Gluten-free Map for New York City

New York City is probably THE place to be if you’re gluten-free. It took me over two years after my celiac diagnosis to get back up to the Big Apple so I could enjoy all the incredible gluten-free food there. To this day, I’ve not had gluten-free pizza as good as that served at Risotteria and Mozarelli’s. Both places make fabulous fresh pizza crusts and of course, fresh crusts are usually better than frozen whether they’re gluten-free or not.

When I started researching our NYC trip back in 2008, I stumbled upon the Gluten-Free Fun blog. The site is run by Erin, who also organizes the New York City Celiac Meetup Group. Erin loves helping others live delicious gluten-free lives and does a terrific job doing just that. She seems to keep up on all things gluten-free which is pretty tough to do these days!

One of Erin’s latest projects was an update of her Gluten Free in New York City Map. If a local gluten-free business is worth knowing about – or a restaurant is worth eating at  – Erin has it on her extensive map! New York City is one of the most visited cities in the world and people who visit are from all over the world. People that live in NYC are from all over the world as well. Therefore, any kind of cuisine you can think of is available in the city and the good news is that many international cuisines are very gluten-free friendly.

Even for cuisines that are not gluten-free friendly – say American fare for instance – you can find some fabulous gluten-free replacement foods at a plethora of restaurants in NYC. Stand outs for us were the incredible pizzas we enjoyed (noted above) and gluten-free mac-n-cheese at S’MAC. Also of note was the fabulous shopping at Fairway on the Upper West Side. That is where the actor John Slattery literally bumped into me by mistake. Nice treat in addition to all the gluten-free foods there! During our trip we were able to try the killer ravioli from Everybody Eats and still long for the day when we can find it in stores here. All the bread sticks at Risotteria are gluten-free and the black and white cookies and pound cake they make are phenomenal.

Being able to order gluten-free pizza by the slice at Mozzarelli’s was like a dream. The owner Dave treated us to chocolate chip biscotti that was as good as any gluten biscotti we had in Italy. Mozzarelli’s sometimes hosts gluten-free days where all the food is gluten-free and I hope to be able to attend the event one day. As we enjoyed some of the finest chocolate mousse we’ve ever had at Tini’s, one of the owners told us about their upcoming move to a new space. Opus is the new place and we’re hoping to check it out eventually.

The thing about gluten-free dining in NYC is that the people that run the businesses that cater to our crowd are some of the nicest people you’ll ever meet. It’s like they’re serving up a dose of Southern hospitality without the Southern accent. Erin over at Gluten-Free Fun is the same way. It’s so nice to interact with people that truly want to help you. If all our interactions with others could be as pleasant as those we experienced in New York City, the world would be a better place indeed!

Special thanks to Erin for sending me her Gluten-Free Map – and for all she does for the gluten-free community!