EAT: Senza Gluten, West Village, New York City, NY

I still can't believe I have not spent any time in New York City, despite being near the city all the time! I was really excited for my first visit to explore and find some great allergy free food. Senza Gluten did not disappoint. Located in the West Village, Senza Gluten is a 100% gluten free restaurant. How exciting to know that everything on the menu is gluten free. Now, to narrow it down to a couple choices was going to be tough. We dined outside on the sidewalk, which was perfect on a warm evening. Great people watching opportunity! 

Ellieona, our sweet server, was prompt and checked on all the questions we had. I inquired about the corn free status of the gluten free bread. She found out that the Vegan Bread, not the bread they normally served, was corn free as well. She informed us that Senza Gluten does not bake their own bread, but gets it from Everybody Eats, a local gluten free bakery from Brooklyn. The Vegan bread was delicious dipped in olive oil. A great start of what was to come.

Spotting Fried Calamari on the menu, we had to try it. Gluten free fried foods are hard to find. Gluten free, Corn free fried foods are even harder to find. No worries, as Ellieona told us the flour used is fava bean flour. Oh my! It has been a long time since I have had fried calamari and this dish was super tasty. Two dipping sauces complimented the calamari nicely.

I could not pass up the Risotto Zafferano with shrimp and asparagus as my entree. It was tasty, but not as impressive as the bread and calamari. It could have had a couple more shrimp. The portions at Senza Gluten are nice size. I was disappointed I could not try the pasta dishes since the pasta was corn-based. The lasagna sounded amazing. Let me know if you were able to try it, as how often can you trust a restaurant to cook the gluten free pasta in a separate pot? At Senza Gluten, this is a non-issue!

My dinner companion opted for the Filetto Di Manzo, seared filet mignon in garlic, rosemary, sage, balsamic and red wine reduction, served with soft polenta and sautéed escarole. It was quite tasty. It was nice to sample some protein after all those carbs! The escarole really enhanced the flavor of the filet. We asked that the polenta to be on a separate plate, so I could taste the rest without worry of cross contamination with the corn.

We could not get to dessert fast enough. Ellieona checked and all of the desserts were corn free, as well as gluten free! Time for a splurge! We were stuck between the Tiramisu and the Torta Al Cioccolato. Ellieona talked us into the molten chocolate cake with toasted almond cream anglaise and vanilla bean ice cream. Who could do wrong with chocolate? It was awesome! The ice cream is from a local homemade ice cream shop (they made a delivery during our dinner). Perfect ending to the meal. Thank goodness, NYC is a walking city, as we needed to walk off this great gluten free meal! Definitely check out Senza Gluten on your next visit to NYC for a safe allergen free meal!

Senza Gluten
206 Sullivan St.
New York, NY 10012
212.475.7775
www.senzaglutennyc.com