News & Notes: May 16, 2014

Mumbai Bistro has branched out of Center City Philadelphia and into the suburbs, Philly.com reports. The Indian restaurant recently opened in West Chester (18 S. Church St., 484-887-0114), where the buffet and table-service menus list gluten-free options.

There's no shortage of gluten-free pasta options in Wilmington: Cafe Napoli (4391 Kirkwood Hwy., 302-999-7553), Cafe Mezzanotte (1007 N. Orange St., 302-658-7050) and Cafe Verdi (12A Trolley Square, 302-656-5411) all offer it. (At Cafe Verdi, the pasta can be prepared using separate water upon request.)

Reader Cheryl F. let me know that Capt'n Chucky's Crab Cake Co. has a gluten-free version of its award-winning Smith Island Crab Cake, which is available "to go" at all locations (Newtown Square, Chester Springs, Trappe, Blue Bell, Colmar, Yardley and Wilmington). Most stores also stock gluten-free New England Clam Chowder.

Crabby Patties

Handy launched its newest product, a gluten-free crab cake, at the 2010 International Boston Seafood Show. The all-natural crab cakes are formed by hand, made with a rice flour breading. Each patty contains fresh crab meat, mayonnaise, rice flour, eggs, mustard, seasonings and parsley. The company tests every batch for gluten in the manufacturing process, using a threshold of less than 10 parts per million.

In 1917, Maryland-based Handy established itself as a soft shell crab processor, making it the oldest soft shell crab company in the world.

Packages of the gluten-free crab cakes, two per box, can be purchased locally at ShopRite supermarkets for $7.99 each.

News & Notes: June 18, 2010

If you visited Gluten Free Philly in the past week, you noticed a redesigned blog. I created separate sections for the restaurant and bakery lists and corresponding maps, tabbed at the top of every page. (Update your browser's bookmarks for those pages if you have them saved.) I was also able to give more room to the posts themselves, which makes for a cleaner appearance. As part of a new layout, I also moved the search bar to the upper right of each page, making it easier to search though older posts. Drop me a line if there's any other features you'd like to see.

Earlier in the week, I wrote about my family's recent weekend in New York City and highlighted our largely successful gluten-free meals.

From New York to New Hope: Gluten-free pizza is now available in that Bucks County town at Peace Out Pizza (7 East Bridge Street, 215-862-2266).

There are two additions to the Asian section of the restaurant list. First is Susanna Foo Gourmet Kitchen in Radnor (555 East Lancaster Avenue, 610-688-8808), which last week hosted a celiac awareness dinner. The kitchen has been trained on cross-contamination issues by the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness and is now GREAT-approved.

Also new is Buddakan, with locations in Old City Philadelphia (325 Chestnut Street, 215-574-9440) and in Atlantic City at the Pier Shops at Caesars (1 Atlantic Ocean, 609-674-0100). The Philly location has gluten-free menus available for diners. Thanks to L.A. blogger Stephen of Gluten Freeways, who recently ate at the original Old City outpost, for the tip.

Down the shore in Avalon, the new Seaglass restaurant replaces the Dining Room at the Golden Inn. Seaglass has gluten-free breakfast, lunch and dinner menus. Breakfast is the most intriguing, with waffles, bagels and cereal among the selections.

Italian chain Carrabba's has posted an updated gluten-free menu at its website.

July 18 is the grand opening date for Wegmans in Malvern (50 Foundry Way, 484-913-9600).

I was able to check out the new Whole Foods Market in Plymouth Meeting recently - it's a huge store with a beer and wine section. I spotted a few gluten-free items that I haven't seen at the Marlton location where we shop, including Maryland-style Jumbo Lump Crab Cakes from The Crab Ladies and Better Batter baking mixes. The beer selections include Redbridge and New Grist.

Conte's Pasta's dedicated gluten-free manufacturing facility in Vineland should be in operation later this summer. The company is working on a line of flatbreads - traditional, tomato basil, garlic, onion and spinach.

Shabtai Gourmet offers a flat-rate $5.95 nationwide shipping deal for its wonderful gluten-free cakes and cookies. Look for the bakery's new chocolate chip biscotti online and in area markets such as Acme, ShopRite and Wegmans. Exclusive to stores is a new 7" layer cake - thick sponge layers separated by chocolate creme and covered with dark chocolate. If your local market carries Shabtai's products, order the cake one month in advance by filling out an order form and giving it to the store manager.

It should be a great weekend weather-wise. Get out and enjoy it!

News & Notes: January 29, 2010

Before I get to the week's news, I wanted to suggest the possibility of a meet-up among local Gluten Free Philly readers to take place in late February or sometime in March. I'm thinking Latin-influenced Casona in Collingswood, New Jersey, with its extensive gluten-free menus for adults and children (they can prepare a gluten-free "Cuban pizza"), would be a good spot for a weeknight dinner. If you are interested in attending, please complete a short survey through this SurveyMonkey link by Tuesday, February 9. If there's enough interest, I'll work with the restaurant to figure out the best date and announce details on the site.

Belated congratulations go out to reader Julie, who was the winner of the recent Goodies Giveaway prize - a Triumph Dining Gluten-Free Grocery Guide.

On Monday, I posted a review of the new Sweet Freedom Bakery in Philadelphia, which bakes a variety of allergen-free cakes, cookies and other sweets.

California Cafe, serving West Coast-style fare at the Plaza in King of Prussia, offers menu items that are, or can be made, gluten free.

Capt'n Chucky's Crab Cake Co. now makes a gluten-free version of their renowned Smith Island Crab Cake. The Newtown Square company (5159 West Chester Pike, 610-355-7525) uses corn meal as a binder. The crab cakes are sold frozen by the six-pack at $5.50 per cake. Hat tip to reader Kathy.

Tortilla Press Cantina in Pennsauken is now serving lunch. Both the Cantina and The Tortilla Press in Collingswood accommodate gluten-free diets, though only the Cantina has a dedicated gluten-free fryer.

The Drafting Room in Exton (635 N. Pottstown Pike, 610-363-0521) and Spring House (900 N. Bethlehem Pike, 215-646-6116) currently has Redbridge beer on its drinks menu (the Spring House location also offers Woodchuck Granny Smith hard cider).

The longtime gluten free-friendly Outback Steakhouse just introduced My Outback Rewards, a loyalty program that can earn diners a variety of rewards.

I ordered some Betty Crocker gluten-free chocolate-chip cookie and brownie mixes at Amazon.com this week after I saw the hefty discount being offered right now on the entire line of baking mixes. You save 15% by using code BETTYCGF at checkout (good through February 28, 2010) and an additional 15% (with free shipping) when placing a Subscribe & Save order, bringing the per-box price down to $2.78. If you're not familiar with the Subscribe & Save program, you select how frequently you want the receive the item when placing the original order, but you can skip intervals and cancel the subscription without obligation at any time. So if you just want the product once, combine a Subscribe & Save order with use of the code and then cancel the future orders after you receive the first shipment. Amazon also sends out reminder e-mails in advance of future shipments in case you forget to cancel right away.

I think the current cupcake craze has jumped the shark with the introduction of Post's new (gluten-free) Cupcake Pebbles cereal. Check out the hilarious, off-color review of the product posted at Popdose.

Take a tour of the Marlton Whole Foods Market on Tuesday, February at 6 p.m. and then stick around for a free gluten-free cooking demonstration to help you prepare for the Super Bowl. Plenty of product samples from all departments will be available. Space is limited, so register by calling 856-797-1115 or e-mailing Marketing Specialist & Community Liaison Jen Honovic.

The Delaware Celiac and Gluten Intolerant Group's next monthly meeting is scheduled for Sunday, February 7 from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Christiana Hospital in Newark (Room 1000). The group will welcome Kristen Ippolito of Amaranth Gluten Free Bakery. Call 302-482-4882 for more information.

Regional kitchenwares chain Kitchen Kapers is hosting a demonstration on gluten-free bread baking on Monday, March 22 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. The instructor is Elizabeth Barbone, the author of Easy Gluten-Free Baking. For more details or for reservations, call 856-778-7705. The event will be held at the Kitchen Kapers Culinary Academy, located at the East Gate Square Shopping Center in Moorestown.

Have a great weekend!