsburg for some beers (or cider, in my case) and bowling.  The decision then became simple: Caracas.  Caracas is an arepa bar.  Arepas are corn based pitas from Venezuela that you stuff with delicious meats, veggies, and cheeses and are naturally gluten-free.

Caracas has two NYC locations, the East Village and Williamsburg. I’ve never been to the East Village location despite making the trek there twice only to end up getting Indian food because of the long wait.  Caracas in Williamsburg is much bigger and in a more discrete location, therefore less crowded, although on a Friday night at 8 pm with 5 people, we waited 20 minutes.  Caracas has a fun, inviting, casual feel to it.  Although the lighting is dim, the place doesn’t feel too romantic or somber.  The tables are set for groups instead of couples and although my friend thought it would be a good date location, she specified first date, and not a 5th anniversary dinner.

The menu is relatively simple.  There are salads for people that eat salads at an arepa bar, appetizers/sides, arepas, empanadas, and large plates.  Although the menu doesn’t specify gluten free items, the servers are really accommodating and knowledgeable because they probably attract a lot of glutards.  If you are going for an arepa, they recommend 1-2 per person but really about 1.5 is plenty, so finding a friend to split three with you is a good idea.  I decided to have the special pumpkin diablo soup (because it’s fall and I’m craving anything pumpkin) and the De La Pernil arepa (roasted pork shoulder with tomato slices and a spicy mango sauce).  My friends ordered a combination of arepas and empanadas, which are also gluten-free, but I didn’t know that at the time.

That’s the soup.  It was really, really good. My taste buds found the soup spicy enough to have me sweating but not so much to turn me off, although my friend who eats REALLY spicy things said he couldn’t taste it at all.  I liked the sweet pumpkin flavor paired with the hotness of the peppers and other hot spices, it made for a really well rounded dish.

And that’s me eating my arepa.  I’m holding it delicately because it was piping hot, almost too much so to eat.  I guess that’s a good thing though.  I wish the mango sauce was more pronounced because all I tasted was spicy pork meat in my chewy in a good way arepa.  I tried the chicken arepa, which was tasty, especially the sweet onions.  Both dishes left me full, hot, and wishing I had ordered another passion fruit juice spiked with rum- all in a good way.  Oh, did I mention that the soup, arepa, and drink cost me $22 with tax and tip.  That’s a GREAT deal in New York.  I’ll definitely be back and ready to try an empanada.