Tu-Lu's Gluten Free Bakery

I am so behind here. I am about a full month late. I went to Tu-Lu's Bakery on that monsoon Saturday we had, walking at a snail's pace against the brutal gales, soaked to the core. I felt like a Weather Channel reporter, not a gluten-free blogger.

Until I ate a panini.


The friendly gentleman behind the counter suggested, out of four sandwich options, the Ham and Melted Muenster with Whole Grain Mustard.

"I put honey on mine," he told me. I said: "Do to me what you will," and dropped my umbrella by the doorway in an dramatic fit of exhaustion. I still think about that very sandwich, today, and am plotting the lunch break where I can trek east to consume it once again.

To be honest, I remember this sandwich with more salivating lust than the desserts, which is not to say they weren't delectable.

Favorites: Chocolate mini cupcake with peanut butter icing, and vanilla mini cupcake with strawberry cream cheese icing. The chocolate chip cookie was real nice, too. The brownie was TOO rich (for my taste) but I know others who prefer it that way. After four years gluten-free really all I want is a basic brownie, Duncan Hines style, you know what I mean? I think Trader Joe's mix does it best.

They also made a brave attempt at a Girl Scout-style thin mint. I probably got too excited for that and was disappointed with its slightly gritty consistency.

But I'm going back for the sandwich! And the puffy little cupcakes. So nice to have them, Tu-Lu's, right at 338 East 11th Street, between 1st and 2nd Avenue.

This Just In:

A friend in Greenwich, CT (my spies are everywhere) found this selection at her local bakery. The brand is FreedGoods. Anyone tried it?

Little, Everyday Miracles

First of all. Thank god coffee is gluten-free. Can I get an amen?

Last weekend I stopped at Joyce Bakeshop for an iced coffee. They have the most darling little macarons for sale, the lemon is ethereally tangy, chewy, crisp. Also it is lovely to just purchase one tiny beautiful item. And eat it.

The tables at Joyce have wheat in them. It's under glass, don't worry.

In related news, Cafe Angelique (on Bleecker) now serves cookies by This Chick Bakes. I just had the Chocolate Coconut Pecan Chunk - made with coconut flour. Really, really yummy, though delicate and crumbly.

All I'm saying is, sometimes you need to eat a large chunk of something chocolate at approximately three PM. Thank you.

Sweet Freedom Bakery

I spent last weekend in Philadelphia - a real gluten-free paradise. I had a scout, a gluten-free accomplice awaiting me when I arrived, meaning, a gluten-free friend who lives there and knows all the best things.

Best things: Sweet Freedom Bakery. Photographic proof of deliciousness: 6pm on a Saturday and nearly everything gone from the racks.

We had already been gluttons all day long: Carman's Country Kitchen (there was a pork chop on the brunch menu) and snacks at some bizarre yoga themed restaurant which still boasted a snow-kissed Christmas tree in the front lobby. By the time we got to Sweet Freedom I had to restrain myself. I sampled the chocolate chip cookie (chewy! How do they do it?) and ordered an oatmeal raisin cookie sandwich... aaand got a rhubarb oat crumble cake to save for breakfast the next day.

Inevitably, one's mind turns to Babycakes. I even had a little discussion with one of the owners about this. She intimated that some of her customers liked her treats MORE than the famous and seminal Lower East Side bakery. Babycakes, in my opinion, wins for chocolate chip cookies and frosting. Something about their coconut oil whip just pushes my buttons.


BUT. This oatmeal raisin situation was beyond. A definite winner. And the rhubarb golumpki, or whatchamacall, or whatnot, oh yeah. I love rhubarb and the bottom layer was a buttery thickness, like gingerless-gingerbread. My cousin didn't like that part and, like a hungry dog, I ate the scraps off her plate.

THIS JUST IN:

Three updates on a busy Monday. First, via text:

The Grey Dog has gluten free muffins. My friend texted me this a while back, but I called to check in on Friday. Sure enough, a friendly woman at the Carmine Street location told me:

"Yup! We have apple-cinnamon and peach-corn!"

Peach-corn! Great. I will let you all know when I try one.

Second, via email: (from Daily Candy)

Tatte Online Bakery ..."Many of the items are naturally gluten free, and she uses only the highest-quality fresh, seasonal ingredients." Great idea for a long-distance gift?

Last but not least, from the Babycakes Blog - Erin McKenna is writing a new cookbook! She's crazy for candy... post your suggestions for what re-imagined healthy treats she should add to her cookbook.

Coming soon: my trip to Philly, more Indian food, and a cabbage salad to end all cabbage salads, except what I mean by "end" is "begin" because you will want to make it... again. Oh, and pizza and tacos and... everything. NEARLY everything. (Ha.)

A Brunch to End All Brunches

Happy Hump Day. In honor of the most weekdayest weekday of them all, let me post on the stunning brunch I ate last Saturday. Readers: it will be Saturday again.

The menu:
Lemon zest yogurt with optional granola
Potato frittata with mozzarella and rosemary
Chocolate chip pancakes with raspberry or blueberry preserves
Johnnycakes with butternut squash compote
Dunkin' Donuts Box o' Joe
Assorted desserts

A gluten-free girl's best friend is just that: a best friend who sources out the finest local gluten free baked goods and brings them to the party. I have never been to X's to O's Vegan (& Gluten Free) bakery in Troy, NY. My friend had. She brought a medley of alternative treats to the table:


The GF items were the pecan sandie (at four o'clock) and the double (triple?) chocolate brownie (at noon). The other items were all vegan, except the lemon bar at six. The cupcakes in the middle are french toast flavored, which made them especially appropriate for brunch.

Pecan sandies are always good gluten-free as the nutty flavor masks both flavor and texture. This one was good (I ate the entire thing, post frittata gluttony) a little dry, but nice with coffee, and not too sweet.

The brownie was actually one of the better brownies I've had in life. The quality of the chocolate was superb. The consistency was magnificent. It was a powerful square of invigoration. Highly recommended, next time you're in The Collar City. Oh, and with homemade raspberry preserves? And whipped cream? Stop it. Just stop it.

Besides the lemon yogurt (plain, gussied up with lemon juice, zest, and sugar) the johnnycakes were my favorite. A simple and gluten-free interpretation on the pancake; with more oomph than its white-flour sister.

Recipe for Johnnycakes, courtesy T. Carlson:

1 tablespoon sugar
half teaspoon salt
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup boiling water
3-4 tablespoons milk
oil or butter
--
mix the dry ingredients together
put mixture in boiling water, stir well
thin with milk - should be the consistency of "thin mashed potatoes"
drop from spoon onto hot griddle
cook 5-6 min on each side

With the butternut squash topping it was beyond, just beyond. Two of the three sisters, I remarked, with a mouthful of cake. Corn (beans) and squash!

THIS JUST IN

via text:

Cheryl's Global Soul, in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn has gluten-free muffins today! I am promised there will be fresh ones on Sunday, too, and I will go give them a look-see - and a taste. I'll let you know what I find!

236 Underhill Ave Brooklyn NY 11238
347.529.2855

updated: see above. call ahead to ensure presence of gf muffins before you trek in the rain!