Tag Archives: Ontario

Dining at the Royal Ontario Museum’s C5

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I have mixed feelings about the Royal Ontario Museum‘s redesigned building. From Bloor Street West, Daniel Libeskind’s crystal is aggressively fabulous. It’s an übermodern work of jutting glass and steel, and you can’t miss it, even from a mile away. The interior of the crystal is another story. In spite of its towering ceilings, it lacks the grandeur of the façade and resembles a whitewashed warehouse. This is not to say that the collections aren’t breathtaking. I particularly love the Chinese galleries, which feature an intact Ming tomb as well as the Bishop White Gallery of Chinese Temple Art. The ROM also has wonderful galleries devoted to ancient Egypt and Greece, and its perennially popular dinosaur collection. But the building is disappointing on the inside.

The exception is C5, the Royal Ontario Museum’s beautiful restaurant, which is located on the crystal’s top level. Here the skylights and criss-crossing window segments provide a gorgeous view of the city. The dining room is modern chic: white leather banquettes and chairs for dining, black leather sofas and wing chairs for drinks, and an open kitchen that knows how to pair flavors for maximum impact. This is where I had my most memorable meal on my last visit to Toronto: fresh cod, grilled to perfection and served with a lentil-and-vegetable salad and a tangy mustard sauce. The menu is short, but everything on it is prepared from scratch, and the staff is familiar with celiac disease and food allergies.

Keep in mind, if you visit, that you don’t need to pay admission to the museum to dine here (though I strongly recommend that you visit the collections). Just tell the staff that you’re going to C5, and they’ll point you to an elevator that will whisk you upstairs.

C5 at the Royal Ontario Museum [address] 100 Queen’s Park (at Bloor Street West), Toronto [tel] 416-586-7928 [web] www.C5restaurant.ca

Conference Dining for Celiacs

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I just spent four days at the ThrillerFest conference at the Grand Hyatt in New York. If you’re a fan of mysteries, crime novels, or thrillers — or if you aspire to write them — you may have heard of it. Best-selling writers such as Lee Child, Steve Martini, Lisa Gardner, David Baldacci and Meg Gardiner all spoke at the event (along with many others). It was a fascinating scene.

And yet, what I was really thinking about was lunch.

When I registered for the conference a couple of months ago, there was a place on the online form to add any special notes. I mentioned that I have celiac disease, and that I would need a gluten-free meal for the luncheon on Thursday (other meals weren’t included in the conference, so this was the only one I needed to arrange in advance). I didn’t really expect to hear anything back from the organizers, so 10 days before the conference, I e-mailed them. I told them what I needed, and asked them how I would go about arranging it. They responded promptly and assured me that they would look into it. And so I waited… and waited.

After a couple of reminder e-mails, I got a message from one of the organizers. This is what it said:

I never got an answer back on my question about this. What we have done in past years for the banquet is that you tell your waiter your special requirements when you are seated. If I learn something different, I’ll let you know.

At this, alarm bells went off for me. While a restaurant can come up with a gluten-free meal with no notice, it’s tougher at a catered event. My worst experience on this front was at a conference I attended in Chicago five years ago, just after I was diagnosed with celiac disease. I’d told the organizer what I could and couldn’t have, and she told me I’d be fine. Then, at dinner the first night, I discovered that our meal consisted mainly of pizza. When I cornered the organizer, she was indifferent. “You can eat the toppings on the pizza,” she told me. “You don’t have to eat the crust.”

That was an eye-opener for me. And however ill-informed that conference organizer was, she forced me to realize that even when you explain to someone else what celiac disease is and what you need to avoid, they may not take it as seriously as you do. It was an important lesson.

In the end, my luncheon problem was easily solved, because I got in touch with the catering staff at the Hyatt directly. As with every Hyatt property I’ve visited — from Toronto, Canada to Santiago, Chile — they assured me that it would be no problem to get a gluten-free meal ready for me. And they meant it: I was served a main course of chicken with steamed broccoli and carrots. (Several people I’ve interviewed, including Alice Bast and Vanessa Maltin, have mentioned how helpful and accommodating Hyatt is on the gluten-free front.) But it reminded me that sometimes you really do have to take matters into your own hands.

Luxurious Gluten-Free Dining for Less

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One of my favorite things about my job is that I get to discover and review wonderful places. I was just up in Toronto for my annual Frommer’s guidebook, and I’m happy to report that I found plenty of things worth writing about (including the amazing Frank Gehry renovation of the Art Gallery of Ontario — the photo above is of his spiraling showpiece of a staircase). Given the state of the economy, I focused on finding places that are particularly good value for the money. One of the things that’s bothered me over the past few years is that the prices at some restaurants have veered off into the stratosphere; last year, it seemed like many of the new spots that opened were charging upwards of $40 for an entrée. You could argue whether that’s a good idea at any time, but in a recession it just seems wrong.

That’s one of the reasons why I was so happy to discover Madeline’s. Toronto has plenty of famous chefs, but one of the most celebrated is Susur Lee. He closed his flagship Toronto restaurant, Susur, when he moved to New York to open a new restaurant in the Thompson Hotel. However, he promised that he’d replace it with another spot, and Madeline’s is the result. Named for the chef’s mother, it’s a breathtakingly beautiful spot, with a glamorous dining room decorated in a mix of Moroccan, French and Byzantine styles. But the shocker was the menu: almost every entrée is under $20. Coming from one of the most renowned chefs in the city, that’s something unusual. Especially since there doesn’t seem to be any trade-off with the quality of the food (incredible) or the service (outstanding). Why aren’t more chefs doing this? (I should note that the fabulous Jamie Kennedy, another Toronto star chef, has been offering excellent tapas plates at very reasonable prices for some time now; I reviewed the Jamie Kennedy Wine Bar last year.)

There were a few things I couldn’t have on Madeline’s menu, but the staff was savvy about celiac disease and the gluten-free diet, and had no problem pointing out what would be safe for me. I ended up starting with a portobello mushroom salad that was dressed up with sweet onions, capers, and a poppy vinaigrette. For the main course, I had bison carpaccio with potatoes, chives, garlic, and Parmigiano-Reggiano. I passed up dessert (not many gluten-free options there), but went home satisfied — and excited about spreading the word. It’s still an indulgence, but one that felt well worth it.

Madeline’s [address] 601 King Street West (at Portland Street), Toronto [tel] 416-603-2205 [web] www.susur.com/madelines

Roundup: Gluten-Free Advice From Readers

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I was thrilled by the response to last week’s post, “Gluten-Free Fast Food at the Eaton Centre.” Thanks to everyone who took the time to e-mail me or to comment. Many readers passed along their own suggestions of where to find gluten-free meals, and I wanted to share those ideas with you.

One reader, Chelsea, e-mailed me about some Toronto spots that she likes:

Have you checked out Fressen in Toronto? It is a very trendy vegan restaurant that also has a lot of wheat-free options (not fast-food but perhaps you would want to try it, if you haven’t already!). I also like Rice Bar in Kensington Market (also not fast food, but fairly cheap/fast). Also, there is a new wheat-free (and I think gluten-free) bakery on Yonge Street near Lawrence, called Organic Oven. So far I’ve only had a rice-made cupcake from there, but it was very good!

I’ve tried both Fressen and Rice and think they’re great, but I’d never heard of Organic Oven. It turns out that it’s a bakery that’s been operating for the past seven years in Brampton, and which has just opened a completely gluten-free bakery and café on Yonge Street, just north of Lawrence. Organic Oven uses certified organic ingredients, and also produces treats that are vegan, dairy-free, eggless, flourless, low-glycemic and/or diabetic-friendly. I’m looking forward to visiting it the next time I’m in Toronto.

Another reader, Marilyn, shared a couple of spots:

We’ve eaten gluten-free often @ the Salad King just north of the Eaton Centre on the east side of Yonge. It’s very informal & busy but good, cheap, cheerful & we’ve found the servers to be GF-aware… also we’ve stopped for pizza with the GF crust at the Pizza Pizza at 346 Yonge St — though it takes at least 20 minutes for the special order crust.

I’m fond of Pizza Pizza’s gluten-free offerings (which I’ve written about; I should remind everyone that many of their toppings are gluten-free, but not all of them are). I haven’t tried Salad King, so I’ve added it to my list of places to visit next time.

Another reader, Tom, told me about Portions, a company based in Guelph, Ontario, that is apparently the place to get gluten-free baked goods. Portions’ website lists its GF bread-baking schedule, which includes Cinnamon Raisin Loaf and Caraway Pumpernickel Loaf. I don’t know when I’ll next be in Guelph, but now I have a reason to visit soon.

Thanks again to Chelsea, Marilyn, and Tom, and to everyone who has taken the time to contact me or to comment. Please keep the great ideas and suggestions coming! Just before I left Toronto, I had lunch at Epic, a gorgeous restaurant at the Fairmont Royal York (pictured above) — another spot with some great gluten-free options.

Gluten-Free Fast Food at the Eaton Centre

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Last week I met a fellow celiac who asked me what foods I missed the most since going on the gluten-free diet more than five years ago. I had to admit that there’s no one specific thing that I crave. As far as I’m concerned, the major food groups are comprised of chocolate, cheese, fresh fruit, and wine, and being diagnosed with celiac disease hasn’t stopped me from enjoying them (though it has limited my selection of chocolate, since some brands — such as Lindt — are made with malt). I’ve found gluten-free pizza, pasta, croissants, and even butter tarts. But there is one thing I miss, and that’s convenience.

Most people take for granted that if they’re out for hours — or stranded at an airport — they can find a quick meal somewhere. The gluten-intolerant don’t always have that luxury. Last week, when a business lunch in Toronto was cancelled at the last minute, I decided to explore the options. Since I was close to the Eaton Centre, Toronto’s famous shopping complex, I headed there. The news was better than I expected, and I found a few spots that could work for people with celiac disease as well as those with food allergies.

  • Freshii: The beauty of the construct-your-own-meal concept is that it’s usually easier to avoid the trouble spots. Freshii offers salads as well as rice bowls (made with brown rice) and rice-noodle bases, to which you can add fresh, unseasoned ingredients.
  • New York Fries: This Canadian chain serves up fries and only fries, so there’s no chance of cross-contamination in their fryers (an issue that can be a problem at some of the most famous fast-food chains). The fries are cooked in trans-fat-free sunflower oil. One catch: while the fries are gluten-free, some of the seasonings and sauces are not.
  • Chipotle Mexican Grill: Well-known in the U.S. for its gluten-free options, Chipotle is a relatively new player on the Toronto fast-food scene. There are several options for celiacs, and the chain is allergy-aware, too. Take a look at the company’s allergen information, a chart that shows which ingredients contain wheat, milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, peanuts, tree nuts, and soy, as well as gluten. Chipotle is located across the street from the Eaton Centre in Toronto Life Square ([address] 323 Yonge St., Toronto [tel] 416-596-8600).

Does anyone have a go-to spot for when they need a quick, easy gluten-free meal? (Healthy would be great, too, but I know you can’t always have everything!)

Mail-Ordering Gluten-Free Groceries

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Finding gluten-free food while traveling is an obvious challenge, but I’ve been hearing lately from readers who are having a tough time eating at home. One reader in Canada was appalled when she began to place an order at the online Gluten-Free Mall and discovered that it would cost $34 just to ship a one-pound parcel to her (unfortunately, the Mall doesn’t post its shipping charges on the site, so potential customers are sometimes in for a shock when they reach the checkout stage).

Living in New York means having lots of options, since grocery chains such as Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods carry plenty of gluten-free products, as do independent stores such as Natural Green Market. In other parts of North America, it can be tough to find gluten-free baked goods, pasta, and other essentials. For those who depend on mail-order to get their gluten-free groceries, here’s some advice:

  • Find manufacturers that ship products to customers directly: A few companies, such as Shabtai Gourmet, make this incredibly easy. Shabtai, which makes cakes, cookies, and other treats that are gluten free, lactose free, soy free, and casein free, ships its products anywhere in the continental US — for free. Kinnikinnick Foods ships its celiac-safe bagels, breads, donuts, and other products to Canada and the US; as you order, a tally of charges, including shipping, adds on the upper right corner of the page, so there are no upsets at checkout.
  • Remember to comparison shop: Gluten-free products tend to be expensive in North America, and there are no government subsidies for celiacs, as there are in countries such as Italy and Turkey. I’ve found Amazon to be a great place for deals on basics such as gluten-free pasta. Amazon is a bit like Costco, in that you have to buy in bulk, so instead of purchasing one package of Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free Homemade Wonderful Bread Mix, you need to buy four; in the case of Tinkyada Brown Rice Spirals with Rice Bran, you’d need to purchase a pack of 12. However, when you compare Amazon’s prices to certain sites that market themselves to gluten-free consumers, Amazon’s are great deals. Also, “Gluten-Free” is a major category in Amazon’s grocery department, so products are easy to find — and shipping is free on orders of $25 or more.
  • Read product reviews: It can be tempting to order treats that you’ve been missing, but we know that not all gluten-free products are equally good. In fact, some have the consistency and flavor of cardboard. Unfortunately, with products for delivery, you usually can’t send them back if you don’t like them. Before you order something new, be sure to check out sites such as Gluten Free Food Reviews; Amazon is also useful for its product reviews, even when you’re not ordering from the site.
  • Know that some restaurants do mail-order, too: New York’s Risotteria immediately comes to mind. Have you tried the Fudgie yet? You really should. My favorite local bakery, Babycakes, delivers, too. (By the way, Babycakes has its first-ever cookbook coming out; click on “Recommended Reading” to see it.)
  • Check out the great lists of gluten-free retailers that have already been compiled: Gluten-Free in SD has a great one, and it’s not just for people who live in San Diego. The Celiac Handbook has links to an exhaustive list of companies that ship gluten-free products. A listing isn’t an endorsement, but it’s still a great place to start.
  • Shop locally when possible: Some American companies won’t ship outside of the continental US. However, Canadians have the option of shopping from Toronto’s Specialty Food Shop, which I’ve written about before. The SFS will even ship frozen foods. In Hawaii, Sweet Marie’s (which reader Liisa wrote about here), delivers locally and internationally.

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Just a reminder: there’s a Gluten-Free Guidebook group on Facebook, where members are posting fascinating news, such as the attempt by Australian researchers to develop a vaccine for celiac disease (thanks, Bruno!). Also, I’m now on Twitter, and if you’d like to follow me there, I’m @hilarydavidson.

Gluten-Free Pizza Problems?

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A diagnosis of celiac disease usually means that you’ll have to give up some of your favorite foods… at least until someone comes up with a gluten-free version. While I’m still waiting for someone in New York to bake or import gluten-free croissants (the only ones I’ve found so far were in Spain), I have found one source for celiac-safe butter tarts, and many for delicious pizza.

On my last visit to Toronto, I was delighted to hear that Pizza Nova, a southwestern Ontario takeout pizza chain, had started to offer a gluten-free crust. The popular Pizza Pizza chain began to offer this last year in its Ontario and Quebec outlets, and I’d hoped that the success of the program would inspire others to create products for celiacs. However, when I went to order from Pizza Nova, I found cause for concern. The company provides a helpful PDF document on its website to alert customers to allergens in their pizza toppings and other food products; it’s a pretty comprehensive list, covering peanuts, tree nuts, sesame, milk products, eggs, fish, seafood, soy, sulphites, wheat, and gluten (wheat and gluten are listed as separate categories on the chart). Each ingredient is rated from zero to 3; zero means that the allergen is not present, 1 means that the allergen was present in the factory, 2 means that the allergen was used on the same production line, and 3 means that the allergen is present in the product.

What I noticed on the chart was that there are discrepancies in the ratings for the wheat and gluten categories. Pepperoni is rated 1 for wheat content but zero for gluten, as is the sautéed spinach and the ketchup. The chicken wings and the Hellman’s blue cheese dip get a 2 for wheat, and zero for gluten. The veal cutlets get a 3 for wheat — meaning that they absolutely do contain wheat — and a zero for gluten. By definition, if a product contains wheat, it contains gluten (though the reverse is not true, since a product could contain gluten — say, in the form of barley malt — and yet contain no wheat). I once encountered a product that was made from “gluten-free wheat”, and I know that there’s ongoing research in this area, but I don’t think that’s the issue here.

In the end, I was worried about the information that didn’t add up, and I decided to order from Pizza Pizza instead. If you read my earlier post about that chain’s offerings, you know that you need to think carefully about which toppings to get (since Pizza Pizza’s “classic” pepperoni contains gluten but the New-York-style pepperoni doesn’t, for example). This seems like a great time for a reminder: just because a place offers a gluten-free pizza crust does not mean that all of its toppings and accompaniments are celiac-safe. Food for thought.

Frommer’s Toronto and Food Allergies

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I’ve just signed a deal with Wiley Publishing to write another edition of Frommer’s Toronto. This will be my eleventh edition of the book, and I’m looking for ways to make it more informative and more relevant. In the current edition, Frommer’s Toronto 2009, I’ve included a section in the dining chapter devoted to people with gluten intolerance and/or food allergies, and I wanted to mention some of the places featured there:

  • Camros Organic Eatery: This small spot just south of Yonge and Bloor prepares Persian-inspired dishes, all of which are vegetarian. Everything is gluten-free, and the restaurant lists all ingredients in every dish to help those with food allergies. Thanks to a recent renovation, Camros can now seat 30 diners, instead of 12; [address] 25 Hayden St. [tel] 416-960-0723 [web] www.camroseatery.com.
  • Big Mamma’s Boy: This perennially popular Cabbagetown spot sits in a 19th-century Victorian row house. Its gluten-free menu, includes pizzas, pastas, and traditional comfort-food dishes. (For my post about it, click here.)
  • Jamie Kennedy Wine Bar: A great spot not only for celiacs, but also for anyone with a food allergy. The staff is knowledgeable and helpful: not only can they tell you the ingredients in every dish, they’re aware of potential cross-contamination problems. (For my post about it, click here.)
  • Il Fornello: This Toronto chain is my go-to spot for a hit of gluten-free pasta or pizza. (For my post about it, click here.)
  • Swiss Chalet: This allergy-aware Canadian chain provides precise details about allergens in their food; they’ve created a helpful chart that you can read online, or find in any of their restaurants. The chart has categories for peanuts, tree nuts, sesame, milk products, eggs, fish, shellfish, soy, wheat/gluten, and sulfites. Toronto locations include: [address] 362 Yonge St. at Gerrard St. [tel] 416-597-0101 [web] www.swisschalet.com.
  • Amuse-Bouche: Speaking generally, expensive restaurants are pretty accommodating on the gluten-free and food-allergic fronts (of course, there are exceptions, like the hoity-toity spot where the waiter told me he couldn’t “bother” the chef with my questions). Amuse-Bouche gets a special mention for going above and beyond: if you give them some advance notice, they will bake gluten-free bread just for you. (For my post about it, click here.)

There are some restaurants I’ve written about recently, such as Relish and Four, which deserve to be listed, and I’ll add Pizza Pizza as well. Do you have any suggestions for restaurants that belong in the book? Please leave a comment below. Thanks.

Gluten-Free Tapas in Toronto

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Restaurant-reviewing sounds like a dream job, but it’s a tricky business. I got my start in reviewing eleven years ago, courtesy of Toronto Life magazine. When I began, I was just grateful to be offered the opportunity to be paid to eat. But the work was a lot more complicated than analyzing flavors on a plate. Spotting mistakes — the careless server, the cold entrée, the spilled wine — is child’s play. But it’s hard to gather enough information in one visit to tell whether a place is truly a gem. Most reviews are based on a single visit, and they may paint a picture that’s too bright or too dim, depending on the lighting that particular evening.

While I was in Toronto over Christmas, I went to a restaurant called Relish Bar & Grill twice. My first visit was with my friend Kathleen, who had sussed out the spot before my visit. Relish is a small restaurant with a long, skinny bar, and it’s well away from Toronto’s downtown core, but easily accessible by subway. The menu is Mediterranean tapas — small plates meant for sharing — and the list of both gluten-free and vegetarian choices was impressive. Kathleen doesn’t have celiac disease, but she ordered off the gluten-free menu so that we’d be able to share dishes in the true spirit of tapas. It was a fantastic spread: warm olives with fresh rosemary and red peppers, a salad of heirloom tomatoes and feta atop pickled red onions, a wild mushroom risotto drizzled with black truffle oil, and a blue corn tortilla stuffed with chicken.

I enjoyed the meal so much that I suggested the restaurant to a group of friends for another dinner before I left Toronto. This night at Relish was different from the first. My friends ordered from the regular, non-celiac menu, and I ended up spending dinner watching them eat. When I asked our server why none of my gluten-free dishes were coming out of the kitchen, she started to lecture me about how “tapas is about sharing.” After I explained why celiacs can’t share food that contains gluten, she finally went back to the kitchen and my dishes started to appear. The quality of the food was just as impressive as on my first visit, but the experience did leave something of a bad taste in my mouth. It seemed sad that a restaurant that went to such great lengths to create a celiac-safe menu had at least one staff member who was dimwitted enough not to know what celiac disease was (I’m still not certain what she thought the gluten-free menu was for).

I’d still heartily recommend Relish, but I’m glad I got to see it on a good night and on a not-so-good night. The restaurant has much to its credit, including a gluten-free chocolate polenta cake with caramel sauce that is heavenly. But if it’s at all possible, have the whole table order primarily from the gluten-free menu. And remember, even good restaurants have off days.

Relish Bar & Grill [address] 2152 Danforth Avenue (1 block east of Woodbine), Toronto, Ontario [tel] 416-425-4664 [web] www.relishbarandgrill.com

Roundup: With a Little Help From My Friends

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It’s always a pleasure to get restaurant recommendations from readers. But I need to acknowledge another group that has been sending a lot of great information my way: my non-celiac friends. Blessed with eagle eyes, they are sharp when it comes to picking up gluten-free news, and thoughtful when it comes to passing it along.

My friend Leslie, author of The Ladies’ Room Reader Quiz Book: 1,000 Questions and Answers About Women and the Things They Love, has a particularly keen eye. While researching a story on Tampa, Florida, she discovered that the Lee Roy Selmon’s restaurant chain (named for the first Tampa Bay Buccaneer enshrined in the National Football League’s Hall of Fame) has an extensive gluten-free menu. Another of her finds is Café Formaggio, a Long Island, NY, restaurant that serves gluten-free pasta, pizza, brownies, and beer. Her most unusual discovery so far has been Chiarelli’s Religious Goods, also on Long Island, which makes gluten-free Communion wafers. Leslie also discovered the impressive Gluten Free Diet Center on Eating Well’s website, which includes extensive information about the diet, many recipes, and a Q&A with the executive director of the Gluten Intolerance Group.

Another friend — Yvonne, author of The Everything Family Christmas Book: Stories, Songs, Recipes, Crafts, Traditions, and More — told me about a new cafe in Calgary, Alberta: Primal Grounds Cappuccino Bar & Eatery. It has two locations and a broad list of gluten-free meal options that includes curry pineapple chicken, shepherd’s pie, and beef lasagna, as well as sandwiches that can be prepared with rice bread.

Jenna, who co-writes The Haiku Diaries, found out that Firefly restaurant in Washington, D.C., offers a glamorous menu for gluten-free gourmets, and that Panzano, an Italian restaurant in Denver, bakes gluten-free focaccia. Both properties are owned by Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants.

Stephanie, who lives in Toronto, passes along the names of celiac-friendly restaurants she hears about from a co-worker who has celiac disease. She was the one who told me about Four, which I wrote about in June. One spot she told me about recently is Mio RistoBar, which is located in Toronto’s Financial District and offers gluten-free pasta and entrees.

Some of my friends find gluten-free spots even when they’re not looking for them. Ellen was taking her kids to the optometrist’s when she passed an Italian restaurant offering a gluten-free menu. It turned out that the restaurant, Sambuca, was one I’ve dined at but haven’t yet written about for this site; it’s an institution on Manhattan’s Upper West Side.

As I was finishing off this column, my sister-in-law Michelle e-mailed me about gluten-free recipes from Gourmet magazine, including one for chocolate chip cookies and one for lemon layer cake. The recipes are from Gluten-Free Baking Classics by Annalise Roberts, a book that has just been reissued. That reminded me of all of the help I’ve had from certain family members… but that will have to wait for another time.

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I’m leaving for Turkey tomorrow (November 6th), so this blog will be quiet for the next two weeks. But I will be back after that to share my latest finds.