Make your own with Liz Steinberg

2. Freshly squeezed juice

Freshly squeezed Pomegranate juice and Orange juice are ubiquitous in Israel. When we visited, persimmons were in season and oranges were out of season, so the ones you saw around the country were not the freshest fruits on the tree, if you get my drift. I was excited to try fresh squeezed pomegranate juice. Imagine my surprise when I found out that I didn’t really like it. Luckily besides the orange juice (actually very tasty), gourmet fruit stands like the one at Shukhanamal gourmet market at the Tel Aviv Port sell an amazing variety of delicious fruit drinks. I think my favorite was a passionfruit concoction with crunchy seeds and a totally unique flavor that Toddler Yum and I shared. I’d never had anything like it before or since. Jamba Juice eat your heart out. PS Looking for Shukhanamal, my favorite spot for organic produce and other gourmet goodies at the port? Walk to Aroma and then scan the horizon for the Sea Horse logo.

3. Meze or Tapas

Besides the breakfasts, my favorite dining experience in Israel was at seaside restaurants serving assorted meze with bread and grilled, salted, or fried seafood. Especially when traveling overseas, I tend towards a pescatarian diet because when you cut out gluten sometimes there aren’t enough vegetarian gluten-free options to keep well-fed and satisfied. I read another blog where they were talking about a gluten-free diet in Israel and listing the options- and halfway through said, the author commented that it would be hard to keep gluten-free and meat-free in Israel. Well, I didn’t feel the need to eat meat persay but consuming seafood really helped make restaurants feasible and satisfying options. Here is one of the nicest meze spreads we enjoyed at a place in Caesarea called Pondak Hatsalbanim (crusaders) that we read about in Frommers. Although I used a gluten-free dining card at some restaurants, after it often seemed to make things more complicated than not, I ended up just telling them “no wheat/bread” and ended up with an amazing assortment of tapas. I skipped one bean sprout dish that I suspected was seasoned with soy sauce, but I enjoyed the eggplant with mayo, baba ghanoush, olives, beets, hummus, tomato salad, and tahina without bread and then we had a grilled fish that Toddler Yum absolutely loved.

4. Roasted Eggplant with Tahina (tahini)

Make that, roasted eggplant with tahina, hummus with tahina, tahina with tahina. One of my favorite things about food in Israel has to be the availability of tahina and tahina enhanced dishes. Barring cross contamination in the kitchen, roasted eggplant with tahina was usually one of the safer things on the menu, and something that I could eat for almost every meal given the opportunity. Keep an eye on the spices, but for the most part, it was served with nothing more suspicious than a little sprinkling of paprika. I loved the eggplant itself, cooked to sweet and silky softness inside the papery charred, smoky skin, but it would have been just another burnt vegetable without that addictive sesame sauce. If you think you don’t like tahini because it is bitter, honey, you aren’t buying the right tahini. I switched from that cheapo version in the metal tin to the real stuff in glass jars available in Middle Eastern markets and wow, the difference is amazing. The un-toasted health food store variety doesn’t cut it either, if you’re wondering. I don’t know what the difference is, but hunt down some REAL stuff at a market. I think you’ll taste the difference.

5. Hummus with Pine Nuts

Speaking of Tahina, another gorgeous dish that I couldn’t get enough of in Israel was the hummus. Served like this with an almost obscene amount of toasted pine nuts, it was a transcendent dish. And I know you are supposed to eat it with lots of gluten bread, but you can ask them to bring it sans bread. The waitor may look at you strangely, but they’ll do it, and then you can just dig in with a spoon. I might have felt awkward about it, but I saw plenty of Israeli’s doing the same thing, even when they had a big mound of bread next to the dish. It is just that tasty. The stuff in the refrigerator case at Whole Foods has nothing on freshly made hummus at a good Israeli restaurant. Or, even a hole in the wall restaurant in a touristy town next to a Mosque. Try it, you’ll be impressed. Again, do watch the spices, because you never know when gluten will creep in.

6. Turkish Coffee

This stuff is thick, rich, and has a layer of coffee sediment on the bottom you could eat with a spoon, if you were so inclined. We drank the smooth coffee on top and left the grit. Very invigorating (and sometimes very necessary) after a morning hiking around events. Probably the best one we had was at a little middle-eastern place in German town in Haifa. Cardamon adds the perfect touch and I like turkish coffee best when it is spiked with the stuff. It is also naturally dairy-free and gluten-free, which is handy.

7. Olives

I could eat olives at every meal, and that option definitely exists in Israel. They are served with breakfast, lunch, and even dinner. Works for me! Toddler Yum liked the green olives, without the pit, but I liked all of them. This photo was taken at the Carmel Market in Tel Aviv. I didn’t actually buy anything there but enjoyed soaking up the sights and sounds. If I hadn’t gone so late in our trip I probably would have stocked up on fresh produce to prepare in our kitchen.

8. Dairy

I had no idea how central dairy was to the Israeli diet until I sat down for my first breakfast in Tel Aviv. There was an entire section of the buffet dedicated to dairy in various forms, from curdy cottage cheese to soft cuttable cheese, to my favorite, silky smooth labneh which can be enjoyed plain or with diced scallions or even fresh dill. I ate quite a bit of dairy as part of my breakfast and enjoyed it, although towards the end of the trip I felt like I had eaten so much dairy I might start to moo in my sleep. My favorite unexpected dish involving dairy was this roasted pepper stuffed with feta-like semi-soft cheese, but I only came across it once at a hotel in Haifa. It was so good I’m going to have to try to recreate it. And I’m already trying to figure out how to acquire some real Labneh in the Bay Area.


9. Breakfast Salad

I have never been that crazy about salads, but Israel tested that and made me think maybe I just hadn’t been eating the right salads. When we stumbled down to our breakfast buffet on the first morning, there was this amazing salad with fresh arugula and greens, walnuts, fresh slices of plum, and crumbled cheese. I topped it with olive oil and vinegar and dug in. That salad was a great start to the day, and I vowed to recreate it at home after we got back. Unfortunately after that first day, they switched to apples rather than plum, but it was still good, if not divine. I found that rather than olive and vinegar, I loved drizzling my salads with tahini. A hard boiled egg, some soft cheeses and some olives and I had a nutritious breakfast of champions. Later hotels had a do-it-yourself nicoise salad with boiled potatoes, green beans, and eggs, and sometimes there were basil mozzarella salads with either real fresh mozzarella or a local substitute. You won’t miss salads while on vacation in Israel, that’s for sure!

10. Health Food Store Treasures

I found quite a few health food stores in Tel Aviv and surrounding metropolitan areas, and while they were a little difficult to navigate due to my Hebrew illiteracy, they usually had clearly marked gluten-free sections with extensive selections of gluten-free breads, cakes and cookies. I was a little gun-shy after the first gluten-free bread I tried seemed to bother my stomach, but besides the breads, health food stores are full of great gluten-free pastas, cereals, and crackers. After a while I stopped trying to buy the more exotic stuff and went for the imported stuff with labels I could read. Wimpy, but safe, and it was reassuring to have a staple in my suitcase I knew that I could trust. The pictured health food store was inside the Carmel Market, and had all sorts of goodies. I loved being able to combine a tourist adventure with a quick health food store run. I picked up some gluten-free corn cakes, which turned out to be a brilliant move because the international flight home had (soggy) gluten-free rice cakes with tuna and egg sandwich fillings. I swapped out the soggy rice cakes for corn cakes and had a tolerable, if boring, lunch. I acquired one of the famous gluten-free pita pockets from Adittas at the port, and tried it in my hotel kitchen. It wasn’t bad, but tasted a little beany for my taste. If only I had the nerve to chase down one of the falafel stands offering their famous gluten-free falafel. I had some stomach issues while on my trip and was paranoid about cross contamination, so I didn’t pursue it- but if I go back, you can bet that I will get me some real falafel. I have a feeling that if it doesn’t hurt my tummy, it might be the highlight of the trip for me.

I hope you enjoyed my list of the top ten yummiest (naturally) gluten-free foods in Israel. I enjoyed my trip, and I think if I could read hebrew, I would have enjoyed it even more. I was a little surprised at how stressful it ended up being not able to read even the simplest labels. However, having waitpeople generally able to speak fluent English and researching online ahead of time did help quite a bit, and I learned a lot about a cuisine that I started out knowing very little about. Next, I’m going to try to make Shakshouka at home, one of the most popular hot breakfast dishes in Israel. I can’t wait! And never fear, as soon as I come up with a recipe that I enjoy, I’ll share it with you!

PS I know that you may have your own ideas about what you think the yummiest gluten-free foods are in Israel. I only spent two weeks there, and was a bit conservative about what I ate. I’d love to hear your list of the top 10 gluten-free yummies in Israel. Share in the comments!

PS2 While these foods generally worked well for me, there is no guarantee that they will always be gluten-free. Ask your server at every place, every time as ingredients may change and cross contamination risks will differ from kitchen to kitchen.

My Reviews of gluten-free friendly restaurants in Israel:
Fresh Kitchen: Vegetarian Friendly GF Menu
more coming soon

Fresh kitchen
With locations at
Dizingoff 149, 03-5239933
Ben Yehuda 77 03- 5292687
Yehudah Hamacabi 40, 03-5447701
Bazel 37, 03-5445050
More Branches*

I happened across one of the Fresh Kitchen restaurants when I walked to the Dizengoff Center. It was on the right side of the street as I walked from the Port Area towards the center, just a few streets away from the mall entrance. Like most restaurants in Tel Aviv, they had a handy and easy to navigate English menu. Best of all, each gluten-free dish was marked clearly with a little toast icon. I later found another location at Ben Yehuda that was even more convenient to our hotel near the Tel Aviv Port, so we went to that location one evening after Justin got back from work. We were all hungry, so I ordered a salad with cheese, which had a 5% grated cheese, roasted peppers, young lettuce, arugula, baby greens, tomatoes, cucumbers and toasted almonds as well as one of their quinoa-lentil dishes. I picked the one with more middle-eastern flavors and a tahini sauce, and had them add tofu.

The DH absolutely loved the salad, which surprised me a little. He raved about the combination of the dressing, roasted peppers, and cheese. I think he also enjoyed the almonds. It may have been because he was hungry, but he practically inhaled the salad. I was just glad he liked my vegetarian friendly restaurant. Sometimes I feel bad dragging him to the chains with gluten-free menus when there are so many cool, quirky little restaurants that we could go to if only I could feel confident in getting gluten-free food. I ended up having the salad without dressing but with tahina because the thoughtful waitress said that they couldn’t confirm that the dressing was gluten-free. I appreciated her candor, and felt even better about eating there after she cautioned me about the dressing. I thought the salad was nice, but the real star for me was the healthy and hearty quinoa salad.

The quinoa salad came in several flavor variations, from mexican, to italian, and middle-eastern. I chose middle eastern flavors because, well, we were in the middle-east and it just didn’t seem right to order mexican or italian. I appreciated the vegetarian protein in the tofu, but found it a little bland. The combination of red quinoa and lentils was a real winner, though, and it inspired me. I was surprised at how filling the combination was in a relatively small serving. I was happiest of all by the fact that unlike some of the more chancy meals I had in Israel, this one didn’t hurt my tummy at all, and in fact gave me great energy and a satisfied tummy for the rest of the evening. I would definitely go back and have this dish again- maybe even in a different flavor variation, although I do love my tahina.

*Put the link in translate.google.com and set it to translate from Hebrew to English if you can’t read Hebrew like me

In another lifetime as an intrepid young vegetarian college student, I came to this vegetarian cafe restaurant with my significant other. I didn’t have a food blog at the time, needless to say, so I didn’t document the experience and had forgotten entirely about the place until I found myself standing in a parking lot and then an atrium that was eerily familiar. At that time, I don’t think they had a gluten-free menu, so I had to navigate the place for myself with the help of the waitress. This time, I went specifically because of two phrases that turned up in a google search; “Gluten-free menu” and “Vegetarian.” Those two little phrases don’t come up much together, with a few exceptions. After spending the morning with my Dad at the Pike Place Market, gluten-free vegetarian fare sounded pretty good.

But as usual, when confronted with too many options I waffled. Everything sounded good.

I was going to be sharing with Toddler Yum, so I wanted to find two things to order. I was excited by the prospect of gluten-free sweet potato fries, until I found out that they were fried in a shared vat of oil with gluten stuff. Oops. The waitress helped by suggesting their seasonal pizza, which had heirloom tomatoes, corn, macadamia nuts and cheese. Their description sounded better than mine, but I can’t find it on their current menu, so you will just have to trust my possibly faulty memory and eyeball the pizza to see what I might have left out. There was something green and herbal, I do believe. Cilantro? Basil Pesto? Who knows. The important thing was, when the pizza arrived, it WAS good, and beautiful too. Those tomatoes looked and tasted like they could have come straight out of my prized heirloom tomato garden.

The second menu item was a no-brainer. I was so smitten by the description of their Pesto Potato Quiche that I couldn’t help but order it.

“Caramelized onions and Gruyere cheese baked in the traditional custard with a thin crispy potato crust and topped with fresh basil pesto; served with wild greens dressed in balsamic vinaigrette.”

Um, yes please. We got the order in right in time, too, before they took the breakfast items off the table.

Just as I expected from that luscious description, the quiche was divine. Actually, I would have to say that it is probably the best darned quiche that I’ve ever had. That thin potato crust was perfect, and had me questioning if it was really gluten-free. (It was, but I had to reassure myself by neurotically questioning the waitress.) The filling was truly what took the quiche over into the realm of the heavenly, though. The sophisticated flavor of the cheese… the onions… the pesto… all the flavors melded together and showed me just how amateur the other quiches I’d had (and made myself at home) truly were. Oh, it was so good, and even Toddler Yum agreed. However, once she saw my Dad’s portabella mushroom “burger” and fries, she was too busy stealing his fries* to eat much of my good food. *Toddler Yum is not eating fully gluten-free right now. In fact, we’re trying to feed her gluten regularly so she can have the Celiac bloodwork done. I even had her try some of his gluten bread, although she did not like it.*

I thoroughly enjoyed my experience at Cafe Flora. The food and the ambiance is equally lovely. We started out in the atrium with waterfall, but moved because they have a kids play area that Toddler Yum became obsessed with on sight. Once she had seen it and gasped in rapture “Oh. My. Goooodness!” I knew keeping her out of it was going to be impossible. We moved closer to the play space. Nice play area and awesome food that didn’t hurt my tummy, even 3 1/2 hours afterwards. Even my hardcore carnivore Dad seemed to enjoy it, and kept the “where’s the beef” comments to a minimum. For him, this is big, so I was happy.

I would definitely recommend Cafe Flora and their sophisticated vegetarian menu for gluten-free folks in the area looking for a tasty meal. I just wish there was a similar place closer to me that I could go to regularly! They even have a cookbook which I assume you can purchase on Amazon for those who can’t make it to Seattle or want to recreate their favorite dishes at home. Sounds good to me!

Other bloggers review Cafe Flora:
Oh Taste N See
Lara Ferroni dot com
Megabeth
Gluten-free review of Cafe Flora:
Gluten-free Travel Site

Four years ago, I heard about a wonderful gourmet pizza parlor in Arizona called Picazzo’s that offered not only gluten-free pizza, but an elaborate full menu to its gluten-free customers. I was suitably impressed and vowed to eat there as soon as I could get myself to Arizona. Happily, on a gluten-free food fest family vacation that took me through Portland, Oregon, I found out that they had opened a branch in Portland. (Sadly, Picazzo’s is no longer found in Portland, but the former Portland Picazzo’s is now called Sellwood’s Pizza Kitchen and still offers gluten-free pizza!) I enjoyed every bite but somehow didn’t manage to blog about my experience. Shame on me! This time around I was determined to blog about my own Picazzo’s experience.

The moment our plane set down in Arizona, I had a mission to find and eat the gluten-free pizza at Picazzo’s. Unfortunately when I found them on a map, the DH shook his head. “Sorry, honey, that is not on our way.” I was disappointed, but comforted myself by sending him on a gluten-free goodie hunting trek across the city. I was also consoled by gobbling down some hot gluten-free In-N-Out french fries and strawberry-vanilla shake. Not exactly healthy, but it took the edge off after a long food-less morning messing about at airports. I was also consoled when I found out that Picazzo’s had branches near Tucson as well as Phoenix, particularly a location in a suburb called Oro Valley that was a 30-40 minute drive from the Ritz Carlton where we would be staying. I was pretty sure I could convince the DH to drive us to a gluten-free dining destination after a few days of overpriced resort meals.

Sure enough, after a few days of buffet breakfasts and dinners we were all ready for a change of pace. We decided to go to the nearby Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum and stop at Picazzo’s on the way back. (For a report on the museum, see the end of this post, and fun vacation collage.*) We all know I just went on the excursion to get to Picazzo’s. I’m sorry, that’s just the way my priorities work.

As planned, we went to Picazzo’s for dinner. There is a convenient Trader Joe’s in the shopping complex with the Oro Valley restaurant, so you can get any travel necessities (or gluten-free shopping done if you live in the area). We like to pick up nuts, seeds, cheap wine, sparkling apple juice, and their gluten-free corn-based crackers. Yum. We bought the cheap wine to drink from the balcony of our hotel room while listening to music from the bar below, but actually, the DH was so busy at his conference we never drank the wine. It was just me and Toddler Yum, and we just knocked back a little sparkling (nonalcoholic) apple juice, a salad and ice cream sundae from room service. What can I say. We really know how to party.

I immediately felt welcomed to Picazzo’s by the big “gluten-free” banner on their side gate. We went in out of the blistering heat to a welcoming and modern dark room with air conditioning. Ah, bliss. They had my favorite lavender hand wipes at the door, which was a nice touch. We sat down at a table and opened the menu. It was a bit early so we were just in time for their happy hour of fun, where you could get cheap gluten-free appetizers (!!!) and presumably alcohol at a reduced rate. I was too excited about the food to really pay attention to the alcohol situation. Sorry, guys. Priorities, you know? What really got me was that there was a kids menu- full of gluten-free items like $5 pizza, pasta, and more. At this point we don’t know if Baby/Toddler Yum has issues with gluten, but to err on the side of caution we are feeding her a low-gluten diet. The only gluten she eats is in any non-certified-gluten-free oatmeal. I just about teared up when I saw that we could get her small portions that were naturally gluten-free. Granted, I usually scoff at the fact that restaurants universally assume that all kids eat is tater tots and pizza, with a side of fruit and boring-as-heck steamed veggies (and not the yummy ones) if they are really being “health” conscious. However. The fact is that Toddler Yum does have something of a bland palate, and she loves plain pasta with butter and cheese. Being able to order that for her made my Mommy-heart weep with happiness.

The first time we went we got her this delicious gluten-free corn-quinoa pasta with butter and cheese. She gobbled it up. I think my girl was a bit tired of fancy-shmancy resort food.

The second time we went we got her gluten-free pizza. Look at these adorable baby pizzas! And no, this isn’t a veggie pizza. For various reasons, my girl is not fully vegetarian at this point. It was so nice to be able to order a small portion of what she will eat and then be able to order my own veggie fare too without feeling guilty about spending the money! Toddler Yum was feeling peck-ish and didn’t eat that much pizza, but the DH was happy to help her out. Her favorite thing- and the DH’s favorite thing too was a non-veg appetizer. Cover your eyes, my dearest fellow vegetarians. They love the *BBQ Maple Wings*. Ok, you can uncover your eyes now.

MY favorite appetizer was the spinach-cheese topped artichoke hearts, which came with delicious gluten-free bread (left) which just so happens to be on their happy hour menu. SCORE! The first time I ordered it it had a really rich spinach cheese-sauce topping and the second time they were more skimpy with the cheese, but it was good both times. I love the idea of using a full artichoke heart as the delivery system for cheesy goodness. I also enjoyed the cheesy pesto bread appetizer on our second visit.

But of course, I can’t talk about a gluten-free menu at a pizza place without talking about the pizza! How was the pizza? I like most pizzas, and this was no exception. It had a clearly rice-based crust with a crispy texture that was appealing. It doesn’t beat my favorite pizza crust from Boulder’s gluten-free bakery, but it is very good and the price was reasonable. The pizzas seem to be basted in oil for extra browning and crisp, so it is fairly heavy fare. You better not be on a diet! I enjoyed the indulgence, though, and the DH gave it thumbs up. Also notice the cute little flag. I don’t know why my pizza was patriotic, but it was an interesting little touch. Maybe it signified gluten-free pizza? Unclear.

The second time we went I decided to order one of the many gluten-free pasta dishes. I was torn between a vegetarian portobello mushroom bolognese and wild mushroom penne and I finally went with the latter. So many choices! We had to rush back to the resort for the DH’s conference and so I ended up taking the pasta and eating it in the car. Toddler Yum gobbled up the noodles in a cream sauce with green peas and savory mushrooms. Well, she ate the noodles, and not so much the peas or the mushrooms. I liked them, though.

When the time came to order dessert, the wait staff couldn’t decide which dessert was better- their cheesecake or their giant chocolate cookie. The first time we went I had a crust-less gluten-free cheesecake with a chocolate berry sauce. The DH enjoyed it and we didn’t even miss the crust. The second time I was afraid (rightly) that it would be our last time and so I ordered that giant chocolate chip cookie, sans ice cream because I had no way to keep it in our hotel room and I had no room in my stomach to eat it. When I tried the cookie later, I was a little disappointed. It somehow had a flat flavor, as if it was made with shortening instead of butter or margarine. I saved it, though, with the thought that maybe I’d use it and make smores. On the last night at the resort hotel, I ended up ordering a kids ice cream sundae from room service, having a picnic and putting the ice cream on top of the leftover giant cookie. What a treat!

I really enjoyed our visits to Picazzo’s and appreciated the amazing variety on their gluten-free menu. It appears that many dishes only have a gluten-free version, which makes cross contamination and mix-ups all the more unlikely. And further, they seem really competent and well trained at serving their gluten-free clientele, I felt very safe eating there. The one thing I didn’t know until after I ate there is that the gluten-free bread products (including the pizza) are probably not, strictly speaking, vegetarian because they use the Tom Sawyer flour blend that contains gelatin. Their gluten-free salads and pastas (made from prepared box pasta) are likely to be either vegetarian or easily made vegetarian.

I’m not the only person to love the gluten-free options at Pacazzo’s. Here are some other reviews:
Gluten-free Travel Blog Picazzo’s Review
Celiac Chicks Review of Picazzo’s

*The Arizona-Sonora Desert museum was really very cool, except for the fact that it was about 110 degrees out and I felt like my face was melting. Baby Yum particularly enjoyed the prairie dogs and I liked the agave cactus garden (low right photo in collage). I also enjoyed the gift shop at the nearby state park visitor’s center, where you could buy a plethora of chili-themed and other southwestern cookbooks and exotic prickly pear jellies.

Review:
I love finding a new, local restaurant with a well-developed gluten-free menu, and I love finding vegetarian restaurants that have food that I can eat. Finding them both in one place is a rare and exciting event. When I discovered Dharma’s gluten-free friendly, vegetarian restaurant in Capitola, California through an online search, I was thrilled. Dharma’s Vegetarian Restaurant is a very large, almost cafeteria style restaurant with a warm and cozy family dining atmosphere. You place your order at the counter, since it isn’t a traditional sit down and place your order type of place. To tell the truth, this kind of ordering situation always makes me twitchy because I find it hard to make a decision standing staring at a menu above me. It is even harder with a toddler in tow. Baby Yum got a little hyper so the DH carted her off to a table with some of the resident dinosaur toys and left me to pick food for all of us.

As soon as I saw it on their online gluten-free menu, I knew that I wanted the Indian curry, which you can get with gluten-free bread if you order it specially. But I didn’t think Baby Yum would be too thrilled with all the “spice, spice” as she refers to anything with seasoning. So. when I saw the daily special was a dish with quinoa, sweet potato and soup, I had to order it… for the DH to share with Baby Yum. Then I felt bad later, because it really wasn’t the kind of thing he would order for himself. What can I say, I don’t order well under pressure.

The Indian Curry, though, that was right up my alley and exactly what I would order if I could choose anything in the world. When I saw that curry I just about swooned. Lots of fresh veggies married to a creamy, coconut-rich sauce and sprinkled with cashews- yum! The brown rice was fine, the yogurt sauce was tangy, the chutney was sweet, but the curry, now that was a real treat. I would give it a 4 out of 4 stars. It was served with a bit of what I think was Kinnikinnick bread. I don’t know how they manage their toasters, so I still didn’t eat it. I didn’t need it, even with giving Baby Yum some of my plain rice.

Because it was Mother’s Day weekend I ordered the raw foods strawberry cheesecake, too. I have decided that cheesecake is my favorite raw foods dessert. How can you not love that creamy, nut-based goodness that seems so naughty but is full of good things? This was a lovely, silky smooth and delicate raw foods cheesecake with a tangy hint of lime. Even the DH approved.

The quinoa sweet-potato special really got my attention because the specials menu mentioned a tahini sauce. I don’t care what you drizzle it on, tahini makes everything yummy. Between thinking of my quinoa-loving Baby Yum and drooling over the tahini, I couldn’t resist. I selected a potato leek soup that was recommended by the guy at the counter, and it was a nice soup but looked so very plain when it came out of the kitchen that I felt quite bad about having ordered it for the DH. On the up side, Baby Yum gobbled down the rice and quinoa we gave her from our two plates. On the down side, this meal just didn’t look sexy or very hard to make at home. Teach me to order the bargain lunch special!

I can’t tell you how exciting it was for me to find a gluten-free friendly vegetarian restaurant on our little road trip. The first restaurant I ever really enjoyed was a little place called the Creative Vegetarian Cafe in Boulder, which closed a few years later. I loved the international take on vegetarian dining, and I’ve missed having the experience of eating good, thoughtful vegetarian recipes out. Here in Silicon Valley it seems the only vegetarian restaurants are based on Chinese/ Taiwanese Vegetarian cuisine, which is so full of wheat-based soy sauce, wheat flour and wheat gluten that it is completely off limits. Or, they are based in Indian cuisine, which I love but often has mystery spice mixes or cross contamination issues. Finding a place that gives me the international dishes I crave but has gone to the effort to have a gluten-free menu was the best Mother’s Day present ever! If you happen to find yourself in Santa Cruz and take an excursion towards Capitola, definitely check out Dharma’s Vegetarian Restaurant and their fantastic gluten-free menu!

*Please note, they do prepare gluten dishes in their kitchen, so you may want to ask questions about preparation and cross-contamination issues.

How we found the restaurant:

I have a crush on Santa Cruz. I’ll admit it. Santa Cruz is the home of New Leaf Health Food Stores, my favorite REAL natural food store in California, and also the home of Love Apple Farm, an organic farm that produces gorgeous produce for a local gourmet restaurant while also cultivating and selling amazing heirloom tomatoes. Love Apple Farm has become increasingly involved in education, providing classes on topics from backyard chicken-keeping to preserving to summer or winter organic gardening. Ever since we bought our first house with a yard, the DH and I have been burning to start a garden. And, shortly before Mother’s Day, we attended a class at Love Apple Farm to get an education on organic gardening. At that class, we learned about the Mother’s Day Plant Sale at the Cabrillo College Horticulture Center where you can buy beautiful organic heirloom plants the likes of which would never be found at Lowe’s or Home Depot. This is how I found myself in Capitola, California on Mother’s Day Weekend with a car full of gorgeous plants including purple tomatillos, quinoa, and a rainbow of lettuce. I had all this potential food in the car, and yet- I was hungry! Luckily the DH has an Iphone, and so we did a search and I found a vegetarian restaurant in the area with a gluten-free menu. Yippee! I knew I liked the Santa Cruz area.

It never would have occurred to me to check out Tony and Alba’s for Gluten-free Pizza if it hadn’t been for the recommendation of a pizza-enthusiast friend of mine who wrote a lovely post on her favorite pizza joints in the Bay area. It is a great article, and you should check it out. This afternoon as the DH and Baby Yum and I were on our way to Santana Row, we passed Tony and Alba’s in a strip mall on our left. I had never given it a second thought before, but thanks to my friend, I knew they had a gluten-free pizza available. So, after we browsed the mall and let Baby Yum run wild in the children’s play area, we went out for pizza together. Yay!

They use the French Meadow gluten-free pizza which comes in its own baking tin. Don’t freak out when you walk in the door and the gluten-free pizza isn’t listed on their menu. I have to admit, I like it when a company offering gluten-free food plasters notices all over the restaurant. However, when you say gluten-free pizza to the staff, they are completely aware of what you are talking about and it is printed in nice, clear letters on your receipt. And, when they bring you your pizza, the waiters announce “Here is your gluten-free pizza.” These things make me feel better. I get a little twitchy in a pizza joint, and I was reassured by their gestures. I didn’t order the pizza any special way and it was nice and crispy, so perhaps they’ve made it standard to pre-bake the pizza a little before adding toppings.

What did we order? Well, we started with a MARGHERITA, and were glad that we did. The nice, thin crust had a lovely amount of tomato sauce (or very well baked tomatoes?) and cheese, and then was sprinkled with julienned basil. Now, it isn’t quite like how I do a margherita, which is without tomato sauce, whole slice tomatoes, fresh mozzarella and tons of basil, but isn’t the reason you go out to have things a little differently than you would make them at home?

An unexpected bonus was that Baby Yum was delighted by the thin crust and ate almost a whole piece single-handedly, with a little help from her mama. Prior to this, she’s always been a little unsure about layers of flavor on her food. I think getting her used to quesadillas and the recent ravioli fest have gone a long way to warming her up to pizza. Whatever, the reason, she liked it!

After we all devoured our margherita pizza, we decided to order a vegetarian. The vegetarian has Mushroom, Zucchini, Tomato, Black Olive, Artichoke, Garlic, Bells, and Onion. All the toppings seem to be put on raw, and there are a lot of them. There is especially a lot of garlic. I won’t be having trouble keeping vampires at bay after a slice of that pizza, that is for sure! I am fairly picky about my pizza toppings and like a lesser volume. I also like to grill veggies before putting them on pizzas, so I was a little overwhelmed. The DH also grumbled about the veggies he didn’t like (zucchini etc) and Baby Yum wouldn’t eat it, but I think her petite toddler tummy was full. Next time I’d design my own pizza with fewer toppings, and/or try the Bianca (No Sauce, Mozzarella, Ricotta, Provolone, Feta, Sun-dried Tomato, and without the usual garlic). I hear that it is possible to order gluten-free pasta and polenta at Tony and Alba’s too, so that might be fun another time.

I think meat lovers and fans of cozy, family-style restaurants will be very happy with the gluten-free pizza and other offerings at Tony and Alba’s. There are many options for vegetarians, but their house special is very non-veg, and gets rave reviews. The price is also fantastic, with a typical pizza costing around $12 for a medium-size pizza. For our family of two and a nibble-prone toddler, one pizza would be a light meal, and more than (two) is a nice meal with maybe some leftover slices to take home. If you’ve been missing feeling “normal”- this place is for you. We were surrounded by families and pizza fans at this cozy neighborhood pizza joint, with a television playing lightly in the background as we watched the rain outside. It felt pretty good. The owners seem really sensitive to gluten-free issues. They began preparing gluten-free pizza because a very good family friend’s daughter had Celiac and the owner’s wife wanted her to be able to come to their restaurant. Also, their daughter was dating a guy with a wheat allergy. When they researched it, they saw the need for a down-home family style option for gluten-free folks, and so a menu was born! Both the gluten-free pizza and pasta is made in a dedicated area, with a separate cutter and pan, spoons, etc.), and the pasta is made in a dedicated gluten-free pasta. They purposefully bought rotelli-spiral gluten-free pasta so it would never get confused for the gluten pasta. Gluten-free polenta and beer are also available. To my knowledge, they don’t have a dairy-free or soy-free cheese, so if you have sensitivities you might call ahead and see about the pizza crust ingredients as well as topping options.

They do prepare a lot of gluten-containing foods, and the kitchen is open to the seating area so you might want to eat outside if it is a nice day. Overall, I was pleased with my experience at Tony and Alba’s. I am delighted that there are so many gluten-free pizza options for us in the Bay Area and I can’t wait to try them all!

Coming soon: a very positive review of BJ’s Brewhouse, their gluten-free menu and amazingly crisp pizza.

Pica Pica Maize Kitchen is a delightful find for anyone on a gluten-free diet or who has developed an addiction to corn-based Venezuelan cuisine. I am almost embarrassed that in the over five years that I’ve lived in the Bay Area, I’ve never made it to their San Francisco location. Luckily, my gluten-free friends at BlogHer food were more motivated and planned a lunch there which I was very happy to attend. The entire menu is gluten-free. Those who can’t have corn will be out of luck, as pretty much everything contains corn. However, you can easily eat vegetarian or even vegan, and rice isn’t even on the menu if you are rice intolerant! Soy also can be avoided, although PAN, the base for their arepas, may be manufactured on lines with soy. If you thought you’d never eat a sandwich out again or have this much selection if you did, this place will prove you wrong and make you happy in the process. If you are like me, you’ll be a little overwhelmed by all the options, so let me tell you about the vegetarian dishes I tried. The most obvious vegetarian arepa choice is of course La Vegetariana Arepa with tofu, avocado, plantains, black beans and sauce. The ingredients sound perfect, but somehow it is just a bit bland for my taste, to be honest. I had it twice- once at the Napa location some time back, and both times I wasn’t all that excited. I love tofu, but this is quite a big, fairly plain slab of the stuff.
I didn’t order the Morena, or black bean, Empanada myself, but Ali of Whole Life Nutrition Kitchen did and generously shared some with me. Usually empanadas are made out of wheat flour, so it is a rare treat to find some that are made out of corn. These are light, flaky, probably deep fried, and have a delicious bean filling. I would definitely order them next time. Yummy! And I loved the spicy sauce with them. De-lish! The Queso Fresco empanada sounds good, too, but it would be hard to beat the savory bean filling.

Deep fried gluten-free goodies are always tempting, as it can be very hard to find them without cross contamination issues from a shared fryer. Pica Pica has two deep fried sides that are both good, but very different. One is a plantain chip. They are soft and sweet, with a thin, lightly fried exterior. If you are expecting intense crunch, this may not be the dish for you, but I like them because you can eat a bunch and not feel terribly guilty. If you’re in the camp that wants your fried food to taste like true deep fried goodness, then I recommend the Yucca fries. These amazingly crispy fries will satisfy all your Southern dreams and then some. I would want to share them with a friend because they are so rich and decadent. Bet you can’t eat just one!


I also tried their hot chocolate, but I am a picky-picky girl when it comes to my hot chocolate and I like it dark, rich, and thick. I wouldn’t order it again for myself but I bet my DH would enjoy it.

Of course the best thing about eating out is usually the company. I shared my meal with a wonderful group of gluten-free bloggers, most of whom I mentioned in this post about our gluten-free meal together at The Plant. *Link to blogs included for New friends not previously listed*

Shirley of Gluten-free Easily was a charming table companion, and we shared a batch of plantain fries. I just love her.

Counter-clockwise: Tia from Gluten Gluten-free, Alisa of Go Dairy Free, Diane from The Whole Gang, and just the eyes of Wendy of Celiacs in the House

Clockwise: Ellen of I am Gluten Free, GF Veg of Wheatless and Meatless, Kim of Cook it Allergy Free, Tom and Ali of Whole Life Nutrition Kitchen

And guess what? My friends wrote reviews of Pica Pica, too!
Wendy’s review and Arepas recipe
Diane’s review of Pica Pica and other gluten-free dining in San Francisco
GF Veg’s review of Pica Pica and photo slideshow
Alisa’s Dairy-free Review of Pica Pica Maize Kitchen
Know of any other Pica Pica blog reviews? Share in the comments and I’ll add them to the list!

Want to make your own version of arepas?
My recipe for green chili cheese arepas
Cheese Arepas and Perico Scramble Recipe