G-Free NYC (The First of Many Visits)

As I mentioned yesterday, I finally made it to G-Free NYC this weekend!

Happy stripe-y awning

Where I bought:

The GF goods

I kept forgetting that everything was GF, that I didn't need to read labels. And I kept finding new gems, things I didn't know existed. I've been eating gluten-free for 10 years or so; I consider myself pretty gluten-free savvy. But I didn't know about:

Breaded cheese. What's not to like?

I shared the 6 massive mozzarella sticks from Russo's Gluten-Free with a gluten-eating friend yesterday and we agreed: They are excellent. (And I have to say: That price is good, too. Cheese is expensive! So that price seemed more than fair.) I toasted them up in the oven and paired them with some marinara sauce. Beautiful.

All week, I've been eating this for breakfast:

Challah? Holla!

Toasted on its own, or with a little schmear and jam. Delicious. I'll go ahead and say it: This is the best GF challah I've had to date. (And the price is fantastic - under $6 at G-Free NYC.) Best of all: It is soft at room temp. Yep, no need to toast it - though it's even better if you do. (I suspect the French toast made with this will blow my mind.)

Another of my Katz purchases didn't last 24 hours. These were so good:

Old school rugelech, just like your bubbe used to make/buy

So good that I ate 5 of them on the train ride home! (Hence the battered package.) I will admit that I missed the nuts, but they still get an A. Good combo of crunch and softness, with nice bits of melted sugar around the edges. Well done, Katz.

I mentioned that these cones from Goldbaum's were a hit on Memorial Day:

These got holiday raves too:

Smile on the bag, smile on your face

I toasted them up to pair with cheeseburgers. Favorite comment of the day came when I served these: "I don't understand. Why do we need to eat gluten?!? All the gluten-free things you make are delicious." And that, my friends, is how you make sure you're ALWAYS invited to dinner.

One of the (many) things I like about G-Free NYC is their selection of individually wrapped snack options. While the environmentalist in me abhors the waste associated with individual packages, the vain realist in me knows that I have zero self-control around sweets. Any box of cookies, cakes, baked good of any kind may as well say "servings per package: 1". So I appreciate that G-Free NYC carries individual brownies, cookies, and such. Many are locally baked. I picked these Italian wafers up because they'll last a while and travel well:

Ciao, bella! Come stai?

The wafers are just like the gluten-y version, but with better chocolate. (These have a good quality chocolate filling that is on the dark side.) I tested them on a gluten-eater today and she loved them, eying the pack, hoping for another. (Had she not been concurrently eating a fudge cupcake from Dean & Deluca, I might have relented!)

I couldn't help myself and also picked up these wee snacks from Surf Sweets:

Gummy bears!

But I think my favorite purchase is actually one that I haven't yet used:

GF soy joy

I opened this and stuck two in my purse. When I cook at a friend's place, find GF sushi but no tamari, or when my lunch needs a little flavor punch - these will come in so very handy. (Yes, I am a very practical girl.)


Thus ends this trip around my shopping cart. Hope I've convinced you to get over to G-Free NYC. Seriously worth the trip!

Brooklyn-Style Pizza, Part 1 (Everybody Eats)

When last we met our heroine (that's me), she was on a pizza mission...

So, as promised, here is installment one of Brooklyn-good gf pizza that you (yes, you) can make at home. The crust for this gem comes from my new favorite spot, Everybody Eats. They sell packages of two 12" pre-baked pizza shells that look like this:

Unassuming little shell

You add your sauce and cheese, bake for 15 minutes and, like magic, you get to pull this out of the oven:

Marone, that's a beautiful pie.

Wait, let's take a closer look at that:

Go ahead, click on the picture.

Sorry, that was mean. (I'd totally share if you were here.)

I have made five pizzas with these shells and fed the results solely to gluten-eaters - who have all loved it. They happily took seconds and were stunned to find that it was gf. (This is definitely NOT pizza food.)

If you live in NYC, stop on by their Brooklyn office to pick some shells up. Otherwise, you can order a shipment via phone or email.

Tomorrow I'll share my other suggestion for making great pizza at home.

If It Looks Like a Bagel, Acts Like a Bagel, and Tastes Like a Bagel...

then it's probably a bagel from Everybody Eats! Seriously, look at this beauty:

Schmear-ready bagel goodness.

They're small and dense, with a crusty outside and chewy inside. And they really do "act" like regular bagels,  toasting up properly, giving that good crust on the outside. At Everybody Eats, they boil and bake them, the old fashioned way. This is as close to a real NYC bagel as I've found among the gf options. And Everybody Eats? It's in Brooklyn!

While they don't have a storefront, you can stop by their office at 3rd Ave and Carroll St. in Brooklyn (between 9am and 6pm) to pick up orders you've called in. On Saturday, they're open from 10am-5pm for walk-in sales. No need to call ahead, just stop on by. One of the owners, Bruce or Pedro, will be there to greet you... and give you a cookie. (No, really - they give you a cookie! This Saturday it was a warm chocolate chip, last weekend it was one of their insanely good old school sugar cookies.) A sleeve of 4 bagels costs $7.00 and is completely worth the price, especially if you grew up eating real bagels (i.e. not some frozen grocery store impostor). Live on the left coast? Have a gf former NYC-er in your life? You can order online, via telephone, or email and have your items shipped anywhere in the country! Bagels, pizza, pasta, baguettes, challah, burger buns and more - they make so many amazing products.