Fantastic news from gluten-free favorite Tu-lu’s Gluten-Free Bakery in New York City, they’re offering Thanksgiving pies. Both pumpkin and apple are planned as well as the possibility of more. For more information, get in touch with Tu-lu’s directly.

Revised November 9, 2010:

A quote directly from Tu-lu’s Facebook page:

Now taking orders for Thanksgiving pies! We will have pumpkin, apple, and plain pie crust so you can make your own traditional pies. Sign up soon, because we might reach our limit!

I get recommendations for restaurants that have either a gluten-free menu or are celiac friendly nearly every hour of every day. As much as I would like to, I can’t try every one of them myself. I have had the opportunity to try quite a few of them up and down the west coast as well as some in London. I will also be traveling to Boston in a few weeks and will inevitably be trying some recommended restaurants there — and of course writing something about them.

For my latest “Gluten-Free Pick of the Week”, I’m doing something that I normally don’t do — I’m showcasing a restaurant that I’ve never actually been to, Posana Cafe in Asheville, North Carolina. The reason for this is quite simple — I’ve had more recommendations for this restaurant in the past year than any other restaurant. The astonishing thing about this is that it’s an independent restaurant in a relatively small town.

A little background information on Posana Cafe:

Posana Cafe is owned and operated by Peter and Martha Pollay. Peter is the Executive Chef and a graduate of The Culinary Institute of America. He’s worked under such great chefs and restauranteurs as Wolfgang Puck, Lary Levy, Waldy Malouf and David Burke.

After Martha was diagnosed with celiac disease in 2005, Peter set out to create an entirely gluten-free restaurant that would appeal to everyone — not just those following a gluten-free diet. In fact, the vast majority of their customers do not suffer from celiac disease, food allergies, or intolerances.

They have an in-house pastry department that prepares all of their plated desserts, pastries, breads and mixes on a daily basis. This makes a huge difference in quality, consistency and the level of creativity that is in their menu.

To think that there is a restaurant out there that I can not only enjoy a great gluten-free menu, but every last thing on that menu is gluten-free — what a huge treat. I know there are actually quite a few great restaurants out there that are entirely gluten-free, but Posana Cafe exemplifies the spirit that I love to see, they don’t want to make it a “great gluten-free restaurant”, they want to simply make it a “great restaurant for all to enjoy” — gluten-free or not. Afterall, gluten-free can be (and often times is) more tasty than their gluten-filled counterparts. I know it has been the topic of a lot of debate in the press recently, but I very much believe that a gluten-free diet is better for everyone — nobody needs gluten in their diet.

The very first opportunity to get to Asheville that I get, you know Posana Cafe will be one of my first stops. Asheville has been a destination that I’ve wanted to visit for a long time, now I have one more reason to make that happen.

Thank you to both Peter and Martha Pollay for what I am almost certain is a great restaurant — I can’t wait to try it.

Gluten-free loaf bread (followed closely by gluten-free pizza) seems to be the gold standard on which a dedicated GF bakery is judged. It’s one of the first gluten-free products most newly diagnosed celiacs will purchase and surely is one of the first gluten-free products that most newly diagnosed celiacs will turn their nose up at and then wallow in self-pity about how they will never enjoy food again. No more convenience, no more soft Wonder bread, just a life of eating a dry, crumbly, and flavorless piece of styrofoam. This by itself could answer the question about depression being associated with celiac disease (I wish it were that easy).

When I was diagnosed in 1999, there were only one or two brands of gluten-free rice bread available — and that was only at a health food store. They tasted like a loaf of sand and had absolutely zero flavor. Trying to make a sandwich with it was a test in patience as it would all immediately crumble into hundreds of little pieces when trying to pick it up — leaving you with a handful of whatever was on the inside of the sandwich. Guess what? I gave up on sandwiches.

A few years later, I was craving bread again and started looking online to see what was available. I came across several GF bakeries offering everything from gluten-free loaf bread to gluten-free baguettes to gluten-free ding dongs — my eyes opened up and my jaw dropped. Until just a year ago (or two), I had completely given up on store bought gluten-free bread — until I came across Udi’s. I had heard mention of it over and over again on various blogs and on Facebook, but hadn’t seen it at any of my local stores. Finally, when I found it at my local Whole Foods Market, I grabbed it and rushed home to finally make a sandwich again. I started simple and just made an almond butter sandwich — I was almost in tears knowing that I had found something (available at my local store) that tasted as good as the sandwich bread I had given up years before. I’ve since tried many of Udi’s products and have been very pleased with it all.

The cult like following: All of this being said, I have since found a few different store bought brands that I like and occasionally buy. Every time I post something about some of the other brands, the comments come pouring in — things like, “I love Udi’s”, or “Udi’s is the best”, and even a simple “Udi’s!!!” They have a devoted and passionate following that love to spread the Udi’s word. It almost reminds me of Mac users — which as you may or may not know, is an incredibly loyal bunch. Udi’s, you should be proud that you have created a product that instills this kind of loyalty.

I guess with this post, I am now part of the Udi’s cult. There must be something in the water or the air in Colorado that makes them so good. I can think of a few gluten-free products and blogs coming out of Colorado that are what I consider, “Best in Class”.

While I usually focus my Product of the Week posts on an individual product, this time I wanted to devote it to a company, Crave, A San Francisco Bakery.

I’ve been a fan of Crave for at least the last four years and I have tried nearly every one of their products at some point. Whether it’s their soft and chewy gluten-free brownie, their amazing cheesecake, or even one of their delicious vanilla cupcakes, I’ve never EVER been disappointed. The biggest problem anyone would have would be to know when to stop. If I could live on desserts alone, this would be one that I could do it with.

To think that Crave’s products are not only gluten-free, but many are also vegan, soy-free, nut-free, egg-free, sugar-free and/or dairy-free is absolutely mind blowing. If you’re lucky enough to have Crave products in a store near you, do yourself a favor and give them a try — if not, check out their Website and order directly from them.

Cameo Edwards started Crave, a wholesale San Francisco bakery, in 2003. She was determined to create delicious alternative desserts that were Wheat-Free, Gluten-Free and Casein-Free (or Milk-Free) to satisfy her Cravings for foods she could no longer eat. Crave’s philosophy is based on choosing simple, high-quality and organic ingredients without trans fats or preservatives.

Crave Bakery also provides custom Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free Wedding/Special Occasion cakes & cupcakes, catering to any food intolerance: Vegan, Gluten-Free, Soy-Free, Nut-Free, Egg-Free, Sugar-free and/or Dairy-Free. Crave’s Gluten-Free brownies, cookies, tarts, cupcakes and cakes can be purchased in high end markets such as Whole Foods Markets throughout the western US; check our website for a location near you.

Image IS NOT from the bakery in question

I’m a little frustrated at the moment. This morning, I walked into a local bakery that had a sign in their window that said, “gluten-free pastries now available”. Once inside, I saw that they indeed had a nice selection of gluten-free pastries (they were even sourced from a reputable dedicated gluten-free bakery) — one huge problem though. They were in the same case with every other gluten filled croissant, eclair and gallete (touching in some places) — and worse yet, on the bottom shelf. I promptly questioned the manager as to why these were being displayed this way and his response was baffling. He said, “these pastries were not intended to be sold to people as sensitive as yourself, they were merely an option for people on a gluten-free diet”. My jaw dropped in disbelief.

OK, I’m the first person to advocate being overly nice, never condescending, and always going out of my way to act as some sort of goodwill ambassador when talking to people about the gluten-free diet. It never does any good to treat people with disrespect or try to belittle them for their lack of knowledge on the subject — before being diagnosed with celiac disease, I knew nothing about what gluten-free meant. But (and this is a big BUT), if you are managing a restaurant or bakery or any other place that is serving “gluten-free food”, you need to educate yourself on exactly what that means and why it is so important to get it right.

Some good news: After a 30-minute discussion with the manager, he seemed grateful that I was so interested in the fact that they were serving gluten-free items and he did ask how they could make things better. The first obvious task would be to not keep these items in the case with everything else. They had a few items covered on glass cake plates on top of the counter — so I suggested that those be dedicated to gluten-free items and that they keep separate utensils for those items. I explained that since they had gone to the trouble of sourcing these items out from a reputable gluten-free bakery, they need to continue this and keep everything as safe as possible right through to the end consumer — otherwise there is no point in offering gluten-free options. Since our conversation, I’ve emailed him numerous links to sites talking about cross-contamination and how to minimize the risk

This bakery (which shall remain unnamed for now) informed me that they were convinced to sell gluten-free food by one of their distributors who said it was one of the hottest trends at the moment. There was never a mention made of celiac disease or the necessity of a gluten-free diet for those with CD.

This particular story might end up in a good way, but to think how many places out there are selling food labeled as gluten-free and have no clue as to what that really means and are actually hurting people in the process. I’m going to be checking back in a few weeks to see if things have changed here and I really hope they do — it would be nice to have a bakery so close to home that I could get some safe GF pastries. I will hopefully be doing a positive review of this place at some point in the near future.