Category Archives: Restuarant Reviews

Rice to Riches NYC

Posted on March 22, 2012 | Leave a comment

I haven’t posted in far too long, I know. But I have an excuse! First, I was here:

Then, I was here:

I’ve been traveling and had TONS of great meals to share. We’ll start with something sweet.

I finally made it to Rich to Riches in SoHo. I’ve walked by a few times and heard great things (not to mention it was on Sex and the City), but had never pulled the trigger and gone in. I actually have never considered myself to be a huge rice pudding lover – it always seems like, why have rice pudding when you can have ice cream instead?

But this place made me a convert. I would take this rice pudding over ice cream any day.

source

They have over 20 flavors of rice pudding – all but two are gluten free (I know cookies and cream, and I think the honey graham).

Yep, that’s Rocky Road.

I tried a sample of the Hazelnut Chocolate Bear Hug and it was like eating nutella pudding. Delicious for a bite, but I think it would be too rich for a whole bowl.

I landed on the Pecan Pie.

It was creamy. So creamy. And had big chunks of pecans in it.

If I had one regret it was not adding whipped cream to the top to really give it the full pie experience.

This pretty much sums it up.

Also of interest – Rice to Riches has been wrapped up in a controversy lately about some racist wall signage that they put up. What a PR nightmare. Hopefully people will forgive them once they’re stunned into submission by the deliciousness of the pudding.

Rice to Riches
37 Spring Street
New York, NY

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Dear Buca di Beppo…

Posted on February 8, 2012 | 5 comments

Your gluten free menu is worthless and your decor is trashy.

Have a nice day,

Anna

I know, harsh. But I reallllly dislike Buca di Beppo. Their ridiculously large portions, their inauthentic dished, their poor quality ingredients, the silly knick-knacks on the walls – just bad. But I could overlook all of that if they didn’t have the worst gluten free menu I’ve ever seen.

First I should say that I respect any restaurant that actually has a gluten free menu and staff who are knowledgeable enough to accommodate gluten free diners. Buca di Beppo is a bit of an outlier though, since their food is all served family style. So, you basically have to force your entire table to eat gluten free, or you can pay up the wazoo for your own meal (which I ended up doing). My friends wanted to go to Buca so I didn’t really have a choice in the matter, but usually I have the mentality of “I can find something to eat anywhere”. This time that was not the case.

Here it is, folks:


Problems with this menu:

  1. The disclaimer at the top is good to have (and I’m sure required by their legal team), but it also says that I’m supposed to speak to a manager? Awkward.
  2. There are no prices on the menu. Since it’s not coming with pasta I thought it might cost less, but who would know? I also wasn’t sure if the dishes were still in the family size or if they were single serving since it was a special menu. It just says “salmon” – how many pieces of salmon? Does it come with something? Who knows?
  3. The only vegetarian things on the menu are three salads, green beans, broccoli, and mashed potatoes. Vegan options = house salad and green beans. That sure sounds like it’d make a satisfying meal!
  4. It seems like they could so easily offer gluten free pasta. Maybe I’m overlooking something, but it seems like if you dedicate a pot for just gluten free pasta and do a bit more quality control on cross contamination of the sauces, it would be really simple.
  5. No desserts.

I should so be a gluten free restaurant consultant. I’d whip this place right into shape.

So what did I end up getting?

This lousy piece of plain salmon (appears larger than it was. It was probably a 4oz portion, for $10)

And a salad.

Everyone else at the table gorged on bread, garlic bread, calamari, baked ziti, fettuccine alfredo… It was not a great time to be a Celiac.

Needless to say, Buca di Beppo is now on my “will not return” list. While it’s promising that they have such a large chain implementing a gluten free menu, it’s not at all a pleasant dining experience. for gluten free guests.

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More Baked and Wired

Posted on January 17, 2012 | Leave a comment

This bar from Baked and Wired warrants it’s own post. If I was a poet, I would write an ode to it to declare my undying devotion to its caramely goodness.

That’s a caramel blondie with a thick layer of caramel on top, full of chocolate chips, and topped with chocolate and peanut butter chips.

It’s buttery, chewy, and the kind of baked good you need to pace yourself with. You better believe I obnoxiously ate this and crinkled the wax paper during the movie I went to after – I just couldn’t stop myself.


Both times I’ve been to Baked and Wired the non-gluten free friends I’ve been with have liked my gluten free treat better than their own. So there.

A baked good that probably isn’t as good, but I’ve never seen before, so I thought I’d share, are these mini pound cakes from Jennie’s Gluten Free Bakery. They also have these cakes in raisin and marble flavors, which sound more up my alley than plain. I can imagine using these to make strawberry shortcakes pretty easily though.

As you can see, I did not make a New Year’s resolution to cut down on sweets 🙂

 

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Vic’s Bagel Bar NYC does it again

Posted on January 16, 2012 | Leave a comment

Remember the last time I went to Vic’s Bagel Bar in NYC and nearly died of ecstasy from my gluten free everything bagel with smoked salmon cream cheese?

I certainly do. I couldn’t wait to go back the last time I was in NYC.

This time I decided to go in another direction and get a sweet bagel. So I started with a plain bagel and added peanut butter…

Then I decided to mix in bananas…

Then I decided, whattheheck, why not add potato chips too?

It’s stick to the roof of your mouth, crunchy, salty/sweet goodness. I forced myself to save half just so I could continue to eat it later.

This time they also were selling Tate’s Bake Shop chocolate chip cookies at the front, so I picked up a bag.

These were good, but I honestly really don’t like crunchy cookies, so they didn’t really do it for me. I ended up giving the package to a friend back in DC.

If I could give one gift to someone who has Celiac’s, it would be to take them to NYC and get Vic’s bagels.

Next time I’m getting a pizza bagel 🙂

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Baked and Wired. Best gluten free baked goods in DC

Posted on December 12, 2011 | 2 comments

This weekend I did some shopping in Georgetown, and I shop best on a steady fuel of sugar and coffee. I’d heard that Baked and Wired carried gluten free baked goods, so I decided to go and see what was on the menu. I wish that their online menu was separated for gluten free items so I knew what to expect, but I decided to take a chance and go anyway.

And boy am I glad I did.

The first thing that caught my eye was a strawberry and chocolate cupcake. But, that’s not really my style.

Then I asked if they had anything else that was gluten free and they pointed me to this.

The best gluten free baked good I’ve had in DC. And in my top ten gluten free desserts I’ve ever had. Not exaggerating.

Caramel blondie, chock full of peanuts, chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, and caramel sauce. Insanely rich and buttery, chewy, and full of fun toppings.

I savored every bite, and pulled out some will power to save half of it for later.


Do you see that giant lump of caramel? And drool a bit? Yeah, I thought so.

They also had flourless peanut butter cookies. But who would get that when there’s the blondie from heaven available?

Their coffee is also great – I had an Americano made with Stumptown espresso. The guys who work there are a bit smug, but I overlooked it as I was too busy stuffing my mouth with caramel to care.

Baked and Wired

1052 Thomas Jefferson Street NW
Washington, DC 20007

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Dino

Posted on November 14, 2011 | Leave a comment

This weekend I finally used my Living Social deal to Dino in Cleveland Park. Even though the outside is unassuming, I’d heard good things about it, and their menu is marked with gluten free/”can be made gluten free” items.

For an appetizer we got the spinach soup and a radicchio/arugula salad.

Shaved grana cheese and hazelnuts.


The spinach soup might not win any food beauty contests, but it was great. Really… spinachy?

Then as an entree I got the Autumn risotto. I love anything with squash in it, but this was really good.

For dessert we got the “Nico”, which I can’t believe I didn’t take a picture of. Probably because I was too busy getting high on chocolate endorphins. It’s basically a fancy gelato layered dessert – bittersweet chocolate gelato with chopped chocolate, hazelnut gelato with toasted hazelnuts, chocolate sauce, and amaretto whipped cream.

I will definitely be back to Dino – the menu is huge and seasonal, they have reasonably priced bottles of wine, and they have the best dessert I’ve had yet in DC. So, win/win/win.

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Cafe Green – bad service, good cheesecake.

Posted on November 7, 2011 | 3 comments

It’s a shame that when you’re looking for brunch places in DC with vegan and gluten free options, there are really only a handful of places that come immediately to mind. Cafe Green is always top on the list because of their menu and central location, but they’re also notorious for having bad service and being a bit discombobulated.

When I met up with Katelyn (New Kid on the Vegan Block) there this weekend, they were certainly true to form. The first mistake was our bad – we assumed they served brunch on Saturdays, but it’s only on Sundays. The rest were their bads.

There was a mix up with our food order, we didn’t get our “superfruit” cocktails until after our meal, and they kept trying to take our coffee away.

Either way, their “famous” veggie burger was pretty darn tasty, and the coleslaw was great piled on top. I love daiya cheese for its Velveeta-like creaminess, and the peppers were also a nice touch. You can see Katelyn’s tempeh sandwich on her post.

Now I will commence a rant on Udi’s bread:

I really need to stop ordering sandwiches at places with Udi’s bread. It’s not good, I end up paying extra for it, and it’s small and not flavorful. Why don’t more restaurants have local gluten free bread? Or at least attempt to make their own? The bread that comes out of my breadmaker is approximately 900 times better than Udi’s. I get that Udi’s is probably the cheapest option for restaurants, but it’s just so…lame.

K, rant ended. My hatred for Udi’s bread grows stronger every time I eat it though.

My recommendation for going to Cafe Green? Don’t go with someone who is going to complain about the service, only easy going people who don’t mind waiting/dealing with weirdness. Also order the mac and cheese and the cheesecake. They’re the best things on the menu. Also make sure if you want brunch you go on SUNDAY.

I brought home with me some chocolate banana cheesecake (amazing), and some of Katelyn’s homemade granola bars! (also amazing). I know she’s been working on perfecting her recipe, but I can’t imagine them getting much better. They’re my favorite kind of granola bars – moist, flavorful, and addictive.

Now I still have to go back to Cafe Green for brunch at some point, because they have a few pancake/french toast plates that sound delicious. Maybe I’ll bring them some of my bread so they can think about replacing that Udi’s with something more…edible.

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Gluten free at Grey Market DC

Posted on October 23, 2011 | 2 comments

Yesterday I went to my first Grey Market. It was way-the-heck up in Columbia Heights/Petworth, and also in a small basement of a corner store. It kind of felt like the Dirty Dancing set where all of the workers danced, but filled with food vendors.

There were mostly baked goods up for sale, with adorable mini pop tarts, cupcakes, and Halloween-themed cookies. So, not much for me to sample. On their products page, it looked like there would be a few gluten free vendors there, but I only saw one: Sweet Nuttings. Maybe I missed the other ones in the chaos…


This place has a great bakery concept: focus on nuts, and let them each shine in their own dedicated cookie.

I got one of each.


The pistachio one was my favorite I think, but they were all delicious. They had a rich, buttery texture, and tasted like an amplified version of the nut.

How gorgeous is that cookie? I wish I’d bought a dozen.


Sadly I can’t find a website for them, but they have an email address: sweetnuttings@gmail.com.

After Grey Market, we headed over to The Heights, which I’m only mentioning because they had the most delicious Maple Squash and Sage soup ever.


It’s vegan and gluten free, and tastes like Thanksgiving. I guarantee that this will wet your whistle for Turkey Day. The Heights also has an amazing happy hour with $4.25 glasses of wine (dangerous).

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36 Hours in NYC – Chinese food and Terri love

Posted on October 1, 2011 | 4 comments

Over the last week I’ve been in and out of NYC for work, and tried to visit as many of my favorite places as I could. I didn’t quite get everywhere that I wanted to go, but here are a few highlights:

Terri Vegetarian – Flatiron

I’ve raved about Terri before, and since it’s right by my office I went there twice. They also recently created a menu that has all of their sandwiches reworked to be gluten free (just ask for it, they have it behind the counter). It’s basically just replacing any other fillings with their soy “chicken” strips, but still helpful to have.
I got the “Chicken” “Cheddar” “Ranch” wrap (so many quotation marks!) one time, and the Buffalo “Chicken” wrap the other.

I know that it weirds some people out, but I love Daiya cheese. It tastes like Velveeta to me, and I don’t see how that’s a bad thing. And the “ranch” dressing is really good, there’s a ton of flavor in it and I think I like it more than the bottled stuff.

Lili’s 57 – Midtown

This was a new one for me – gluten free General Tso’s shrimp! I haven’t eaten Chinese food like this since I was diagnosed, so it was a real treat. I can’t say that I really miss eating food like this, because it’s really heavy, but it was definitely delicious. And a side roll of sushi made it feel a bit healthier. They also carry Redbridge and have a full gluten free Chinese food menu.

Bluedog Cafe – Chelsea/Flatiron

I wouldn’t say that Bluedog caters to gluten free diners really, but they do almost always have a really yummy gluten free salad of some kind. This one was roasted carrots, butternut squash, and chickpeas. Holy Vitamin K.

Not pictured gluten free eats included a piece of cake from Mozzarelli’s, a bag of cookies from Babycakes, and a salad from the Birreria at Eataly, and a surprisingly fabulous bag of gluten free animal cookie from Duane Reade.

Being back in NYC sure did make me miss having all of my favorite gluten free places right around the corner, not to mention skylines like this:

I think that I can manage with my new DC skyline though. Nothing beats looking at this on your way to work every day.

Where would you go with 36 hours in the Big Apple? What are your “must-go” places in NYC?

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DC Veg Fest

Posted on September 26, 2011 | Leave a comment

This Saturday was DC Veg Fest, on the campus of George Washington University. Usually vegetarian/vegan events are gluten free-friendly, plus I love vegetables, so I was pumped.

Right away the tent for Sunflower Vegetarian Restaurant caught my eye.

They had spring rolls and tiramisu that were marked gluten free. Unfortunately, by the time I walked around and got back to their tent, they were out of tiramisu. So sad.

Next logical choice? Mung bean pancake from Cafe Green. Just kidding, it was no tiramisu, but it was fine. I wasn’t really expecting mung beans to blow my mind.

Now, not to be a hater, but there were a few things about the VegFest that irked me.

  1. There were hardly any vegetables. There were cupcakes, Indian food, mac and cheese, and nachos. I swear if someone was selling cups of cut up vegetables they would have sold like hot cakes. As my friend Kaitlin says, there’s a difference between vegetarians and people who love vegetables.
  2. Equating vegetarianism with animal-loving. I mean, who doesn’t love animals? But it’s not the sole reason why people are vegetarians. And I wouldn’t really call myself an animal lover – they can do their own animal thing, and I’ll do my human thing, and if we happen to be together we’ll have a good ole time. At one point a speaker said that vegetarians are the “kindest people in the world”. Really? I know many a bitchy vegetarian that would prove otherwise.
  3. No balloon animals or games. It’s a festival people! Aside from one guy dressed up like a giant carrot, it was kind of a serious festival. We missed the cupcake eating contest, but if I’m going to a festival I’m expecting there to be a bean bag toss, or a magician or something. (Also, isn’t a vegan cupcake eating contest a total oxymoron?)

And that concludes my VegFest rant. I think I should stick with my gluten free peeps from now on.

 

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