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Last weekend I was hoping to take my dad to Birch and Barley for brunch, but after finding out there was a 45 minute wait we went with Estadio instead for some Spanish tapas.

I got the scallops with cauliflower and salbitxada. I originally wanted to get the halibut, but the waiter informed me that romesco tomato sauce has bread in it (?!) I guess they take normal tomato sauce and blend in some stale bread. It’s basically a landmine for celiacs. Tricky tricky…

I also got a side of mushrooms to share. Mmm fungus.

The entire point of this post is to tell you to go eat this manchego and pistachio cheesecake. It’s not advertised as being gluten free, but it is. And it’s amazing.

The crust is just sweetened pistachios, but the cake itself is so good. It’s not too sweet because of the manchego, and the caramel stuff on top is a bit salty. Such a special treat, and the closest thing I had to birthday cake this year.

Estadio
1520 14th Street NW
Washington, DC 20005

I already did a post about foods that are great for a hangover (jalapeno pizza with an egg on top and french fries). But I think I have determined that the preeminent gluten free hangover cure is…drumroll please…

Huevos rancheros! Bonus points if the tortillas are fried, and it comes with fried potatoes on the side like mine did this weekend.

This lovely artery-clogging meal was brought to me by Scion in Dupont. They have gluten free icons on their menu (incredibly helpful), as well as $13 bottomless mimosas and a free fruit buffet to replenish those vitamins.

Cheese = good. Salsa = good. Beans = good. Throw in a heavy dose of grease and you’ve got yourself a quality meal.

My other favorite fried thing at Scion is their hand-cut herbed fries. Dedicated fryer for the win.

Scion also has some healthier options, of course, but don’t ask me about those since apparently I only consume carbohydrates and grease when I go there.

Other gluten free items on their menu that would be great for soothing a hangover = potato nachos and lobster hash.

Scion
2100 P Street NW
Washington, D.C. 20037

I was in New York City this weekend, and you know what that means – bakeries! When I get to the city I pretty much throw any health awareness out the window and consume only baked goods for at least one meal a day.

I’d been dying to go to Pip’s Place since they opened, so that was my first stop.

The interior was so cute. I think if I had a bakery of my own, this is exactly what it would look like. And the feeling of walking into a bakery where you can eat everything? Just pure elation.

After mulling it over and getting some recommendations from the friendly staff – I landed on a snickerdoodle cookie, a chocolate chip cookie, and a Heath layered bar.

They had a bunch of varieties of cookies, pecan pie, rye bread, banana chip bread – I could go there every day for a month and not get the same thing.

Quite a few things were dairy free as well, like these adorable lemon tarts.

But this guy. He was the star of the show. A shortbread cookie, topped with caramel, topped with a thick layer of chocolate, finished off with Heath bar crumbles on top.

Seriously, just one bite and I was beside myself. I had to ration it over two days so I could savor it longer.

I want to live in Pip’s Place and eat these bars for every meal. Or at least give the owner a giant hug for making them. Put this place on your gluten free bucket list.

Pip’s Place
1729-31 1st Ave
New York, NY

The folks at Boulder Granola were so kind to send me a sample of their granola after reading my post on Bakery on Main’s granola (which I love).

Boulder Granola says that “Our granola is 100% organic and filled with nutritious ingredients AND only 2 grams of “sugar” per serving. We use organic Vermont maples syrup and not too much!! The sweetness comes from the organic almonds and seeds, etc.”

The company’s owner started up Boulder Granola using her mom’s recipe after becoming an empty-nester a few years ago. Any lady with that kind of gumption, who still says things like “I can dig” is someone I fully support!

Their slogan, “unleash your inner hippie,” really appealed to me, seeing as I recently unleashed my inner hippie in Hawaii when I lived in this Volkswagen bus on a lava flow. Groovy, huh? (Sidenote: why is there no granola-themed food truck? I need to get on that.)

I should say that I was a bit surprised when I opened the package because it’s a very fine granola, made of lots of sesame and sunflower seeds and gluten free oats that are in tiny pieces.

There were a few chunks of almonds and clusters of granola, but I think that’s because it’s way lower in sugar than most granolas that are covered in honey or brown sugar to make it clump. Boulder Granola has over three times less sugar than the Bakery on Main stuff – win!

I tried it on top of oatmeal, in cereal, sprinkled on top of apples dipped in peanut butter, and with a big bowl of greek yogurt.

Thanks to the people at Boulder Granola for the sample – I hope they keep expanding and get into more stores soon!

You can find it in stores in the Boulder, Colorado area, or you can buy it online for $7 for a big bag and $3 for a small bag.

You can also learn more:

On their website: http://www.bouldergranola.com
On Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/BoulderGranola
On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BoulderGranola

Here are a few cool things going on in the gluten free scene here in DC, as well as a few new finds around the district!

1. Tickets are on sale for the DC gluten free expo in June!

I’m already pumped for the gluten free expo! It’s June 15th at the Four Points Sheraton, and will have 70 vendors sharing delicious gluten free treats! Tickets are only $15 and you can buy them here! (All proceeds from the event will benefit the patients and families of the Celiac Disease Program at Children’s National Medical Center).

2. Ripple in Cleveland Park opens Sugar Magnolia bakery and has gluten free ice cream sandwiches!

Last week my favorite wine bar, Ripple, opened a small bake shop attached to the restaurant. I stopped in and they actually have a bunch of gluten free options! When I went they were out of meringue cookies – but usually they have the cookies, and use them to make ice cream sandwiches!

Cocoa meringue with salted caramel toffee ice cream? Yes please.

They did have brownies when I was there that are made with almond flour and gluten free. Mmm…chocolicious.

4. Custom Choice cereal available at Dean and Deluca

I found this delicious looking cereal at Dean and Deluca in Georgetown (also home to the best mocha you’ve ever drank). At $9 a bag it was a bit too expensive for my blood, but certainly looks good! I feel like if you’re going to pay that much, you might as well go create your own mix on their website though (which seems to be broken right now).

5. My friend makes the biggest falafel sandwich ever created at Amsterdam Falafel

I can’t confirm, but I believe this to be the largest falfel pita sandwich ever constructed. It’s like it’s a volcanic eruption of toppings.

There you have it! The latest and greatest from the city that never sleeps goes to bed at a reasonable hour so we can change the world in the morning 🙂

As a follow up to my “How to date someone who’s gluten free” post, I thought I’d take it down a notch and write about having a friend who’s gluten free.

To me, there are really only three suggestions that I would make to said friend: think ahead, be supportive, and put the bacon on the side.

1. Think ahead

The other night I went over to a friend’s to watch the Sugar Bowl, and she had made a whole separate plate of cheese and crackers just for me! All it took was some forethought on her part to buy a box of Glutino crackers, and it made my night! So thoughtful.

She also made homemade veggie dip and told me all of the ingredients before I had any; I didn’t have to worry about anything.

This same principle applies to suggesting restaurants – before suggesting a place to go to breakfast, think. Then don’t suggest we go to a place that only serves crepes.

2. Be supportive

It’s okay if we’re out and you want to eat late night pizza. I’m your friend and I’ll go with you. You must also be a friend and come with me to find food that I can eat. Tit for tat, buddy.

Also, be nice. Don’t “nananana boo boo” me because you can eat the donuts at the morning meeting. And try to supress the urge to make orgasmic eating noises as you down a delicious piece of cake for dessert. Sometimes I just need to believe that I’m not missing out on anything. When I go to the bathroom, feel free to rave about it behind my back.

3. Put the bacon on the side

This goes hand in hand with “think ahead”, but being willing to make small sacrifices for a gfree friend is key. It’s similar to meat eaters being friends with vegetarians – if you’re ordering pizza you get one with meat and one with veggies. If you’re sharing a plate of cheese fries and you want bacon on it (because that seems necessary), then ask for the bacon on the side.

In my case, my aunt made this yummy creamy potato soup for our family. Not only is it gluten free, but she also substituted the chicken stock for vegetable stock to make it vegetarian. Then she put the bacon on the side for the rest of my family to top their soup with.

Everyone’s happy and no one gets glutened!

Do you have any tips for friends and family of gluten free people? Anything that someone has done for you that was particularly friendly to your food allergy?

I’m lucky in that I rarely get sick in the traditional sense of the word. Colds? Nope. Flu? Nah. Migranes? No. Cough and sore throat? Hardly.

I try to take really good care of myself, and that results in me being a healthy and happy person most of the time. I can’t remember the last time I was bedridden, took a sick day, or needed to hit up the pharmacy for cough syrup.

That said. Sometimes, I just don’t know what the heck my body is doing.

Is it gluten? Is it the three glasses of wine I had last night? Is it just the weather? Is it the ab workout I did? Can’t tell!

We all know the “classic” signs that you’ve had gluten. But what about the other little things? These are a few signs that I’m still not sure if they’re gluten-related or not.

1. Random cramp on the left side of my stomach

At one point I thought I might have appendicitis because I just get one bad cramp on my left side sometimes, especially when I’m working out. It will be really painful right when I start running, but then I can usually work it out by the time I’m done with my run.  So, it could just be that my abs are sore? Or I have a normal cramp, but it’s only every so often.

2. Fatigue

Usually I’m a 7 hour sleeper. If I go to bed at 11, then I’m up at 6 or 6:30 with no alarm. But then there are periods of a week or so where I can sleep 9 hours, and still need an alarm. I’ll also find myself wanting to nap in the middle of the day.

3. Dizziness

I’ve been known to faint when giving blood, or getting a shot, or just randomly on the subway when I get too hot. I’ve noticed, however, that sometimes I’m a bit dizzy just walking around. Or maybe foggy? I still haven’t figured out if it’s a nutrient deficiency, dehydration, or just in my head.

4. Aches

Sometimes I’ll get lower back pain, or my neck will get a huge kink in it. It could just be my mattress, or a long run – but it could be gluten.

Any random things happen to your body/health that you question if it’s gluten or not?

Friday night before the hurricane that wasn’t really a hurricane, I headed to Thaiphoon in Dupont for dinner – oh the irony.

Thaiphoon? Hurricane? Get it?  Of course you do.

They didn’t have red curry (boo, hiss) but they did have green curry; I got mune with tofu. After about 3 minutes it arrived at our table (not exaggerating, it was the quickest I’ve ever gotten food from a restaurant).

I almost always get a curry dish at Thai restaurants, even though almost all of the rice and noodle dishes are gluten free as well (as long as they don’t have soy or oyster sauce in them). I think after not being able to eat a giant bowl of noodles for so long, it just doesn’t appeal to me as much as it used to.

Thaiphoon

2011 S Street Northwest, Washington DC

After fighting the hoards of people out shopping for hurricane prep items, we landed at The Heights in Columbia Heights for a late night mini-meal. I was still full from dinner, so I opted for dessert.

Then, a small miracle happened. For the first time EVER since I moved to DC the waiter asked if anyone at the table had any food allergies he should be aware of. Love it!

The Heights is known for their brunch and massive Bloody Mary menu, so I’ll have to go back. They also indicate on their menu vegetarian/vegan options, and “serve only local, all-natural and grass-fed steak, poultry and dairy products.”

I got the grilled peaches and sea salt gelato, which the waiter confirmed was gluten free with the chef.

I honestly couldn’t taste any sea salt in the gelato, it tasted like vanilla bean ice cream. It was a nice light seasonal dessert.

The Heights

3115 14th St. NW, Washington DC, 20010