Tag Archives: cheese

Mrs. Crimble’s: when gluten free goes wrong

Posted on September 18, 2011 | 3 comments

Last week Mrs. Crimble’s cheese bites were on sale at Whole Foods. And since I’ll buy pretty much anything on sale and gluten free, I figured “what the heck?” and threw them in my basket.

The cheese bites replace wheat flour with cheese, which is cool, and also looked like Bugles on the package. And my heart still beats for Bugles, so I had high hopes for these little cheesy babies.

So, let me start by saying that these, in no way, tasted like sour cream and onion. They tasted like…nothing really. With a slight aftertaste of cheese. They’re also too pointy and thin, so it’s like eating sharp cheese paper.

This video review from GFree TV seems to agree with me – they’re just not good.

They’re not salty, don’t taste like much, and were overpriced (I think about $4 for about a single-serving bag).

I also saw on Mrs. Crimble’s website that they make the chocolate macaroons that I hated. They looked just like the Girl Scout cookies Samoas, which were my favorite. But they were really dense and overly chewy. I ended up throwing out the package. And that’s saying something, considering I’m a cookie monster in training.

I would have been better off making my own gluten free Samoas with this recipe from Gluten Free Betsy.

Is it because Mrs. Crimble’s is a British company? Who knows. Just don’t buy it. Even if it is on sale at Whole Foods 🙂

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For reals gluten free – Pao de Queijo/Pan de Yuca

Posted on April 7, 2011 | 1 comment

One of the benefits of living in such a diverse neighborhood is getting introduced to new foods I wouldn’t have tried or known existed before.  Like Pao de Queijo, or Pan de Yuca – otherwise known as “Cheesy chewy bread of amazement”.  This bread tastes like it’s full of gluten because it’s so chewy and moist, but it’s made entirely of yuca flour and has been forever and ever.  This is one of those things that make you say, “These are gluten-free?”…”For reals?!”

One disclaimer is that normally these are not made in a dedicated bakery, so there is a chance for cross-contamination.  So, those with extremely sensitive allergies might want to steer clear.

Apparently these little babies have been getting some press lately (see Brazilian Cheezy-Poofs on Serious Eats).

Around Astoria I know two places that have them, the aptly named New York Pao de Queijo on 31st Ave and 30th St and La Casa del Pan.  At New York Pao de Queijo they also have fillings for the bread like catupiri (a soft cheese), ham and cheese, caramel (?), and guava paste.  Plus they have flan and rice pudding for dessert.

At La Casa del Pan they have the normal Pao de Queijo and ones that are shaped like bagels, plus arepas and a window display of pre-cooked bacon.

In the city I know they have this bread at Big Booty Bread Company and a lot of other places, as chronicled by Always Hungry.  I think I’ll have to take a field trip to Churrascaria Plataforma on 49th St. sometime soon.

Get these on your table and in your tummy as soon as possible.

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Posted in Restuarant Reviews, Staple foods

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