Gluten-Free Ecstasy?

Someone in upper management at Risotteria either is smart about marketing or has Celiac disease or both. In its relatively short history of existence, Risotteria has gone from a spot that creates individualized risottos made-to-order in less then 30 minutes into part of the blossoming GF-friendly network of restos in NYC. This is a list sure to grow in the coming years as 1 in 200 Americans are diagnosed with Celiac. I went there when it first opened a few years back, before they jumped on the GF bandwagon, but wasn’t impressed enough to return; I don’t even recall what I ate. But now that I’m Gluten/Wheat free, I thought I’d try it again.

Situated on a sliver of Bleecker Street at Morton, it has maybe 25 seats, tops. Phil, Ben and I waited outside for about 30 minutes. Once we got inside, it was cozy enough that I felt compelled to warn the guy next to me that I might be sitting on his lap. He and his group of two friends not only didn’t seem to mind but after some further chat, he offered us a taste of his Saturday Night special: saffron risotto with shrimp. Phil had a bite and said it was good; Ben ordered it and enjoyed it. My risotto was Italian parsley and truffle oil. For $12, it was like a fast food version of its well-known cousin, Truffle Risotto, which costs easily $80-90 at any Italian restaurant worth its salt. This quickie version was filling, on the troppo al-dente side for me and could have used some more gout/taste. Here's a pic of our three bowls of rice.

The waiter, although not chatty, heeded my no-nuts plea. When I questioned the ingredients of the GF breadsticks another server brought over a laminated printout of the ingredients: now THAT I liked. However since the breadsticks contained both milk and sugar, I begged off.

Would I run back? Probably not. However, if on a nice Sunday afternoon like this one, I were strolling through the West village, I might stop in and try their GF pizza. Hmmm rice flour.