Friday, August 30, 2013

The village of firsts

Photos/Risotteria.com
The approach of autumn has me hankering for a visit to Risotteria.

This is, by far, my favorite gluten-free restaurant ... anywhere! Ok, so I may be a bit biased, since it was the site of many "firsts" on my celiac adventure, but it's a great place to visit nonetheless.

Located in New York City's Greenwich Village, this cozy establishment was introduced to me in 2006 by family members, who spotted a menu posted in a window on Bleeker Street and got all excited on my behalf. At this point, I had never heard of a restaurant catering to a gluten-free diet and had gone about eight years on a woefully-restricted diet, pretty much losing all enjoyment for eating out.

Once I overcame my disbelief, we went to Risotteria for lunch.


On this crisp, autumn day, I had my first gluten-free beer (which I didn't know existed, back then), a beautiful bowl of mushroom risotto and sinfully-delicious cookies for dessert.

Breadsticks
The house specialty is risotto (obviously), but pizza and breads are high on the list, and they do it all well. Dine-in orders are served with wonderful breadsticks that are flaky, chewy and absolutely gluten-free.

They also represent a "first" on my list.

I've since been back multiple times and have sampled pretty much the entire menu, at this point. On my last stop, I had the gluten-free Sicilian pizza that I had been salivating over since spying it on another diner's table, during my previous visit.It was just as good as I had built it up in my mind.

I took a second pizza home that day.

In addition to its dedicated gluten-free dining menu, there are a number of celiac-friendly products for sale to take away, including decadent cupcakes and carrot cake mix, as well as many options for those who are not keen on cutting out the gluten.

Rissoteria is a cramped space that seats a total of 20 people, and they won't accept parties larger than six. It also requires diners to descend a tight, steep basement staircase to reach the restrooms. However, these observations come across more charming, than annoying.

Also on the plus side: The staff at Risotteria work as professional consultants to other restaurants in developing gluten-free menus, which is just awesome.

The The New York City Dept. of Health has awarded them a grade of 'A' and so have I.

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