Delmonico's Italian Steakhouse

This evening my husband and I went to Delmonico's Italian Steakhouse with my in-laws for a birthday dinner. We've lived in the Albany area for years but neither of us had ever eaten there before. We didn't quite know what to expect, but figured that there'd at least be steak or something along those lines on the menu that we could eat.

When we sat down, my mother in law informed the waitress that there were two gluten free diners (herself and my husband) at the table. The waitress sent someone (a manager or owner) over who said that while they didn't have a printable gluten free menu he would be happy to answer any questions we might have. We called him back for additional clarification after we started looking at the menu, and we were pleasantly shocked.

My husband and mother in law started their meal with a house salad and gluten free balsamic vinaigrette dressing. My husband then had a veal parmigiana (instead of bread crumbs they use an egg wash with cornstarch) with gluten free penne pasta, while my mother in law ordered one of the specials of the evening, a filet and alfredo dish over gluten free penne pasta.

Let me just say this -- my husband was beyond excited to order veal parmigiana -- since I won't make it, he thought he might never have it again in a restaurant. The portion sizes at Delmonico's are extremely generous (I have two to three lunches from my leftovers sitting in the fridge right now) but he ate the entire meal which included three pieces of veal and a huge plate of gluten free penne and sauce.

I tried a piece of the gluten free pasta and it was absolutely amazing -- I couldn't tell the difference between their pasta and "regular" pasta, and we wondered if they make it themselves.

The one disappointment: they really didn't have any gluten free desserts on the list, but after finishing his meal my husband didn't have room for dessert.

Anyway -- we were delighted with our experience, thoroughly enjoyed our dinner and will definitely be returning!

New Gluten Free Bakery!

I wanted to send out a quick update for my readers in the Capital District:

A new gluten free bakery is opening up in Scotia!

It's called Laurie's Gluten Free Goodness, and it's located at 5 South Ten Broeck Street, Scotia NY. (That area is my old stomping ground -- if you're not familiar with the area, it's right off Mohawk Ave, between Route 50 and Sacandaga Road).

There's not a ton of information online yet, but it's opening this weekend.

Hours are:
Monday - Saturday 9 - 5
Sunday 9 - 1

We're going to try to stop by this weekend! :) If you stop by, please share your thoughts!

"Cookie-less January"

Ah, January. The holidays are over, the tree has been packed up (or in our case, broken and thrown out) for yet another year, the house is finally back in order, and the credit card bill for holiday purchases is due. Alas, this is also the time of year when girls like me try on our skinny Seven for all Mankind jeans and see the dreaded muffin-top from one (or ten) too many holiday indulgences.

Now, the first week of January for us was pretty much still an extended holiday. The first weekend in January a lot of my relatives came up to my parents' house to celebrate the holiday, where my mother actually ordered a tray of chicken cacciatore for everyone (as well as a ton of other munchies, like the crab dip I made for the occasion). Now - one nice thing to know is that Italian restaurants can be very accomodating of gluten free needs! All you have to do is ask:

• My office holiday party was held at Cornell's, where my husband was given a special plate of wonderful, gluten free, chicken marsala along with salad, rice, and they offered him sherbet for dessert (though he was already stuffed from the meal!) - this was a very special treat, because it was the first time we'd gone to an Italian restaurant since going gluten free!
• My mother ordered the chicken cacciatore from Canali's, where they prepared the tray in their "default" style and provided a gluten free version for my husband. Their marinara sauce is also gluten free, though since they don't provide gluten free pasta he had side dishes of their yummy green beans and roasted potatoes.

Anyway, now the holidays are officially and completely over, our puggle is still on her diet, and I am starting to eat and exercise off all those indulgent meals.

I asked my husband for the Wii Fit for Christmas, and while it's fun and no-doubt a workout if you do it right (at least, my legs were killing me the first week that I started using it), there's no contest in my mind that going to the gym is better - or even better yet, taking advantage of all the snow we've had so far this season and going snow-shoeing or cross-country skiing!

Anyway - I have less than a month to go until Italian Night at Glen Sanders Mansion, and I want to be sure to fit into a cute outfit! This means eating extremely healthy at Kat's GF Kitchen! I've stocked up on healthy fare including chicken, fish/shrimp and plenty of veggies, and for the rest of this month will be focusing on healthy, low-fat, low-calorie meals - and not going out to eat as much!

Who else has jumped on the diet bandwagon this January??