Gluten-Free Italy: Travel Tips

Before I left for Italy recently, I sat down for lunch with a friend of mine at a popular restaurant in Westchester, NY. I asked the waiter if the chef could prepare me gluten-free meal and he eagerly responded, “Yes no problem, they can make something without sugar!” A week later, I sat down for lunch with a friend in Rome in a popular restaurant and I asked the same question. The waiter said to me “Yes, no problem, we have tons of clients who are gluten-free.” (By the way, this restaurant is: La Scaletta and it is right near the Pantheon on Via della Maddalena 46/49 –tel. 066792149.) As I devoured my delicious gluten-free pasta with mushrooms, I discussed the gluten-free scene in New York with my Roman friend. She was not a celiac, but she was well aware of celiac disease and had herself been tested at an early age. This was no coincidence; it was merely because she was Italian. Italians all know about celiac disease and are all tested for it. Great for them, but also great for us because as tourists we benefit! So many people have expressed to me an interest in exploring a relatively underdeveloped area of Italy, namely the heel of the boot, Puglia. But they’re generally afraid because this region is not yet as well geared towards tourists as, for example, Tuscany is. So I decided to check it out for myself: I brought two friends of mine (who don’t have celiac disease, but are generally serious foodies) along for the ride. This was great fun because every time the restaurant owners brought out some gluten-free food that they had prepared, they also brought out the “gluten version” of the same thing. My friends tried each version and described to me the differences. And just like the gluten-free pretzels in the US are tastier than the wheat pretzels, we found that there were a number of gluten-free foods in Italy that were tastier than the gluten version of the same food! These fried calamari won one of the taste tests: We had a great time and met some people who are really dedicated to the gluten-free cause. Take for example Luigi, the pizza guy (Atelier della Pizza Capri ’91), who has won awards all over Puglia for his outrageously good pizza (check out his trophies in the background of the picture!) He has a family friend who has celiac disease, and so he decided to make gluten-free pizza as well. Now on the weekends he makes 50 to 60 gluten-free pizzas a night in a special “laboratory,” a room to the side of his regular kitchen. He has a separate oven, separate utensils, basically separate everything. He said it makes him so happy to see kids get excited about having gluten-free pizza. And let me tell you, that pizza was the best pizza I’ve ever had! (Notice the variety: part mushroom, part pepperoni, part prosciutto, part artichokes and part plain!) A few tips for tourists who are going anywhere in Italy this summer and fall: plan your day carefully: Use Google maps to figure out where the sites are that you want to visit, and where the nearby restaurants are that serve gluten-free food. It is always a good idea to call ahead to the restaurants to make reservations, request a gluten-free meal, and ensure that they are actually open! This last part may seem a little silly, but for example, when I was in Bari on a Sunday and Lecce on a Saturday at lunch there weren’t many restaurants open, for various reasons, especially because of private parties being held in the restaurants.rnKeep in mind that when you inquire about getting gluten-free food in a restaurant, the first response might be “no”. In this case, ask again in a different way! Here’s the deal: the Italians have a national, very well coordinated celiac society that works closely with restaurants to serve gluten-free food that has been prepared in a completely uncontaminated environment. The restaurants are equipped with a separate “laboratory” with a separate oven, stove, utensils, and cookware to prepare gluten-free food. The restaurants’ special labs are inspected every six months. If there are any violations of the food preparation rules, the restaurants are taken off the gluten-free restaurant list until the violations have been remedied. This keeps restaurant owners hyper-vigilant about the gluten-free food they prepare and serve.rnSo if you go to a restaurant that is not working directly with the Italian Celiac Society, the owners/managers may automatically say that they are “not prepared” or “not set up” to serve you a gluten-free meal. This is just a way to indicate to you that they don’t participate in the program. You can still get an excellent meal at a restaurant that doesn’t participate directly in the program, because the restaurants often have gluten-free pasta stashed away for their regular clients, and they’re already well familiar with celiac disease and gluten-free food. Even if they don’t have gluten-free pasta stashed away, they can still easily prepare you a “second piatto”, that is, a meat, chicken, rabbit, veal, or fish dish that is gluten-free. So you should let them know that you understand they don’t participate in the Italian Celiac Society program, but that you would love to have a gluten-free “secondo” at their restaurant. If you’re looking for gluten-free pizza (“pizza senza glutine”), you’re better off looking for it atnight instead of during the day because Italians tend to have a bigger lunch and a smaller dinner. A lot of places don’t even make gluten-free pizza during the day. In addition to the restaurants and pizzerias that participate in the Italian Celiac Society program, there are a number of restaurants and pizzerias that offer gluten-free pizza under the tutelage of a commercial venture, DS. This is a brand of the Dr. Schär group that provides restaurants with all the right cooking tools, gluten-free foods and ingredients and the training operators need to prepare meals safely. The restaurants that participate in this program are called DS Pizza Points. When you stay in a hotel, make sure to phone ahead and asked them if they can serve you agluten-free breakfast (“colazione senza glutine”). Most hotels and B&B’s serve a complimentary continental breakfast. With advance notice, they can order gluten-free food for you from a pharmacy or make it themselves. You can have, as I did, warm gluten-free croissants (called “cornetti senza glutine”), breads and little cakes for breakfast. farmacia, farmacia: if your hotel says they cannot provide you a gluten-free breakfast, you can go to any pharmacy and buy some GF products to bring to the hotel breakfast. You can also buy gluten-free bread there and use it for lunch with some fresh cheese and cold cuts (when you walk into any food store in Italy, they will tell you which cold cuts are gluten-free and most of them are).L. 06792149rnIce cream (“gelato”): you can’t go to Italy without sampling the delicious ice cream but be careful. Just as in the US, gluten is thrown into things you wouldn’t expect, in Italy it is thrown in as well. Obviously you need to stay away from flavors that have cookies in them, but additionally, to be absolutely certain there is no cross contamination; you should go to the designated ice cream stores that serve GF ice cream. There you can often get a gluten-free ice cream cone (“cono senza glutine”).rnYou can also get pre-prepared ice cream in bars or restaurants just about anywhere if you look for this poster: The hotels, B&B’s, restaurants, pizza places, and ice cream stores that are part of the Italian Celiac Society program and the DS program, as well as many venues recommended by fellow celiacs on the scene in the tourist areas are all listed with key information such as location and prices, in The Gluten-Free Guide to Italy. If you find yourself in Puglia, check out the following excellent restaurants/pizzerias: Trani: Donna Rosa Corso Vitt. Emmanuele, 138 tel. 0883764958 Bari: Da Bari Napoli Via Piccinni 187/189 tel. 080.9905452 Alberobello: Il Forno di Cristo Via Monte Sabotino 24 tel. 080.4324040 Palmariggi: Sciarabba Via Roma 45 tel. 354497 Taviano: Atelier della Pizza Capri ’91 Corso Viareggio-Marina di Mancaversa tel. 392 5336716 Meantime, buon viaggio e buon appetito! Maria