WILD: Meet Me at The Greenhouse. (for gluten free pizza and sangria and pretty lights.)

I am SO amped to tell you about this place. 

You may have seen a little sneak peek on my Instagram, but a few weeks ago Gail PR invited a really fun bunch of bloggers and journalists to check out WILD, which recently opened their second location in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. (The first is in the West Village, just blocks from my apartment, and I am slapping myself for not trying it sooner.)

First off, the two owners - Miki Agrawal and Walid Hammami - are likely two of the most interesting humans you will ever meet. So it's of zero surprise that this place kicks. ass. Miki is a serial-entrepreneur and former pro-soccer player who launches companies in her sleep, writes about it, and eats gluten free. Walid has OWNED restaurants since he was 19 years old, and DJs in his spare time. Because I'm sure restaurant owners have tons of that. 

I'm not sure who's responsible for the decor at WILD, but I would 100% eat a shoe if it meant hanging out in The Greenhouse - which is a magical place behind the main restaurant that I was sure didn't exist in New York City. First impression: we were walking right into a Pinterest wedding (complete with vintage frames, wildflowers, and strings upon strings of twinkling lights). If a tiny little hipster fairy floated out and perched on the lip of my mason jar of sangria, I wouldn't have been all that surprised. 

So, ambiance? Check. Banging gluten free food? BIG HUGE DELICIOUS CHECK. We tasted pear gorgonzola pizza with fresh rosemary, salmon skewers with sage and caper sauce, and wild mushroom herb pasta with arugula (to name a few). For dessert? KALE. CUPCAKES. This is real life. And in this thing called real life those kale cupcakes are gooooood. The cake part is reminiscent of a zucchini cake, and the vegan frosting adds a smooth, sweet, sumpin' sumpin'. I could totally go for one right now.

Every single thing we tasted was outstanding. The menu is all gluten free aside from a few pasta dishes, and Miki happily shared that they're phasing out the gluten-containing pasta - so in due time, the kitchen will be ALL gluten free. But don't be afraid to bring you gluten-loving friends. Pretty much everyone at the event (and everyone at my table of 12!) had no gluten restrictions, and it was all rave reviews. The gluten free (and vegan!) pizza crust was especially well-received. So light and crispy that you can easily polish off a whole pie without needing a nap, and the chickpea flour added a nice socca-like taste.

Thanks Miki, Walid and Gail PR for a beautiful night and the fullest of bellies. You guys, go try WILD. Sit back in the greenhouse. Eat a gluten free dessert pizza, if you're feeling crazy. You will love it! 

Chop't Does Jersey (and Gluten Free)

If there's one thing I rarely order at a restaurant, it's salad. (Except when I can't eat anything else on the menu. Thumbs down, Celiac. And of course, there's a .gif for that.) 

Yet, for some inexplicable reason, I am addicted to Chop't. Maybe it's because I get a little Type-A-high from hand-picking every ingredient? Or because their tofu is laced with something that makes it just DIVINE? Even if I can't put my finger on it, that doesn't change how excited I was when Chop't asked me to craft a salad highlighting one of their new, super-seasonal ingredients: Local Jersey Peaches. (And HELLO - I'm from Jersey.)

My absolute favorite way to prepare peaches (not that they require much preparing) is in sweet, spicy peach salsa. Like, I could scarf chips and peach salsa every day for the rest of the summer. But that’s not entirely realistic or, ahem, nutritional. So why not turn it into a salad? That’s exactly how the Chop't Peach Fuego was born. Chips and salsa every day makes you a college student. Salad, however, makes you a mature adult who makes sensible food choices. Or something along those lines.

If you're interested to know what goes into the Peach Fuego, head on over to the Chop't blog. 

And if you have Celiac or must eat gluten free, here are a few pro-tips for eating safely at Chop't:

• You can find a PDF of their menu with allergens clearly marked here. Since most of their ingredients are gluten free, there's a section on the left listing the only ones that are NOT gluten free.
• If you tell your salad-chopper, or preferably a Manager, that you have Celiac disease or an allergy, they will kindly change their gloves and use a new cutting board to avoid cross-contamination.
• When they ask if you want bread, say no! Sometimes it's wrapped nicely in foil and you can pawn it off on a friend, but other times they'll plop it right on your salad. Better safe than gluten-ed. 

Pretty easy, right? Bonus: if you order the Peach Fuego you get to cut the line. HA kidding. That'd be way too sweet. I'll be waiting right there with you, likely at the Flatiron location. See ya there!

Disclosure: I wasn't required to write a blog post as part of creating a salad for Chop't; I just love them so much that I did it anyway.