gustorganics

I find it hard to believe that I've lived in New York for almost four years, and I have very few friends here. Of course there's A, who I knew in college and lived with when I first got here, but making actual friends in a big city is difficult if your focused on your job and don't hit the party scene.

So it was a special treat for me to have lunch with C the other day. Ironically, she's the receptionist for my wonderful chiropractor and we started chatting every morning I was there and we hit it off. We're both from the Michigan/Ohio are and we have a similar outlook on some things. I was thrilled when she suggested that we "do lunch" on one of our mutual days off.

She was the perfect person to take with me to a new, all organic restaurant that opened recently near Union Square, GUSTOrganics. I first heard about GUSTOrganics through Allergic Girl's Worry Free Dinners, the latest of which was hosted there. With plans set with C I checked out the menu and then called the restaurant to make sure they could handle all my 'other' specifications.

I was directed to email a very nice young man named Eyal, who is working to make the restaurant as safe as possible for those of us with a gluten intolerance or food allergy. Eyal and I exchanged emails and then spoke on the phone. He understood the need to keep everything separate and gluten free and was able to suggest a menu item that would be safest for me.

When we arrived I was able to meet Eyal and quickly review what I was going to have. C ordered from the standard menu and I had a spinach salad with apples and strawberries with a grilled steak. The salad came plain with olive oil and pine nuts on the side. Just to be safe I also asked for a dish of salt, since the table salt had grains of rice mixed in to help keep it dry.

The meal was delicious, organic foods really do taste better. C and I agreed that they whole meal tasted more alive. The dining room is quaint with big, sturdy, bare wood tables and chairs. Since we had a late lunch it wasn't crowded and I was very confident that the kitchen wouldn't be rushed.

I highly recommend GUSTOrganics for anyone who wants a delicious, natural, organic meal and I know that they will accommodate any of your requests if given enough advanced warning. Although it was a little expensive, as you would expect for organic foods, I plan on patronizing a restaurant that treats me so well.

S'MAC

Yesterday I was finally galvanized into action.

New York may very well be the only city in this country that can support a restaurant devoted to macaroni and cheese. And not just one, either, I know of at least three.

I heard the chatter that S'MAC had introduced gluten free macaroni and cheese, but for some reason I just couldn't get my but over there.

Yesterday was the day of no more excuses, in honor of their 2nd anniversary S'MAC was offering $1 mac-n-cheese, $2 for gluten free. The allure of inexpensive, gluten free food finally pulled me in.

After working up my appetite by walking all the way downtown to 12th Street from my office at 49th Street, and a minor detour and call to 411 to verify the address, I found this hole-in-the-wall joint hopping with people. All of them loving their mac-n-cheese.

I stepped up the counter, paid my $2, and fought my way to a counter seat. It no time my cute little skillet of All American mac-n-cheese arrived. And it was good.

I grew up with Kraft in the blue box and a distinct aversion for anything Velveeta. After trying mac-n-cheese at picnics and food service offers in cafeterias I was bewildered as to why so many people consider this a comfort food.

Now I know. This warm, cheesy, gooey skillet of goodness could just about cure all ills as far as I'm concerned. I can tell you how great it was, and how I want to go back and try all the different combinations. I can't really make educated comparisons, but I can say that this is the best mac-n-cheese I've ever had.

Appearantly, they have created all their recipes to be gluten free, even the bread crumbs, and only the noodles are gluten. There is an additional $1 charge for gluten free noodles in any style or any size. So if you're ever in New York City I will be overjoyed to take you to S'MAC!

The Last Bite

Mister Softee, My Summer Lover

See that? Across the busy street?

Nearing the corner?

For a New Yorker, even a transplanted one, it’s not the weather or a date on the calendar, but the arrival Mister Softee that marks the beginning of summer. Trucks spring up overnight on almost every street corner. Cruising through neighborhoods playing that distinctive song.

You know the one. In true Pavlovian response our eyes glaze over and an innocent, child hood need for ice cream, right now! awakens. When you hear that music, or see those trucks, you know summer is here to stay.

Summer has arrived and Mister Softee is my summer fling.

Isn’t he handsome?

And his soft serve ice creames and toppings are gluten free. Everything except the cones.

Ask just about any New Yorker and they’ll be happy to tell you where their favorite Mister Softee truck hangs out. Some swear by the one at the south east corner of Union Square. Others, Broadway and 50^th.

Yesterday after work, filled with youthful glee, I ran to the corner of 49^th and 6^th for my first Mister Softee of the season. My Mister Softee will make me my favorite, no questions asked, and no extra charge: small vanilla, cherry dip, with rainbow sprinkles, in a cup. (Not all of them have the skills to do a dip in a cup, other don’t have the language facility to understand No Cone)

When the heat is on, and all you want is cool, smooth, luscious ice cream on a bright sunny day, have no fear: Mister Softee is here, or there, or pretty much wherever you are in the city, ready with a safe, gluten free treat to satisfy.

*I make no statement that Mister Softee is in any other way ‘healthy’ and I am fully aware that I ought to put an extra few hour at the gym after my splurge of yesterday. But hey, it’s summer! And I didn’t get sick!

Pershing Square Diner, New York, NY

The Pershing Square Diner is located on 42nd street, just across from the south exit of Grand Central Station. I went there once with my mother, and it was so good that I took a friend back a few days later. The main menu and bar menu are not especially gluten free, but the wait staff were very helpful and accommodating.

The tortilla chips that go along the guacamole are corn. Just avoiding the breadbasket and pasta dishes isn’t too hard. Both times I ordered a hamburger without bun, explaining to the waiter that I couldn’t eat the bun. On my second visit I had to send the burger back because it did come out with a bun.

The salads and vegetable were also good. We never ordered from the grill but the selections looked good, and judging by the hamburger, I expect that it would be delicious.

You have to be careful, as in any non-gluten free restaurant, but if you have picky friends, or you’re by Grand Central and you want a guaranteed good meal, you could do much worse. As always, the best bet is to carefully explain you condition and restrictions to the wait staff before the meal.

Chipotle

On Saturday last I went to a Chipotle restaurant with one of my good friends (see Gluten-Free Girl's Day) and although I felt very confident about the status of the food I visited their website and submitted an inquiry as to the GF nature of the food.

Here is the response I received:

Dear Vittoria:

Thanks for writing to us; we're glad that you enjoy our Food with Integrity. Regarding Gluten, you can eat anything we serve except for our large burrito tortillas, our small soft taco tortillas, and possibly our hot red tomatillo salsa (there is a small amount of distilled vinegar in it which some celiac websites still say might be problematic, although most don't).

Everything else is fine for you to eat including our crispy corn tacos, our corn chips, and our burrito bowls (no tortilla).

If you are highly sensitive, you can always ask our staff to change their gloves and they would be happy to do that at your request. Additionally, since there is always the slight possibility of cross-contamination in our restaurants because our folks work with wheat tortillas all day long, we encourage you to carefully consider your dining choices.

You can find this and other Allergen and Nutrition information on our website at www.chipotle.com/faq.

Sincerely,

George Seno
Department of Gripes and Happiness
Chipotle

Kudos to Chipotle, and to George Seno, for the (mostly) gluten free menu and for this thoughtful reply. He obviously did some research and I really appreciate that. Chipotle gets my vote for being (mostly) gluten free as well as being environmentally responsible.

Chipotle believes in doing only one thing, and doing it well. You can choose a burrito, taco, burrito bowl or salad. The staff makes your meal right in front of you. You can choose your meat, your type of beans, rice and toppings, all as they prepare it for you. Watching someone prepare my food tends to give me a greater sense of security, but there's always a little nagging thought that tells me I don't know what happened in the back.

I had a salad with the chicken, black beans, cheese and corn salsa. I watched how they served it and all the staff were conscientious about not mixing spoons, or even touching the food with their hands. I am extremely sensitive and I had no problems.

The 42nd Street location was reasonably busy for a Saturday afternoon, but it both the dinning area and the staff were neat and clean and the staff were considerate.

*as a side note, notice how they have a little tree and a 'green' request not to print the email. More Kudos.

Sunset Grille, White Plains NY

Spending time with my extended family can be difficult, especially when it comes to meals. But my great aunt is nearing the end of her days and my mother came out to visit and spend the weekend with our cousins in White Plains. When I heard that my cousin had made dinner reservations I prepared myself for a salad and deprivation. We are an Italian family, and we gravitate towards Italian restaurants. Hard on me.

Walking into Sunset Grille I was surprised. I was not expecting Mexican, and I immediately saw danger. On every table and on the bar counter were baskets of delicious looking tortilla chips. As we hung up our jackets and took our seats I asked the hostess if the chips were flour or corn. Her English was not quite up to the task and she flagged our waiter. He assured me that they were all corn, homemade and fresh. I grabbed one as I headed to the bathroom.

The first hurdle navigated successfully I stopped to look around. The setting was quaint, with several separate rooms of tables, each room was cozy and didn’t reveal how large the restaurant really is. Most of the staff are Hispanic, and the support staff seemed to have limited English, but our waiter was very helpful. After I explained to him my restrictions he pointed out which dishes he was sure had no flour.

The menu has some of the typical Mexican fare including tacos, guacamole, enchiladas as well as grilled fish, chicken and beef. My mother and I shared a chopped vegetable salad and we had guacamole for the table. Both were delicious. For our entrée we had roasted chicken that came with sautéed spinach and potatoes with cheese. The other dishes that were ordered included pork shoulder and steak tacos. All looked great and they were much more cuisine than I had expected from a Mexican restaurant, and I couldn’t keep the tortilla chips out of my mouth.

I experienced no ill effects from the food, except for a marked tightening around the waist of my pants from eating so much good food.