By Lakshmi:
Siddhi was recently diagnosed with gluten intolerance and living in NYC surrounded by some of the best Italian restaurants is sheer torture! Till of course the discovery of Risotteria in Greenwich Village last night. The place is a mecca for those with a similar challenge, doling out pretty much every dish on the menu in a gluten-free version, rightfully earning their stripes as “The Gluten Free Pioneers of America.”
It is a small place, able to seat 20 at a time and was packed with a 30 minute wait on a Thursday night! Already famished at the end of a long day in the city, we bought some banana bread to hold us over till we took the bar seats. In front of us was the biggest array of gluten-free baking mixes, ranging from croutons to cupcakes, including the Sundar family favorite (red velvet cupcake).
The bread sticks came out first, 3 tall ones in a glass. Just amazing Italian food, bearing no resemblance to the dense, doughy masses of food that are usually served/sold as celiac friendly. This was followed by a mozzarella and oven dried tomato pizzette with pesto sauce, a portobello, oven dried tomato and spinach panini and a mozzarella pesto vialone nano risotti. All well done, with the pizzette being our favorite with just an awesome crust.
Having an avid sweet tooth, we had to eat dessert, the state of our now filled stomachs restricting us to order just the Tiramisu and the toll house cookie, both making us very happy.
You may want to give Risotteria a try even if you have no need to go gluten-free, especially since devouring good food needs no excuses!
Risotteria is located at
270 Bleecker Street
Between 6th and 7th Avenues
Greenwich Village, NYC
Phone: 212-924-6664
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