Mamasita

One of the perks of working for a city guide magazine, is that I suck up insider tips before the readers. Melbourne is a feature of the publication this month and in my research, I've discovered a fully gluten-free menu at Mexican restaurant, Mamasita.

If you're around the area of marvelous Melbourne, it might be a nice idea to pop in and try it out. There's nothing better than having the option of everything on the menu, minus the questions.

Mamasita, Level 1, 11 Collins St, Melbourne. (03) 9650 3821.

More Meaty Surprises in London

Back in London, while agreeing on a tea stop in Islington near the antique markets and close to the Angel tube station, myself and two Italian mates stumbled upon the first English diner that met our eyes.

Tea, it was to be, but a plate of lamb and rosemary sausages sitting on a huge bed of mash, overflowing with gravy (I said gravy, alright!) it was.

S&M, an English classic with slogans like a 'Great British Grub' and 'More Bangers for your Buck' exceeded in my expectations of what London dining should be like. So traditionally English, I could cry. What value! Truly big portions, low prices. Hearty meals that not even dear mother could be capable of.

With several locations including Spitafields and Portobello Road, and a kooky website with everything to inform you of their enthusiastic ethos, you'd be a silly old mongrel to not have a meal there, gluten-free or not.

Save the tea for the bakery. S&M cafe will rock your pants off.

Goodbye Venice

I left Venice weeks ago and realised I didn't dine accordingly to satisfy my quest for gluten-free menus. I did however do the research which can be viewed in some previous posts. Since then, I have discovered 2 more restaurants which cater for coeliac sufferers...

1. 'Da Poggi', I have been told, is a reasonably priced restaurant which appeals to both tourists (it's located on the main walkway of the city) and locals. It is certified by the Italian Coeliac Association and they assure separate cooking utensils and preparation under the guidance of a Coeliac Official (this person sounds pretty important, don't you think?) Deep fried items are available, cooked in rice flour.

2. Osteria Antico Dolo is a well-known restaurant near the Rialto Bridge which serves gluten-free pasta. Address: Rupa Rialto 778. Ph. 041 522 6546

Now onto the next installment...

Venezia (Part Quattro) - Snack bars

In Venice, it's a simple task to eat on the go if of course you can eat sandwiches with meat, savoury and sweet pastries and pizza squares. There are multiple snack bars where you can stand at the bar and instantly swallow some glutaneous goodies for no more than 2 euros a pop.

And then there's people like us, who I have discovered can do the same, in maybe a little more time and for a few more euros, and more healthily.

Not all, but some snack bars around Venice offer from their glass cabinets, vegetables marinated in qualititive olive oil. Ask for a plate of carrots, potatoes, sometimes even polenta cakes and you can be a fast food consumer too.

La Vedova, off Strada Nova is one of my favourites. There, you can find platters and platters of vegetable dishes that can be made banquets out of. It's a famous food stop for it's delicious menu, warm charm and volatile owner.

La Vedova is in the zone of Cannaergio, close to the Ca D'oro boat stop, at the end of a small alleyway off the main street of Strada Nova.

Note: The photo attached is not a representation of Vedova or any other snack bar offering gluten-free food. It does however reflect the general atmosphere of snack bars in Venice at night.

Venezia (Part Tre)

Lacking in typical charm, yet still warm in it's interiors, restaurant La Fondamenta welcomed us in to a half-empty space inhabited by both local and foreign diners, served by ageing waiters.

The original, older restaurant has recently been taken over and vamped up, adding more refined touches. During the remake in September 2009, gluten-free options were added to the menu. (It seems the country is evolving.)

The menu still retains it's traditional style, with meals written in one-worded Italian including starters, salads, mains and pizza and pasta. Every pizza can be made with gluten-free dough and penne was the GF pasta option for my evening spent there.

The pizza margharita was thin and crispy on the edges, and tasted so much like a regular pizza base that paranoia kicked in. Despite my initial worry, every mouthful was as I imagined an Italian pizza to be - moist without being too heavy.

Wonderful as it all may seem, the service matched the snooty décor. Nevertheless, we are a captive market and no doubt, like myself, coeliac sufferers will return, again and again.

La Fondamenta's pizzas start at 6 euros for a margharita and increase to 14 euros for one that's been decked out in quality toppings such as 4 cheeses (quatro formaggio) or with meat (carne). Unlike Australia's pricing, they did not charge me extra because I have a disease. Kudos to that!

La Fondamento can be found in the zone of Cannaregio, just a 10 minute walk from the main train station. Address: Cannaregio 2578, 30121. For the exact location, turn left off the main road into Calle de l'Aseo, continue on until you cross a bridge. After the bridge, turn right over another bridge and the restaurant is just a few paces ahead.

Venezia (Part Due)

If you really want to leave your American-influenced culture behind, trade your savoury bacon and egg breaky for espresso with your sugar and biscuits and pastries for wake-up time.

Funnily enough, these cross biscuit/cake treats were purchased from Billa Supermarket - one of three GF items sitting on the corner shelf.

Celi ai frutti rossi are little strawberry jam tarts with an intricate cross-hatched pastry top, and are great considering they're prepackaged.

'Celi' is the brand, 'ai frutti rossi' is the product. A picture of the food is on the front of the packet, similar to the pretty one above.

Venezia (Part Uno)

I wrote a post supposedly summarising Gluten-Free Venice, but after a wonderful encounter with the owner of a Venetian mecca, Mea Libera Tutti, I was shot to shit. Edit Post... Delete.

There will now be multiple parts to my 'celiachia' experiences in this floating island. I'm not sure if summaries are now appropriate, given the new world of information I have been invited into, so think of Part Uno as a little index of what's to follow.

1. Pharmacies and Health stores stock teeny tiny ranges of 'senza glutine' products.

2. Supermarkets, Billa and Coop also assign almost non-existant spaces for suitable foodstuffs, which are often hidden among regular pastas and crackers.

3. Two restaurants which specialise in cooked GF meals are La Fondamenta and Ristorante Da Poggi. I am yet to find a few more. Reviews to come.

4. God Bless the ladies from Mea Libera Tutti. Your one-stop shop for gnocchi, puff pastry, hand-made biscuits, sweets, bread, the list goes on. Everything in the store is for you!

5. The Italian Coeliac Association website can also be read in English. Just my luck that this option is being reconstructed at the moment. Visiting www.celiachia.it will open doors to the harshly different food laws in Italy.

Watch this space. I am almost certain even the index will be updated plus reviews, reviews, reviews! I'll try to keep them short, sweet and always Senza Glutine. x

Bangers 'n Mash

I haven't yet left the Motherland for the waiting arms of Venezia et al, but I swear I can hear the continent calling my name. London is on the agenda in a couple of weeks time and what would London be without a traditional English night out, starting with a dinner of sausages and mashed potatoes aka Bangers 'n Mash.

So you just had a bold and animated question mark appear in your brain because coeliacs can't eat sausages, right? Wrong! In London we can!

Right in the hub of walking district Carnaby, in a side lane filled with buzzing pubs and hole-in-the-wall restaurants lies Mother Mash, an easy and relaxed little diner-style venue ready to serve those long, meaty fellas albeit edible for all!

The gluten-free banger option is a lamb and mint variety and might I add for those religious types, they're pork free too. Sides like peas, caramelised onions or Heinz baked beans may also be possible to eat, but you know what to do - interrogation time! Gravy I am pretty certain is a no-no. Check out their menu online.

I've gone pretty wild at Mother Mash in London. No need for the pub this time.

London Cupcakes

With travel on the mind, past trips pre-blog days have surfaced.

As you know, the English love their tea time. And as I know, regrettably being one myself, Anglos love a couple 'a cupcakes with their cuppa. I've tried numerous times to explain to some European friends in their language what frosting is, using hand movements and facial expressions suggesting 'delicious' but to no avail. I've realised - cupcakes are an Anglo thing.

When in London, you'd be silly not to visit Bake-A-Boo in West Hamstead to feed your sweet tooth. Step into the Bake Shop and Tea Room and almost intrude on a 1950's tea party (girls only), complete with doilies and floral.

But the best part is that they bake cupcakes, cakes and slices that are gluten, dairy and sometimes egg free, while still tasting absolutely indulgent, sweet and naughty.

Forget NY's Magnolia Bakery, in London you'll be licking off the frosting with your fingers before you can say "tea please".

Bake-A-Boo Bake Shop and Tea Room, 86 Mill Lane London NW6 1NL. info@bake-a-boo.com. 020 7435 1666.

Socca in the South

I'm not trying to mislead you - soccer has nothing to do with our diets. But SOCCA (note spelling please) might.

Sincerely, in a non-attempt to tempt you, the rightful socca actually doesn't have much to do with our diets either, if you're reading from a computer anywhere in the world besides the South of France. But I'm going to continue anyway. I'm going to bask in the splendor of this day. It is the day I reserved a seat on Flight EK136, from Sydney to Europe.

Yup, I'll be back in the Sud de la France next month eating lots of chickpea pancakes, and NOT watching the game on TV.

Thanks for letting me fuss. So, I hope you also get to the South of France one day - even if just to eat the traditional taste of the region. Socca is a savoury, moist, thick, heavy and delectable pancake made from chickpea flour. Most of the time, the sole ingredients are chickpea flour, oil (lots!), cumin, water and once cooked, sprinkled with pepper!

Socca is not a snobby delicacy - it's a street eat and is a normal, everyday, unmodified dish somehow perfect for special people like us! To know more about the dish, view pics, or even learn how to make it in your own backyard, click here and here.

A toute a l'heurre! For more gluten-free secrets out of Europe, you can follow my food discoveries from May until July 2010 during my travels around the continent. Looking forward to sharing with you!

Cape Town

Sharing is caring.

My short 10 day stint in CT, South Africa was made breezier by a stranger. Popped a couple of all too familiar words into google plus the location I was visiting and clicked here for more insider tips.

My info below may seem scarce but my GF experience in Cape Town pretty much matches it. Sorry to dog you dear Cape Town, but oh I sure am happy to be home.

♥ Melissa's at the Waterfront Shopping Centre makes GF orange snap biscuits. They also have great products which may be suitable - it just comes down to reading the ingredients.

♥ Col'Cacchio is a Pizzeria also serving pastas and salads. There are several of them sprinkled throughout the region. You can customise your GF pizza with any topping but be sure to communicate.***

♥ Another pizza chain to visit at the Waterfront (and other locations) is Primi Piatti - another sort of quality 'fast food' restaurant. They now have GF pizza bases on the menu.***

♥ Stock up on gluten-free bread and other products from Wellness Warehouse. Seems to be the place to go for all sorts of speciality foods.

*** Because food allergies are not as widely known in South Africa as in other countries, you may find that waiters give you false answers or pretend to know what you're talking about when they actually don't. Best to speak to the person making the food or a manager.

Generally speaking, South African food is fantastic! Your travel partner's taste buds will sure be content in SA. Never mind the airplane to return home, If I weren't a strict follower of the GF diet I would have rolled myself back!

The Blue Mountains

Travelling Oz has never felt so easy. If you head to the beautiful Blue Mountains in NSW, where I've just been, you will find many great places to eat which have prepared their menu especially for YOU. It seems us folk are not so unique after all.

♥ The Red Door Cafe - Leura Village
"GF" written on large parts of the menu. Bangers 'n mash, omelettes, and a very yum plate of zucchini and fetta fritters. A++

♥ The Savoy - Katoomba Village
Step into a 50's diner, even the older waitress was wearing vintage cat eye glasses straight from the era. Blast from a past I never knew!

♥ Solitary - just outside Leura Village
Standing alone, a quaint cottage serving amazing, fresh food. For the price (expenso!) they were more than happy to ease any qualms.

Melbourne

It's been 2 weeks since my Melbourne expedition (photo above from my personal album). I am sincerely sorry for not yet relaying to you my scrumptious discoveries from there. So here's a much needed little peak into Gluten-Free Melbourne (as much that fits into 3 days)...

1. Outpost - 9 Yarra Street, South Yarra
http://www.stali.com.au/outpost.php
We were lucky enough to stay right next door to this cafe. Can you imagine my delight - walking a few steps from my accommodation and finding that they have PASTA on the menu that I can eat? Well sadly, I never did try that dish because I was more excited by the egg and asparagus breakfast which was certainly amazing in itself, even sans le pain. You might be discouraged by the fact the cafe is right across from a train station (see photo above) with nothing else in the street but dodgy buildings, but when you step into the kitchen and literally EAT in the open kitchen too, you sure will be thinking you've stepped into some cultural heaven far from Ozzie land.

2. Seamstress - 113 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne
http://www.seamstress.com.au/
This is a modern Cantonese restaurant in China Town. It has been creatively decorated and the service is wonderful. Now, use the term 'Cantonese' lightly - I managed to eat a cheesy risotto but a delicious one at that. Just let them know you have the intolerance and they are extremely accommodating and will let you know exactly what is safe and what is not. You might find comfort in the fact that one of the hostesses (who I booked with) has coeliac herself and I have no doubt she eats in the restaurant where she works and endorses.

3. Tusk - 133 Chapel Street, Windsor
I can't review too much about this place as I was chatting too much with old friends that I was hardly concentrating on the food. But what really surprised me was after a simple question of "what breads do you have?" I had special toast for us cooler people on my plate. And it wasn't even on the menu!! Shows you just gotta be assertive sometimes.

4. Arcadia - 193 Gertrude Street, Fitzroy
Dragging my very unarty boyfriend through an area like Fitzroy (Brunswick, Gertrude, Smith Streets) was quite a feat. And you can imagine what a feat it was when I say it was Sunday and most shops were closed. We stumbled across this gem on Gertrude Street. You order at the counter from a chalk board with a huge selection of real goodies. They cooked me a normal egg breaky and as a side I got to eat this potato blob which they usually cook in flour, but for moi there was nudda of that. Yummy!

Know Melbourne? Would love you to share your GF experiences in this awesome city. Become a follower of the blog and just leave a comment!

Travel Easy

No, this is not an ancient Turkish transcript outlining the religious laws of Kasihak.

THIS, is what you will be wacking out every few hours to tell your waiter/cook why you are different and what you will need to make sure the party in your tummy doesn't finish before midnight.

To get a card like this in other languages, become a member of the Coeliac Society, give them a buzz and ask them to send you a card in the language of the country you're visiting. All you have to do is print, cut and laminate.

Be warned! Some people may mistake you for being a deaf person begging for money or food. Expect to get some funny facial expressions as responses when using these cards, especially from the people you are dining/travelling with. I have great friends. I hope you have better ones.

Carrefour Croissants

Talking about France got me thinking about croissants. I've just adored them... ever since I couldn't eat them.

I haven't had much experience in our version of the pastry. But I did really really enjoy 4 that I gobbled down throughout a day in Barcelona. They were buttery with all the flavours a croissant should have. On the down-side, they were suffering a little in texture but never mind. They made me pretty darn' content.

If you're travelling parts of France, Spain, Italy, Turkey, Indonesia, Brazil, Egypt, Colombia, Japan (the list does go on), I'd be interested to know if you find a Carrefour supermarket or their products stocked in other supermarkets. It's meant to be a pretty massive organisation, maybe even the "largest hypermarket chain in the world in terms of size" according to Wikipedia.

I found them in the 'you are different' section down the escalators of a massive supermarket on touristy Las Ramblas, Barcelona. Look out for it, if you're there.

Mmmmm, cwoissan!

Parii, Oui Oui

If you're travelling to Paris anytime soon, Naturalia is where you will find all your essentials "sans gluten" (without gluten). It's a health food store, with multiple stores around the city, stocking organic, gluten and lactose free produce.

No doubt in the city of lights you will more than often smell that wonderful aroma of rising wheat flour. But alas! Naturalia allows you to enjoy croissants, baguettes, pain aux chocolat (chocolate croissants), large country bread, and an even larger range of carbo goodies (minus that amazing smell unfortunately - they're all tightly pre-packaged).

Head to their website to find out their locations - http://www.naturalia.fr/
If you can't read French (boo hoo), go to the bottom, click on "Tous les Magasins" and you will see a map with their locations.

After living there for 6 months, my local became this one, right by the Pompidou Centre and the shopping strip, rue de Rivoli - 11 rue du Renard, Metro - Hotel de Ville.