Best Gluten Free Food in Astoria

Not sure if you've heard, but May is National Celiac Disease Awareness Month, which means that we recognize folks who live a gluten free lifestyle.  A serious genetic condition that triggers a prohibitive reaction in the small intestine, Celiac disease is an issue for about 1% of the population.

Luckily I don't have this disease, but I'm sensitive to the folks that do and take note of gluten free food in the neighborhood.  I've even tried a gluten free diet to see how it would impact my lifestyle, and I was pleasantly surprised by how many restaurants in Astoria are conducive to it.  Here are a few of my favorites.

Ovelia - Probably the place with the widest selection of gluten free items on their menu, you can find things such as kafteri (hot peppers with feta), clams bouboristi, grilled calamari, baked lima beans in tomato sauce, grilled coffee steak and more.  All gluten free menu items are marked with a circle on their menu.  34-01 30th Avenue, Astoria. 718.721.7217

Watawa - Sushi is a great choice when it comes to Gluten Free items, and I always enjoy Watawas's renditions such as a simple yellowtail scallion roll, a spicy tuna or an eel avocado.  Their specialty rolls are also intriguing such as the Pauline Roll with shrimp tempura and spicy crabmeat, the Ocean Tiger roll with lobster salad, avocado and more.  33-10 Ditmars Blvd, Astoria.  718.545.9596

Mojave - Going out for Mexican food is also a safe bet when eating gluten free - just make sure you get the corn tortillas vs. the flour.  I've recently tried their grilled fish tacos and the steak and enchilada combo, which was especially delicious.  22-36 31st Street, Astoria. 718.545.4100

Bareburger - Loving the gluten free options at this organic burger joint, you can get any burger on a gluten free tapioca bun.  I've enjoyed my burger in this way on many occasions,  and it's sometimes hard to tell the difference between this and a regular flour bun.  There's several other gluten free items on the menu and they are all clearly indicated, which makes things easy.  33-21 31st Avenue, Astoria. 718.777.7011. 23-01 31st Street, Astoria. 718.204.7167

Parrot Coffee Market - I always enjoy visiting this specialty foods store that boasts tons of gluten free foods such as their extensive olive bar, various dried fruits and nuts, as well as an rich selection of Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free products.  The latter is especially great for making homemade gluten free pancakes (pictured above), pizza, corn bread and other goodies.  31-12 Ditmars Blvd, Astoria.718.545.7920

Astoria Bier & Cheese Satisfies the Gluten Free

After what was a very exciting day on Friday, as I did a fun foodie taping for JOJ.sk TV, Dan and I headed over to Astoria Bier & Cheese for a little respite and celebration.  Wanting to stick to my gluten free diet (2 days to go!), I knew they'd have some yummy options to choose from, some of them in beer form.

Our visit confirmed my suspicions, as Astoria Bier & Cheese is indeed a gluten free friendly establishment, and I was delighted to see a whole rack of gluten free beers that were already nicely chilled. Here's what we tried:

Celia Saison Beer - I must admit, the beautiful bottle design caught my eye, and the foreshadowing of fruity hints totally sold me.  The beer comes from The Alchemist brewery in Vermont that's also the originator of the delicious Heady Topper beer.  The Celia provided a smooth, slightly sweet and citrusy taste from the orange peel, which is one of its main ingredients.  It's almost impossible to taste the difference between this and a regular beer, except that you don't feel uncomfortably full after.  I give it two heady thumbs up!

Jerky & Cheese Platter - Never mind the little bread slices on the side (I left those for Dan), but all the other stuff you see here is deliciously gluten free.  All the jerky comes from a local supplier, Lawless Jerky and boasts three varieties including a chipotle honey, a Hawaiian style called Aloha Teriyaki and a Sweet Sriracha.  And although the pieces are teeny, the flavor is intense and goes a long way.  I loved pairing the meat with a sliver of cheese, the smoked gouda was particularly nice to pair with the spicy chipotle honey.  Dan loved it too, but wished there was a more of it.

Service and Cost:
We experienced good service and I liked how knowledgeable the staff was about the gluten free beer in particular.  Once we sat down, our jerky & cheese platter came out promptly and our server thoroughly reviewed everything on our plate with us.

Costs are pretty darn expensive, not for the beer, but more so for the jerky platter, which set us back a whopping $13.  With the beer, we paid about $28 in total including tax and tip.

3 Mmmms

Astoria Bier & Cheese - 34-14 Broadway, Astoria NY 11106
718.545.5588
N/Q Train to Broadway
www.astoriabierandcheese.com