Category Archives: Shops

Roundup: Gluten-Free Dining Across America

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Celiac disease and gluten intolerance have been in the news lately (May is Celiac Awareness Month, after all). I’ve been pleasantly surprised to find mainstream media coverage of the subject. ABC-7 in Chicago featured a story, “More Gluten-Free Restaurants in the Chicago Area,” that is still up on the channel’s website. The long list of restaurants, bakeries, and shops includes Adobo Grill, Vinci Restaurant, Swirlz Cupcakes, and Venus. It also includes a link to the Celiac Chicago blog.

The Boston Globe ran a series of articles about gluten intolerance, including “Gluten Free Dining Out.” This list includes Elephant Walk, Rendezvous, and Rocca, and is still available online (you may need to sign up to use the Boston Globe’s website, but registration is free).

Vanessa Maltin, the Director of Programming and Communications at the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness and the author of Beyond Rice Cakes, e-mailed me after our interview to let me know about another restaurant she found in Florida. Vanessa wrote:

I went to dinner tonight in Jupiter, Florida, at Masa’s Sagami. It was incredible. It is a hibachi-style Japanese restaurant and the chef who cooked at our table was a dream come true. I brought my own bottle of Tamari sauce and he was so careful to make my food in a clean area of the cook top and even made me a special batch of fried rice that was gluten-free. He didn’t even flinch when I asked. He simply called for the kitchen to bring him fresh ingredients to cook mine with. it was awesome and made for a fabulous night out!
(Masa’s Sagami [address] 1200 Town Center Drive, Jupiter, FL 33458 [tel] 561-799-6266 [web] www.masassagami.com)

Vanessa also mentioned that the new Nationals Park in Washington D.C. has a Noah’s Pretzels with gluten-free pretzels and Redbridge, the celiac-safe beer brewed by Anheuser-Busch. Even if you’re not a baseball fan, you may want to take in a game if you find yourself in D.C. this summer.

One of my favorite bloggers, Allergic Girl, was featured in New York magazine (“Ask an Allergic”) with her tips for successful allergy-free dining. Also, my friend and Frommer’s colleague Bob Fisher, who has a life-threatening allergy to peanuts and green peas, wrote an article called “Travel Health & Safety: 7 Food Allergy Tips” for Frommers.com. It ran a few months ago, but it’s still up on the site and it’s a piece everyone should read.

Chocolate Heaven for Celiacs in Toronto

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When I was diagnosed with celiac disease, one of the thoughts I consoled myself with was that at least I could still have chocolate. I was only partially right: chocolate is naturally gluten-free, but some companies add wheat or malt for flavoring or consistency. It turned out that some of my favorite treats contained gluten, including Lindt milk chocolate truffles, and Smarties, a British analog to M&Ms (I grew up in Canada, so this was a much loved childhood candy).

I have a sweet tooth, so finding delicious gluten-free chocolates has become an ongoing quest for me. That’s why I was delighted to discover SOMA Chocolatemaker in Toronto. The shop is located in the city’s Distillery Historic District, a network of restaurants and boutiques housed in Victorian red-brick factory buildings that once contained the largest alcohol distillery in the British Empire. Depending on when you visit, you might catch the chocolate-makers at work behind the clear glass wall. Chocolates made in-house are displayed with signs alerting visitors to the presence of gluten or common allergens. There are several gluten-free bars to choose from, but my favorite is the elegantly uncomplicated blend of milk chocolate and dried cherries. SOMA’s truffles are expensive, but they pack such punch (think aromatic bergamot with bittersweet chocolate, or caramel inside dark Venezuelan chocolate dotted with fleur de sel) that having just one is supremely satisfying.

SOMA also makes ice cream and sorbet on-site as well. While the waffle cones aren’t gluten-free, you can get the frozen treats in a dish. Choices vary with the season, but the ones I’ve enjoyed include the lemon sour cream, the exceptionally rich Venezuelan vanilla, and the Ontario blueberry sorbet. Since SOMA produces its products in small batches, not all flavors are available on every visit — but that’s just more incentive to drop in on a regular basis.

SOMA Chocolatemaker [address] Distillery Historic District, 55 Mill Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada [tel] 416-815-7662 [email] info@somachocolate.com [web] www.somachocolate.com

Balenciaga and Baguette

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I’ve been a fan of the department store El Corte Inglés for years. What began as a flirtation with the ubiquitous Spanish chain when I first encountered it in 1999 in Madrid turned into a full-fledged love affair after a couple of subsequent trips to Barcelona, where I learned that the store doesn’t just carry souvenirs, clothing, toiletries, housewares, and electronics, but some of the most exquisite shoes I’ve ever seen. How could you not fall in love with a store that carries beautiful pumps by Balenciaga – and sells them at a reasonable price?

I couldn’t imagine that my passion for El Corte Inglés could get any deeper, but that’s exactly what happened on my last visit to Spain. While I was researching my trip (my first to Spain since being diagnosed with celiac disease), I came across the association Celíacs de Catalunya, which provides information for gluten-intolerant people who live in the Catalan region. In addition to recommended restaurants (which includes some information on other parts of Spain, too), the website provides a list of stores that sell celiac-safe foods, and I spotted El Corte Inglés on this list. After a visit to the store’s website, I was entranced. Was it possible that the department store’s supermarket division really stocked gluten-free croissants by Proceli, madeleines by Adpan, and baguettes by Special Line El Corte Inglés, with each product priced between 2 and 5 Euros? I suspected I was dreaming.

It turned out to be reality. While not every El Corte Inglés supermercado carried the full range of products that appear on the store’s website, every single one carried enough gluten-free goodies to thrill me and my taste buds. Not only was I able to enjoy baked goods sin gluten every day of my trip, but many of the products were vacuum-sealed and dated five months ahead (though once the package is opened, the contents need to be consumed within a few days).

In addition to my almost daily visits to the supermercado, I had to drop by the shoe department once or twice, too. Even with so many packages of Proceli croissants in my suitcase, I managed to find room for one more pair of Spanish-made shoes. The croissants are long gone, sadly, but the shoes are enjoying their new home in New York.

(A note on language and translation: The El Corte Inglés website is in Spanish, while the site for Celíacs de Catalunya is in Spanish and Catalan. You can translate some of the pages using Google. To view the options at El Corte Inglés Supermercado, you will need to enter a Spanish postal code. Can’t think of one? Type “1” in the box and a drop-down menu called “Centros de Recognida” will appear. Pick any option on that list and it will bring you do the main page for the supermarket. Because of the frames on this page, I find Google’s translator doesn’t work with it. Click on the first drop-down menu and select “Alimentos dieteticos”; in the second drop-down menu, select “Productos para celiacos”; on the third drop-down menu, click on each selection in turn to find gluten-free beer, cookies, breads, pastas, and other products.)