sinjawns's Profile
Cheap Gluten Free Eats- What's not to be missed?!
Some ideas... nothing earth-shattering, but cheap, cheerful and GF
-The Dosa cart guy on the south side of Washington Square
- Maoz falafel (union square and elsewhere)
- Grom gelato
- Friedman's lunch, Chelsea market
- Empellon, Tacos etc
- Bogota bistro, park slope, brooklyn (arepas, corn empanadas etc)
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Maoz
38 Union Sq E, New York, NY 10003
New York Dosas
Washington Sq S and Sullivan St, New York, NY 10012
Friedman's Lunch
75 9th Ave, New York, NY 10011
Grom
233 Bleecker St, New York, NY 10014
Empellon Taqueria
230 W 4th St, New York, NY 10014
Not-so-fancy place that can handle dietary restrictions
Won't list them all (way too many over the years), but of the commonly-mentioned in this area: Laloux, Lemeac, L'Express, La Raclette, Pinxto, Casa Tapas, APDC, Reservoir... all of these have been before gluten was an issue. I miss those days.
Yes, obviously we can spot game on the menu-- we are looking for a place that can offer adequate choices for both of us. A couple of the places I listed don't post a menu, hence the request for advice.
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L'Express Restaurant
3927 Rue Saint-Denis, Montreal, QC H2W2M4, CA
Casa Tapas
266 Rue Rachel E, Montreal, QC H2W1E6, CA
Not-so-fancy place that can handle dietary restrictions
Hello folks--
we are back in Montreal next week and wanting to add a new restaurant to our repertoire (new to us, at least). Looking for a simple, quality place that can confidently accommodate, and provide a variety of options for, one gluten intolerant diner and one who doesn't eat game or organ meats.
We are looking at around $60 each for food excluding wine. Could be BYO or not. Plateau-ish, probably. Seafood would be good. We don't mind sitting at a bar.
We are considering 3 Petits Bouchons, le Petit Plateau (don't know how we managed to not get there yet...), and Chez Chose. Will any of these fit our criteria? Would Au Cinquième Péché be too limited?
Any other suggestions?
Thanks for your help.
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Chez Chose
4621 St-Denis, Montréal, QC H2V 2L4, CA
5 nights with coeliac dad - help !
Hi Williwan-
I just spent a month in NYC, and I can tell you that I ate very well on gluten-free food. The best experience, and the one I would suggest for the birthday dinner, is Maialino (another Danny M resto). Warm and friendly, not hip but not dowdy, really excellent and knowledgeable service. Your father will not be made to feel like a second-class citizen. They happily sub a good quality corn pasta for the usual in most of the pasta dishes (notify them when you book).
Cider: we were impressed with the range of local and regional ciders in the shops, but we aren't big bar people so I have no places to suggest.
Burgers: Shake Shack has a GF menu on the website-- burger is served on lettuce.
GF menus: I was really thrilled with the range of places that accommodated GF-- didn't get to try them all, sadly. Some of the ones we did try:
Nizza (French-Italian, entire GF menu along with the regular, iffy service but pretty good food; I think they do brunch);
Friedman's Lunch (in Chelsea Market... great place for a quick bite; have heard varying reviews but we were delighted with it; breakfast too)
Rosa Mexicano (small chain; we went to the one by the Lincoln Centre)-- lots of GF options, good service, happening (and loud) room.
Maoz Falafel (chain; Union Square is good for a lunch in the park); their falafel is GF (nothing else in the fryer), and they have a salad bar with lots of choice (although possibility of cross-contamination exists).
Grom Gelato lists all allergens on its menu, and they are mostly GF.
Risotteria: I have been there on previous visits and while I appreciated the entirely GF menu, their risotto wasn't the best I have had.
We went out of our way to go to a place in Chinatown that promised GF dim sum (Nom Wah Tea Parlor) but it was a disaster: things marked gluten-free were not (regular soy sauce was in some of them, and others were made with wheat dumplings) and the cavalier server did not instill confidence in me. Avoid.
Enjoy your holiday...
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Shake Shack
Madison Ave and E 23rd St, New York, NY 10010
Rosa Mexicano
61 Columbus Avenue, New York, NY 10023
Nizza
630 9th Avenue, New York, NY 10036
Nom Wah Tea Parlor
13 Doyers St, New York, NY 10013
Maoz
38 Union Sq E, New York, NY 10003
Risotteria
270 Bleecker St, New York, NY 10014
Friedman's Lunch
75 9th Ave, New York, NY 10011
Grom
233 Bleecker St, New York, NY 10014
Maialino
2 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10010
St. John's area restaurants: 2011
I see that much of the information on dining options in Newfoundland is out of date, and a few people have asked for info and had no response.
I'll start by offering a few options and hope that others join in. I'll add more as time permits.
True, Newfoundland is not exactly a culinary paradise, but here are the better of the lot, in my opinion:
Fine Dining:
- Raymonds, Water Street
Very expensive, dinner only, bar (but with the same menu/prices as the dining room), reservations almost always essential. Excellent service, very high prices. They make a valiant attempt to use local products in an area where farmers and food producers are scarce. Seafood options; tasting menu. Excellent service-- friendly but not too friendly. Nice view of the harbour. Expect to pay $100-$150 per person with wine. In my experience, the food tends to be overly salted.
http://raymondsrestaurant.com/
Pizza:
Piatto Pizzeria + Enoteca, Duckworth Street
Genuine Neopolitan pizza (they have the certification...) in a very pleasant environment; bar upstairs. Expect to pay $35 per person for pizza, wine and dessert. No reservations; open for lunch and dinner.
http://www.piattopizzeria.com/
Bakery and Cafe:
Rocket, Water Street
Excellent bakery and coffee shop with some grocery items and some prepared foods. Croissants, cakes, focaccia etc. Some gluten-free options. Self-service. Tables to eat in; live music on occasion.
http://rocketfood.ca/
Picnics:
Lighthouse Picnics, Ferryland
Exceptional homemade food in a spectacular setting. 25 minute walk to the lighthouse. Seating inside in the event of bad weather; otherwise, they provide the blanket and the basket and you may see whales cavorting offshore. About $25 per person.
http://www.lighthousepicnics.ca/
Lunch:
Hungry Heart Cafe, Military Road, St. John's
A beautiful bright room; lunch on weekdays, brunch on Sunday. Non-profit enterprise that offers. along with excellent food, training and employment programs for adults. Some gluten-free. No seafood/ fish, and no alcohol. Reservations often necessary. About $20 per person for lunch.
http://www.hungryheartcafe.ca
Best Food Films - any new additions?
Just recently saw "The Trip"... a goofy and occasionally hilarious psuedo-doc featuring Rob Brydon and Steve Coogan touring fine restaurants in the north of England. Based on a BBC series that I have not yet seen, but want to.
http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/independent/thetrip/
Restaurant Week Summer 2011: The List
That duck breast sounds truly horrid... eek. If you hadn't had the massive tarte you would have had to change your name to veryhungryinmanhattan.
To clarify for others, there are two duck dishes on the RW menu; I had the duck confit, which was amazing, at least on the night I was there.
Restaurant Week Summer 2011: The List
If you are looking for quality and quantity, I would say go for the duck confit. Very satisfying. The RW steak dish, while rich and tasty, was a tiny portion-- maybe 3oz.
Restaurant Week Summer 2011: The List
We did lunch at Maialino, and dinner at the Modern Bar. Both were excellent, but overall we preferred the former for ambience and food... we were able to converse. The Modern was extremely loud, even at 9pm and stayed so until our departure after 11. The crowd was young (30 somethings) and boisterous.
At the former, we had: prosciutto and melon(1) and (2) an artichoke mousse crostata (they advertised fried artichokes but there was a menu change), both fine; a lamb minestra and a pasta with mussels, both excellent; and cheese plate and a gelato plate, also excellent. We especially enjoyed the olive oil and strawberry-basil gelati. Good $40ish rose from le Marche. Excellent service. They accommodated a food allergy in a professional and reassuring way.
At the Modern Bar Room, we had: (1) egg (interesting but not a 'must have again') and tarte flambee (massive, just OK); the duck confit and the steak (both exceptional); gelato (three flavours tasting almost the same, for some reason) and the chocolate dome (non-sweet eater went crazy for this). Gruner Veltliner for wine, $40 from the value menu (there are plenty of very expensive wines here). Competent service. A fun night out, $160 for 2 all in.
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The Modern
9 West 53rd Street, New York, NY 10019
Maialino
2 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10010
Restaurant Week Summer 2011: The List
Some of the menus can be seen on this page: http://www.nycgo.com/rw-earlyrez/?a=1&b=1&cid=tw_rw
Restaurant Week Summer 2011: The List
Open Table has the list of participating restaurants up. http://www.opentable.com/promo.aspx?m=8&ref=412&pid=69
Three questions:
- what, in your opinion, are the most promising lunch options? I am thinking of quality places that don't normally offer a comparable fixed price menu. Nougatine, for example, regularly has a fixed price lunch for $28, so the RW menu is not a big draw. Aldea has a $24.07 three-course lunch on the regular menu.
- I see that only two Brooklyn restaurants participating: River Cafe and Benchmark. Is this typical? If not, why so few this time around?
- Have you had any experience with restaurants accommodating or not accommodating diners with allergies on a RW menu?
Old Mexican Restaurant in Greenwich Village - The Alamo?
A missed headline opportunity: Remember the Alamo?
Prospect Park: What's in the picnic basket?
Thanks for the heads up... not so charming to drink champers from a thermos or a plastic cup, but we will do what is necessary.
Prospect Park: What's in the picnic basket?
Thanks jen and jimmy for the suggestions.
We are there for a few weeks and will definitely hit the greenmarket, the flea, etc. together. For the picnic, I will shop on my own and meet SO at the park. I might do a mix of stuff from Blue Apron and D'vine...
Prospect Park: What's in the picnic basket?
We are visiting Brooklyn in July, staying near Grand Army Plaza.
I have a tradition of wooing my SO with a lovely picnic in each new city we visit. Where should I go near Prospect Park (I'll be on foot) to fill the picnic basket?
We are open to any kind of food except sandwiches, really (I can't eat gluten, but suggestions for excellent bread for SO would be welcomed); looking for something wowsy to go with the champagne.
I'd also appreciate suggestions for best picnicking spots in the park (partial shade, grassy, not too crowded; we would probably go mid-afternoon early evening, mid-week).
Thanks in advance for supporting my wooing effort.
May 2011 COTM, PLENTY: Roots, Funny Onions
I took a test kitchen approach this time, after two previous Plenty failures (eggplant with pomegranate, and the controversial pepper tofu; see previous posts). Normally, I use my own judgement when reading a recipe, making substitutions, basically taking the recipe as inspiration rather than gospel. This time, I went by the book, doing the entire mise in advance, refreshing my spices and substituting nothing.
Beetlebug and Nightshade areexactly right: those spices, including the garlic, need cooking before the carrots get tossed in or you will have spice grit and raw garlic chunks in there (the garlic is crushed rather than minced or made into a paste.)
My opinion of the recipe as written: acceptable but not wowsie, gritty, lifted mainly by the yogurt preserved lemon and cilantro, which make almost anything taste great (unless you are a cilantro hater; there is more than 1/2cup per serving in this one). It tasted better to me at room temp and sitting a while than it did when still warm, and is best as a small component of a larger plate.
CHEAP EATS ROME
Hi Michael:
Not in your neighbourhood, but if you want cheap eats head towards the university, La Sapienza, which is in the San Lorenzo neighbourhood. Lots of cheap and cheerful places off Tiburtina. One that I have mentioned in a couple of posts: Da Franco ar Vicoletto, Via dei Falisci 1/b; seafood, very local-- about 25E for three courses including wine, water, coperto. If that is still too steep, you'll find an array of options in this area. They can't rely on tourist traffic around here so they keep the students happy with low prices and satisfying food.
May 2011 COTM, PLENTY: Roots, Funny Onions
That's right blue room; Masterchef is an amateur cooking competition that has spread it's way around the world. The UK episode with Ottolenghi was series 7 episode 7, in case anyone wants to look it up.
May 2011 COTM, PLENTY: Capsicums, Brassicas, The Mighty Eggplant
Apologies -- it was actually two duds from this book and one from the Guardian (I made the clarifying edit, above). I have just posted my second Plenty review, which was for the Black Pepper Tofu.
You're right, BC-- the seasoning is weak on the eggplant, and the za'atar didn't cut it. I tossed on some aleppo pepper at the end to lift it, but it still underwhelmed.
May 2011 COTM, PLENTY: Roots, Funny Onions
Black Pepper Tofu, p44
One of my two failed exercises from Plenty... I see from posts a while back that there have been mixed results. http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/706598
I had been keen to try it since seeing it made on this year's Mastechef UK. And I was charmed by Ottolenghi too...
Sorry handsome Yotam, but this is far too much labour and too many calories for the outcome.
I followed the recipe except that I used gluten free soy (for both the light and dark soy specified) and had to make my own kecap manis.
I confess to liking tofu. I also adore black pepper as well as heat, so was not put off by the spicing. I think, however, it would be too much for most people. The gobs of butter (2/3 cup for 4 servings) is just silly. And three kinds of soy sauce-- really?
Won't be making this one again.
May 2011 COTM, PLENTY: Capsicums, Brassicas, The Mighty Eggplant
Eggplant with Buttermilk sauce, p110
I was very excited about trying some of the recipes in this lovely looking book, and am sorry to say that I have now made two duds, including the gorgeous eggplant cover recipe (on the 2011 US edition).
I followed the recipe closely. The eggplant needed twice as long to cook as suggested. Ultimately, it was attractive but kinda boring.
Meringue pie crusts in Wall Street Journal
I can't eat flour so sometimes do this as a pie crust alternative. Basically, these are pavlovas topped with anything that works as a pie filling as long as it isn't too liquidy. If it is very wet it will run over the sides and also make it soggy over time-- how long depends on both the wetness of the filling and how long you baked your meringue, I would guess.
You can certainly make a less sweet meringue, or you can do a more bitter chocolate filling to offset the sweetness of the base. Lemon curd works really well for this application, as does a ganache.
Where can I find a restaurant that cooks rare burgers?
Try La Paryse. I have had medium rare without asking.
Rome in May on a budget
Two inexpensive places that I enjoyed:
da Gildo, Via della Scala, 31 in Trastevere; Tuscan & Roman mixed menu
Da Franco ar Vicoletto, Via dei Falisci 1/b in San Lorenzo; seafood, very local
If you want to really eat on the cheap, you can sometimes make a meal out of a generous aperitivo buffet; there is a bookstore that sells film-related books in Trastevere (sorry... name escapes me at the moment) that puts on a very good spread.
Reviews of "Food Lovers' Guide to Brooklyn" by Sherri Eisenberg?
Apologies, mods. This mention was in reference to my search for a food map of Brooklyn.; the book was the closest thing I could find.
