Truly, farewell New York. The last three weeks have involved packing everything my husband and I own and driving down to St. Pete, Florida, our new home. I have stayed insanely busy, with no time to blog or reflect, or think for that matter. Now I seem to be adjusting just a tad, just enough to reflect and remember the last of my favorite New York restaurants, Risotteria.
The funny thing about Risotteria is the seating is quite snug. Every time I have been there I have ended up chatting with a fellow Celiac about living gluten-free, restaurants and life. My last time was particularly awesome. I met a former school principal, who had a whole host of weird symptoms, so naturally I felt at home. Her story involved years searching for a doctor who would diagnose her accurately, ah yes, we were kindred spirits. We chatted deliciously over sumptuous food: gluten-free pizza, white beans and calamari and Green’s gluten free-beer.
Being a fan of thin crust pizza, Risotteria’s Fontina, shrimp, pesto and red onion gluten-free pizza does it for me. Their deep dish pizza is also amazing. My husband always orders a lamb panini on gluten-free bread, because he says the gluten bread has sharp edges and scratches the palate. I can’t leave out my husband’s love of the Risotteria bread sticks. They are moist, but a bit crispy and have a distinctive texture and they are free. Our first time at Risotteria it was baffling, all the gluten-free pizza options plus bread sticks constantly replenished at our table.
There are so many pizza options, but I love the flavor of their Fontina. It is matched perfectly with shrimp and red onion on their thin crust gluten-free pizza. Risotteria claims they don’t take short cuts and nothing is from a can–and I could certainly taste it. They carry Green’s gluten-free beer, which reminds me of a richer version of Blue Moon. Yes, it’s just as good as beer from hops.
Their dessert list is extensive, all gluten-free and amazing. I particularly like their gluten free red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting on top. I would share a photo of this cupcake, but sorry, I ate it before I could get my camera to focus. It was my favorite kind, gooey and incredibly flavorful. Yes, they have eclairs, carrot cake and brownies, but there is just something about that cream cheese frosting.
My Celiac friend and I exchanged numbers as my husband sat quietly, baffled about what happened to our quiet evening together. I was energized by the food and conversation with her that was so similar to the experiences I’ve had, but the best was we both realized that we didn’t feel different, that it didn’t matter whether we had food allergies or not. We were like children, happy to be eating with everyone at the grown-ups’ table, but drinking beer.
Risotteria is located at 270 Bleeker St. between 6th and 7th Ave. New York, NY. They can be reached at (212) 924-6664.
