Nick’s already serves a variety of prepared gluten-free Italian dishes like meatballs, chicken parmesan, and pasta as well as sells gluten-free Italian breads. Now, they plan on having a monthly gluten-free fish fry after a successful event in June. The next fish fry is Thursday, August 16 from 5:00-8:00 pm. Call ahead to make reservations and specify that you are attending the fish fry.
For more information on Nick’s gluten-free options: http://www.nicksdeliandpizza.com/Gluten.html
Yesterday, Alex and I attended our first Park Avenue Festival. We hadn’t eaten anything all day long, and were on a mission for tasty treats from the food vendors. A typical Rochesterian, Alex got a white-hot. Even though these delicious dogs are gluten-free, I was looking for something different. After walking for blocks I came upon a the Good Smoke BBQ stand. I hit the jackpot. One of the owners is a celiac as well, and assured me that everything was gluten-free except the buns. In fact, most of their dishes at their restaurant are gluten-free and they are looking into providing sandwiches for gluten-free folks made with Udi’s bread. I ended up ordering the pork fries- fries topped with pulled pork, bacon bits, cheese, and jalapenos, all smothered in barbecue sauce. The spicy jalapenos balanced out the sweet sauce nicely and the pork was tender. It was comfort food at its best.
Park Avenue Festival is open today until 5 pm. Check it out, and stop by the Good Smoke BBQ stand for a real gluten-free treat.
Alex and I are living in a hotel while we are looking for a more permanent residence which has given me ample opportunity to dine out and sample the culinary creations that Rochester has to offer. Last weekend, we ate brunch in Canandaigua before spending the day at the lake. We were hoping to hit up Patty’s Place, the classic breakfast joint, but it closes at noon and we were not early risers that day. With two dogs in tow, the ideal locale would have outdoor seating. The ideal locale appeared a block away: Simply Crêpes.
Simply Crepes has two locations, Pittsford and Canandaigua. I am no stranger to their Pittsford location and had even considered it to be the destination for our post-wedding brunch. However, it was my first time at the Canandaigua location and I was pleasantly surprised when our host led us to an outdoor patio in the back where the dogs could dine with us. I can’t attest to the interior decor, but on a sunny weekend morning at the lake, the outdoor patio is delightful.
Our server flattered us immediately by complementing our attire, but soon his familiarity with us became a little insulting and seemed to test the relationship between diner and server. He finally crossed the line when one of our friends brought in an outside beverage and he not so nicely told him to get rid of it. Additionally, the food took forever. We waited an hour for it to arrive, which is simply too long when it’s the first meal of the day. We were wondering if these crepes were actually more complicated than the restaurant’s name led on. However, we were brought complimentary snacks while waiting and a forgotten dish was given to us on the house.
I like Simply Crêpes menu because items are clearly labeled gluten-free. They make a traditional French buckwheat crepe called a “galette de sarrasin” in place of their regular ones to accomodate their gluten-free diners. Because of this, you have a lot of options for entrees. Appetizers, however, are slim pickings. We chose the “Crêpes-adillas” for our appetizer because it could be made gluten-free, but something was lost in translation and we ended up with the non-GF version. I ordered the scrambled egg and grilled vegetable crêpe while others ordered lunch-style crêpes. I appreciated that there was no time limit for ordering breakfast. Like I said earlier, it took an hour for our main courses to arrive. In that meantime, while we did receive a complimentary snack, it wasn’t gluten-free, which was inconsiderate because I made my dietary restrictions clear. When my food finally arrived it was lukewarm and the plate was hot, indicating it had been reheated. It wasn’t well seasoned, and the two sauces: pesto and roasted-red pepper provided the only flavor on the plate. The crepe had good texture and was sturdy enough to hold the immense amount of vegetables inside.
The food was certainly edible and I ate a significant amount because of my hunger. Others were pleased with their dishes, but the verdict was generally disappointment by the time we left because of the server’s odd behavior and the wait time. I won’t give up on Simply Crêpes because it is a great gluten-free dining option, but I might stick to the Pittsford location.
Alex and I had an argument when I made this dish. He said that I can’t call this dish Eggplant Lasagna because it doesn’t include lasagna noodles. I argued that because the dish includes the same basic ingredients and layering technique it can be called lasagna, because the eggplant takes the place of the pasta.
In the end, we agreed it didn’t matter because the dish was delicious. Thanks Simply…Gluten-Free for the recipe!
Eggplant (no pasta) Lasagna
adapted slightly from “Simply…Gluten-Free”
feeds 4-6 depending on appetite
2 medium sized eggplants
3/4 pound italian sausage, casing removed
1/2 jar of tomato sauce
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
5 cloves garlic, chopped
10 ounces ricotta (3/4 container)
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese
1 egg
Seasoning: 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil, salt, pepper, oregano (to taste)
olive oil
For the first step, set aside 40 minutes to prep the eggplant. Peel the eggplants, chop off the ends and slice them into 1/4 inch rounds. Eggplant has a bad reputation for being oily, because of its absorbent nature. To counter-act this and remove any bitterness in the vegetable, you must salt it to draw out the water. Place your slices in a colander in the sink and generously douse them with salt. Wait at least 30 minutes, then rinse the eggplants of the salt and remove any excess water by squeezing the slices. During these 30 minutes, you can do prep work like chopping the onions, garlic, basil, and grating the cheese.
Preheat the oven to broil and line two baking sheets with aluminum foil. You will broil the eggplant before cooking it in the baking dish later. Using a 1/4 cup of olive oil, make a seasoning-oil mixture for brushing over your eggplant slices. I used salt, pepper, and oregano. Brush your eggplant slices and broil each side for 3 minutes.
While they are cooking, make your cheese mixture. Combine the ricotta, egg, parmesan, and 1/4 cup of chopped basil until smooth in a mixing bowl. Add a few shakes of salt and pepper. Set the bowl aside.
When the eggplant is done, set it aside, and preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Heat up a large skillet with some oil and crumble your sausage into it. Fry it up until cooked through and then add the onions and garlic. Cook them until soft and fragrant and then add your tomato sauce and remaining 1/4 cup basil. If the tomato sauce and basil isn’t flavorful enough, add some salt and pepper and other Italian seasonings.
Now it’s time to layer! Spread some of your leftover tomato sauce on the bottom of a 8×8 pan (I used my trusty Pyrex), this prevents the eggplant from sticking to the bottom. Put down your first layer of eggplant, using about half. Add half of the ricotta mixture, then half of the sausage mixture on top of that. Repeat with the remainder of your ingredients. After the last layer of sausage mixture, sprinkle the grated mozzarella evenly over the top. Bake the lasagna for 45 minutes, or until the cheese is browned and the layers are bubbling. Cut into squares and serve!
Alex and I took advantage of the long weekend to make a trip to Rochester and get some wedding planning done. While we spend quality time with our photographer, florist, and picked out some linens, the main event of the weekend was our menu tasting. When choosing our venue, I was always upfront about celiac disease and what that meant for our event. While most venues were receptive, Oak Hill, our chosen venue, was especially accommodating which gave me confidence and helped them edge out the competition. When it was time to taste, I was happy to hear that everything would be gluten-free.
We were allowed to try five entrees from a list of about 40 so I was actually relived that my choices were limited because of my gluten-aversion. In the end we chose what we thought was a good range of dishes.
We were also allowed to bring four other guests, so we brought Alex’s father for his food and wine sophistication, and Alex’s cousins (my future cousins-in-law) that were married last year for their wedding-planning know-how. Their presence proved very valuable and helped us to get different perspectives other than our own taste-buds’. For example, Alex’s father had the good sense to ask if the wine glasses we were drinking out of, would be used for the wedding. The answer was no, which prompted us to get better glasses since larger glasses improve a wine’s flavor, while smaller glasses either mute it or make it worse.
For the review, let me start out by saying that we are having a plated dinner, not a buffet, with cocktail hour for appetizers, and dinner consisting of a salad and an entree. I expected the food to be good, but not mind blowing. This isn’t Blue Hill at Stone Barns. Besides, how can 150 plates of 3 different entrées be mind blowing?
I went into the tasting with my mind made us that I wanted the lamb chops. However, the meager chops presented didn’t stand a chance next to the prime rib which was spilling off the plate. I don’t want to seem stereotypically American with my fixation on the size of the dish, but whether you are in the wedding and haven’t eaten much all day, or a guest and maybe over did it on the cocktail hour, bigger is better. The other crowd favorite was the fish. It was perfectly pan-seared, with a “crust” I wish I could replicated in my own kitchen. I actually loved the short ribs, because I love fatty, tender meat, but appropriate for a summer wedding? Maybe not. The least favorite of the group was the chicken, because, well, it’s chicken. BO-RING. All five entrées were served with delicately placed asparagus on top of ribboned mash potatoes. Pretty, tasty, and generic enough.
Can you guess what we decided on?
Prime rib and fish were easy choices, but we had real trouble with the third option. In the end, we went with the chicken because there are people out there that are perfectly happy with chicken and on yeah, it’s cheap.