Friday, January 15, 2010

News & Notes: January 15, 2010

A spirited debate followed in the comments to my Monday post about Starbucks' new gluten-free "healthy" snack options. Readers differed on whether Starbucks deserves praise or criticism for offering these products without also bringing back a gluten-free pastry.

This week brought a couple of firsts to Philadelphia. The long wait for gluten-free pizza in Center City Philadelphia ended this week, as the Italian eatery Giorgio on Pine (1328 Pine Street, 215-545-6265) began serving pizza using Still Riding crusts. Giorgio already has gluten-free pasta on the menu.

Today marks the opening of Sweet Freedom Bakery, the city's first allergen-free bakery (1424 South Street, 215-545-1899). Cupcakes, cookies, muffins, brownies, cake slices and other baked goods on the menu are offered daily, while some specialty items appear once a week. The Gluten Free Philly household got to sample a few of the treats and unanimously recommends the chocolate chip cookie sandwich with chocolate frosting and the "Magic Bar"! What's a "Magic Bar," you say? I'll have the, um, skinny in an upcoming post.

Green Eggs Cafe in South Philadelphia (1306 Dickinson Street, 215-226-3447) offers several gluten-free breakfast choices: quinoa porridge sweetened with agave nectar, customized omelets and "Eggs Your Way."

K. Taylor's Holy Smoke barbeque restaurants in Quakertown, Pennsylvania and Mt. Laurel, New Jersey, which will serve gluten-free ribs, wings and other foods, are slated for a Spring 2010 opening.

Lone Star Steakhouse, with area locations in King of Prussia and Pottstown, Pennsylvania and New Castle and Wilmington, Delaware, has a revamped gluten-free menu.

Sister restaurants Austin's in Reading, Pennsylvania and J.B. Dawson's in Drexel Hill and Langhorne, Pennsylvania now have gluten-free Redbridge beer. J.B. Dawson's is planning a Fall 2010 opening for a new location in Delaware's Christiana Mall.

Whole Foods Markets opened its newest Delaware Valley location in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania (500 W. Germantown Pike, 610-832-0010) this week.

Snikiddy's new gluten-free All-Natural Baked Fries will hit store shelves next month. The crunchy snacks have 50 percent less fat than regular potato chips. The new product comes in Original, Cheddar Cheese, Parmesan Garlic and Classic Ketchup flavors. The Baked Fries are available in Sharing Packs, which contain four to five servings per container, at a suggested retail price of $2.49. Snikiddy Snacks can be found at Whole Foods, Fresh Market and Toys"R"Us nationwide.

Wegmans' Rice Squares cereal, the store-brand version of Rice Chex, is now labeled gluten free. Wegmans' market in Malvern, Pennsylvania is targeted for a June 2010 debut, while a planned location in King of Prussia is still in development. Glutenfreeda's gluten-free burritos can be sampled at Wegmans markets in Pennsylvania next Saturday, January 23.

As I mentioned in November, the January 19th hockey game between the resurgent Philadelphia Flyers and Columbus Blue Jackets will spotlight celiac awareness. Tickets for this event at the Wachovia Center are still on sale through the Flyers online box office. To get discounted tickets, enter 154CELIAC as the promotion code.

The newly-formed Chester County Gluten Intolerance Group is holding its quarterly meeting on Wednesday, February 10 from 7:15 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at Chester County Hospital's Fern Hill Resource Center, located at 915 Old Fern Hill Road, Building B, in West Chester, Pennsylvania. A vendor fair will precede the meeting at 6:30 p.m. For more information, e-mail Nancy Artus or call 610-518-5572.

The Children's Celiac Center at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia is hosting its annual Pediatric Celiac Disease Education Day on Sunday, March 21 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. The event will take place at CHOP's Abramson Research Building, located at 34th Street and Civic Center Boulevard in Philadelphia. Parking will be provided. Call 267-426-6822 to register, as space is limited.

Be sure to follow Gluten Free Philly on Twitter for the latest gluten-free news and deals. Have a great weekend!

Comment using:

2 comments:

  1. We at Gluten Free Promise are so excited for the opening of Sweet Freedom Bakery! Thanks for the input. I am heading there today and a chocolate chip cookie sandwich with chocolate frosting is on my list! Keep up the great work with this blog. We love it!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I was at Sweet Freedom twice this weekend. I tried the blueberry crumble, a vanilla cupcake, and a magic bar. All of the treats were delicious, and the owners are just as sweet as the baked goods that they make.
    I highly recommend giving it a try!!
    Sincerely, Adriana Z-Fernandez

    ReplyDelete