Tuesday 13 March 2007

Strada - you can take your own pizza base!

I lived in Italy for a year and when I came back to London, Strada was the place I went for pizza as theirs were the closest thing to the real deal that I could find (this was before I discovered I was Coeliac). When I found out that I was allergic to gluten/wheat, pizza was one of the things I dreaded not being able to eat most - as I love good pizza (particularly Italian).
However, all was not lost - Strada allow you to take your own pizza base which they will then add delicious toppings to and cook in the wood-burning oven! Amazing!
It's always best to ring the branch you're going to beforehand to check that it's OK, and some of them ask you to bring some gluten-free flour with you too so that they can dust the base to stop it sticking, but they are so lovely that they don't even charge you for a whole pizza - just the toppings that you have!
It is so nice to be able to go out and eat pizza in a restaurant.
However, I am now at a bit of a loss as Sainsbury's, whose bases I found best for this, seem to have stopped doing them since they introduced their new range of Free From foods...
I haven't tried with any others yet as have been making my own and staying in (I'm not sure what the Strada policy is on having to use a sealed base rather than a homemade one as I guess they need to know exactly what's in things in case you claim food-poisoning or something) but am sure there are other good ones out there - suggestions welcome! My problem is that they're all so small and thick...
However, if you're ever in New York you can get the best gluten-free pizza in the whole world ever at this amazing gluten-free Italian (which also does toasted focaccia paninis and cupcakes and stuff - all gluten-free!!) on Bleecker St called Risotteria.
Seriously, it's my new favourite place in the world, but Strada is a pretty good back-up for when you're not in NYC...

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