I first heard about Taim Falafel when interviewing the lovely Tully about her (about to be launched at the time) gluten-free bakery. As much research as I do on gluten-free foods and eating, I hadn’t realized that such a gluten-free haven existed. Taim offers three types of gluten-free falafel daily and perhaps the most delicious gluten-free hummus that will ever cross your lips. (Taim is the Hebrew word for delicious)

Now add to the joy of the gluten-free falafel discovery, the excitement of hearing about a Taim mobile truck. Now even the gluten-free can participate in the food truck mania! Lucky for me, Taim mobile is near my office at lunch at least 2 times per week. Now if only the lines weren’t so long…..

Taim
Address: 222 Waverly Place, NY, NY 10014
Phone: 212-691-6101

Taim Mobile: http://www.taimmobile.com/ but confirm location on twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/TaimMobile

Starting this week, Keste Pizza & Vino will be serving gluten-free pizza every Monday and Tuesday.  The gluten-free pizzas are prepared with a special gluten-free flour mix and cooked in a separate electric oven dedicated to the gluten-free pies. Gluten-free diners will have the option of three different pies – margherita, marinara or lardo-topped mastincola.

A fellow gluten-free food and pizza aficionado went to check out their offerings yesterday and  the praise is high.  He proclaimed it to be “the best gluten-free pizza in NYC, followed by 2. Mozzarelli’s and 3. Pala.”  And this is from someone who had made it his mission to sample all of the gluten-free pizza options including Risotteria, Uno’s and Opus.

Keste Pizza & Vino

Address: 271 Bleecker St., nr. Morton St.;

Telephone: 212-243-1500

Good news, thanks to Fresh Direct, New Yorkers can now get Udi’s gluten-free bread, muffins and pizza crusts delivered with the rest of their groceries.  Each loaf is priced a full $2 cheaper than the Food for Life gluten-free brown rice bread and Udi’s is so much tastier.  I swooned over their bread last year when I enjoyed amazing gluten-free toast using Udi’s gluten-free bread.

I feel so lucky to be in NYC right now, in spite of the freezing weather. Brrrrrr!

Congratulations to Heidi, winner of the Tully’s Gluten-Free Bakery Sampler.

As always, announcing a winner gives me an excuse to post a picture of my nephew. This is a picture of Cam smashing grandpa’s finger with a nutcracker and laughing with sheer joy. I also have a new nephew, Parker who was born on December 20, 2009. So I’ll have to find more giveaways so I have an excuse to post pictures of him too!

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season.

Winner selected by random.org

 UPDATE: Tully’s has been rebranded as Tulu’s Gluten-Free Bakery

I first heard rumors of Tully’s new line of gluten-free baked goods on twitter back in October.  I found their cute web site, with drool-worthy photos, but at the time it didn’t have much info.  Then I got an email – they wanted me to sample their wares.  They didn’t yet have distribution, but it didn’t take long for the buyers at my local health food store and even Zabar’s to get on the Tully’s bandwagon.  Then, just yesterday I got an email from a friend alerting me to the arrival of Tully’s Gluten-Free Bakery in the East Village.  Oh joy!  Finally, Manhattanites avoiding gluten can enjoy a cupcake from a charming little bakery like the rest of the sweets-obsessed New Yorkers.

While Babycakes offers a range of gluten-free treats, they don’t have a dedicated gluten-free facility so there is always a risk for cross-contamination.  Tully’s new shop though? It’s completely gluten-free!   Not since Happy Happy Happy, shuttered have we had a truly gluten-free bakery in Manhattan.

The shop is on 338 East 11th between 1st and 2nd Ave is opening in mid-January 2010. I can personally vouch to the deliciousness of their cookies, brownies and cupcakes. The oatmeal raisin cookies are so tasty, my gluten-glutton co-worker who considers himself an ‘oatmeal cookie connoisseur’ deemed them “spectacular.” The brownies are moist and chocolate-y and the memory of the frosting on the adorable mini-cupcakes is making my mouth water as I type. Those sweets plus an expanded menu of gluten-free goodness (including paninis!) will be available once the retail space opens.

Fear not you, non-NYers, you can order the brownies and cookies online for delivery across the country.

I asked Tully herself to give us all a little background on her and the gluten-free bakery.

Q&A with Chef Tully:

What inspired you to start a gluten-free bakery? When is it opening?

I had been cooking professionally for four years before I was diagnosed as gluten intolerant. I went for a while without any baked goods, which was pretty devastating, until I got back in my kitchen and began experimenting. I started with box mixes and gradually worked up the courage to try gluten-free flours. I came up with some really great recipes and wanted to share them with the rest of the GF community. It is still hard for us to find freshly baked, delicious treats, and I want to change that! I hope to open my retail location in mid-January.

Will you be expanding your menu beyond the items currently offered on your Web site?

Yes, we will be baking six different varieties of cupcakes daily in both mini and regular sizes. There will also be muffins, scones and cookies, along with a few vegan items. We will also have several different gluten-free paninis.

Is your kitchen a dedicated gluten-free facility?

Yes, we will be 100% gluten-free!

How long have you been following a gluten-free diet?

Almost a year and a half, I was diagnosed in July 2008.

What did you miss the most when you were first diagnosed?

Cupcakes and sandwiches. Thank goodness I can eat them now!

What was your first job in food?

My internship at Gramercy Tavern right after culinary school.

Gramercy Tavern is one of the top restaurants in NYC. What was your biggest takeaway?

Working at Gramercy Tavern actually made me become more excited about the idea of working in catering, where the menu changes everyday, and there is more time in advance to prepare each dish.

What was the biggest challenge when you started baking gluten-free? Biggest triumph when you finally figured it out?  

I really wanted every one of my products to taste exactly the same as gluten baked goods. Once I figured out how to make that happen, I was thrilled!

Are there any gluten-free baked goods you are still working on but haven’t been able to adapt to gluten-free yet?

I’m working on gluten-free donuts and would love to be able to make a great loaf of homemade bread. I am also testing out more vegan items to add to the menu.

How long have you lived in NYC? What are your favorite gluten-free restaurant finds in New York?

I’ve lived in New York for about four years now. The pizza at Pala in the Lower East Side is incredible. Caracas in the East Village has amazing arepas made entirely of masa (corn), and I love the falafel at Taim in the West Village.

What’s your favorite trick for eating gluten-free on the go?
I always bring a few slices of gluten-free bread when I travel or for sandwich orders at lunchtime. Mary’s Gone Crackers are a staple for cocktail parties.

What’s your favorite type of apple?

Organic Fuji

What’s your favorite cooking show?

The Barefoot Contessa and Top Chef

What’s one ingredient you can’t live without?

Cheese….any kind! And corn tortillas

What would you wish for your last meal?

An H&H onion bagel toasted with cream cheese. Oh how I miss those.

While NYers wait for the opening, you can find Tully’s gluten-free cookies and brownies at S’mac, Royale Bakery, Ground Support and more.

Tully has also generously offered a giveaway to one lucky reader – you will get the choice between a Tully’s sampler pack including brownies and both types of cookies to be shipped direct to you or a dozen mini-cupcakes if you live in the NY area and want to pick them at the bakery once it opens.

To enter, leave a comment telling us what you hope to see on Tully’s new menu by 6pm Eastern on Monday December 28th, you must live in the U.S. to be eligible. Blog or tweet about this giveaway and link to this post and you can comment twice (be sure to put @yumcat in the tweet) which will increase your chance of winning.

Happy Holidays!

I heart almonds. I heart cookies. I heart Paris. So the fact that I love the French version of macaroons should not be a surprise. I first tasted these delicate cookies when visiting my best friend in Paris more than 10 years ago. Now these are not the coconut confections that may first come to mind when hearing the word ‘macaroon’ but are sweets made with almonds that will almost melt in your mouth.

For my birthday this year, my best friend sent me a package of French macaroon cookies from a cute spot in NYC called Macaron Café. She had double checked with them that their versions of the cookies were gluten-free and had them deliver a special package to my apartment. (Yes I have wonderful friends, and I am constantly grateful for them)

This week I discovered another source for gluten-free French Macaroons a few blocks from my office at La Maison Du Chocolat. They have a little coffee shop in addition to their ‘take-home’ offerings. So yes, I can get chocolate, cappuccino and macaroons all in one place less than three minutes from my office. I can already tell this is going to be a dangerous temptation.

And since I know most of you don’t live in NYC, I also want to share a few recipes to make your own French Macaroon Cookies at home. They may not be as pretty as the ones you see here, but they are absolutely delicious with the crunchy exterior and chewy center you’ll find in the cookies at the bakeries.

Gluten-Free Macaroon Cookies Recipe FIVE ways (adapted from recipe on Delphi Forums Celiac Listerv)

Almond Macaroons

Each recipe makes about 2 dozen 2-inch cookies

Ingredients:
3 cups (12 ounces) blanched slivered almonds (measure without packing or shaking the cup)
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/3 cup plus 1 Tablespoon (3 large) egg whites
1 teaspoon gluten-free almond extract

Directions:

Set racks in upper-middle and lower-middle levels of oven and heat oven to 325 degrees. Line two large cookie sheets with parchment paper.

In a food processor fitted with the metal chopping blade, add the almonds and process 1 minute. Add sugar and process for 15 seconds. Add egg whites and almond extract and process until the paste wads around the blade. Use a spatula to scrape down the sides of the processor bowl. Process again until stiff but cohesive, about 5 seconds longer. It should be similar in consistency to marzipan or pasta dough. If the mixture is crumbly or dry, turn machine back on and add water by drops through feeder tube until proper consistency is reached.

On the cookie sheets lined with parchment paper, spoon just under 2 tablespoons of paste for each macaroon, spacing the cookies 1 1/2 inches apart.

Bake macaroons, switching cookie sheet positions midway through baking, until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. (If overbaked, macaroons will dry out rather quickly when stored.) Remove from oven and leave on parchment paper until completely cooled or they may tear.

Can be stored in an airtight container for at least 4 days or frozen up to 1 month.

Fudge Almond Macaroons
Follow recipe for Almond Macaroons, decreasing almonds to 1 1/2 cups (6 ounces) and adding 1 cup dutch-processed cocoa and 1/4 teaspoon salt along with the sugar. The macaroons will be done when they have cracked lightly across the top.

Pine Nut-Crusted Almond Macaroons
You will need 2 to 3 extra egg whites and 2 1/2 to 3 cups pine nuts. Follow recipe for Almond Macaroons, rolling paste into balls between your palms. Dip each ball into a beaten egg whites, then roll in pine nuts, lightly pressing with your fingertips. Transfer cookies to baking sheet and flatten slightly with fingers, making inch-wide buttons.

Lemon Almond Macaroons
Follow recipe for Almond Macaroons, making the paste without water. Add 2 Tablespoons grated lemon zest (approx 2 large lemons) and process 10 seconds longer.

Pistachio Macaroon Button Gluten-Free Cookies Recipe

Makes about 4 dozen cookies

The skinning of pistachios is a nuisance, but there is no point in bother with this recipe unless it is done. Make sure to get pistachios that are raw or only lightly toasted. The flavor of these macaroons becomes more intense the day after baking

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups (about 6 ounces) shelled pistachios
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon lemon zest
pinch of salt
2 Tablespoons (1 large) egg white

Directions:

Boil pistachios hard in several quarts of water until skins begin to loosen, about 3 minutes. Drain nuts, then plunge into bowl of cold water. Let stand in water for a few minutes. Remove skins, tossing skinned nuts onto paper towel-lined tray.

Thoroughly dry skinned pistachios on baking sheet set in center position in 200 degree oven, approximately 45 minutes. Remove tray from oven before nuts begin to give off roasted aroma or take on any color. Increase heat to 325 degrees to preheat oven as you continue to prepare the cookies.

Set aside 48 pistachios. Turn remainder into bowl of food processor, fitted with the metal chopping blade, and grind fine. Add sugar, lemon zest, salt and process 1 minute longer. Add egg white and process until dough wads into moist clumps.

Roll dough into 1-teaspoon balls and arrange 1 inch apart on baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Make dimple in center of each ball with moistened finger tip and press a reserved pistachio into each crater.

Bake cookies until they look try and have just begun to color, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from oven and set baking sheet on cooling rack. Let macaroons cool completely before peeling them off parchment paper.

For those of you not cooking:

Macaron Café
Address: 161 West 36th Street (btw 7th Ave & Broadway)
New York, NY 10018
Phone: 646-573-5048

La Maison Du Chocolat
Address: 30 Rockefeller Plaza, 49th Street between 5th and 6th Ave
New York, NY 10020
Phone: 212-265-9404

Whenever my college roommate Alexis comes to town, she puts all culinary decisions in my hands. I love that she trusts me, but it also becomes a great responsibility. I feel personally culpable if the experience is less than stellar. But more than that, I like to surprise and delight with choices she might not have found as a tourist navigating the city on her own.

Porchetta is a restaurant that is known for its pork sandwich served on a crusty (gluten-filled) baguette. So it may come as some surprise that this little nook in the East Village has delicious fare for the gluten-free and even vegetarians. The menu is simple, only 10 items including drinks and dessert. But I picked this restaurant for a recent Sunday dinner outing for a group of carnivores, vegetarians and gluten-free diners.

The omnivores by definition have access to the entire menu, but for the vegetarians, there was a fresh mozzarella sandwich, gazpacho, chicory salad, cooking greens and white beans. Both have one dessert option – Italian biscotti.

While the crusty baguette was tempting, I certainly didn’t leave hungry or feeling deprived. The gluten-free main is the porchetta plate – a large serving of the eponymous dish with a side of the white beans and cooking greens. My omnivorous friend Alexis and I also shared the chicory salad and the crispy potatoes with burnt ends.

While the porchetta plate is yummy, the crispy potatoes with burnt ends provide a culinary experience so delightful, it could tempt a vegetarian to cross over to ‘the dark side.’ Burnt ends are the charred pieces of porchetta deemed unfit for the porchetta plate or sandwich. But the crispy, salty pieces of meat combined with the little pieces of potatoes take a side dish to a level that surpasses the main. My mouth waters as I remember that Sunday dinner.

Because the biscotti were the only sweets (and because I love a ‘progressive dinner), we elected to change locations for dessert. We went to Lula’s Sweet Apothecary, a vegan sweets shop with gluten-free ice cream cones! We smuggled in some bacon chocolate contraband (don’t think the vegans would approve) and the evening was almost complete. Despite my efforts to keep Alexis on her toes with new choices every visit, we also went to Terroir, which is now ‘our spot.’ A balance of new and familiar is the perfect way to pass an evening with an old friend.

Porchetta Restaurant
Address: 110 East 7th Street, between 1st Ave and Ave A, NY, NY 10013
Phone: 212-777-2151

I first heard news of L’asso Pizza adding a gluten-free option to their menu via the NYC Celiac Meetup Group.  I hadn’t looked at their menu, when my friend Andy also trumpeted the news last week.  Apparently the gluten-gluttons in his family had been constantly raving about the incredible pizza at L’asso.  His wife’s description of their portabello tartufo pizza was all that I needed to hear.

So this week when I was thwarted in my attempt to go to The Moth Story Slam, I made the most of it by suggesting L’asso as our alternate plans.  I was so excited to indulge in some cheesy-mushroom-truffle-pizza goodness my previous plans were quickly a distant memory.  As we were seated I saw “gluten-free pizza” and “gluten-free beer” touted on their specials.  Happy that the rumors were true (I somehow always worry that new gluten-free offerings are a myth until I see them with my own eyes), I started debating which toppings to get.  When I asked the server about the gluten-free pizza, he explained that I could only order the “Margherita” or “Bufalina” style pizzas with gluten-free crust.  What?? My heart sank. While I am glad to have more places serving gluten-free pizza, most of the fun with L’asso is the wide variety of toppings and flavor combinations available. Margherita is the classic Italian-style pizza with tomato sauce, cooked buffalo mozzarella, oregano, basil and extra virgin olive oil.  The Bufalina replaces cooked buffalo mozzarella with raw buffalo mozzarella. Both are simple and delicious but not at all what I was craving.

He explained that they had to keep the toppings, dough, etc. for the gluten-free pizzas separate from the rest of their pizza-making operations.  It’s good to hear that they are taking care to prevent cross-contamination, but it didn’t lessen my disappointment.  Hopefully the gluten-free demand will be so high that they will expand their gluten-free options soon.  But really I can’t complain too much – when you can get gluten-free pizza and beer in SoHo, life isn’t so bad for the gluten-challenged.

You can check out L’asso for yourself this week with the NY Celiac Meetup Group.  They are hosting a Meetup at L’asso this Thursday, August 27th from 12-7pm. L’asso is offering as special for the event – the gluten-free pizza Margherita and house salad for $15.  While I didn’t have their house salad, I really enjoyed their arugula salad – served with pear, pancetta, ricotta salata, candied walnuts and a white wine vinegar and honey drizzle.  It was so good, it almost made up for the truffles I missed on my pizza….

L’asso is using gluten-free crust from Still Riding gluten-free bakery.  I enjoyed that crust most recently at Pizza Fusion in Atlanta.  I had more fun options for toppings, but the crust is great either way.

Restaurant Address:

L’asso Pizza

192 Mott Street at Kenmare

NY, NY 10012

Phone: 212-219-2353

For more gluten-free pizza options in NYC, you can visit Sambuca, Bistango, Opus, Risotteria, Pala, PizzaBolla, Slice and Mozzarelli’s.  For those outside of NYC, there are Uno’s locations nation-wide and Pizza Fusion is expanding their number of locations as well.  I wonder when Pizza Hut and Dominoes will get on the gluten-free bandwagon…

Where is your favorite place for gluten-free pizza?  Or do you make your own?

So I have been feeling a little left out of the mobile food truck trend, but no more! Starting today – Gluten-Free Cupcakes from EveryBody Eats will be available from the mobile cupcake truck – CupCakeStop.com every Tuesday.

I received this email from EveryBody Eats:

“Everybody Eats is proud to announce that on Tuesdays only for now, CupCakeStop.com will be selling Everybody Eats’ gluten-free cupcakes from their truck.  We’re starting with very standard yellow cake topped with vanilla and chocolate frosting, and we’re hoping to move into move exotic “designer cupcakes” such as chocolate mocha, pina colada, and creamsicle. “

I love Everybody Eats gluten-free ravioli and gluten-free baguettes.  I can’t wait to try their gluten-free cupcakes.   Check CupCakeStop.com to see where in NYC the truck will be each day and go buy a gluten-free cupcake.  The higher the demand, they will have to expand to add more days and more gluten-free flavors!

My college roommate Alexis was in town this weekend. She calls me her “restaurant wind-up toy – just wind her up and follow her for great food.” With these high expectations, I knew I had to deliver something tasty.  I picked a spot for dinner weeks ago, but I wasn’t sure about dessert.

Last week another friend sent me a link to the web site of Lula’s Sweet Apothecary – a sweets shop seemingly from yesteryear operating today in Manhattan’s East Village.  Their web site advertises gluten-free options but doesn’t give much more info. Since I trust my friend’s recommendations, I knew that it was worth a visit.  Fast forward 10 days, and I have been to Lula’s twice and can’t wait for my next excuse to go back.

Not only does Lula’s boast a wide-array of gluten-free ice cream flavors, they also have gluten-free ice cream cones! Gluten-free frozen yogurt options abound in NYC, and I have seen gluten-free flavors designated at places like Grom, but this was my first time, outside of Italy, that I was able to order dessert in a gluten-free cone.

Actually, since I like my ice cream melty and didn’t want to feel rushed, I asked for my double scoop to be served in a bowl with a gluten-free cone on top. They gladly obliged, satisfying my sweet whim with no extra charge.

On my first visit (without my camera) they had tempting gluten-free brownies.  The effectiveness of their brownie sundae sign was proven yesterday as there were no brownies left by the time we went to indulge our sweet tooth.  Luckily, we had some chocolate toffee candy my friend brought back for me from his recent trip to San Francisco. The three of us squeezed into the stools in this darling shop savoring our sweet delights.

Thanks to Lula’s my reputation as a superb culinary tourguide remains intact. Finding a restaurant worthy of recommendation is always a pleasure, and this particular neighborhood makes it almost too easy – Mercadito Cantina, Knife + Fork, Prune, Terroir, S’mac and Back 40 are just a few of the options.  I can’t wait for Alexis’s next trip. Options for her next food-filled itinerary are already swirling around – I’m warming up to the idea of being a ‘wind-up toy’ for deliciousness.

Lula’s Sweet Apothecary
Address: 516 East 6th Street, btw Avenues A & B NY, NY 10009

Have you found gluten-free ice cream cones in any ice cream shops near you?