Pure Food and Wine

I finally got around to trying Pure Food and Wine.  This is a raw food vegan restaurant that is in my neighborhood that I have been wanting to try for quite some time.

There are many gluten free options on the menu and they are all marked with notations indicating that they are gluten free.

I decided to have their Zucchini and Tomato Lasagna which is one of their specialties.  This is made with a sun-dried tomato sauce, pistachio basil pesto and pumpkin seed macadamia ricotta.  It is not your typical lasagna as there is no cheese or pasta and it is a cold entree.


For dessert, I enjoyed their delicious Moon Pie - a chocolate brownie vanilla cream sandwich!  I also was able to bring home an Oreo cookie.

One of the nice things about Pure Food and Wine is their beautiful private back outdoor garden seating that transports you out of the busy and noisy city.  Also, all of the water in the restaurant is filtered through a Tensui water filtration system!

If you just want something quick to takeaway, try out their other restaurant, One Lucky Duck Juice Bar and Takeaway.  It sells raw vegan juices, shakes, ice creams, cookies, desserts and other takeaway items.  There are two locations - one in Gramercy Park and the other at Chelsea Market.

For more information, visit their website at www.oneluckyduck.com/purefoodandwine!  Or visit them at:

Pure Food and Wine - 
54 Irving Place
New York, NY 10003
212-477-1010

One Lucky Duck - 

*Gramercy Park
125 East 17th Street

*Chelsea Market
425 West 15th Street

The Slanted Door

Today is the last in the series of posts on San Francisco's gluten free restaurant scene and I chose to end it with one of my favorite restaurants, The Slanted Door.

The Slanted Door is a modern Vietnamese restaurant owned by Charles Phan and located in the Ferry Building.  They serve a large menu of delicious food using only the freshest ingredients possible.

Charles Phan also owns a small chain of restaurants called Out The Door which brings similar cuisine to a wider audience (the menu is less expensive).  Out The Door has locations in the Ferry Building, the Westfield Shopping Centre and on Bush Street.

The Slanted Door does not provide a gluten free menu but the waitstaff are very aware of which items are gluten free or can be made gluten free - almost everything on the menu can be altered in some way to be made gluten free!  Out The Door provides a gluten free menu for its diners.

While in San Francisco, I went to The Slanted Door once and to Out The Door at the Westfield Centre twice.

The portions at The Slanted Door are large and meant for sharing.  We ordered the Slanted Door Spring Rolls with Shrimp and Mint to start.  For the entrees, we ordered Stir Fried Organic Chicken with Gingko Nuts, Raisins, Walnuts and Cashews along with Caramelized Wild Gulf Shrimp with Garlic and Onions.

For sides, we ordered Chue Farms Baby Bok Choy with Shitake Mushrooms, Allstar Organics' Snow Peas with King Oyster Mushrooms and Jasmine Rice.

 And for dessert, I was able to have the cotton candy with a small selection of homemade candies!  Everything tasted so amazing!

When dining at Out The Door both times I ordered the same shrimp dish that I had at The Slanted Door with a side of jasmine rice.

I became so addicted to the food at this restaurant while I was in San Francisco that I was ecstatic to learn that they will be opening a location of The Slanted Door in NYC in early 2012!  All I know as of now is that it will be located in the Met Life Building.  I cannot wait to go when they open!

For more information, visit their website at www.slanteddoor.com or visit them at:

1 Ferry Building #3
San Francisco, CA 94111
415-861-8032

And The Winner Is...

Congratulations to the winner of the Katz Gluten Free Giveaway!

Jackie Coughlan of High Bridge, New Jersey will receive 5 products from Katz Gluten Free!

Thanks to everyone for entering!  Stay tuned for more contests!

The American Grilled Cheese Kitchen

If you're in San Francisco and looking for a big lunch, you should check out the American Grilled Cheese Kitchen!  As the name implies, they offer a variety of different types of grilled cheese sandwiches including ones made with gluten free bread!

The place offers some indoor seating but most tables are outside and it gets crowded, so there can be a wait for tables.

I ordered a Gluten Free Mousetrap.  This was made using Tillamook Sharp Cheddar, Creamy Havarti and Monterey Jack on Gluten Free Bread.  The sandwich was delicious but huge!  Half of a sandwich was really more than enough for a meal!  Also, all grilled cheese sandwiches are served with an orange.  They also sold an assortment of gluten free potato chips by the brand, Deep River Snacks.  I had the Rosemary Potato Chips and they were amazing!

For more information, visit their website at theamericansf.com or visit them at:

1 South Park Avenue
Suite 103A
San Francisco, CA 94107

Chez Panisse Cafe

We ventured outside San Francisco one day to Berkeley, where we got to go to the famous Chez Panisse Cafe.  Chez Panisse doesn't have a gluten free menu but since they use mostly very simple ingredients they are very easily able to accommodate someone on a gluten free diet.

For my appetizer, I had the Smoked Salmon which was delicious!  My main course consisted of California Sea Bass with Romano Beans, Purslane, Cherry Tomatoes and Aioli.  For dessert, I got to enjoy their Bittersweet Chocolate Ice Cream.

Everyday the menu changes, so you are always in for a nice surprise and are able to try new things!

For more information, please visit their website at www.chezpanisse.com or visit them at:

1517 Shattuck Avenue
Berkeley, CA 94709
Cafe: 510-548-5049
Restaurant: 510-548-5525

Mariposa

I visited Mariposa, an artisan-crafted gluten free bakery, several times during my stay in San Francisco.  Their gluten free baked goods were absolutely delicious!  Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to visit their main location in Oakland but their location at the San Francisco Ferry Building stocked quite a lot of options!

Mariposa sells an assortment of gluten free biscotti, brownies, cookies, squares, coffeecake, cupcakes, crostini, bagels, pizza crusts, cinnamon rolls and breads!  I was able to try their Chocolate Chip Cookies, their Penguino cupcakes (chocolate on the outside, vanilla cream on the inside), their Sour Cream Coffee Cake and their Cinnamon Rolls!  In addition to being gluten free, many of their items are dairy free and/or vegan.

My favorite item was the cinnamon roll!  It was out-of-this-world delicious!  In fact, I bought several so that I could enjoy one every morning with my Starbucks coffee while in San Francisco.

For those of you who aren't in San Francisco, you can order many of their items online by visiting their website at:  www.mariposabaking.com.

Their current locations include:

Mariposa's Bakeshop & Cafe
5427 Telegraph Ave., Unit D3
Oakland, CA 94609

San Francisco Ferry Building Kiosk
One Ferry Building
San Francisco, CA 94111

And they can also be found at the following farmer's markets around the Bay Area:

• San Ramon Saturday Farmer's Market
• Los Altos Saturday Farmer's Market
• San Rafael Sunday Civic Center Farmer's Market
• Palo Alto Sunday Farmer's Market

Boulevard

Another great place that didn't have a gluten free menu but was very accommodating with a gluten free diet, was the restaurant Boulevard.  

Here I started with the Bruin Farms Tomato Salad.  This included buffalo mozzarella, shaved market squash and parmesan colatura tuile, pine nuts and arbequina extra virgin olive oil.

For my entree, I enjoyed the Pan Roasted Hawaiian Walu and Gulf White Prawns which came alongside butterball potatoes with grated heirloom tomatoes, chili flake and parsley, baby artichokes, fava beans, and lemon relish.

And for dessert, I had the Chocolate Angel Pie.  This was a tainori chocolate mousse with a vanilla meringue crust, banana caramel and chocolate sauce with bananas foster.  It was delicious!

For more information, visit their website at www.boulevardrestaurant.com or visit them at:

One Mission Street

San Francisco, CA 94105

415-543-3959

Kara's Cupcakes

When visiting Ghirardelli Square, I came across a cupcake bakery that sold a few different types of gluten free cupcakes along with regular cupcakes.  I ended up purchasing 2 gluten free cupcakes and decided to save them for later.

However, due to presumably an outdoor heat lamp at lunch (San Francisco was freezing so it wasn't the climate) the cupcakes melted and I didn't get a good photograph of them.  They still tasted delicious, just ended up looking like a mess.

To get an idea of how beautiful they usually look, visit their website at www.karascupcakes.com!

The gluten free varieties they make include Sweet Vanilla (Vanilla Cupcake with Sweet Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla Frosting), Chocolate Velvet (Chocolate Cupcake with a Velvety Bittersweet Chocolate Buttercream) and Coconut (Vanilla or Chocolate Cupcake with a Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting).  I was able to sample both the Sweet Vanilla and the Chocolate Velvet.  They both came with a sugar flower on top!

Kara's Cupcakes has several locations in the San Francisco area including:

Marina -
3249 Scott Street (at Chestnut)
San Francisco, CA 94123
415-563-2253

Ghirardelli Square -
Plaza Level
900 North Point
San Francisco, CA 94109
415-351-2253

Town & Country Village -
855 El Camino Real, Suite 50
Palo Alto, CA 94301
650-326-2253

Santana Row -
3055 Olin Avenue, Suite 1010
San Jose, CA 95128
408-260-2222

Oxbow Market -
610 First Street, Suite 19
Napa, CA 94559
707-258-2253

Walnut Creek -
1388 North Main Street
Walnut Creek, CA 94596
925-933-2222

They also sell Kara's Cupcakes at SFO airport in Terminal 2!

For more information, check out their website at www.karascupcakes.com!

Étoile at Domaine Chandon

After taking a tour of the vineyards at Domaine Chandon, we went for lunch at their restaurant Étoile.  They did not have a gluten free menu but everyone was very aware of how to alter menu items to be gluten free!

For my meal, I chose to have the roast chicken with vegetables and for dessert I was able to sample an assortment of sorbets including coconut, mango and pear.  Of course, I also enjoyed one of their famous sparkling wines with my meal.

Domaine Chandon is located at:

1 California Drive
Yountville, CA 94599
1-888-242-6366

For more information, please visit their website at www.chandon.com/etoile-restaurant.html.

Pica Pica Maize Kitchen

After a long day in Napa Valley, we decided to get a quick bite to eat at Pica Pica Maize Kitchen (the San Francisco location - they have a location in Napa too!).

It reminded me of Caracas Arepa Bar in NYC.  Pica Pica Maize Kitchen offers a large assortment of arepas (grilled corn flour cakes), cachapa (100% sweet corn pancakes) and maize'wich (sweet corn bread). Everything on the menu is gluten free so there is no risk of cross contamination.

I enjoyed the Arepa Pepeada.  This was a chicken salad made with guasacaca (creamy avocado) as opposed to mayonnaise.  It was delicious and just the right size!

Pica Pica Maize Kitchen has two locations including:

Napa -
Oxbow Public Market
610 First Street, #5
Napa, CA 94559
707-251-3757

San Francisco - 
401 Valencia Street
San Francisco, CA 94103
415-400-5453

For more information, please visit their website at www.picapicakitchen.com!

Bar Bambino

I was extremely excited to try Bar Bambino in San Francisco's Mission District.  I had heard they have their own homemade gluten free pasta - having never enjoyed homemade gluten free pasta this was to be a real treat!

Although there is no gluten free menu at Bar Bambino, everyone is very aware of which dishes are gluten free or can be made gluten free and which ones are off limits.  I ended up having a special vegetarian gluten free pasta dish made for me.  It was homemade gluten free pappardelle with roasted squash in garlic and oil.  The gluten free pasta was amazing!  The portions were fairly small but the pasta tasted so fresh and delicious!

For dessert, I enjoyed the Schwarzwalder with Liquored Cherries - Bar Bambino's version of a Black Forest Cake.  Their menu describes it as "boozy cherries, on top of a knock-your-socks-off TCHO chocolate cake, alongside whipped Kirsch cream."

Bar Bambino is ranked as one of the Top 100 Bay Area Restaurants by the San Francisco Chronicle.  For more information, please visit their website at barbambino.com or visit them at:

2931 16th Street (btw. Mission and South Van Ness)
San Francisco, CA
415-701-8466

Luna Protein is Gluten Free!

Way back before I started on a gluten free diet, my favorite nutrition bar was made by the brand,  Luna!  So, I was extremely happy to hear that they were releasing a line of gluten free protein bars!

A few weeks ago, I was sent a sample package of some of their new gluten free bars.  I got to try the Mint Chocolate Chip, the Cookie Dough and the Chocolate Peanut Butter!  My favorite of the three, was the cookie dough bar! They are all covered in chocolate and make for a nice pick-me-up!

These bars are fairly small, so they travel easily.  In addition to the flavors I mentioned above, they come in Chocolate Cherry Almond and Chocolate.  Each bar is under 200 calories and contains 12 grams of protein and 3 grams of fiber.  They are also rich in calcium, iron, vitamin D and folate!

Luna Protein bars are available to purchase at grocery stores and health food stores.  They are also available at Ms. Celiac's Market.

For more information, please visit www.lunabar.com.

The Plant Cafe

I would have to say that my favorite restaurant in San Francisco was The Plant Cafe.  I went there twice - once for a weekend brunch and another time for lunch.  They have a few locations within San Francisco, however, both times I went to their location at Pier 3 at the Embarcadero.

The Plant Cafe has an assortment of options that accommodate almost any diet.  They have vegetarian, vegan and gluten free choices clearly marked on their menus and most items contain only organic ingredients.

The first day I went there for brunch.  The gluten free options on the brunch menu were more limited than on the lunch menu.  You could choose from gluten free granola and a large assortment of salads.  I chose the Housemade Granola which was absolutely delicious!  It came with an assortment of fresh fruit and a side of soy milk!  I also was able to enjoy a hot glass of Yerba Mate with my brunch.  In fact, when I was at the airport (SFO's terminal 2 has a Plant Cafe!) I was hoping that they would be selling the granola because I was absolutely craving more of it (unfortunately, they didn't have the granola).

The second time I went to the Plant Cafe was for lunch.  This time I ordered the Fish Taco Plate - grilled fish, black beans, shredded cabbage, mango-avocado salsa, crema, corn tortillas!  It was amazing!  The fish and all of the ingredients tasted so fresh!  For dessert, I enjoyed the Raw Raspberry Cashew Cheesecake - young coconut, pecan-date crust, blackberry pepper sauce.  I must say that I was a bit hesitant about trying a raw vegan cheesecake but it was delicious!

The other nice thing about the Plant Cafe's Pier 3 location is the excellent view!  For more information and to check out their menus, visit their website at www.theplantcafe.com or visit them at the following locations:

Pier 3 Cafe & Restaurant:
Suite 108, Pier 3, The Embarcadero
San Francisco, CA 94111
415-984-0437

Downtown Cafe
101 California Street (corner of Front and Pine)
San Francisco, CA 94111
415-693-9730


Marina Cafe
3352 Steiner Street (at Chestnut)
San Francisco, CA 94123
415-931-2777

San Francisco International Airport (SFO) - Terminal 2

Gluten Free in San Francisco!

At the end of June, I visited San Francisco.  I had heard that this city provided a multitude of great gluten free dining options but I was still truly surprised at how aware people were of the gluten free diet!

During my vacation, I was able to check out so many bakeries and restaurants.  Over the next several days, I will be reviewing each place and sharing pictures of all of the great foods I was able to enjoy!  Some of the places I went to had gluten free menus while others were just very accommodating.  The list of places that I will tell you about include:

• Bar Bambino
• Boulevard
• Chez Panisse Cafe
• Etoile at Domaine Chandon (in Napa Valley)
• Kara's Cupcakes
• Mariposa Gluten Free Bakery
• Pica Pica Maize Kitchen
• The American Grilled Cheese Kitchen
• The Plant Cafe Organic
• The Slanted Door / Out The Door

From the homemade gluten free pasta at Bar Bambino to the enormous gluten free grilled cheese sandwiches at the American Grilled Cheese Kitchen to the delicious fish tacos at The Plant Cafe, I was able to sample an amazing selection of gluten free food!

Stay tuned...

Katz Releases New Products + Giveaway!!!

Katz Gluten Free recently sent me some of their new products to sample and review.  I received a box filled with an apple pie, a coffee bundt cake, and sugared snack poppers.

The coffee bundt cake was truly one of the most amazing gluten free products I have yet to try.  The cake was nice and moist and the coffee flavored icing was to die for!

The apple pie was also a delicious treat!  Katz Gluten Free recently released pies with cherry and blueberry fillings too!

The sugared snack poppers which are also available in a regular variety make for a great mid-afternoon snack!  They are the perfect size with just the right amount of flavor!

If you would like to win 5 Katz items, please send me an email at MsCeliacSays@gmail.com with your name and address in the body of the email and "Katz Gluten Free Contest" in the subject line by Thursday, July 28th, 2011 at noon EST.

If you would like to enter Katz Gluten Free's contest to win a box filled with all 40 of their gluten free items, please visit their website here:  Katz Gluten Free Contest

And to stay up-to-date with the latest Katz news, make sure to "like" them on Facebook and to follow them on Twitter!

For more information, please visit KatzGlutenFree.com!