Gimme Some Sugar

OK - health food it ain't. But General Mills gets props for introducing yet another cereal that has no gluten ingredients. (Get with the program already, Kellogg's.) The newest entry to the lineup is Sprinkles Cookie Crisp, with "the great taste of vanilla cookies and milk," as the package proclaims. The ingredients are as follows:

Whole grain corn, sugar, corn meal, brown sugar, corn cereal, salt, canola and/or rice bran oil, corn syrup, tricalcium phosphate, trisodium phosphate, natural and artificial flavor, Yellow 6, Blue 1, Red 40 and other color added. BHT added to preserve freshness.

A General Mills customer service representative told me that the new cereal is being introduced nationwide and will soon be listed on the company's website. As with the company's Kix cereals, Sprinkles Cookie Crisp is not specially labeled gluten free. However, the label does not state that the cereal is produced in a facility where gluten-containing foods are manufactured or on shared equipment.

I bought a box at the Acme market in Voorhees, New Jersey. Sprinkles Cookie Crisp also is available online at Amazon.com.

Hail Caesar

A local family-owned and operated pasta maker recently expanded its product line to cater to gluten-intolerant diners. Caesar's Pasta Specialties, a third-generation business based in Blackwood, New Jersey, has introduced all-natural, gluten-free frozen Italian entrees. Caesar's gluten-free meals are made with rice pasta, ricotta cheese filling and marinara sauce. Varieties include stuffed shells, manicotti, cheese lasagna and vegetable lasagna.

Michelle Hennessy, the company's Director of Sales, says that the idea for adding gluten-free entrees came from the fact that several members of the family that owns Caesar's are on gluten-restricted diets. According to Michelle, every batch of gluten-free product made by the company is lab-tested by third parties for the presence of gluten. She adds that based on the early success of this product line, the company is developing other gluten-free meals that she hopes will debut before the end of the year. Michelle also tells me that the company will be updating its website to provide more information about the meals.

Caesar's gluten-free dishes are available at area supermarkets and health food stores. In addition, customers can stop by the company's headquarters at 1001 Lower Landing Road in Blackwood and purchase the gluten-free meals Monday through Friday during regular business hours.

Just For Kix

There have been online rumors over the past few months that General Mills had removed oats as an ingredient in its original Kix cereal but reported sightings of the product were rare as photos of the Loch Ness Monster. According to the updated product information on the General Mills website, Kix in fact no longer contains oats, which had the risk of being cross-contaminated with gluten in the harvesting process. With this change, now all of the Kix cereals - original Kix, Honey Kix and Berry Berry Kix - do not contain gluten ingredients.

Note that unlike General Mills' recently reformulated Chex cereals, none of the Kix cereals are specifically labeled gluten free. This may mean that the Kix cereals are not made in a dedicated gluten-free manufacturing facility.

Since this product change is recent, some markets may still be selling the older version until they run out. Be sure to check the package in the store prior to purchase.

Gluten Free Philly News & Notes

It was a busy week here at Gluten Free Philly. The site was flooded with hits this week after I wrote on Friday about the gluten-free ice cream sandwiches available exclusively at Whole Foods Markets through the end of July. The tasty treat, which is made by Julie's Organic Ice Cream and Glutenfreeda Foods, will be available at other stores and markets starting in August.

I wrote on Wednesday about a new find called Naked Nuggets - healthy chicken nuggets that are grilled, not fried. They're available for purchase at health food stores in Pennsylvania and New Jersey and online.

Yesterday, I posted about Dock Street Brewery's gluten-free beer that's available on draft for a limited time at the company's West Philadelphia restaurant.

Also this week, I added a link to a map of the gluten-free friendly restaurants, bakeries and markets in northern Delaware. I'm working on maps of similar places in southeastern Pennsylvania and southern New Jersey and I'll let you know when they're up and running. I'll be updating the maps at the same time as the restaurant and market/bakery lists.

Lots of people have inquired about the availability of Betty Crocker gluten-free dessert mixes at their local markets. While I haven't heard of any other stores in the Delaware Valley besides Wegmans currently carrying them, they are once again available for purchase (as of this writing) at Amazon.com. The mixes have been so popular that the online merchant had run out of its initial supply.

Soffritto Italian Grill, located in my old college stomping grounds of Newark, Delaware, has posted its gluten-free menu on its website. Owner Giovanni Panza tells me that in addition to ordering from the restaurant's selections, diners can bring their own gluten-free pasta to be prepared by the kitchen using clean pots and separate utensils. Soffritto also serves desserts from Sweet Christine's Gluten Free Confections.

Bella Vida Café's Wildwood Crest, New Jersey location now offers sandwiches and other menu items with gluten-free bread. A reader wrote that Maui's Dog House in North Wildwood, New Jersey has gluten-free hot dogs and hamburgers (no buns) and french fries cooked in a separate fryer.

Seasons 52 at the Cherry Hill Mall has posted its Summer 2009 gluten-free menu.

One other restaurant note: I mentioned in last week's News and Notes that Sam's Pizza Palace in North Wildwood, New Jersey recently added gluten-free pizza from Still Riding Pizza to its menu. In a comment to the post, a reader wrote that she could not recommend the restaurant for gluten-free diners based on what she says was the owner's description of the preparation method for gluten-free pizzas. If you plan on eating there (or any restaurant, for that matter), be sure to ask about the kitchen's precautions taken to reduce the chance of cross-contamination. While it's great that more and more restaurants offer gluten-free menus and accommodate the GF diet, it's good practice to ask questions of the chefs and waitstaffs, as this reader did.

Back in May, I wrote about the Grind House Café in Haddonfield, New Jersey, which sells vegan gluten-free cookies made with vegan certified organic ingredients. It turns out these cookies are made by a bakery called Liz Lovely in Vermont. The company bakes six different kinds of gluten-free cookies, which can be ordered online or purchased at stores and markets in the Delaware Valley.

Sprecher Brewery's Mbege and Shakparo beers, which I mentioned in my March post on gluten-free suds, currently are in the bottled beer rotation at The Grey Lodge Pub on Frankford Avenue in Northeast Philadelphia. In addition, the Grey Lodge offers Ciderjack, a European-style hard cider that is naturally gluten free.

Pamela's Products has introduced a new line of ready-to-eat cakes and cheesecakes that will soon be in markets. The company's cheesecakes will available in 3” mini and 6” serving sizes and its chocolate cake and coffee cake in 6” and 9” sizes. Pamela's also announced the debut of a new cornbread and muffin mix and chocolate-dipped biscotti in vanilla and chocolate flavors.

Aunt Gussie’s is expanding its product line by introducing new gluten-free English muffins and focaccia bread. Aunt Gussie’s new gluten-free breads will be arriving in stores starting in July. The new items are produced at a dedicated gluten-free baking facility built last year to make the company's line of gluten-free cookies. The English muffins are packaged 6 muffins per bag with a suggested retail price of $7.50 for an 18-ounce package. Available in Original and Cinnamon Raisin, the muffins are individually wrapped and frozen. The focaccia bread, available in Rosemary Onion and Kalamata Olive flavors, also is individually wrapped and frozen. Packaged 6 pieces per bag, the suggested retail price is $7.50 for a 16-ounce package. The new bread products can be found in health food and grocery stores and online through the company's website.

French Meadow Bakery has launched new gluten-free tortillas. The tortillas are Certified Gluten-Free by The Gluten-Free Certification Organization (GFCO), a program of the Gluten Intolerance Group. The product is made with rice flour and tapioca starch, with zero grams of fat. French Meadow makes other gluten-free products such as rolls, pizza crusts, brownies and chocolate chip cookies.

Whole Foods Markets has temporarily discontinued its Gluten Free Bakehouse sourdough bread and walnut brownies. I happened to like the sourdough bread - a nice alternative to sandwich-style bread.

Finally, one bit of housekeeping - I plan on posting future News and Notes on Fridays instead of Thursdays, so look for it towards the end of the week.

Whew! Hope there's enough info this week to satisfy your appetite. Keep the comments and tips coming to gfphilly[at]gmail[dot]com. Have a great weekend!

Cheers! Dock Street Brewery Taps Gluten-Free Beer

Dock Street Brewery has just started serving a gluten-free beer at its West Philadelphia restaurant. Its African-style Sudan Grass Sorghum Ale is available for a limited time on draft. While I don't know if the beer has been tested for the presence of gluten, I'm told that the tap line and tank were cleaned before the start of the brewing process. Mat at the Philly Beer Scene blog writes favorably about the brew.