On a path to try and find answers to the autoimmune issues and chronic pain I’ve been living with for several years, I found myself in NYC for a medical appointment recently.
One major change I made to help alleviate symptoms has been my diet and cutting out gluten and some dairy (pizza being my big exception).
Before arriving in the city I did a bunch of research to try and find GF safe places to eat.
NYC didn’t disappoint!
There were so many options and places we wanted to get to but this was literally a 1.5 day visit to the city so trying them all was not possible this time round.
Here’s a summary of where we ate and what we enjoyed.
Friedman’s - Celiac safe (several locations in the city)
We visited their location near Herald Square, 31st street. There were so many options on the menu it was difficult to decide so we ended up sharing a few items. The Mac and cheese bites were delightful and crisped to perfection. Then we shared a grilled cheese sandwich with herb fries and their Berry French Toast. The bread was delicious.
https://www.friedmansrestaurant.com/
Ribalta - not dedicated GF and definitely has cross contamination (Lower Manhattan 12th street)
As pizza lovers we had to try out one of the top pizza restaurants in NYC. Although they do not have a dedicated GF space they were able to accommodate GF pizza in any variation. Their specialty is Neapolitan pizza crusts. I ordered a margarita. The dough was amazing. Although the bottom was not crispy, the outer edge was a soft crisp and the crust was a pillowy, fluffy, heavenly texture. I honestly couldn’t stop commenting about this crust our entire meal. All I kept thinking of was all the things I could make with that amazing dough and texture. I even visited the kitchen but it was so authentic and I don't speak Italian so I had trouble communicating with the chef. An enjoyable evening was had!
https://www.ribaltanyc.com/
Modern Bread & Bagel (2 locations - Upper West Side & 14th Street)
Had to be on our list. I’d heard so much about this bakery and the bagels being the best. They did not disappoint one bit. Fully GF. We visited the lower Manhattan location near 14th Street which has a nice sitting area to enjoy the treats. We had everything bagels, delicious! We also tried their Apple fritter which was soft like a glazed donut with fresh apple chunks.
These bagels warranted another visit so before leaving the city we set out early to visit their second location on the Upper East Side to grab some black and white cookies and a couple more bagels. Their cinnamon raisin bagel was delicious and I brought home 2 plain bagels for my son, who was thrilled!
https://www.modernbreadandbagel.com/
Keste Pizza e Vino (Fullerton St, Lower Manhattan)
Yes, off we went for pizza again. This time to another top spot, raved about by my gluten free traveling folks. Keste has a fully dedicated GF kitchen and everything on their menu can be made GF. We sampled their homemade burrata with fresh focaccia and their fried potato croquettes. I went with a base margarita pizza again as they would not allow me to add broccoli. They were adamant “No variations!” to the menu. Another very good GF Neapolitan crust. A bit crispier than the one from Ribalta but the bottom was similar. Not a whole lot of cheese which was disappointing but the dough was very good and I would go back again.
https://kestepizzeria.com/
By the Way Bakery (Upper East Side & West Side)
Take me back!!! This bakery was amazing. Fully GF, Dairy free and Kosher. Everything we tried "and we tried it all", we enjoyed. The texture of their cakes, muffins and cookies are spot on. We got a box of goodies that included chocolate and vanilla cupcakes, apple cake, sprinkle cake, a nut bar, double chocolate chip cookies, a blueberry muffin and chocolate chip coffee cake muffin. We definitely recommend visiting this bakery if you are in the city.
https://www.btwbakery.com/
Places we didn’t get to this trip but come highly recommended for Celiacs:
- Wild (West Village)
- Senza Gluten Restaurant (Greenwich Village)
- Senza Gluten Cafe & Bakery (West village)
- LAS Delicias Patisserie (Chelsea market)
- Risotteria Melotti (East Village)
- Thyme & Tonic (Upper West Side)
- The Little Beet. (Theatre district)