Charley's on Newbury Street

I've been a fan of Charley's on Newbury street for a loooong time. We used to go there when I was in college, especially to enjoy their brunch.

So this past weekend we were strolling around on Newbury and decided to head there for lunch to sit outside on the patio. I had heard they had a gluten free menu a year or two ago but haven't had a chance to visit.... and I was not disappointed!

I ordered the gluten free margherita pizza (gf pizza is my new favorite food that i must have at least once a week).

To my surprise they brought out some gluten free bread to start that was DELICIOUS.... it was slightly warm & looked like this:

Then the pizza came, and it was brought over by the manager and he reassured me it was gluten free... While he was there I had to ask what brand the bread was, but it wasn't anything local or that consumers can buy. Bummer.

Anyway - the pizza was delicious - the crust was so good. I ate almost this entire thing.

I would DEFINITELY go back - I hear they have gluten free english muffins for brunch, among other things.

Woodman's - Essex, MA

Wow - it's been so long since I posted that Blogger has an entirely new format! Yikes.

There's been A LOT going on up here as of late! All great things - but a lot at once!

We were up in Essex, MA this past weekend and just HAD to stop by Woodman's to try their famous fried clams - and guess what - yep, they're gluten free!

Actually, we found out when we were there that everything on the menu is gluten free except the onion rings, clamcakes, and all the sandwiches (bread)... but if you're lookin' for fried clams, (among other fried things) fries, and clam chowder - you're in luck.  We made sure to tell them when ordering I was gluten free - and they made sure not to put the onion rings on my heap of fried goodness.

YUM. This was WAY too many clams for me - I only ate about less than half, husband had some, but he had his own plate to deal with --- so I would recommend sharing. But it was all really good - and I LOVE tartar sauce. I would eat it on everything.

The chowder was really good - Matt's was a little watery, which was weird, because mine was thick and full of potatoes & clams - so I guess I picked the right one out of the box.

If you're ever in Essex, stop by --- I plan on going back this summer! Plus - there are some fabulous antique shops lining the streets if you feel up for a little antiquing to walk off your fried food.

Let's just order a pizza...

...Words I haven't said in a LONG time. "Let's just order a pizza". Those gluten-free eaters out there know what I'm talkin' about. I mean, GF pizza is out there, but it's usually a drive away, or something special to go out of your way for, or something you just whip up at home. But get delivered?! SOOOO nice.

My husband recently did some googling and found out that Gregory's in Reading, MA has gluten free pizza with crust courtesy of Strawberry Moon!

We got back from our vacation and had almost no food in the house, and just called up & ordered a pizza for dinner. So great! Their sauce is excellent, and we got ours half pepperoni and extra cheese. The crust has a great taste, and a good crunch on the outside (although a tad chewy, but still really good). Yuuummmm:

Look at that pizza grease! haha... anyway. I love that more & more places are popping up with gluten free options. I usually just make pizza at home when my husband orders one with my fave Udi's pizza crusts -- but he actually likes this so much that we can just split it!

I like to get my own though because this makes EXCELLENT cold pizza the next day!

Pizzetta - Mystic CT

I was in the Rhode Island area this glorious almost-summer weekend and Matt and I decided to head to Mystic, CT on Saturday night for dinner. If you've never been to Mystic, it's a great little town with some fabulous restaurants and cute little shops, you may also remember the movie "Mystic Pizza" from the late 80s. There is also a great natural foods store that used to be one of the few places I could find my gluten free favorites!

Anyway - it was a strange night in Mystic because they were having power outages. We went to S&P Oyster to sit out on the patio, we found out their kitchen was closed, but we had a drink and a salad and enjoyed being right on the river. They also have a separate gluten free menu here! I was planning on Lobster Tacos, but we left to go see which restaurants still had power so we could eat. We strolled by Azu, which is also great & gf-friendly, but sadly, no lights on here either.

So we kept going up the street and ran into Mystic Pizza, which was JAM PACKED, and I can't eat anything there anyway. But we kept walking and saw a sign for Pizzetta just around the corner and went to go check it out. It was an adorable little restaurant set up in an old Victorian home. There was seating on the wrap-around deck, and then the restaurant was split into what was probably a sitting room and dining room. Adorable. Best part? We take a look at the menu & in a large call-out they were advertising gluten free pizza! SCORE. They also have dairy-free cheese. We sat down, had some wine, and ordered. I was thrilled to stumble upon pizza and we were just happy they had power!


I got mine with plum tomato sauce, mozz, fresh ricotta and broccoli. Matt got a non-gf with pepperoni, sausage and jalepenos (gross).... Our pizza was delieverd - and YUM. Excellent. I'm about 95% sure they use Against the Grain's pizza crust. If it's not, it tastes EXACTLY like it - which is fine with me. I love that crust, it's made with mozzarella cheese in it and it's delish.

About 10 minutes after we got our pizza, every light in the place went out - the server brought out candles for all the tables... it was pretty fun actually. I was just glad our pizza's made it through the oven while it was still on!

Great night for a ball game!

Had a blast at the Sox game last night! It was probably the most perfect weather for a game ever - and Ortiz had a home run!

Anyway - first off - I didn't get a picture of my amazing meal at Burton's before the game - but I had a couple of RedBridge, and a fried haddock sandwich (yes, bread & all!!) with fries. OMG, YUM. Burton's Grill is the greatest. It's not really that cheap, but I think totally worth it, the service is excellent, and they always seem attentive and careful about the gluten free food.

Then we went to Fenway and look what I saw:

So funny! It's a tiny little section with a few bags of chips! haha, I definitely appreciate the effort though. The words "GLUTEN FREE" jumped out at me as we were rushing to our seats and I quickly took this picture on my phone. Sadly, no RedBridge at Fenway park that I could find, but I bet that day is coming!

Myers + Chang

This past weekend I finally got to check out Myers + Chang in the South End for dinner with another GF gal and our husbands.... We had a blast - they place is really cool, love the setting and atmosphere, very hip. The real draw for us though, was their gluten free menu!

It's not super extensive, but there definitely some good choices -- we opted to share the edamame & celery slaw, the thai ginger chicken salad served over rice vermicelli, the spicy silky tofu with peppered pork & scallions, and the indonesian fried rice.

The guys got a lot of spicy meat & other things and they were really happy with - they like spice.

We liked ours, but thought it was a little TOO spicy. The edamame & celery slaw was awesome - so was the thai ginger chicken salad. The spicy tofu was just that, spicy. Like, really spicy. And so was the fried rice. We had also asked the server if we could modify one of the other dishes & get it without sauce, but he said it really wouldn't be good, so we didn't get it - although, I wish we had gotten it anyway. Oh well...

We also had some delicious & really strong mai tai's!


So -- if you like really spicy food and are looking for a really cool atmosphere to go out for dinner or lunch, check this place out!

Mozzarelli's - not good.

I am soooo disappointed in Mozzarelli's pizza! Ugh.... it was NOT good. Not only was it not good, it was $33 for a pizza with two toppings - that is ridiculous. 

So - the weekend was fabulous. Had a blast at my friends shower and bachelorette -- we were staying in Union Square in NYC, and had apps at Olives. My plan was to get a pizza before that, but I called at 8:30pm to order the pizza, and apparently they closed at 8. SO - what did I do? I ordered a pizza for 'breakfast' on Sunday -- which worked out, because the girls had two enormous bags of delicious NY bagels delivered to our room... sigh (although, i had some gf bread and I had some yummy scallion cream cheese -- why is cream cheese SO good in ny?).

Anyway.... they delivered my pizza (after some serious issues with them not understanding where the W hotel was) and I was SO excited -- I got goat cheese & spinach on it - I sunk my teeth in, and I immediately tasted that gross weird gluten free taste - What is that?!?! It tastes like soap or something. I almost cried. But I toughed it out and ate a piece, tried to add some more goat cheese from another slice, covered it in garlic salt, and pretended I didn't taste the soapiness.

I'm not sure if I was more upset over the price, or the fact that I had heard such great things and I found it un-eatable. I even brought back the leftovers hoping it would taste better cold. Nope. Worse. Just tried it and had to throw it out!

Can someone please tell me what that taste is so I can try to avoid it in the future? It must be one of the flours, I can't pinpoint which one though.

NEBO - Restaurant Review

Hi everyone! I'm sorry for the lack of posting! After Paris work was crazy - then Matt graduated from Law School! Yippee... Now I'm starting to get back into somewhat of a routine, although wedding planning really needs to kick into action as the wedding is in LESS than 3 months.. Ahhh. 

Anyway.... I had the wonderful opportunity to have a night out with some local gluten free girls to try out a restaurant near Boston's North End that has a huge gluten free menu called Nebo.

Let me just tell you right now - this place was FANTASTIC. The whole experience was wonderful. One of the owners, Carla, was there to greet us, and as we sat down she explained to us that someone in her family had celiac which was part of the reason they began offering gluten free dishes... she let us know they had a dedicated part of their kitchen for gluten free including separate refrigerators/freezers - and made sure their staff was well-trained about the gluten free diet.

OK - let me get onto the food... There were so many options on the menu, none of us could make any decisions.... Jenny from Sugar & Spice was with us, so half of the food we got was both gluten free and dairy free!

We started with some gluten free calamari with tartar sauce (contained dairy) and some marinara (dairy free).. YUM. So good - it was lightly fried and just so flavorful.

Carla, our lovely host/owner -- disappeared into the kitchen and personally cooked up a wonderful eggplant parmigiana that was gluten free (this one wasn't dairy free, Jen stuck to the calamari). WOW - Eggplant Parm was one of my most favorite things to eat before going gluten free. It was so great to have a real, authentic tasting eggplant dish that tasted just like I remembered.

For our main courses we decided on trying two pizzas and two pastas for the four of us to split. We did a GF/DF version of one pasta, and one pizza, then just GF on the other two... begin drooling now:

Pasta 1: Pancetta, sweet onions, spicy tomato sauce (dairy free)

Pasta 2: Broccoli rabe, homemade sausage, pecorino

Pizza 1: Roasted eggplant, onions, mushrooms, zucchini (usually has mozz, we did it DF)

Pizza 2: Arugula, pacchino tomatoes, parmigiano, mozzarella, evoo

It was all so good -- my favorite pizza was the eggplant - even without the cheese - it was so flavorful! The crust was great - I made sure to get a bite without anything on it to make sure it didn't have a weird taste, and it didn't. Carla told us she orders the crust mix from a company in Canada, I think she told me the name, but it's escaping me right now. I'm also forgetting the pasta brand (sorry!) but it was great -- and she mentioned that they are trying to devise the perfect homemade gluten free pasta recipe - exciting! I'll be living there if they get it right!

We did a pretty good job on all the food, and were completely stuffed, but HAD to get the panna cotta for dessert. Holy yum.... it had mango and nuts and tasted just like the panna cotta I used to get in Italy (this one wasn't dairy free, only gluten free). I was so full I decided to get an espresso with my dessert to help digest.

Overall, I didn't think the prices were too bad - it's not a cheap night of pizza and beers, but it's not over-the-top.... All of their prices are listed on the website, the pizzas.

If you're in the Boston area - check them out! Especially if you're going to the TD Bank North Garden to see a game or a show - it's right around the corner!

Oh, and of course, we brought our leftovers home.

Newish (to me) Gluten Free Pizza place in Boston!

90 north washington st • boston, ma 02113 617.723.nebo (6326)

I was online the other day (procrastinating of course, I can literally get lost in the world of blogs for hours, it's bad)... ANYWAY - found a restaurant located right next to the North End in Boston, AND, very close to my office called NEBO that serves gluten free pasta, pizza, etc!!!! REJOICE!

Sadly, I haven't had time to get there to try it.... but perhaps a gluten free girls trip is in order SOON?

I'll be sure to report back. Hopefully the pizza is good -- either way, this is the first place to serve GF pizza in Boston (besides Unos).

Their menu doesn't mention gluten free, but I saw this video on Boston.com where they talk about offering a gluten free options.

Friedman's Deli - NYC

I was in NYC last week visiting, and every time I go there I make it a point to stop by at least one gluten free establishment I've read about -- usually on Celiac Chicks or A Gluten Free Guide.

So this time - I HAD to go to Friedman's Deli in Chelsea Market. (I apologize in advance for the crap photos -- I was so mad I forgot my camera, and my friend's camera wasn't working) Anyway.... I knew I was going to get a Reuben Sandwich because I saw someone else get it, and that was my FAVE sandwich pre-diagnosis.  I also started with a potato pancake AND got a side of the rosemary fries. Can we say, CARB OVERLOAD???  

It was SO worth it.

The potato pancake was delish -- served with applesauce and sour cream - it was thick and filling. It was like a mashed potato pancake - not the kind that is more like shredded potatoes -- I like both, so it was excellent to me. It was also very filling! But I brought my appetite so I was ready for more....

Next, the fries came out with my friends salad. OK - these fries were GREAT -- I love these kind of big thick fries, and they were mixed in with rosemary & sea salt - but it wasn't too much, it was just right... 

You also might see in that picture two shot glasses that have some chunky stuff -- they gave everyone samples of the fresh homemade juice of the day -- it was a grapefruit/pineapple concoction of some sort, and it was very good, but it was more like eating a piece of fruit than drinking juice.

NEXT.... The Reuben.

YUUUMMM. It was SO GOOD. Sadly, I took one picture, but it's so awful, I won't post it - it makes the sandwich look terrible. It was on Grainless Baker Mock Rye Bread, and was loaded with meat, russian dressing, and sauerkraut. It also seemed that the bread had been generously spread with butter before being toasted/fried, and was absolutely delicious. I ate the entire thing in about 30 seconds, it was probably a disgusting spectacle.

Also -- the servers were great --- I asked my waitress about the bread since it was so good, she told me it was Grainless Baker, and she sold me a loaf! I don't think I've ever seen it in any of my local grocers - and I wanted to make sure I had more.

SO - at the end of the day, I HIGHLY recommend Friedman's Deli -- and Chelsea Market is pretty cool to walk around in, so definitely visit next time you're in NYC.

Stone Hearth Pizza

The Friday before I started the diet, I met up with my friend Julia to try out a new-ish pizza place that she had heard about called Stone Hearth Pizza.There are three locations in MA -- Cambridge (Porter Square), Needham & Belmont. We went to the Cambridge location - it's tiny, but cute. Cool place too because they use all organic, local and sustainable ingredients.

We were psyched - on the menu there was a Gluten Free beer called Bard's (I had this in the past, Bard's Tale Ale -- I think they went through a re-design, very cute new packaging)... they also had appetizer options, pasta and pizza! yaaay.

Our waitress told us right away it was her second night, and she literally seemed overwhelmed by her TWO tables.... we were like, Really? Anyway - we each got a beer, yum, and decided on splitting a salad, a pasta dish, and two pizzas (I was all about pigging out pre-diet).

Salad came out - we shared a spinach avocado... Then our pasta came out. Uh-oh -- there is bread on the plate (not touching - pasta was in a dish, bread was on a plate).... So we ask - OH, do you have gluten free bread? She goes to check..... never comes back, we have to ask again, she disappears again - and says, No, sorry - the bread isn't gluten free. So I ask, well, is the pasta gluten free? Why would they serve that with it? She says yes. We taste it - hmmm... tastes different, a little like real pasta.... Julia asks her again - Waitress disappears, returns - YES, it's gluten free. We decide because it's coated in cheese & sauce it just tastes better.

Pizza comes out - YUUUMMMM. Honestly - this is the most delicious gluten free pizza I've had. It's paper-thin crunchy crust - and there is something about the tomato sauce that is just perfect - very "tomatoey"- to make up my own word.

Dinner ends - Julia decides to ask the kitchen what kind of GF pasta they use - she tells them we really liked it --- They tell her Tinkyada. Hmm, weird - didn't taste like Tinkyada..... you see where all this foreshadowing is going?

Chef comes out to our table with this look on his face that is not good - He tells us we were accidentally served REGULAR pasta. EEEEK... We just looked at each other and said SH*T.

Chef was extremely apologetic and felt terrible - when Julia asked about the pasta, he then realized he never made GF pasta that night -- our DUMB waitress put the order in as regular, despite us ordering GF and asking her THREE times if it was -- AND she obviously just pretended to ask the kitchen and never did.

Anyway - the Chef/Owner took away our $60 bill, we did not leave a tip - and he said our next meal there was also on him.  Another waiter came over to apologize, and then our slacker waitress came over and mumbled some kind of apology. It was obviously her fault.... I don't want to fault the entire restaurant because of HER mistake.... But that was pretty bad. I'm glad the Chef came over & owned up to it - he could of just let us leave and not say anything - that would be shady... he also assured us the pizza WAS gluten free. 

Julia and I booked it out of there to get home & just wait to be sick. I called my sister and she was shocked and told me to not think about it - because I would definitely get sick if I just sat there & waited for it. An excellent point -- because I was thinking about going home to make myself sick.

Somehow -- I didn't get sick at all. Crazy, I know -- I honestly think sometimes my insides must be made of steel, because I KNOW it's causing me harm, but I just don't feel it.... poor Julia though, was not as lucky -- she was pretty sick until about midnight that night, then felt better.

So - that's my Stone Hearth story. I think I WILL go back - but I will be super crazy about asking to make sure it's GF - maybe even heading back to the kitchen to confirm. I imagine that waitress will be more careful from now on after that - if she's even still working there.

OH - and I suggested to the Chef that he keep GF pasta as one shape - and regular pasta as another, like penne -- so if you see penne, you know it's regular, and if it's spirals, you know it's GF. That would just be an extra precaution....  Wow - longest post in ages! Have a great weekend!