I have a dear friend who has been on a gluten free diet for
almost two years ... he claims belief that somehow the
element of fear is attached to otherwise... I have no problem with that especially with what we have seen how the animals are treated. Here in Indy where are the kosher butchers?
anyway I have this in my email and thought it was a long shot worth taking a look at... good luck. june
For the Gluten-Averse, a Menu That Works
Evan Sung for The New York Times
By JENNIFER ROMOLINI
Published: July 25, 2007
JOSEPH PACE’S rice-centered Risotteria, in Greenwich Village, was
never what would be called an experimental restaurant, until he
began developing a special gluten-free menu.
Evan Sung for The New York Times
CROWD-PLEASERS Risotteria in Greenwich Village is a hub for
people who are sensitive to gluten.
Enlarge This Image
Evan Sung for The New York Times
Risotteria's special menu includes gluten-free beer, breads,
pizzas, desserts and risotto.
It started with a gluten-free cookie. A simple step, it might
seem, but gluten, a protein in wheat, barley and rye, gives baked
goods elasticity. Without it, cakes, breads and pastries can be
leaden, dry and crumbly.
“It took more than 40 dozen batches,” he said. “My background in
organic chemistry definitely helped.”
The work paid off. Risotteria is a nationally known hub for
people with celiac disease, an autoimmune disorder affecting
about 1 in 100 Americans that can cause serious problems if even
a bit of gluten is ingested.
Visitors frequently arrive at the restaurant straight from the
airport, suitcases in tow, and dinner can seem like a celiac
support group as regulars swivel in their chairs to talk about
their hunt for food they can eat.
On a recent Tuesday night at Mr. Pace’s restaurant a preppy
couple asked the people at the next table about the Sicilian
pizza they were trying from the specials list. Farther down the
packed, narrow space, diners exchanged guidebooks to gluten-free
restaurants, and compliments flew around the room about the
breadsticks; the light beer, made from sorghum instead of malted
barley; and the rich brownies and cookies.
At the door a leather-jacketed couple discussed menu options and
waited impatiently to get in.
“Are you going to get the gluten-free pizza?” the woman asked.
“Of course,” her companion replied. “You have to understand, this
is like a chance of a lifetime for me.”
Like Mr. Pace, a growing number of restaurateurs have decided
it’s worth catering to the gluten-free crowd. Chains like Outback
Steakhouse and P. F. Chang’s now offer dishes without gluten.
New bakeries and pizzerias have popped up all over New York City,
and restaurants that were already celiac-friendly have expanded
their menus. There’s vegan at Candle 79, fusion food at Asia de
Cuba, Italian at Sambuca, Greek at Gus’ Place and comfort food at
Peters’ Gourmet Diner — all gluten-free.
Gluten-averse diners avidly track such sympathetic places with
online help from glutenfreerestaurants.org and the tribe of
celiac blogs that include, in New York, Gluten-free NYC
(glutenfreenyc.blogspot.com), Gluten Free Guide
(glutenguide.blogspot.com) and Please Don’t Pass the Nuts
(allergicgirl.blogspot.com). Aside from safe food, they can find
a camaraderie that’s unusual on New York’s jaded dining scene.
The pleasures of dining out are often denied people who avoid
gluten because they are sensitive to it or have celiac disease.
Menus are a source of anxiety and self-consciousness because —
besides its presence in obvious culprits like bread, sauce
thickeners, pasta and desserts — gluten also lurks in soy sauce,
brewer’s yeast, bourbon, vegetable starch, vinegars, salad
dressings, processed cheeses and some spices.
Creating a gluten-free menu is more difficult than, say, offering
vegetarian options at a steakhouse. Chefs have to master special
techniques and follow stringent regulations. Mr. Pace said each
menu item — pizza, focaccia, breadsticks, cakes — took six months
to develop, with the ingredients costing nearly five times as
much as conventional ones.
Baking can be tricky without gluten, which creates a lattice of
air pockets that binds doughs and batters while giving a moist,
supple texture. To overcome the challenge, chefs turn to
additives like xanthan gum to bind the flour together, guar gum
to thicken and stabilize doughs and batters, and gelatin powder
to moisten them. Breads are baked at very high temperatures to
keep crusts crisp and insides soft.
While gluten-free dining is spreading in the United States, Dr.
Peter H. R. Green, director of the Celiac Disease Center at
Columbia University, said it is more common elsewhere in the
world.
“In Buenos Aires,” Dr. Green said, “you’d have little trouble
getting a gluten-free ice cream cone. In Helsinki you can order a
gluten-free Big Mac at McDonald’s. In Dublin most menus are
clearly marked ‘Safe for celiacs.’ This is the way to live a
normal existence with this disease. In a city as big as New York,
for there to be so few safe restaurants, that’s just really bad.”
Cooking gluten-free isn’t an entirely altruistic act by chefs. A
new base of customers can attract big business to a fledging
location or revive an established spot.
“I’ve definitely seen a spike in business,” said Anthony
Avellino, owner of Bistango, a 16-year-old Italian restaurant in
Murray Hill. Mr. Avellino recently added dishes made with
Tinkyada brown rice pasta, and dishes from Everybody Eats bakery
in Brooklyn like celiac-safe bruschetta, served on gluten-free
bread, and after-dinner biscotti. “When you’re a neighborhood
place like we are, it’s always nice to see new customers and
fresh faces,” he said.
In February Gourmet Land, a Chinese restaurant on the Upper East
Side, opened with a menu including a separate 50-item gluten-free
listing with items like soy sauce and other sauces made without
wheat, crisp cheng du chicken breaded with cornstarch instead of
flour, and gluten-free egg rolls rolled in ... well, egg. The
place has been packed nearly every night since its opening, no
small feat for a neighborhood Chinese restaurant in Manhattan.
Many customers, of course, have celiac disease.
“They’ve had meet-ups here, and honestly, some nights every table
in the restaurant is someone who’s celiac,” said the manager,
Laura DeAngelis.
Anne Roland Lee, the nutritionist at the Columbia Celiac Disease
Center, said that finding gluten-free menus can be a great
relief. “I’ve had patients go to some of the city’s most famous
restaurants,” she said, “only to leave after being told they
could only safely have a Coke.”
Catherine Oddenino, a 29-year-old Manhattan marketing manager
with celiac disease, which can cause serious digestive problems,
anemia and nutritional deficiencies, knows the frustration.
“I’ve been to so many places where the managers and waiters have
been irritated and annoyed,” Ms. Oddenino said. “Too often, they
don’t understand the gravity of the situation. Last year I had to
go to a work holiday dinner at an upscale restaurant. I called
ahead and triple-checked what I could and couldn’t eat with the
management and still wound up with a huge crouton at the bottom
of my salad. It’s extremely frustrating.”
For those who don’t have celiac disease, though, the gluten-free
restaurant experience can be a bit odd.
“It felt a little cultish,” said Ridge Carpenter, a Manhattan
waiter and student who worked at Risotteria briefly in 2005. “And
as a server, there was so much pressure to get everything right.
In a regular restaurant you’d get the occasional allergy you had
to be careful about, but this was around 75 percent of my
customers. It was really stressful.”
The experience can also be a strain on celiac-nonceliac
relationships.
Kelly Courson, 36, a receptionist at an investment firm in
Midtown and a founder of a popular blog, celiacchicks.com, dines
exclusively gluten-free, sometimes to the chagrin of her
boyfriend, John Mountain.
“He’s always rolling his eyes when I talk to the other tables,”
Ms. Courson said. “But I can understand how it can be a little
annoying: we’ll have dinner at Sambuca on Thursday night and see
the same people at brunch at Peters’ Gourmet Diner on Sunday.”
But Ms. Lee called gluten-free restaurants “a surrogate support
group.”
“When everyone is on the same page, and you know you’re going to
eat a meal safely,” she said, “you can finally relax and just be social.”
