GFbird: vegan

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Dairy- and Gluten-Free? (Sweet Treats in the East Village)

Just a wee fyi, as someone recently reminded me of Stogo, a shop offering a wide selection of premium frozen treats (ice cream without the cream!) over on 10th St. They offer ice creams made with bases such as coconut milk, hemp, and soy - as well as a small selection of sorbets. Check out their list of flavors.

Not in the mood for ice cream, but want a sweet? They also carry baked goods and chocolates, including cupcakes from a personal favorite: Babycakes!

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

The V-Spot (Vegan Vittles in Park Slope)

Happen to be dairy- and gluten-free? The V-Spot in Park Slope is a vegan restaurant that offers a number of GF options, including pad thai. I haven't had a chance to try it yet, but seemed a shame to keep the news to myself.

Bogota, Sun in Bloom, and The V-Spot... three places off of 5th Avenue in Park Slope with gluten-free options. Not too shabby, Park Slope - but there's definitely room for more. I'm on the look-out for other GF spots in the area, so please share if you know of any. And, for the love of god: get your tuchas out here to EAT, gluten-free people!

Sunday, April 3, 2011

Sun In Bloom (The Sweets)

Lemon-strawberry cupcakes. You want one.

Some days, you just need a cupcake. Meeting that need when you're gf? Not so easy. I will admit to baking up a tray of cupcakes from a mix when I'm desperate - and then eating way too much, of course. (Even if I just want ONE, I over-indulge; my sweet tooth doesn't have an off switch.) Or schlepping to an out-of-the way (verrrrry out-of-the-way) gf bakery, only to overindulge yet again because, I trekked ALL the way there, dag nabbit. And (whimper) doesn't little 'ol gluten-free me deserve treats?

Pathetic, I know.

But those days, they are over - thanks to Sun In Bloom (yes, the "I" is capitalized here), a Park Slope eatery that has gf cupcakes every single day, so I can get just one - and get my fix. My favorite is relatively new, the lemon-strawberry pictured above: lemony cake with lemon frosting and fresh sliced strawberries. (I like it best after it's been refrigerated, as it hardens the frosting.)

Want a sweet, but (strangely) not in the mood for a cupcake? They also offer muffins, chocolate chip cookies, whoopie pies, and banana bread (with or w/o chocolate chips) - all gluten-free!

Carrot cupcakes and chocolate chip cookies.

For all my goings on about their sweets, should mention: Sun In Bloom is a full menu organic vegan and macrobiotic eatery, with the breakfast, lunch, and dinner menus available all day. Brunch is served Saturday and Sunday, and the menu changes weekly, with a gluten-free pancake item offered every week. (A recent brunch menu included pancakes with caramelized bananas and fresh strawberries. Nice.) Oh, and: All items are vegan, most can be made gluten-free, and some are raw. (Gluten-free, vegan, raw cheesecake, anyone?) I can't offer savory recommendations, as I haven't sampled them yet (will post an update when I do) - but sweets? They all rock.

Cookie sandwich? Yes, please.

The restaurant space itself is gorgeous and comfortable: farm tables, loads of natural light, and high ceilings. The staff is delightful to a fault, even when presented with surly pre-caffeine, low blood sugar me some mornings. You should go there. You will like it. Open 8am-8pm every day, Sun In Bloom is located at 460 Bergen St. between 5th and 6th Avenues and can be found on Twitter at http://twitter.com/#!/suninbloom

Blog (and This Blogger's) Background

I was always an avid home cook and restaurant-goer. From my teens on, my idea of "going out" generally involved some form of social eating. I grew up with a huge extended family that regularly dined together and I was in the kitchen helping my grandmother from an early age.

I often joke that I come from deli royalty, as my family owned one in Brooklyn for almost 30 years - so there was always a ton of good food around. Seemed only natural when I started working in restaurants in my early teens, though an accident with a dull knife and my left index finger ended my back of the house aspirations along the way. I've had pretty much every front of the house position at all types of venues, including a few years at Moosewood Restaurant. In my mid-20's, I started to work in healthcare, and have always maintained a love of food and eating well. In 2010, I melded my passions for health and food by completing a master's in public health nutrition.

After being diagnosed with celiac and DH back in 2003, I didn't go out to eat for three years! I don't even remember how long it was before I felt competent enough in the kitchen again to be a gf hostest with the mostest. But that was 10 years ago; I've changed along with the gf product/knowledge landscape. Back in NYC after many years in upstate NY, I'm committed to having a social eating life again, dishing up good eats at home and enjoying what gf vittles NYC has to offer. As any gf person can appreciate, this involves a fair amount of research and planning. Seems a shame to keep all that I've learned to myself; hence this blog.