Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Nunzio's PIZZA

I can't believe that there has been gluten-free pizza practically under my nose for nearly a year! Nunzio's (formerly the Pink Store) at 119 Clinton Street in Saratoga Springs will make gluten free pizza to order. It is by far the best gluten-free pizza I have had. The owner is the only one who makes the pizza so he needs to be there. If he's not there when you order, they can usually track him down and he'll return to the shop to make your pizza! The crust is wonderful, even chewy! All the toppings except the eggplant and meatballs are gluten-free. I was also told that they are working on making some gluten-free entrees such as chicken parm and eggplant parm. They also have a small grocery section with some gluten-free products available. The phone # is 518-584-3840 and they are open daily.

Sunday, August 12, 2007

Hattie's



We recently dined at Hattie's Restaurant on Phila Street in Saratoga Springs. You may know of Hattie's from the Bobby Flay "Fried Chicken Throwdown". It was my first visit to Hattie's since I went gluten-free. After speaking with our waitress, she headed back to the kitchen with my list of questions...namely were the ribs and/or jambalaya safe for me to eat. I already knew the spectacular fried chicken was a no-no. Before she approached the kitchen, she returned with our drinks and told us about the specials...one was soft shell crabs...an absolute favorite of mine! I told her to forget about asking about the other items and just see if they would saute the crabs in cornmeal only. The answer was YES!!!! I was extremely pleased to be able to order one of my favorite things, something I don't eat very often and was pretty sure I would never enjoy in a restaurant again. What a treat! Many thanks to owner/chef Jasper Alexander for taking the time to adjust the dish to my needs. It was the first Friday of the racing season and an extremely busy night for the kitchen. One of my friends snapped the photo (above) of Jasper in the kitchen as we were walking down the alley next to Hattie's after dinner. I thanked him for creating the special adapted dish for me. I got a thumbs up and a "Glad you enjoyed it!" http://www.hattiesrestaurant.com/