On Monday Caleb was going to be in NY for his latest album's release show party (buy the album here) so I went & joined in on the fun. Literally flying into NY for 24hrs, I decided I had to find a couple of spots for not only myself, but for this blog. I've eaten at a couple of GF bakeries before in the city which I didn't go crazy over (and were before this blog) so I decided to scope out some new places.
Mozarelli's
I imagined myself lazily walking around the city in the sun finding my stops and taking my time ordering. Well, in fact, I somehow ended up on Caleb's press tour for the day, so this really affected my timing. Luckily one of his radio stops was right by the Flat Iron building (one of the only iconic NY buildings I haven't seen, that was on my list) which also, as it happens, was right by Mozarelli's!
When I read online that they did GF pizza by the slice, I was amazed. I don't think I've ever seen that (if any of you have in other cities, please let me know!). Of course NY pizza is always done by the slice, and this place was just what I needed. They had three different options for me to pick from, and they even let me add pepperoni to the cheese slice available. Whilst I was waiting they told me that they offered GF wraps, sandwiches, and an array of cookies and cakes in containers and they really did have it all! But I only had 5 minutes, so I declined and waited for my food. As I was waiting, I noticed their sign said that they make the GF dough away from their other doughs and use separate utensils, as to not lead to contamination which I was highly impressed by (although they stated that there is no way to 100% protect against contamination). The fact that they had separate areas for the creation process is something a lot of pizza places don't usually think of, so this shop was already winning me over.
Well... the pizza was awesome! Their marinara sauce was DELICIOUS. When I was there I saw people with mini dipping pots of it and wished I had grabbed one of those to take with me after I tasted it. The slice itself I could've had a bit crispier, because that's how I like it, but as it was, it was exactly what I had been searching for all over NYC. I wish I had bought three slices. It was just great. The staff were so friendly, and it was really refreshing to see and older generation embrace this alien world to them. I wish I had had more time to really look over their menu as I had planned, but I will definitely be going back next time I'm in NY. It'll become a staple every time I visit, for sure. If you're looking for a quick bite to grab, go there!
Now, I had also planned to go to two bakeries on this trip, but as it turns out, when I looked up one of them on my list, it had closed down. I have no idea how i didn't realize this before, but it now meant that I only had one to take a look at, which after all the timing issues, was perfect. It was even more perfect, that once we got to Webster Hall (the venue the boys were playing and as it happens the venue that Kanye West had overun the previous night), the bakery on my list was literally a block down from where we were.
Well... the pizza was awesome! Their marinara sauce was DELICIOUS. When I was there I saw people with mini dipping pots of it and wished I had grabbed one of those to take with me after I tasted it. The slice itself I could've had a bit crispier, because that's how I like it, but as it was, it was exactly what I had been searching for all over NYC. I wish I had bought three slices. It was just great. The staff were so friendly, and it was really refreshing to see and older generation embrace this alien world to them. I wish I had had more time to really look over their menu as I had planned, but I will definitely be going back next time I'm in NY. It'll become a staple every time I visit, for sure. If you're looking for a quick bite to grab, go there!
Now, I had also planned to go to two bakeries on this trip, but as it turns out, when I looked up one of them on my list, it had closed down. I have no idea how i didn't realize this before, but it now meant that I only had one to take a look at, which after all the timing issues, was perfect. It was even more perfect, that once we got to Webster Hall (the venue the boys were playing and as it happens the venue that Kanye West had overun the previous night), the bakery on my list was literally a block down from where we were.
TuLu's
I strolled down to TuLu's with Caleb before his soundcheck and found a tiny little shop. Now, I must admit, this was originally my second choice bakery for the day, so I wasn't expecting a lot - just the usual cupcakes, cookies etc. And that's exactly what we were met with.
I selected three flavours of cupcake: Red Velvet with Cream Cheese frosting, Chocolate cupcake with Chocolate Ganache, and Vanilla cupcake with Vanilla frosting. I also bought a Snickerdoodle donut (dairy free) and Caleb opted to try a mini bite cupcake in the flavour of the day - Reese's. Also on display were Agave Brownies (sugar and egg free), brownies, muffins, cookies and more cake-style donuts. We paid, left and avoided a rather strange rambling person on our way down the street.
Caleb ate his mini bite straight away, and as soon as he told me he wasn't impressed with the texture of his, I could feel the disappointment waves take over me. We got back to the venue and I dug straight in. I started with my Snickerdoodle Donut. Now, I hate cake donuts. I think donuts should be lighter than anything so you can eat 5 of them. This, as it happens was a cake donut, but it actually tasted divine. I loved it. I am not even a huge lover of cinnamon, but this was really tasty. I could've eaten two more and I kicked myself for not buying more of them. I then moved on to taking a bite out of each cupcake flavour and as I suspected after Caleb's comments, I wasn't blow away. The Red Velvet tasted of nothing, and was sticky and gummy in texture. The cream cheese frosting was delicious, but the cake itself was disappointing. The same can be said for the chocolate flavour too, although that ganache was also very delicious. I actually gifted the last flavour to someone else, so I never got to try it, but I am assuming that the cake itself was just as the others; kind of heavy and sticky. This can be a problem when cooking GF, and although it's not bad, once you find GF bakeries that can cook without this texture, it's not worth returning to. Overall, I would head back for the Snickerdoodle, but not for their cakes. I wish I could've bought more items to taste, but I can only handle so many things! Let me know if you've eaten there and if there was something else I should've tried.
Caleb ate his mini bite straight away, and as soon as he told me he wasn't impressed with the texture of his, I could feel the disappointment waves take over me. We got back to the venue and I dug straight in. I started with my Snickerdoodle Donut. Now, I hate cake donuts. I think donuts should be lighter than anything so you can eat 5 of them. This, as it happens was a cake donut, but it actually tasted divine. I loved it. I am not even a huge lover of cinnamon, but this was really tasty. I could've eaten two more and I kicked myself for not buying more of them. I then moved on to taking a bite out of each cupcake flavour and as I suspected after Caleb's comments, I wasn't blow away. The Red Velvet tasted of nothing, and was sticky and gummy in texture. The cream cheese frosting was delicious, but the cake itself was disappointing. The same can be said for the chocolate flavour too, although that ganache was also very delicious. I actually gifted the last flavour to someone else, so I never got to try it, but I am assuming that the cake itself was just as the others; kind of heavy and sticky. This can be a problem when cooking GF, and although it's not bad, once you find GF bakeries that can cook without this texture, it's not worth returning to. Overall, I would head back for the Snickerdoodle, but not for their cakes. I wish I could've bought more items to taste, but I can only handle so many things! Let me know if you've eaten there and if there was something else I should've tried.
Overall, it was a mostly successful day. We also all went for food at a place called The Smith, and I had a couple of bites of a chicken dish, which they assured me was GF, but I didn't eat enough to give a proper review. I will of course by returning to NY, I love the city so much that I try and go there every so often just to smell the dirt (I'm aware that sounds weird, but I'm a city girl and always will be). If you have any suggestions for my next visit, or you have opinions on the places above, please leave them below. If you also want to debate thin crust vs deep dish... you know what to do.
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