My New Fave Restaurant- Breuckelen

In my new habit of exploring Brooklyn, I stumbled across this gem and I've been calling it my favorite restaurant ever since. (two days ago:)  It's my favorite type of cuisine- "new American."  My skate dusted with hazlenut was out of this world. And the amuse-bouche with tofu and flake was also stellar.  The beat and blue cheese salad was great, and I have it on good authority that the duck was out of this world.

The best part?  The chef was there and came by the table to discuss how to make my meal gluten-free, such a nice touch. Our waiter had a lovely accent and was so attentive without being annoying. He even rushed out into the SNOW to help hail us a cab. Needless to say, I'll be back.

Brooklyn totally necessitates a Hipstamatic pic

www.breuckelenrestaurant.com/

268 Clinton St
(between Congress St & Warren St)
Brooklyn, NY 11201

Gluten Free Delight! Rubirosa NoLiTa

I had calamari today!  And mozzarella sticks!  And I could've had pizza!  What a day!  Rubirosa has a large gluten-free menu, with pasta and pizza and obviously calamari and mozzarella sticks.  It was amazing.  Now, I won't say they were the absolute, platonic best of either item, but honestly, from a GF perspective, it was heaven.  Also, the restaurant is totally cute and my non-gf companions had pizza that they said was terrific.  I can't comment, but it did smell tantalizing.

235 Mulberry St
(between Spring St & Prince St) 

Keste Pizza on Bleecker- Gluten Free!

My other glu-tard friend CW suggested dinner here the other night, as they have G-free pizza on Monday and Tuesday.  And I have to say, it was pretty good!  I mean, yes, it's not normal pizza.  But as far as hitting the spot, having a yummy crust, and really getting that traditional feel down, it was perf.

We had a margarita and a tomato sauce only. (the GF menu is pretty minimal but I am NOT complaining)  The dough had a nice chewiness and the sauce/cheese combos tasted just right.  I will so be going back.  On a Monday or a Tuesday.

Bond St Sushi Gluten Free Menu

Another win in the gluten-free dining column.  Bond St Sushi.  The waitress, who was a true peach about my questions, brought over this menu.  They had tamari as a soy sauce replacement on the table for me, gave me my own plate so there was no touching or contamination, and made me my own spicy rolls with tamari instead of soy.  So amazing when it's this easy.

From Things I Like and Love

Inoteca Restaurant LES

Some restaurants just don't get the gluten-free thing. Or rather, some servers.

We went for a birthday dinner with a set menu, always a little bit of a risk, but I get it, there are going to be nights in my life where I just will skip dinner in order to spend an evening out with friends drinking wine and laughing. Usually though, this doesn't involve the waiter telling you the meatballs are totally fine. Except, uh, they have breadcrumbs, is that bad? We had one lovely female server who was a peach and totally helpful. And one guy who almost killed my celiac friend and when we asked if he could maybe ask the chef, it was like asking if he could just trot on over to the moon and bring us a side of moon cheese.

I digress though, the dinner was actually quite great, especially the selection of salads: a romaine, radicchio, stravecchio & roasted garlic, a beets, orange, pecorino, mint & hazelnuts, and a
grilled calamari, peppers, celery, spicy tomato vinaigrette. All gluten-free to boot. (Well, ostensibly, my tummy did feel a little funny after dinner but might have been the fried polenta)

Anyway, entrees came, steaming polenta chunks, meatballs, little panini, and some to-die-for looking lasanga. Of course dessert was even better, litte nutella panini (maybe one of life's great treats) and affogatos, coffee ice cream "shots" which are a great way to end a meal.

Calamari Salad-My Fave

John Dory Oyster Bar

The John Dory Oyster Bar in the Ace Hotel was everything the other reviews have said.  It was a huge pain to get a table, the hostess quoted us an hour and fifteen at the worst and then, of course, that's exactly what it was.  The waiters have to walk through the bar area, jostling everyone.  The plates are teeny tiny.  (which is fine if you have fair warning but I really think our waitress might've mentioned that we had ordered enough food for one small bunny rabbit) We sat at bar stools up against the window, fairly cramped, and, my biggest pet peeve, while there were hooks under the bar for coats and purses, they were positioned so your coat was still in your lap.  I'd hate to dribble roe on my new bomber jacket!

Our waitress, though rushed and eager only to bring us more drinks, was nice and she was pleasant about the gluten-free situation.  I had fluke with watercress and toasted quinoa which was, in a word, delicious.  The toasted quinoa added a delicious crunch and layer of flavor.  I also had the burrata with roe, which was fine, the roe on top is a cool concept but I've certainly had better burrata.  The little cup of peanuts were the real winners, hot and salty with rosemary and garlic.  I could've eaten a bucketful.

Actually the winner was my cocktail, the Lado Este, a tequila blanco and mint concoction.  Light, refreshing, went down like water, pretty perfect.

With all the raw fish options, it's a pretty great choice for gluten-free.  My waitress didn't seem at all surprised by my request and was eager to help me figure out what I could and couldn't have.

Spasso Restaurant- West Village

This new spot in the West Village has been tempting me ever since I got that first UrbanDaddy email about it opening.  I love Choptank and it's the same owners so.....

Stracciatella

Polenta

Well, it was fine.  Not good.  Not bad.  Fine.  The wait was 35 minutes for a 9:30 reservation on a Tuesday, pretty ridic.  Our waitress was quite nice and pretty knowledgeable about the GF situation for the menu.  She okayed my choices so I ordered the grilled octopus, mushrooms, polenta, and the home-made stracciatella (to be fair, at first glance, it doesn't look like there are a lot of GF options but these were what I wanted to order anyway so it worked out).

Octopus was good, nice charred taste, polenta was a creamy dream, mushrooms fine (perhaps a giant pile of mushrooms was a bit ambitious both on my part and theirs), and the stracciatella, well, a bowl of cheese is always delicious even if you can't spread it on bread.

According to my dining companions, I can report that the ribolita was delicious.  That's one of those things I think wouldn't be worth even trying make gluten-free.  It's an Italian bread soup that conjures up some lovely, culinary memories from my time studying in Florence, but I guess those memories will just have to suffice.

Spasso
551 Hudson St
New York, NY 10014
212-858-3838

Dovetail Restaurant, aka Heaven

Food allergists rejoice!  Foodies rejoice!  Everybody rejoice!  Dovetail on the Upper West Side is a winner for all.  Our server politely asked at the beginning of the meal if there were any allergies, and I said gluten.  Not a problem.  She made certain that the scallops I wanted were gluten-free, they were, and everything else that came to my setting was as well.  

No need to push aside the bread, the busboy didn't serve me any.  No need to worry that the delightful plate of amuse-bouches might be toxic, I was quietly informed they were A-OK.  And after dessert, when the bill arrived, so did a plate of magnificent petits-fours, all, I was assured, GF.

And, not too mention, it was perhaps one of the better meals I've had in recent memory.  Especially the beginning amuse-bouches, a bit of celery-type soup and a disc of mushroom gelee.  My entree of scallops were perfect in flavor, if a touch over-cooked.  The meals of my dining companions were also noteworthy, especially the halibut with chanterelles - true perfection.

It's always great to have a meal where not eating gluten isn't a huge issue and can be dealt with quietly.   It's even better when the food is delicious and I don't feel like I'm forcing my normal eating companions to eat at a poor restaurant for my sake. Dovetail was perfect in this sense and I'm eager to return.

Dovetail, 103 West 77th Street

New York, NY 10024
(212) 362-3800

Famous Sichuan

Adventures in dining..... Today, I tried Sichuan hot pot for the first time, and I have to say, I was into it. Hours later, it's still sitting like a rock in my stomach, but that's neither here nor there.

I went for lunch with some expert orderers/mandarin speakers and I barely have a clue what we ate. For some of the items, it's probably better that way- does it really help to know what part of the stomach it's from? There are two broths in the divided fondue-type pot, one spicy and filled with peppers, the other clear and savory. You dump things in there, tofu, thinly sliced meat, white mushroom thingies that were my fave, etc... and let them cook then scoop them out with a metal basket or your chopsticks. Both broths were really delicious, though after a while dipping all your food in spicy oil feels a little gross.

Sichuan was a gluten risk, traditionally there's no soy sauce in the broth which is basically just oil, but you never know.... My stomach is telling me it was gluten free though, so I may just have to make this a regular hungover lunch spot.

Michael dumping in more mushrooms for me!

Famous Sichuan, 10 Pell St (between Bowery & Doyers St)

Artisanal Restaurant

Not eating Gluten can really ruin going out to dinner, but YES fondue at Artisanal is gluten-free. w00t! The waiter reminded me not to eat that bread. Why, thank you.