A Trip to Pip's Place

One of the great things about being GF in New York is that more and more gluten-free options seem to be popping up all the time.  I have been to Tu-Lu's Gluten-Free Bakery several times and have always found something new and delicious to try.  I especially love their Raspberry Almond Crumble Muffins and Cinnamon Sugar Donuts (also dairy-free).

Today, I wanted to try another place that opened in May of this year on the Upper East Side, Pip's Place.  I made it the endpoint of my run for that day (totally negating any calorie-burning accomplished from the run).  I was pretty dehydrated by the time I got there so I crushed a bottle of water while perusing the selection.  Since going GF, I have gotten used to having limited options when it comes to menus.  I was kind of overwhelmed with how many options there were and knew I had to try a few things.

I knew I wanted some sort of breakfast item and the blueberry fairy cakes immediately caught my eye.  It was fresh out of the oven and couldn't resist trying a "bite" on the walk home.  Many GF cakes are usually pretty dense, but this was a light buttery cake filled with fresh, juicy blueberries.

Pizza swirl... with a bite missing clearly

A special for the day was a pizza swirl.  It was pizza dough rolled with tomato sauce, cheese, and fresh basil.  The owner said it was made with potato flour to make it a little chewier.  One bite and I almost shed tears.  I know it sounds dramatic, but I haven't had anything remotely resembling pizza in almost a year.

Magic Cookie Bar... Double chocolate chip cookie base, coconut, and chocolate chips.

I also purchased a rocky road bar, magic cookie square, and raspberry pinwheel cookie.  Everything was really delicious and I will definitely be back!

HERE IT GOES...

Hi all... My name is Katie and I discovered I was gluten intolerant in October 2011.  Since then, I have been on a quest to figure out how I can still be a "foodie" without gluten.  For those of you who are GF, you know that it's like re-learning how you think about food.  Many of my friends thought (and maybe still think) I was crazy, but I have never felt better.  I found blogs to be a great source of information and I was inspired by the creativity of those blogging about being gluten-free.

How did I get here?  In May, I graduated from grad school which was the greatest achievement of my life.  For three years, I was working full-time and going to school part-time.  My free time was spent doing homework and trying to keep my social life afloat.  As graduation came closer, I realized that I had put my interests and passions on the back burner.  So on the eve of my 26th birthday, I made a leap list of "30 things to do by 30" to shift my focus back towards my non-professional life.  One item on the list.... Start a blog about being gluten-free.  So here I am.  Checking another thing off my list.

I currently live in New York City and have learned to navigate myself around the supermarket, restaurants, and my seamless web (website for online take-out orders) account and have learned a lot.  On GFreestyle, I'm sharing my experience of living gluten-free with others in hopes that it helps others the way that other blogs (especially those I have linked on here) have helped me.