Food Truck Review: The Green Radish (vegan with gluten free options)

A vegan burger so good, I'd consider giving up meat!

The weekend before last, I attended the annual summer Montclair Jazz Festival in Nishuane Park.  I had found out about the Festival from a press release announcing a new vegan food truck: The Green Radish. Being dairy free and mostly egg free, vegan food can often be quite safe (unless there is a lot of wheat gluten used as a meat replacer).  

Vegan Black Bean Burger on Gluten Free bread
from The Green Radish

When I arrived at the truck, I was a little concerned that the menu doesn't mention gluten free at all.  A quick inquiry revealed that not only were a number of their menu items already naturally gluten free, they offered gluten free bread for all of their sandwiches as well!

[Just a quick note, since I'm not vegan and my issue with eggs is minor, I only confirmed the bread was gluten and dairy free, I did not confirm it was egg free as well.]

For lunch, I had the Black Bean Burger.  This was by far the best burger (beef or vegan) I have had in years (and possibly ever)!  The bread held together nicely and the vegan chipotle mayo was incredible (I can't handle mayo made from egg so this was a nice change).  I was actually too full afterwards to immediately go back for dessert.

Being both dairy and gluten free means I almost never get dessert.  There are two gluten free / vegan desserts at The Green Radish: Grilled Seasonal Fruit in a Vanilla Sauce and a Chocolate Peanut Butter Crunchy Quinoa Cup (which I did get to try later in the day). It is a vegan chocolate candy about the size of a large marshmallow with a hard outer chocolate shell studded with quinoa and a soft peanut butter and mint center [no not mint flavor, actual fresh mint leaves].  Their other two desserts currently contain gluten but they have trialed them using gluten free flours and hope to change over at some point in the future.

Diners lining up for some amazing
vegan fare from The Green Radish!

And now for the downside - the Green Radish is a brand new food truck and they are still working out the details of where and when you can catch up with them.  From their facebook page it appears they've been out and about for a couple of weeks now.  Hopefully their website/facebook/twitter will be filled with appearances soon!  

I'm already stalking them here: The Green Radish on Facebook and here The Green Radish on Twitter and hope to eat from them again soon!



If you're looking for some other great take-away vegan / vegetarian food in NJ try the Nectar Cafe (review) in Glen Rock. For sit down dining I've flagged the vegan friendly options on my list of NJ Restaurants with Gluten Free Menus as well.

Gluten Free Bakery List Updates

I've been quite behind on updating the gluten free bakery list but here are the latest 11 additions.  Click here for the full list of Gluten Free Bakeries, the updates are listed below:


Bashful Banana Bakery and Cafe (946 Boardwalk on Ocean Colony Walk (between 9th & 10th), Ocean City, NJ 08226) They’ve got quite a few vegan options and will substitute gluten free bread (other allergens unknown) for $.75 more. They also have gluten free/vegan muffins. I’ve never been.

CakeOver (79 N Beverwyck Road, Lake Hiawatha, NJ 07034)(Lake Hiawatha may appear as Parsippany on your GPS) – dedicated gluten free bakery. A number of GF items are / can be made dairy free as well. Entire facility is peanut free. I’ve gotten some desserts from here and they are quite good.

Just D’sserts in Elmwood Park has closed.

My Little Kupcake (685 Haddon Avenue, Collingswood, NJ 08108) – this regular bakery offers GF and Vegan cupcakes as well as GF and Vegan special orders.

Vegan / Gluten Free Cupcakes
from Pink Frosting in Verona, NJ

Pink Cake Box [Specialty Bake Shop] – this specialty bake shop will do unique gluten free specialty cakes / cupcakes as well for events/weddings. (The owner is gluten free.) This is not a retail location; items are available by special order only. (18 East Main Street #101, Denville, NJ 07834)

Pink Frosting Bakery (534 Bloomfield Avenue, Verona, NJ 07044) – a dedicated vegan cupcakery with 2-4 gluten free options as well. I’ve gotten cupcakes from here a number of times and highly recommend them. (Review coming soon.)

Posh Pop Bakery (86 Broad Street, Red Bank, NJ 07701) – I just ate here recently. This dedicated gluten free cake pop shop has a limited number of dairy free items. They will make dairy free / gluten free soft pretzels on special order in a choice of salted or with cinnamon and sugar.

SugarFlake Bakery has added a third location in Wyckoff, NJ. (397 Franklin Avenue, Wyckoff, NJ 07481)

Sweet Note Bagels – is a food service provider of gluten free bagels (also dairy free). You can't buy directly from them, but they are available at eight NJ locations so far: http://www.sweetnotebakery.com/locations.html and many other locations in and around Philadelphia, PA. I got to try them at the Appetite for Awareness last year in Philly and they are the closest to a real NY style bagel I’ve ever had gluten free!

Wildflour Bakery / Cafe (2691 Main Street, Lawrenceville, NJ 08648) – new dedicated gluten free bakery and cafe. They have limited dairy free options but these include vegan crepes, coconut macarons and some other cafe items (soup, salad, smoothie). Only open for breakfast and lunch (brunch on weekends). Closed Mondays. I haven't been yet.


NY:

Flourbuds (116A Main Street, Nyack, NY 10960) – dedicated gluten free bakery with dairy free / vegan options.

Wild Flours Bake Shop (11 New Street, Huntington, NY 11743) – I just ate here a couple of weeks ago and greatly enjoyed it. They are a dedicated gluten free bake shop with a very limited number of items that are not also dairy free (95% are both GF/DF).


If I'm missing any bakeries please use the contact me form at the left and send them my way!

Restaurant Review: Maud’s Tavern (Hastings-on-Hudson, New York)

On a recent trip to Nyack, NY (see By The Way Bakery review for details) we may have ‘missed’ and ended up in Westchester County. The kind staff of By The Way Bakery recommended Maud’s Tavern (149 Southside Avenue, Hastings-on-Hudson, NY 10706) which ended up being just around the corner.

Gluten Free Lamb Chops at Maud's Tavern
in Hastings-on-Hudson, NY

Maud’s has had a gluten friendly menu for a very long time. I can remember seeing the on the list of restaurants I might want to try after the Colin Leslie Walk each year. It was nice to finally get to try them out.

Maud’s gf menu is quite long and while they have gluten free pasta, it is mostly gluten friendly (i.e. items that are naturally gluten free). Dairy free took some work, but our waitress was right on it and triple checked everything! I had the grilled lamb with steamed vegetables which was quite good (the potatoes either already had butter on them or were fried in a shared fryer). I hear the chili was spicy but also quite good!

If you happened to go and are not from the area, there are some great views of the Hudson from out their front window and down the end of the block by the train station.

Due to the distance I doubt I’ll be back, but if they were closer this is definitely somewhere I would go again!



Looking for other NY gluten free restaurants? Try . . .

97lake in West Harrison

or check the handful at the bottom of my Gluten Free NJ Restaurant list!

Bakery Review: By The Way Bakery (Hastings-on-Hudson, New York)

I first encountered the By The Way Bakery (574 Warburton Avenue, Hastings-on-Hudson, NY 10706) two years ago at the Colin Leslie Walk for Celiac Disease Awareness (review). They were sampling some amazing gluten free / dairy free baked goods and I took a card hoping to visit their bakery some day. That day finally arrived!

On a recent trip to Nyack, NY, I may have been too busy chatting with my passenger to miss both the sign that said: “Nyack” and it’s partner sign “Last Exit before Bridge”! For those unfamiliar with NY geography, Nyack is on the west shore of the Hudson river at the western end of the Tappan Zee Bridge. If you miss the exit, you’re heading over the bridge into Westchester county.

Assorted Gluten Free bakery items at By The Way Bakery

Since we were already in Westchester (and it seemed a waste to pay the bridge toll just to turn around and try again) we checked online to see what was nearby. 97lake (review) wasn’t too far, and neither were the Golden Wok Cafe, or the By The Way Bakery. The friend I was with is very gluten sensitive and also has a lesser issue with tapioca so we decided Golden Wok might involve a language barrier that would be more than she was willing to risk (especially with an hour drive home).

We headed to By The Way Bakery and figured we could ask them for a lunch recommendation (and if not, we could still head back to Nyack). The bakery was amazing! Everything is dedicated Gluten and Dairy free. There were two full shelved of GF/DF cupcakes – red velvet, lemon, vanilla vanilla, chocolate with vanilla icing, carrot, and a couple of others I’m forgetting. There were cookies, brownies, tarts and cakes as well.

Gluten Free Cupcakes from By The Way Bakery
in Hastings-on-Hudson, NY

I ended up with two dairy free / gluten free cupcakes – a vanilla with vanilla icing and a carrot cake. They both handled the trip home (as you can see the icing on the vanilla banged around a bit, but it was still delicious)! I also found their prices to be reasonable, especially for a dedicated bakery.

Sadly, Hastings-on-Hudson is about an hour away (and across the Tappan Zee Bridge) so I don’t think I’ll be heading back here often, but if I’m in the area, I do plan on trying more gluten free cupcakes!

Oh, and the staff was able to recommend a great restaurant for us: Maud’s Tavern (review) which is about two blocks away!

Gluten Free French Fries Latest Update

It’s time for another update to my gluten free french fry restaurant list. I’ve added eighteen new locations: some here in NJ, a couple that I’ve personally tried in NY, and then a couple of national chains. As always, be sure to double check with the restaurant before ordering. Procedures and recipes sometimes change and their fries may not still be truly gluten free!

NJ Restaurants:

6 Brothers Diner in Little Falls, NJ – they have a dedicated fryer for gluten free fries (and gluten free chicken fingers)!

Alumni Grill in Wildwood, NJ – has gluten free fries and gluten free sweet potato fries!

Biddy O'Malley's in Northvale, NJ – last I was here they were looking into installing a dedicated fryer. No word on if that is done yet.

The Cozy End in Upper Montclair, NJ – they have a dedicated gluten free fryer for lots more than just gluten free French fries! These are some of the best fries I’ve ever had.

Gluten Free Greek Fries at Opa Greek Cuisine in Wayne, NJ

Kind Burgers in Sea Bright, NJ – offers gf fries.

Little Shanty in Warren, NJ (more coming soon) – has multiple fryers and offers gluten free french fries and gluten free onion rings. Warning: their sweet potato fries are NOT gluten free.

Opa Greek Cuisine in Wayne, NJ – has a dedicated fryer for their gluten free greek fries. (review coming soon)

Your Way Cafe in Westwood, NJ – they have a dedicated fryer for gluten free French fries and gluten free chicken fingers. (review coming soon)

NY Restaurants:

97lake in West Harrison, NY – they have gluten free onion rings and gluten free fries. As a matter of fact their kitchen is mainly gluten free, they just bring in gluten containing bread for other diners! Read my review of 97lake here.

Mama’s Italian Restaurant in Oakdale, NY (Long Island) – has a dedicated fryer for gluten free fries and a multitude of other gluten free fried items. (Review coming soon.)

Market Cafe (NYC, NY) – has a dedicated fryer for their gluten free seasoned fries. (Review coming soon.)

Perfecto Mundo in Commack, NY (Long Island) – they have a dedicated fryer for all of their gluten free options (potato frites, sweet potato frites, yuca frites, chips for salsa and guacamole, etc.) (Review coming soon.)

Chain / Fast Food Restaurants:

Burger21 (mostly in FL, but expanding) - they offer gluten free french fries and gluten free sweet potato fries!

Glory Days (no NJ locations) – has a dedicated fryer. (review coming soon)

Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville Restaurants – offers a dedicated fryer for gluten free fries!

Joe's Crab Shack - I'm removing this one from the master list. They used to list french fries on their gluten free menu but have removed them. I've eaten here and the boiled potatoes that come with their steam pots are gluten free but we all know potatoes were meant to be fried not boiled!

Mon Ami Gabi (no NJ locations) – they have gluten free French fries at this French Bistro.

Red Robin – some locations now have a dedicated fryer.

Ted’s Montana Grill (no NJ locations) – has gluten free fresh cut fries! (review coming soon)

White Chocolate Grill (no NJ locations) - they have gluten free shoestring fries. I ate at their AZ location years ago and enjoyed it quite a bit.


These were just the updates, see the full list here: Gluten Free Fries.

2013 Colin Leslie Celiac Disease Walk on Hiatus Until 2014

Colin Leslie Celiac Walk will be back in 2014!



Colin Leslie Walk for Celiac Disease Awareness

I heard this week that my favorite Gluten Free event of the year, the Colin Leslie Walk for Celiac Disease Awareness, has been canceled for 2013.  Unfortunately, according to their website, the Rye High School which has hosted the walk every year since the walks inception, is undergoing renovations. With the large number of gluten free vendors, the organizers of the walk were unable to find another venue with both enough space and a scenic walk. 

The good news is, the walk will be back in 2014!  In the mean time check out my gluten free event calendar for some other GF event options this year including: the 2013 Gluten Free Fair and Expo (Hauppauge, NY), the Mid-Hudson Walk for Celiac Disease (Poughkeepsie, NY), the Seashore Celiacs Annual Picnic (Brick, NJ), and the Gluten and Allergen Free Expo (Secaucus, NJ).

Colin Leslie Walk for Celiac Disease Awareness: 2012

While I'm looking forward to attending Appetite for Awareness this weekend, and the CSA conference in October on Long Island, the one Gluten Free Event I most anticipate every year is the Colin Leslie Walk in Rye, NY!  Colin Leslie started this walk in 2005 and to date has collected over $335,000 for the Celiac Disease Center at Columbia.

Again this year, the walk will be held at Rye High School in Rye, NY.  The date has moved up a bit, this year it is on Sunday, September 30th.  The walk runs along Long Island Sound (your choice of 2 or 4 miles), and after the walk there is a guest speaker (this year is Dr. Peter Green), lunch available for purchase (from Wild Westchester BBQ / Opus 465 of Armonk, NY), and the highlight of the event – a gymnasium full of gluten free vendors (40 have signed up so far, last year there were so many they filled two gyms)!

I’ll be walking again this year and I highly recommend that you attend and walk as well. The registration page is here: Colin Leslie Celiac Walk Registration Page.

If you can’t make the walk and would still like to contribute, my donation page is here: Jason's Donation Page for the Colin Leslie Celiac Disease Walk.  Any amount is greatly appreciated.

I hope to see you all there!

Ray’s Café (Rye Brook, NY) is Closed

It

appears the owners of Ray’s Café in Rye Brook, NY have decided to retire and close their restaurant. They were one of the oldest restaurants with a gluten free menu and certainly one of the first Chinese restaurants to offer the same. There is now an Elevation Burger in its place (so there is still a gluten free option, but not gluten free Chinese food sadly).

Try these other gluten free options in the area:

Gluten Free at Elevation Burger (National Fast Food Chain)

Gluten Free at 97lake (West Harrison, NY)

Gluten Free at Bellizzi’s (Larchmont, NY and Mt Kisco, NY)

Suffolk County Gluten Free Vendor Fair: Event Review

Wow!

Simply wow, there aren't many other words to describe the (almost) annual gluten free vendor fair put on by the Gluten Intolerance Group of Long Island. This year they gathered together over 50 vendors for two days of sampling and tasting in Hauppauge, NY. Each attendee received a reusable shopping bag with a couple of samples, an entire box of Glutino's Apple and Cinnamon Rings and a bunch of coupons. I began writing this shortly after I got home and already I can't wait for next year's! [Note, I didn’t finish until today.]

As always, I skipped over any vendors who weren't also offering dairy free but there weren't too many of those. There were some old standbys: Bakery on Main, Bob & Ruth's, Bob's Red Mill, Delight Gluten Free Magazine, Schär, El's Kitchen, Garden Lites, Kettle Cuisine, Namaste, NJY Camps, Really Great Food Company, Rudi's, ThinkThin, and Whole Foods. These are companies that I reviewed as part of the Colin Leslie Walk or since then.

BOLD Organics Gluten Free / Dairy Free / Vegan Pizza

The real stand outs and new releases are below (in alphabetical order):


BOLD Organics – this is brand new line of gluten free and dairy free pizzas. I tried the regular (titled Vegan Cheese Pizza but all four have vegan cheese) and it was quite good. They also offer meat lovers (sadly containing pork based pepperoni), veggie lovers, and deluxe (meat and veggie combined). They were baking four pies at a time for sample yet there was still a line the entire day!

Canyon Bakehouse – they were unable to attend but sent along lots of samples of their breads (I can never seem to find their mountain white), Focaccia, Hamburger buns, and their new Cranberry Crunch Muffins.

Gilbert's Gourmet Goodies New Packaging
for their Gluten Free Cookies

Gilbert’s Goodies – I had a nice chat with the owner about how happy I am that they are offered at the Prudential Center’s Gluten Free Cart. They have a new packaging (see photo) and are looking to expand into other sports and convention venues.

Greek Village Restaurant and Catering (44 Veterans Highway, Commack, NY 11725) - this local greek restaurant is offering a sizable gluten free menu including gluten free pitas from GFL Foods for an additional charge. I was tempted to stop here afterwards for a late late lunch but was still too full from sampling. If I were anywhere near central Long Island, I’d definitely be heading there!

Joan's GF Great Bakes – ah, Joan's is back! For those who don't know, Joan's had a fire at their facility last year and were off line for a number of months. They are back in full force and were sampling gluten free (and dairy free) corn toaster cakes, english muffins, multigrain english muffins, and double chocolate muffins. All of Joan's products are sold ready to bake so one can bake them fresh at home. Not all of Joan's products are dairy free however so it was a real treat that everything they sampled today was!

Kinnikinnick Gluten Free Bread

Kinnikinnick – I spent quite a bit of time chatting with the people from this Canada based Gluten Free (and allergen aware) company. I am already well acquainted with their cookies and donuts (see my review of their gluten free donuts). I had heard that they had just launched a new gluten free soft bread and was a bit skeptical. Let’s face it; everyone claims theirs is the bread that’s so good you don’t need to toast it. Well, Kinnikinnick is the first company to be correct in that assertion! I’m working my way through a loaf of their soft white bread right now and will be reviewing it shortly! They’re making their hamburger and hot dog buns out of this same formula. 

Mostly Myrtle's owner and daughter
and their gluten free / dairy free creations!

Mostly Myrtle’s – they were at the last meeting of the Northern NJ Celiac Support Group and I didn’t pay enough attention to them since they were “only in NY”. Oh, bad move. They’ve got a wide variety of unique gluten free products and are steadily expanding. They’re best known for their biskooky’s but also make some amazingly muffins and brownies as well. I think I’ll stop here and write them a full review later. Just a quick note: not all of their products are gluten free but those that are, are dairy free as well!

Nantucket Pasta Goddess - has a line of fresh gluten free pastas that were quite good.

Naturally Free Food (9 Singer Lane, Smithtown, NY 11787) - a local [Long Island] dedicated gluten free store/bakeshop. They can do dairy free baked goods as well but didn't have any with them.

Pamela's - Pamela's didn't have anything new at this show but was again giving away samples of individual brownie mixes, mini cookies and whenever bars (so good!). I did hear a rumor that they'll be launching five new baking mixes in the fall!

Immaculate Baking Co's New
Gluten Free Fudge Brownie Cookies

Strictly Gluten Free (396A Larkfield Road, East Northport, NY 11731– I didn’t stop at their booth but I did stop into their store on the way home. It is a fully gluten free store with a wide variety. They even offer a couple of samples upfront. It was here that I found Immaculate Baking Co’s new Gluten Free Fudge Brownie Cookies!

SweetieBeans - a brand new line of gluten free mixes, not out in stores yet.

Way Better Snacks – this new chip manufacturer has six different sprouted grain gluten free chips that were great. They should be available at your local Fairway and Whole Foods and hopefully will keep expanding beyond.

Wild By Nature Markets (East Setauket, Huntington, Hampton Bays, and Oceanside, NY) – this small grocery chain had a surprising variety of gluten free and dairy free products. I also stopped here on the way home and bought myself Kinnikinnick’s new hamburger buns, Amy’s Sandwich Rounds, and Solterra’s GF/DF pizza. They had plenty of other products to choose from but these were the ones I knew I couldn’t get at home.

Wild Flours Bake Shop (11 New Street, Huntington, NY 11743) – another local dedicated gluten free bakery that is mostly dairy free. They do have regular cheese for some items but also offer dairy free cheese for the same.

XO Baking Co – they offer a line of gluten free mixes that could be prepared gluten free. I was able to try two of them made with almond milk and they were quite good. They’ll be in Whole Foods in September.



So that’s it. On the way home I did stop off at Ray’s Café in Rye Brook, NY for dinner only to find they had closed and it is now an Elevation Burger. I decided to continue on and try Stir Crazy instead. I’ll post that review later this month.

Restaurant Review: Healthy at the Garden (Gluten Free Concession at Madison Square Garden, NYC, NY)

For the past couple of years, my brothers and I have made an annual pilgrimage to the Big East Tournament at Madison Square Garden (4 Pennsylvania Plaza, New York, NY 10001).  Each year I either eat before hand, bring a hamburger bun, or eat something bunless.  This year started out no differently with a couple of burger patties on an Udi’s bun while waiting to meet up to drive into the city Tuesday night.  But while we were there I decided to check and see (with all the construction the Garden is doing) if there were now any GF options (after all, how exciting is watching Rutgers lose by 20?)

New Concession at Madison Square Garden (MSG)
where most foods are Gluten Free!

I was pleasantly surprised to find some news articles announcing that there would be a gluten free concession when the renovations were complete.  It seemed to me that they may be done already so for Wednesday night’s games I at a late lunch and brought along a snack bar just in case.  (Both in case they weren’t done and in case there weren’t any DF options.)

At the half of the SHU / Louisville game, I headed down to the 6^th Floor concourse and began my search.  I found the gluten free options at a concession named: Healthy at the Garden (when entering the concourse from Tower A turn left and it is the first concession on your right side).  They offer both GF and non-GF items.  The Gluten Free items include Jumbo Hot Dogs, Chips and Salsa, Pizza (contains dairy), Kozy Shack Puddings (contain dairy), jello, fruit cups, Kind Bars, fruit, chips, chipins (popcorn chips, some contain dairy) and five different Bare Naked Bakery baked goods (sadly all five contained dairy).

Bare Naked Bakery Gluten Free Baked Goods (contain dairy)
at Madison Square Garden

A quick check with the staff revealed that the Bare Naked Bakery hot dog buns are dairy free (although they do contain both eggs and mayo).  For those not familiar with Bare Naked Bakery, they are a dedicated Bakery / Cafe on Long Island (2572 Merrick Rd, Bellmore, NY 11710).  They don’t produce mass market shelf stable baked goods (a la Udi’s) but rather produce homemade quality items.  They have a large and diverse menu quite a bit of which is also dairy free (DF items are marked in their cafe on the menu)

Bare Naked Bakery Gluten Free Dairy Free Hot Dog Bun
at Madison Square Garden in NYC

The hot dog was much larger than those at the Prudential Center and the bun was bigger still (See photo at right).  The bun held together quite well and tasted well . . . homemade.  I’m even confident in saying it tasted better than the gluten containing buns they were serving at other concessions!  [The hot dogs are beef, a fact I forgot to check until after I had eaten it.]

Since the Gluten Free Cart at the Prudential Center is my ‘home’ gluten free concession, I can’t help but make some comparisons.  First, all of the Gilbert’s goodies at the PruCenter are dairy free, it would be nice if at least one of the desserts offered here was.  Second, the only condiments available at the Garden are yellow mustard and ketchup out of communal pumps (compared to individual brown mustard packets and sauerkraut at the GF Cart (plus communal relish, etc if you want to risk cc). 

Gluten Free Menu at Madison Square Garden

And finally, the GF Cart at the Prudential Center charges the same amount as the other concessions while the Garden charges $1.50 more for a hot dog (that Bare Naked bun makes it worth it).  On the up side, the Garden does offer more options overall (especially if you can have dairy).  [Note: a large slice of GF pizza is $7 while an 8” gluten containing pizza is $7.50.]

In the end, it is always awesome to have more GF/DF options especially when a captive audience.  I’ll definitely be returning for more hot dogs as the week goes on – and drown my sorrows over Seton Hall’s untimely exit from the tournament in Bare Naked Bakery goodness!

Restaurant Review: Bellizzi (153 Main Street, Mount Kisco, New York 10549 and 1272 Boston Post Road, Larchmonth, New York, 10538)

I recently had lunch with a friend of mine at Bellizzi (1272 Boston Post Road, Larchmont, New York, 10538). (For some reason they have separate websites, if you’d like to check out Bellizzi in Mount Kisco click here: Bellizzi Mount Kisco.) The menus are extremely similar but do have slight differences.

Mama's Gluten Free Chicken Soup with Rice at Bellizzi



The GF entrees are all gluten friendly – grilled chicken parmigiana, etc. but some are served with a side of GF pasta (le veneziane brand).  They have a number of pasta dishes and they also have GF pizza from Still Riding Pizza.

The highlight (for me at least) were their gluten free soups! It’s rare enough to find a restaurant that doesn’t use a gluten containing stock for their soups but Bellizzi even serves Galbusera gluten free crackers along with them!

We each had a cup of GF soup to start and I had the Chicken Milanese (grilled chicken under arugula and red onions with balsamic vinaigrette (I left off the tomatoes). It wasn’t what I was expecting but a welcome surprise. Since I’m usually so limited on a menu to find something GF/DF it is always nice to have something I’ve never had before!

GF/DF Grill Chicken Milanese at Bellizzi in Larchmont, NY

This is definitely somewhere I would recommend and return to if I again find myself in that area.


Looking for other gluten free places in NY to eat?

Gluten Free at 97lake Sports Cafe in West Harrison, NY

Or check the handful listed on my Gluten Free Restaurant List:

Colin Leslie Walk for Celiac Disease: Post Walk Recap (Part 3)

Continued from Part 2 - Recap of Colin Leslie Walk for Celiac Disease

Sorry for the delay, but here is the final installment of my vendor recap from the Colin Leslie Walk for Celiac Disease.

Other vendors:

A Taste of Thai – They sent along a heap of individually wrapped fortune cookies as samples, but didn’t attend. The packages lacked ingredients but it turns out they are GF/DF. I do like a number of their instant rice cartons and keep some in my desk drawer for emergencies.  The fortune cookies are nothing like a chinese fortune cookie and I've never seen another Thai fortune cookie so I have no point of comparison.  They are sweet and a touch cinnamony maybe?

By-the-Way Bakery Gluten Free / Dairy Free Baked Goods



Bakery on Main – They had samples of their GF granola and granola bars.

Boar's Head - They had a giant prize wheel and everyone who spun won something. I won a reusable lunch bag.

By the Way Bakery - They're an actual local bakery at 574 Warburton Avenue, Hastings-On-Hudson, NY 10706.  They were sampling their cupcakes, pound cake, biscotti, granola, etc.  I tried their marble pound cake which was good and their lemon pound cake that was out-of-this-world!  Their entire menu is gluten and dairy free!

Breads from Anna – These are some amazing mixes that are very allergen aware.  They're all gluten free, most are dairy free but there is something for everyone as some are yeast free, corn free, soy free, nut free, and even rice free.  I last saw them locally at Linda’s Diet Delites in Clark (see my gluten free store list for contact info), but hopefully they'll shortly be available at more local shops.

Charley’s Organic Toffee - they didn't have anything DF at the show, but they do have one DF product via mail order only.

Deb's Farmhouse Gluten Free Dairy Free Cookies

Cogolulu Café - (991 Danbury Road, Wilton, CT 06897) this is a 100% GF cafe in Wilton, CT.  Not sure how DF they may be.

Conte’s Pasta  - I actually didn’t see them there.  Most of their items contain dairy as well, but not their Potato/Onion Pierogies, nor their Gnocchi.

Deb’s Farmhouse Kitchen  - One of the highlights of the show! Deb’s makes good and hearty cookies (Chocolate Chip and Oatmeal Raisin) which are also dairy free and contain whole grain rolled GF oats, almonds, and bean flour but still manages to taste like a cookie! Currently, they are only sold in NY and CT.

Ener-G - One of the oldest gluten free companies. I use their egg replacer still but have switched to newer products for most of their other items.


Gilbert's Gluten Free Dairy Free Cookies

Everybody Eats  - all of their samples contained dairy but they do have a handful of dairy free products. Unfortunately, most of their products are extremely expensive.  With the exception of their dairy free chicken ravioli’s some other company is making a much less expensive competitor of their other four DF/GF items.

Enjoy Life  - They weren’t at the fair itself but did send along little goodie sample bags. This bag included a sample of their new large crunchy cookie.

J&L Feel Good Food - this is a brand new company and I can't find much more than a facebook page on them.  It looks like they bake for different farmers markets in the NY area.  Their entire line is GF and they have a couple of DF items too.

Gilbert’s Goodies - They have a variety of very soft cookies.  I've had their bite sized cookies from Whole Foods in the past and am excited that they now are available at the GF Cart at the Prudential Center!  Their entire line is gf/df/nut free/corn free and all but chocolate chips are soy free.

Gluten Free Living Magazine - I actually subscribed to this magazine at last years fair.  Very informative and provided in depth coverage of some important questions: is their gluten in toothpaste?  naturally gf flours? gum? etc. 

Izzi B's Gluten Free Dairy Free Cupcakes

Izzi B’s Allergen Free Cupcakes -  Very attractive cupcakes sold in the freezer case. I gave her a copy my store list so hopefully they will make their way to New Jersey soon!

Jovial Foods - they had a table full of samples of their GF pasta and fig cookies.  You can read my review of their cookies here: Jovial GF Fig Filled Cookies.  Their pasta is good and holds up quite well too.

Juice Plus – I’m not going to include a link here as I just spent 10 minutes on their website and couldn’t find a list of ingredients, nor a guarantee they are gluten free (important considering they do list the 17 fruits/vegetables/grains they source from and oats are included).

Kitchen Table Bakers - They make crackers out of cheese.  That's a big no-no for me!  (Although, I do here they are good.)

Le Garden Bakery – Their website is no longer active.

NJY Camps - This organization runs a summer camp for children. They have recently upgraded their gluten free dining options so all their gf attendees can enjoy the camp!  (They keep kosher so dairy free shouldn't be too tough to manage.)  They had 20 GF campers last year and hope to host even more this year.  They are also planning a fully GF family weekend in June.

The Gluten-Free Guides - they have travel guides for NYC, France, Italy, and Washington, DC.
Gluten Free on a Shoestring -  Nicole from Gluten Free on a Shoestring was there selling her cookbook. This is one of the blogs I follow on a regular basis.

Nugo Nutrition - they make a wide variety of snack bars.  Be careful as only some of their bars are GF/DF.

Organic Bistro/Helen’s Kitchen - I've been meaning to write a review of Organic Bistro for quite some time now.  I usually have a couple of their dinners in my freezer for quick meal if I'm rushed.  They're launching three new varieties: Grass-Fed Beef with Mushroom Sauce (Butter), Wild Salmon with Pesto (Cheese), and Southwest Style Grass-Fed Beef (DF).  All their products are GF and most are DF as well.  Helen's Kitchen is a sister company specializing in Vegetarian/Vegan frozen foods (about half of which are GF as well).

Rudi’s -  I actually prefer Udi’s breads so I ended up skipping this booth. There products tend to be soy free for those who need it.

Three Dogs Gluten Free Bakery - A dedicated GF bakery in Briarcliff Manor, NY. I didn’t get anything from them this year, but have in the past and it is very good. 510 North State Road, Briarcliff Manor, NY 10510.
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The Lunch Buffet was provided by Pizza 2000 but it was too windy outside so we didn’t try it. Their online menu lists only GF pizza and GF pasta in marinara sauce. The buffet appeared to have some additional items, so perhaps they are working on expanding their menu.

Colin Leslie Walk for Celiac Disease: Post Walk Recap (Part 2)

Continued from Part 1 - Recap of Colin Leslie Walk for Celiac Disease

Pamela's Gluten Free Products

Silver Level Sponsors:

Pamela's - Pamela's had a double table filled with giveaways.  Two-packs of their regular sized cookies, individually wrapped mini-cookies, sample sized mixes, and new for this year: Whenever Bars.  For those who haven't seen them, they are 1.4oz snack bars in Oat Chocolate Chip Coconut, Oat Cranberry Almond, Oat Raisin Walnut, and Oat Blueberry Lemon.  I have three of the four flavors but have only tried the Oat Chocolate Chip Coconut which was quite good.  All are made with GF oats and are both GF and DF.

Glow Gluten Free Cookies

Shoprite - Shoprite had a large booth in the back corner and were sampling some of their products, sharing space with a cook book author, and giving out reusable shopping bags filled with samples.  These included a healthy living magazine (Live Right produced by Shoprite), a guide on living with celiac disease produced with the NFCA, coupon books, Nature's Path WholeO's cereal and a bag of the new Bachman's GF pretzels. 

Glow - Glow makes four flavors of crisp gluten free cookies: Chocolate Chip, Snickerdoodle, Double Chocolate, and Ginger Snap.  These are produced in a dedicated GF/DF bakery.  All four were available for sample.

Kettle Cuisine Gluten Free Soups

Kettle Cuisine - Kettle Cuisine was sampling their Angus Beef Steak Chili and Tomato Soup with Garden Vegetables.  Since I can't really handle tomatoes I passed, but I did grab a coupon as I do really like their chicken noodle soup.

Soft'n Hearty -They were sampling their Easy Roll Mix which is naturally gluten, soy and dairy free. The mix itself is also egg free but they had made the rolls with egg.  I only eat a small amount of egg and decided to skip these.

Against the Grain - I don't recall seeing them there, and almost every product they make contains dairy so I've never actually tried them.  I just checked their website though and see that they now have two dairy free products as well.

GlutenOut / Agluten – they were selling their products (a line of Italian foods from Italy) but not sampling anything. From what I could see, most of their items contained dairy (ravioli, tiramisu, gnocchi, etc).

Bronze Level Sponsors:

Pure Gluten Free/Vegan Cookies and Snacks

Udi’s - Ah, my favorite GF/DF bread supplier!  I actually ended up skipping their table as I already consume their products (I use their GF/DF hamburger and hot dog buns and make my breakfast sandwiches out of their breads.  I also have their cinnamon raisin bread from time to time and their bagels.).  One quick warning - their cookies contain dairy.  I've previously reviewed a number of their products: Udi's Ancient Grain Breads, Udi's Hotdog Buns, and Udi's Cinnamon Raisin Bread.

Pure - their entire line is gluten free and vegan (and corn, soy and egg free as well!)  They had samples of their product line, the highlight of which was a raspberry thumbprint cookie.  They also have some snacks made from pea flour which were interesting.  They're only in two stores in NJ so far: Organico (495 North Franklin Turnpike, Ramsey, NJ 07446) and Taste of Dawn (192 Main Street, Butler, NJ 07405).

GFL Gluten Free/Dairy Free Pita

Food Should Taste Good - I don't remember seeing them there but Fairway was giving out samples.  They make a great line of GF chips in a dedicated GF factory.  Some of their chips contain dairy including the chocolate and three with 'cheddar' right in the name.  My favorite is their Sweet Potato chip.

GFL Foods – They were at last year's walk as well.  They sell a GF Pita that is really exceptional.  Unfortunately they are a bit expensive (according to their webstore $9 for six).  The only NJ store carrying them so far is DeLiteful Foods (4040 Quakerbridge Road, Lawrenceville, NJ 08619).

Mrs. Green’s Natural Market - This is a great small market in NY (10 locations) and CT (2 locations).  They don't have any NJ locations but some are right over the border.

Gluten Free Naked Nuggets



Delight Gluten Free Magazine - they were giving away free issues of their magazine and taking subscriptions.  I haven't gotten to the sample issue (Fall 2011) that they gave me yet, but I did read another sample issue earlier this year.  A lot of very modern recipes and great photos.


Naked Nuggets - These are essentially non-breaded chicken nuggets.  I've had them before (and sampled them again at the fair) and they are quite good.  I'm sure being unbreaded they are much healthier.  Maybe if I had kids and was trying to get them to eat better, I would look at these again.  For now however, this big kid wants his chicken nuggets breaded and deep fried!

El’s Kitchen - They were sampling their bagel chips and snack medley.  All of their products are gluten and dairy free (gfdf) and have a nice kick to them (a touch spicy!)  The snack medley is bagel chips, corn chips, pretzels, corn nuts, and potato chips.

Really Great Food Company Gluten Free Mixes

Really Great Food Company - they had a display of their mixes but weren't demo'ing anything.  They have a very wide variety of mixes (wider than any other company I've seen actually).  I've seen them at Corrado's in Wayne, NJ and according to their website they are available at Balance Health Foods (1239 Rt22E, Lebanon, NJ 08833) and The Sunflower Seed (38 Old Hwy 22, Clinton, NJ 08809).

Mary’s Gone Crackers - Mary's Gone Crackers was handing out samples of their chips, cookies, and 'twigs'.  All of their products are vegan and gluten free and due to the number of whole grains and seeds they use quite nutritious. However, again due to the whole grains and seeds they use their products are quite crunchy as well.

Snack Chicks' GF/DF Herb-An Chicks Snacks

Snack Chicks - these are baked chick peas in four flavors - Sweet (cinnamon sugar), Naked (simply salted), Hot (spicy), and Herb-an (garlic and herb).  They're healthy, crunchy and had good flavor - I just don't like chickpeas and couldn't really get over my bias.  If you like chickpeas or seasoned nuts I would highly recommend trying these.

Katz Gluten Free - I highly recommend their products if you can have egg.  They are made in a dedicated Gluten free, dairy free, and nut free facility.  I find that there is just too much egg in their products for me, but if you can have egg, then go for it.  They have a very diverse product line and are making a number of items that no one else is.  I'm seeing their products in more and more places including lots of independent shops as well as some Shoprites and Fairway.

Dream Desserts - this CT only bakery is making dessert bars that are unfortunately made with dairy ingredients.  If you can have dairy and are in CT, I would suggest you try them.  A friend of mine raved about them and they looked really good!

(Continued)

Colin Leslie Walk for Celiac Disease: Post Walk Recap (Part 3)



Colin Leslie Walk for Celiac Disease: Post Walk Recap (Part 1)

What a day!!!  Thank you so much to those who donated!  The final tally isn't in yet, but through the web forms alone (which only about a dozen people used) over $33,000 was raised!

2011 Colin Leslie Walk for Celiac Disease T-Shirt

We were promised 42 vendors but upon arrival we found the number had swelled to 58!  We arrived about 30 minutes before the walk, checked in, put our lime green t-shirts on and headed into the gymnasium to see whomever had set up already.  (See below for the reviews!)

At 10am we headed outside for the walk itself.  There is a choice of two routes (one four miles, the other two) but they run together for the first mile or so.  At the split, the friend I drove up with decided to take the shorter route and I continued on for the four.  I got back around 11:30 - just in time to have missed the day's guest speaker (the guest speech was on cake baking so I didn't really miss out).  That was my only minor issue with the day, I walk very fast but finishing four miles in the 75 minutes between start and speaker wasn't enough time.

Start of the 2011 Colin Leslie Walk for Celiac Disease

Ah, on to the vendors!

I wasn't sure how to order this list.  There were donation levels in supporting the walk and I've decided to list them by those levels:

Gold Level Sponsors:

97lake Sports Cafe and Restaurant - They didn't finish setting up until after the walk but at that point they had trays and trays of Gluten Free (and Dairy Free) chicken wings.  They had a couple of copies of their menu as well but I'm already very familiar with it - Restaurant Review: 97lake, West Harrison, NY.  In talking with the owner I discovered something interesting.  The gluten free beer they serve, Estrella, is made from Barley, Hops, and Rice but they then filter out the gluten and test to below 6ppm. 



Long Island Sound from Along the Walk Route

Fairway Market - Fairway had an extensive setup at the entrance with lots of assorted samples: Andean Dream cookies, Kind Bars, $10 off coupons, etc.  They were also giving out reusable grocery bags (presumably containing samples) but I ended up not getting one (I already had three by the time I got to their table!)


Schär - They also gave out a reusable grocery bag this one containing a 2-pack of their Baguettes.  They had a mailing list sign up and those who did will be getting a package of Ciabotta rolls in the mail.



EZ Gluten - This company makes individual test strips for testing your food for gluten.  I've seen these before (online) but never ordered them.  The woman at the table demonstrated them and they seem easy enough to use but they cost around $12 each depending on how large your order is.  Their literature says they are sensitive down to 10ppm. 

(Continued)

Colin Leslie Walk for Celiac Disease: Post Walk Recap (Part 2)

Colin Leslie Walk for Celiac Disease: Post Walk Recap (Part 3)