So, I just got back from a brief trip to Italy last night (I know, chiiiiic!) and I'm a little discombobulated and loopy but I wanted to say hi and let everybody know that I still love them and I'm sorry for being gone and inducing nail-biting, hallway pacing, and obsessive refresh button pressing on the BabyCakes blog to see if I would show up. I know it was hard but you can all relax because I'm back and running around the bakery and fussing around like freak that I am again. Yay for all of us! Did I mention I'm sort of jet-laggy crazy right now?
Anyhow.
I won't bore you with descriptions of how good the food was but I will tell you that spending a dairy-less, wheat-less vacation in Italy was so effortless and DELICIOUS. There was even a place in Florence that offered a gluten-free menu (you can punch me in the face because I didn't take down the name but I'm sure it's google-able!) and this restaurant called Gigli in Lucca that had spelt pasta if you are not celiac or allergic to gluten. Even if you randomly walk into a restaurant it's easy to find something completely mind blowing that is vegan and gluten-free as-is and it will probably be the best thing you ever put in your mouth. I feel pretty embarrassed for not pulling together a food guide for any of you traveling to Italy but the idea is to stumble around and happen upon that perfect trattoria down a hidden side-street and eat your face off, right? So my point is (if I can figure out what my point is) is that you won't have trouble keeping on your gluten-free, vegan game while you travel in Italy. Oh! Also. Most good non-touristy places don't throw bread crumbs in stuff like many Americans do so that frees you up quite a bit! Oh, but be sure to double check with the kitchen to make sure, of course.
I embarrassingly have no pictures of beautiful rustic alleys with laundry draping out of shuttered windows or snaps of the Duomo to leave you with, but I'm sure you've all got plenty of postcards with that sort of deal hanging up somewhere or nestled in some book already, right? What I do have, are a collection of cool ice cream and pizza place signs I took along the way, so I've posted my favorite up there on the left. I mean, it's a ghost holding a pizza in one hand and a piece of pie in the other? Does it get any better than that? We are all clearly in need of a lesson in logo-making from these people.
I would say "talk to you soon!" in Italian to close this post here but that would be pretty annoying, right?
Bye for now!
erin, thank you so much for this jetlag-induced post! i am going to italy in august for two weeks and was a little nervous about what to eat - we will be in florence for a few days and near lucca for a week (how lucky am i that you wrote this??) - although i'm not sure how i feel about eating in a restaurant that shares a name with a terrible j lo movie. i'll deal. :)
Erin,
Sounds like you had a wonderful time. I just starting reading your blog recently so I was one of those people looking for new posts. I'm going to be visiting Babycakes next week and am looking forward to it.
I've been to Italy before and loved it but I wasn't gluten free at the time. Good to know it's easy to find gluten free food there.
Sei uno spettacolo! Mi piaci di brutto! Tsk...I had all the inside information on Italy given that it is MY Italy. Remember the source for next time...price of admission: gluten-free vegan tiramisu. Still waiting for it!
i am so glad to hear of this successful trip, as i was vegan for years until i went to the motherland and fell for gelato and pizza. glad to know a girl can go there and come back inspired and unscathed.
Weird coincidence: I just came back from a two-week trip to Italy, where I met a great gal from NYC who told me about BabyCakes when she found out I've got Celiac Disease. I'd never heard of it (I live in Boston) but am now drooling over the website...and was psyched to find a mention of Italy on the blog! Was the restaurant in Florence called Trattoria Casalinga? I went there because it was affordable and cute and was wildly surprised, when I explained I couldn't eat pasta, to be offered a gluten-free option. If that's the place, it's on Via de' Michelozzi in the Santo Spirito neighborhood. I found a lot of gluten-free products in pharmacies, interestingly, though the best snacks were at a health-food store in Florence called "Sugar Blues" (Via de' Serragli)--there's a brand called (hilariously!) Rice & Rice--definitely not BabyCakes-style bakery-fresh delights, but they make good biscotti (and they're also out of Florence--wish I could get them in the US!).
Ellie--yes! It was Casalinga. Thank you for that! I have to admit I did duck into a few Pharmacies to look for GF snacks and I did find a cool GF twix! It wasn't dairy free but it was interesting to see.
Hi, I'm Italian and celiac. I am going to NY in 2 months and I'm a bit worried...I found a few options (Babycakes I'm coming!) but I wonder if they sell some gluten free products at supermarkets. Here in Italy, some pharmacies and supermarkets more than others, have lots of GF products (also mini markets inside with a wide choice) so I'd like to know if I can find something similar for my every-day breakfast/lunch/dinner..thanks in advance to anyone who will help
Hi.
I am half Italian and making pasta from scratch is something I miss a lot since discovering my gluten intolerance.
I know that you mentioned putting out a new cookbook - have you considered a GF home made pasta dough recipe. I am a devote babycakes recipe follower, as i find your recipts the easiest to follow and the most reliable.
thanks!
Hi Erin,
Thanks for this post! Italy (and Florence in particular) has a special place in my heart as I used to live there. Although the cheese and gelato temporarily quelled my veganism, I didn't find it difficult to be gluten-free either.
In this same spirit I'm leading a yoga retreat in the Italian countryside this summer! Wanted to share this with you and everyone here because the food will be artfully prepared by a chef who is sensitive to the gluten free, vegan peeps while at the same time staying true to Italian food. Anyone interested in joining us (July 31 - Aug 7), find more info and feel free to contact me via www.saralittleyoga.com.
Grazie!
Sara