New England Traditions Collide in Somerville Pizza Joint

“Hi there. My name’s John and I’ll be your server tonight.” John is in his late twenties, tall and lean with long hair pulled back into a loose knot at the back of his head, and a scraggly beard just a few centimeters longer that simple scruff. This description could be used for about three quarters of the guys around me. A few are standing next to two massive clay wood-fire ovens with bandanas keeping their long locks out of the stretched dough in their hands. “Think good thoughts, ” “drink local beer” and other sayings are written on the walls in a precise but free style. The Beatles’  Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da comes on over the sound system and John Lennon’s cooing harmonizes with the whoop and hollers coming across the room from the eight lanes of candlepin bowling. This is the Flatbread Company.

Raucous twenty- and thirty-year olds stand around munching pizza and slurping micro-brew beers next to parties of seated retirees with their grandchildren as the smells of burned dough and garden herbs wafts over them. The Flatbread Company began in 1998 with one location in Amesbury, Massachusetts. This company began with the goal to bring organic locally sourced food to its customers, and it relied heavily on the growth of local farms and producers to sustain its own expansion.

Between 1998 and 2016, the Flatbread Company has opened nine more locations in New England, including one at 45 Day Street Somerville, Massachusetts. Located in the building that from 1939 to 2010 was home to Sacco’s Bowl Haven bowling alley—a Boston institution to the hardcore candlepin bowlers—the Flatbread Company made sure to renovate around the candlepin lanes in order to preserve part of Boston’s history and a New England pastime.

Nothing quite yells old-time Yankee spirit like candlepin bowling. Red Sox in the summer, pond hockey in sub degree temperatures in winter, and candlepin bowling all year round. It’s a New England staple that is as much New England as Vermont Maple Syrup or clam chowder. The sport was invented in Worcester, Massachusetts in 1880. Since then New Englanders have been chucking grapefruit sized balls at small skinny sticks sixty feet away. Though at one point the Somerville Historical Preservation Commission says that you could take your pick from four different bowling alleys around Davis Square, Sacco’s was the lone survivor. 

Bowl Haven was a smoky pool hall with ten bowling alleys that had been in the Sacco family for four generations until 2010. At one time there were nineteen Sacco bowling alleys in the Boston area alone, but over time this number dwindled down to just the Davis Square location. This was a place where a shoe rental cost $1.50, and a lane was $3.00 ($2.75 on weekday mornings and afternoons). No food or alcohol was sold because this was bowling for Spartans with a thirst for hitting things with balls.

Sacco's Bowl Haven motto said it all, “we've got small balls, but we're big on fun.”

Nowadays there is a slightly different motto inscribed on the wall. The Flatbread company’s motto “renew their spirit” holds no reference to bowling, but to their organic and locally sourced pizzas and salads, Managing Partner Evan Fetras explains. Free-range chicken, nitrate-free meats and organic vegetables top the wood-fired pizzas offered in organic wheat or gluten-free crusts. New Hampshire’s Peace of Mind Baking Company supplies the gluten-free, vegan crusts, made with *Brown Rice Flour, *Garbanzo Bean Flour, Arrowroot Powder, *Tapioca Flour, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, *Flax seed Meal, *Pure Cane Sugar, *Xanthum Gum, *Active Yeast, * Sea Salt, *Cider Vinegar (*Indicates Organic).

But the spartan bowling continues in this hip establishment that still has eight bowling lanes, where score is kept by hand with pencil and scorecard. The ninth and tenth lanes are no more, but instead there is a full bar where New England distilled spirits are concocted into a variety of seasonal cocktails.

“If I may, I would say that a large is good for two hungry adults,” John said in response to my friend, Nathaniel, and I deciding to split one twelve inch gluten-free pizza. John was quite astute. Both Nathaniel and I were adults and we were quite hungry. John, obviously worried that Nathaniel and I would start eyeing each others less vital limbs in fits of hunger, convinced us to get another small pizza: the Punctuated Equilibrium. What is another $12.25 to “two hungry adults.”

As John moved off I shouted, “Oh hey, how long until a lane opens up?” John looked back with a smile and said, “Oh you can count on waiting another hour.”

I looked at my watch. It was already 9:30 PM on this Sunday and the Flatbread Company closed by 10:30 PM. Oh well, at least the pizza was tasty, but I still want to hurl some balls.

The Flatbread Company Sacco’s Bowl Haven, open Monday through Saturday, 9:00 AM. to12:00 AM, and Sunday, 9 AM to 10:30 PM, is at 45 Day St., Somerville, Massachusetts. Lane rental is $25 an hour; shoe rental is $2. Pizzas range $9.75-$19.75 with gluten-free crust available for an additional $4.50. By public transportation, take an outbound MBTA Red Line train toward Alewife, and get off at Davis Square. Sacco’s accepts lane reservations for groups of eight or more; smaller groups are accommodated on a first-come, first served basis in designated walk-in-only lanes. Make reservations at 617-776-0552.

by Kit Norton

A Turnaround Twelve Hours in Chicago

At 4:30 am the train pulled into Chicago’s Union Station, fourteen hours late, meaning an unexpected and weary day in Chicago until the next train east at 9:30 pm. Not surprisingly, my traveling companion and I were exhausted and uncomfortable. We had been assured for more than ten hours that Amtrak would put us up in a hotel and rebook our travel home. Being hyper vigilant about bed bugs I always check the online Bed Bug Registry prior to booking accommodations. Blurry-eyed (without enough reading glasses to read everything on my cell-phone screen), very hungry (I ran out of food around seventeen hours prior), and grumpy to my core, I scanned bed bug reports and, sure enough, the hotel we had been comped had fourteen bug alerts. I start Googling the hotels that showed zero reports and they were all fully booked.

My companion was equally exhausted, but less concerned about bed bug contamination than I was so we were at odds. Finally I proclaimed that she could go to the hotel without any luggage (she didn't), but that I was going to stay at the station and wait the forty-five minutes until the lounge for sleeping-car travelers opened up. I felt like I was on a camping trip where it starts pouring, the tent leaks, and you’re having car problems….you are so uncomfortable you just want it to all go away (especially since the expectation was that we would be spending a whole night (instead of a partial morning) in a comfortable hotel bed (sans bugs). Expectations mixed with no sleep and low-blood-sugar made for tender and trigger-cranky emotions.

My companion decided to fly home due to work commitments (our new scheduled arrival home was a minimum 24-hours later than originally planned.) My day had grim prospects. I thought likely I would spend it curled up on a stained, lumpy love seat in the windowless lounge room of Union Station, dozing on and off, hopefully not visibly drooling. I didn’t have motivation for much else, but the love seat was less than appealing, so I mustered my last shred of energy and headed off to Whole Foods, not far from the train station. This was slow-shopping in the extreme. My daze was reminiscent of how I used to feel after working a twelve-hour shift all night at the hospital. I was working hard at concentrating and was slightly aware that I looked like someone on drugs or newly homeless (after three and a half days on a train from California I was doing a good imitation). Then I slowed down even more when I realized I had nothing to do for twelve hours. S-l-o-w shopping. If my companion had stayed she would have killed me.

After stocking for two more full days of travel, I settled into the cafe area and ate, which fortified me enough to think about spending my day outside of the station.

I knew I would be a horrible companion in that I needed every ounce of reserve to function and couldn’t expend any on niceties or social interaction, so I did not contact the handful of people I know in Chicago. It was sunny, with a slight breeze and perfect temp, so off I went to explore. Since not all my cylinders were firing, I took a water taxi to Navy Pier, where I boarded a larger boat for an architectural tour of Chicago. This was the perfect solution for the worn-down traveler: I was sitting outside, soaking in the sun, but learning things about the “windy” city: the bridge designs are from Paris, the Sears Tower (now the Willis Tower) can sway three feet in any direction at upper stories; and, the Haymarket Riot, a tragic event in labor history resulting in the hanging of union organizers, took place in downtown Chicago.

After the informative and, for me, therapeutic boat ride, I wandered around the shoreline and city beach, then made my way towards a day spa where I had booked a massage. Exploring the neighborhoods on the way, I stumbled onto Local Root, a local-foods restaurant with indoor and outdoor seating in the Streeterville neighborhood of the city. I had plenty of time before my appointment, so I savored a full, fresh meal for the first time in four days. While vegetarians will find a number of things to eat, the menu is heavy on meat and fish. My salad of local greens and pickled onions was delicious (the pickled onions were especially good) and went well with my perfectly cooked grass-fed burger. Chicago’s tap water tastes heavily of chlorine and has other known contaminants in it, so I would recommend ordering bottled water (although I would rather see restaurants doing their own in-house filtration of tap water).

Next stop on my grim-day-turned-fabulous, was the Allyu Spa located along the Riverwalk in the River North area. The large, airy, Buddhist-inspired day spa offers a range of massage and spa therapies as well as a far-infrared sauna. There is a meditation/relaxation sanctuary where you can wait before and after your therapy, as well as outside seating along the river. From start to finish Allyu was what this weary traveler needed.

The sad love seat where I might have spent my day was still at the train station when I returned, waiting for some other desperate traveler. My message to them—you have options.



Full Disclosure: no businesses listed here had any knowledge that I would be writing about them and provided zero comp benefits.

The BEST Gluten-Free Pizza—Hiding in Edinburgh

This writer found the best gluten-free he has had in a place that is not thought of when it comes to fine pizzas: Edinburgh, Scotland. However, this is exactly where it was found in the La Favorita Pizzeria and Restaurant on 325 Leith Walk, Edinburgh.

If a really good pizza is one of those foods that is missed or craved above all else while maintaining a gluten-free diet, then look no further than to this bustling Italian eatery and its delicious gluten-free pizzas. The majority of the meals served at La Favorita have a gluten-free option as well as on all of the pizzas. The only thing that is lacking is the ability to settle into your pizza with the company of a fine gluten-free brew, but they do offer a cider and of course a wide range of wines that should keep any appreciator of alcohol happy.

For gluten-free beers, check out Green's, a dedicated producer of gluten- and wheat-free beer in the UK.

Guest blog post by Kit Norton

Gluten-Free Delights in the Shadow of Budapest's House of Terror

Budapest’s House of Terror sits on Andrassy utja (Budapest, Andrássy út 60, 1062 Hungary), and no matter where the sun is in the sky, it throws a long shadow. After visiting the building that has represented fear, secrecy, and pain for most of the twentieth century, do not be surprised if you hear your stomach growl and feel a gnawing hunger.

For those who are following a gluten-free diet (and for those who are not) you are in luck. Across the street at Andrassy ut 57 (Budapest, Andrássy út 57, 1062 Hungary) you will find the best gluten-free bakery in Budapest. Corso Cafe will not be found on any travel forums online, and even a Google search for it will not turn up satisfactory results. It is a small cafe, serving assorted teas and coffees along with many wheat pastries on display. However, you need only ask the man or the woman that run the bakery for “glutenmentes” and a bin will be brought out for you to peruse the selection.

The woman, who is also the baker, speaks English making it easier to ascertain which breads are best and what is in each goody. She bakes chocolate and coconut gluten-free spiral pastries, nine gluten-free baguettes, and whole loaves of both white artisan bread and a whole-grain version. All of these are divine. I would suggest making several stops back at the bakery over your visit to Budapest because it is very unlikely that one trip will satiate the thirst for freshly baked gluten-free treats. Be warned that getting there early in the day will not guarantee that gluten-free bread is available as she bakes a certain amount each day and no more. She also starts the gluten-free baking process later in the day than the regular breads, and with this in mind getting there around 2 PM (1400) is usually a good time to pick up bread. Enjoy!


Guest blog post by Kit Norton

Ultimate Gluten-Free in Prague

The belief held by some in the United States that the Gluten-Free diet is a mere fad has not stopped this nutrition-alternative from spreading in Eastern Europe. As such, practicing “anti-glutenists” need not worry if they are visiting the picturesque city of Prague.

A would-be traveler to Prague cannot go without sampling the Czech beer, and so the first, and most important, gluten-free product that it available is Zatec Celia. This gluten-free beer is available for purchase in Galerie Piva at Lázeňská 15, Prague and nowhere else in the area. However, if you are in the mood to sit down and enjoy your gluten-free Czech pilsner along with traditional gluten-free Czech cuisine, you must visit Svejk Restaurant U Karla at Kremencova 7, Prague 1. This restaurant was the gastronomical highlight of this writer’s trip to Prague, and any traveler, gluten-free or not, should visit this establishment. Svejk U Karla is open daily 11am-12am and offers a complete mouthwatering gluten-free menu. For $15 or (299 Czech Koruna) you can order freshly baked gluten-free bread, horseradish sauce, gluten-free beer, and four of the largest and best tasting pork ribs.

After being fortified with this hearty meal you are welcome to continue to walk the streets of Prague, exploring at your leisure, but do not be surprised if your thoughts, and perhaps your feet, bring you back to Kremencova 7 searching for another dish.

Guest blog post by Kit Norton

The Fate of French Baguettes

Anyone who has traveled in France knows how ubiquitous baguettes are—tucked under arms, propped in bicycle baskets, and sold in just about every shop whether a bakery or not.  But what many may not realize is that all baguettes are not the same. Most of the baguettes sold now have evolved as a form of fast-food, with additives and a quick preparation process. Fortunately there are those that cherish the old-style, slow-fermentation technique that gives an authentic baguette its texture and taste.

According to the New York Times, "...in 1993, the government came to the rescue with a decree that created a special designation: “the bread of French tradition.” That bread has to be made exclusively with flour, salt, water and leavening — no additives. The “tradition,” as it is called, is more expensive than the ordinary baguette, which uses additives, a fast-rising process and mechanization, and accounts for about 75 percent of the country’s bread sales."

Anyone who has eaten traditional baguettes knows that the extra money is ever so worth it. According to French-bread expert, Steve Kaplan, you "need to celebrate breads that make your taste buds dance."  

Travelers to Paris who want to taste "tradition" breads can explore Good-Bread Trails in Paris—

Bon appétit!!

For Real Food Safety, Support Local Food and Local Oversight

For those who care about local foods and small farms, please submit comments to the FDA by November 15th on the new Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). Signed into law by President Obama in January of 2011, the FDA has taken more than two years to move FSMA through its rule-making procedure—a process still ongoing. The FDA hails FSMA as the most “sweeping reform of food safety laws in over 70 years.” An undeniably important objective given the attention-grabbing headlines announcing outbreaks of foodborne illness from hamburgers, chicken, fruits and vegetables, FSMA unfortunately undermines some of the safest producers of food in the nation—our local farmers.

The "sweeping" law risks sweeping the little guy right out of business. Designed to cover the disparate extremes of industrial farming and neighborhood farm stands, FSMA's one size fits all is a disaster in the making. The voluminous 548 page law is confusing. On the surface it appears that farms grossing less than $500,000 would be exempt from the law, but on closer examination, many farms would indeed have to comply with the expensive and cumbersome rules. How many? Neither the state agriculture department nor the FDA can answer that definitively, but based on USDA numbers and income criteria likely hundreds of Vermont farms will be affected.

At an FDA "listening session" held last month, farmers from Vermont and New Hampshire gave FDA representatives an almost universally unfavorable earful. Themes repeated throughout the morning were: the proposed law was overly cumbersome to struggling small farms; the majority of food borne illness outbreaks come from imported foods and large scale industrial food companies, not small, diversified farms in New England; criteria for the new law is not supposed to be in conflict with organic standards, but it is; and FSMA seems to duplicate laws that many farms already comply with like the USDA’s Good Agricultural Practices (GAP)program. Across the board, farmers felt the proposed law would put onerous requirements on them, consume their already tiny profit margins, hamper growth, and force many of them out of business. 

Over the course of the session, many farmers expressed their frustration at the inconsistencies and double standards in federal food safety policy. The FDA admits it is able to inspect only about 2% of imported food even though imported food has repeatedly been implicated in food borne illness outbreaks. While the government plans to impose increasingly cumbersome regulations on small produce farms, they are simultaneously relaxing and changing laws that will deleteriously affect food safety. Recently the USDA announced that it will allow U.S. grown chicken to be processed in China for resale in the United States, without any USDA inspectors on site. The processed chicken, used in canned soups, chicken nuggets and other products, will be sold

without any label informing the consumer it was processed in China.

Earlier in 2013, in an effort to save money for the government and the poultry industry, the USDAannounced plans to cut back the inspectors at slaughterhouse kill-lines by 75%, leaving only one inspector where there used to be four, while increasing the numbers of chickens killed to 175 per minute. USDA Secretary Vilsack believes that this will reduce thousands of foodborne illnesses, even though the Environmental Working Group’s report, Superbugs Invade American Supermarkets, exposes that antibiotic resistant bacteria is found in 81% of ground turkey; 69% of pork chops; 55% of ground beef; and 39% of chicken breasts, wings and thighs. No worries. Under thenew USDA rules, chicken carcasses will be doused in chlorinated water and “other antimicrobial substances” to deal with lingering fecal matter and other contaminants. 

The numbers of food borne illnesses used to justify FSMA are high. While quoted in the press as hard numbers they are, in fact, only estimates. These numbers were announced by the CDC a month before Obama signed FSMA into law and are almost 2000 times the rate of illness and 150 times the rate of death that were documented between 1998 and 2008. In Vermont, cases of food borne illnesses are low—about 250 statewide in 2012—although relative to population they hover around what the Vermont Department of Health cites as the national averages for reported cases in 2011 of 14.3 to 16.5 per 100,000. Over the past almost twenty years, the number of cases in Vermont have stayed relatively consistent. The Department’s most recent report on foodborne illness, dated May 2013, explains that Vermont’s cases are mostly “sporadic”—i.e. they are not connected.

While the Vermont Department of Health (DOH) agrees with the CDC that underreporting is a problem, State epidemiologist and foodborne illness expert, Erica Berl is quick to say that the DOH does not want every single person who is experiencing diarrhea or vomiting to report to the state. Berl says there are many reasons for these common symptoms of foodborne illness but, “most cases of GI illnesses are from viruses passed from human to human.”

When asked if she thought foodborne illness in Vermont could be traced to small local farms she replied, “Causation is very difficult to prove and often near impossible with the small numbers in Vermont. It is impossible to state that food borne illness does or does not ever come from small farms. What we know, capital K, is that there are certain high-risk foods linked to certain pathogens.” 

In short, there is no way to prove that any small farms in Vermont have caused any foodborne illness in the state. But, there is also no way to prove they haven’t.

While the state may not be able to say unequivocally that small farms are not the cause of foodborne illness, the farmers made it very clear at the FDA session that they do not believe they are to blame for outbreaks in the state. Repeatedly farmers said, “My family and I eat the food we are growing and selling. We would be the first to get sick if there were a problem.” Others commented that since they know their customers, they would be aware if someone got sick.

Some farmers expressed their fear that as small farms are forced out of business that foodborne illness will increase not decrease. The question begs, does trying to reduce the 200 some odd annual cases of foodborne illness which can not be definitively linked to Vermont’s small farms justify the enormous health and economic impact of FSMA throughout the state? If society’s goal is to keep reducing or trying to reduce the percentages of people who are sick then maybe the small farms of Vermont should be viewed as part of the healthy solution and goal, not as the culprits. It raises the need for an examination of health and what is considered relevant to food safety. Acute illness is dramatic and headline grabbing, but debilitating chronic illness is often far more damaging in the long run. Is diabetes a food safety issue? Are allergies a food safety issue? Chronic digestive diseases?

There is a reason Vermont has, per capita, the most farmer’s markets, certified organic farms, certified organic farm land, CSAs, local dollars spent on local foods, artisan cheese-makers, micro-breweries, and maple producers in the entire country. We love our local food producers, we care about our health and we are proud of Vermont’s agricultural heritage. 

Champion real food safety and security. Let FSMA fulfill its mandate by regulating those producing contaminated food, not those providing healthy food. Let the FDA know that you support Vermont local farms and local oversight. Tell the FDA that farms grossing less than $1 million should be regulated locally, by the Vermont Department of Agriculture, not the federal government. Keep Vermont’s farmers in business and keep our food healthy. Send your comments to the FDA by November 15th 2013.

Surprising—Gluten-Free in Wells/Ogunquit Maine

For reasons defying explanation, the Wells/Ogunquit area of Maine with its long, wide flat beaches, is onto the gluten-free scene. A number of eateries offer gluten-free options including, thankfully, our favorite lobster-roll haunt, Jake’s Seafood on the corner of Route 1 and Bourne Road—the road to Moody Beach. At Jake’s you can get a lobster roll with or without mayonnaise—my preference with butter or even naked on a wheat or gluten-free bun. This transformed our trip as two out of three of us need to eat gluten-free, so we could all happily enjoy our generously portioned lobster rolls.

Wild Blueberry conjures waffles and pancakes, but The Wild Blueberry Restaurant in Ogunquit is a fine dining establishment with a casual air serving fresh, local fish and other foods. The local Lemon Sole was delicious as was the Maine-caught Haddock, but the Lobster and Avocado starter was sublime.

Roost Cafe and Bistro offers a wide range of gluten-free dishes including local fish and chips made with non-gluten-breading.

Happy gluten-free eating on the southern Maine coast!

Blueberry Hunting on Cape Cod

While Vacationing on the Cape I was on the hunt for local blueberries since at home in Vermont it was blueberry season. I purposefully had not brought any with me assuming they would be plentiful on the Cape. I was mistaken—what was readily available were organic berries from Mexico (!) or conventionally grown from New Jersey.

I was almost brought to fist-a-cuffs over my muttering at a produce stand about conventional agriculture in New Jersey. A woman who could have been an extra on the Sopranos said, “Are you saying something against New Jersey?” in response to my private frustrated grumblings to my friend. “You better not be saying anything about New Jersey while I’m here.” Wow. I held my New Yorker tongue like a good Vermonter.

After a failed farmer’s market and no luck at the local stores I got a tip that the Wellfleet Farmer’s Market, held from 8 am to 12 noon on Wednesdays, is where I would find my berries. I was properly advised to arrive no later than 8 on said morning because the berries sell out within the first thirty minutes. Really? I smell a business opportunity in berries. Not wanting to take any chances I arrived about ten minutes before the opening bell to find a small line waiting for the berry booth. Redberry Farm did not disappoint. A solar powered, sustainable farm on five acres in Eastham, Redberry sells at the Orleans and Wellfleet Farmer's Markets. I bought a few containers to tide me over for the week and felt sorry for the folks not in-the-know who would show up midway trough the market only to find no berries.The Wellfleet Farmer’s Market, held behind Preservation Hall at 335 Main Street, also has beautiful vegetables, cheeses, wine, crafts and more.

Cape Cod Organic Options

Heading to the Cape for vacation? Live there year round? Either way locally grown produce, especially certified organic, can be hard to find unless you know where to look.

To find Pleasant Lake Farm, the first farm on the Cape to be certified organic, requires the use of a good map, GPS, Google Maps or an excellent navigator in your passenger seat. The farm, located in Harwich is very much off the beaten path. Once there you can buy a variety of certified organic vegetables, beef, pork, eggs and local jams. The little farm stand is self-service. The meat is kept in freezers in another building down the road, so if you’re looking for meat, it is best to call ahead to make sure someone can assist you. Likely you will be greeted by a pack of dogs—fortunately friendly. On the sandy soil. Pleasant Lake grows snap peas, beans, squash, lettuce, field greens, cutting flowers, root crops and more.
 Pleasant Lake Farm, 2 Birch Drive, Harwich, MA 02645, 774-722-2319

For other organic and local farms explore www.BuyFreshBuyLocalCapeCod.org for lists of growers, markets and restaurants offering and supporting locally grown food. This directory is great for locating the farmstands throughout the Cape and finding where the local food is hiding.

Locally caught fish is sold at most fish markets and is usually marked, but make sure to ask. In late July the local catches are pollack, haddock, sole and flounder—all delicious and like nothing you find far from the ocean. Oysters and clams—local of course—are everywhere.

Fast-Organic in Paris at Boco

 We first ate at Boco two years ago when we were in Paris and loved it. It was on the short-list of places to try again on this trip and I’m pleased to report it didn’t disappoint!

There are so many things I like about Boco—their commitment to sustainability and organic food (called bio in France) top the list. But a close second is the adorable glass containers they serve their food in (which also support their eco efforts by being washed and reused). After our last trip I bought similar containers to use at home for packing my lunch.

Boco meets the need for fresh, healthy, bio food available quickly. The dishes are prepared in advance and artistically displayed in the front portion of the store. 100% of ingredients are bio, and options include vegetarian, gluten-free, and dairy-free. There are main dishes (we had curried lentils and asparagus pasta), sides (we had carrots and parsnips roasted with cumin), and desserts (we didn’t have one this time, but enjoyed an apple crisp last time we were here). You use a basket to select your items and bring them to the counter to check-out and have your food warmed-up.They also make coffee, tea, juices, and hot sandwiches at the counter if you’d like.

There is plenty of seating to eat at Boco, as well as options to take the food to-go. At the back of the restaurant is a wall of artisan goods for sale (wine, jams, chocolate etc.). 

I had the pleasure of meeting one of the owners while we were eating at Boco. Frederique, was circulating the restaurant with a mother-hen quality—greeting guests and making sure everything was running smoothly. She was lovely and very proud of Boco’s offerings to the Parisian community.

We ate at the Opera Boco location (3 Rue Danielle Casanova), but there are three locations in

downtown Paris, each with its own hours. The Opera location is open Monday to Saturday from 11:00 am to 10:00 pm. I strongly recommend making time to eat here on your next trip.

Enjoy!
Z
To read more about my culinary adventures, please visit www.onebeet.com

Gallete Café for Gluten-free Crepes

I am thrilled to welcome Z from One Beet, a blog about nutrition, good food and recipes, as a guest blogger here on Traveling Naturally and the Green Earth Guides, as she shares her great eco and organic finds while traveling through Europe this year. This month she is in France and offers some great places in Paris to eat.

    It was a rainy afternoon in Paris and we were hungry. We had spent the past few hours walking through the Louvre and needed an energy boost before tackling the Musee d’Orsay.  We wandered through the streets on the Left Bank near the d’Orsay and came across Galette Café on the corner. We were pulled in immediately by the funky exterior and were sold when we read the menu of gluten-free, organic buckwheat galletes.  
    The food was delicious! We shared two savory buckwheat galletes—one topped with a salad, fresh goat cheese, baked apples, and walnuts. The second topped with an artisanal sausage, onion confit, and tomato compote. Gallete Café prides itself on their traditional menu and commitment to local and organic artisans.  There is a nice page on their website that outlines some of the producers they work with (including the buckwheat flour miller). The menu is simple, yet tasty – it highlights excellent ingredients and innovative combinations.
    So what’s the big deal about buckwheat? Buckwheat is actually a pseudo cereal (rather than a grain), so it is gluten-free and perfect for people watching their wheat intake.  In addition, it’s high in fiber, contains all eight essential amino acids, and is a good source of manganese, magnesium, copper, and zinc.
    Not only did we enjoy the food at Gallete Café, we also appreciated the ambiance. The small café is well designed with a clean, trendy aesthetic. The staff was also very friendly and spoke excellent English (they had menus available in a range of languages at the host stand).
    This place is a worth a trip to 2 Rue du l’Universite for a delicious lunch or dinner. Buckwheat galettes run between 7.50 and 12.80 € and the café also serves organic wheat crepes, oysters from Brittany, a range of beverages and artisanal ice cream. Don’t go looking for breakfast, the Gallette Café opens at 12 noon Tuesday through Sunday. Open until 10:30 pm  Wednesday through Saturday, the café closes at 5:00 pm on Tuesday and Sunday.
Enjoy!
Z
To read more about my culinary adventures, please visit www.onebeet.com

A Green Delight in Umbria

Letizia and Ruurd live what is a dream for many. They run an agriturismo B&B in Umbria, Italy housed in stone buildings, some dating back as far as 500 years old. They have lovingly renovated the buildings and grounds, operating as a B&B for almost ten years. More importantly to those of us who are olive oil fanatics, Letizia and Ruurd have restored the olive grove, planting 250 olive trees so they can make their own divine olive oil.

Committed to treading lightly on the earth, Alla Madonna runs solely on solar electricity with hot water and heat coming from solar thermal panels and a wood furnace. Alla Madonna is decorated with new and vintage natural fibers. Eco-friendly cleaning products are used, the gardens and olive groves are organic, and the food served guests as well as what s used in the cooking classes are locally produced. Google, the truffle-hunting dog at Alla Madonna die Piatto sniffs out the sneakiest truffles.

Guests can choose from six comfortable rooms with private baths. From March to November cooking classes are offered  two times a week. Room rates range from 85 to 105 euros per night for a double room. Please note: Alla Madonna is closed from mid-November to mid-March and for one week in July.

Alla Madonna is about 5 miles from Assisi. If you want to vicariously enjoy the fruits of Letizia's cooking, explore her blog at: http://madonnadelpiatto.com and create scrumptious meals from her simple yet exquisite recipes.

Azienda Agraria Alla Madonna del Piatto
Via Petrata 37, Pieve San Nicolo’
06081 Assisi (PG), Umbria, Italy
http://incampagna.com

Enjoy Raw, Fresh, Organic on the Coast of Connecticut

If you find yourself east of New Haven—on the coast of Connecticut for vacation or driving past on I-95 in need of a healthy break—look for the delightful Foodworks Natural Foods Markets.

The store in Guilford, conveniently off of I-95 exit 59 on Route 1 aka Boston Post Road, has a full selection of frozen, fresh, and packaged foods as well as health and beauty products. Its gem, hidden in the back of the store, is the juice bar and deli. From 9:30 to 3 Monday to Friday you can get fresh made juices (my favorite is the Green Lemonade with lemons, kale, celery, ginger and apple), smoothies (options include fruit-only and vegan), wraps, sandwiches, salads and daily muffins in wheat and gluten-free varieties. I usually avoid gluten-free muffins since I can't eat eggs, but Foodworks makes their gluten-free muffins vegan-friendly with no eggs! The wraps and sandwiches, available pre-made in a cooler or made-to-order, are on gluten bread, but a variety of salads and sandwich stuffings are available for gluten-free shoppers like chickpea or quinoa salads.

The Foodworks in Old Saybrook is on Main Street near the corner of Route 1, a few blocks from the train station. No juice bar here, but a store chock-a-block with good food. Raw foodies take note that the Old Saybrook store sells Organic Nectars raw nut ice creams for those hankering for an indulgence.

Both stores sell not just one, but two brands of raw milk—thankfully legal in the state of Connecticut—both delicious, according to the dairy-drinkers in my family. Deliveries are Wednesdays and Fridays. For pet owners—both stores carry a good assortment of extremely healthy animal foods and snacks for your beloved critters.

While the Guilford juice bar and deli are only open until 3 (deli until 2 pm, juice and smoothies until 3) on weekdays, both stores are open seven days a week.

Foodworks Guilford, 450 Boston Post Road, Guilford, CT 06437, 203-458-9778
Open: Monday to Friday from 9:30 am to 7 pm, Saturday 10 am to 7 pm, Sunday 11 am to 6 pm
Foodworks Old Saybrook, 17 Main Street, Old Saybrook, CT 06475, 860-395-0770
Open: Monday to Saturday 9:30 am to 6 pm, Sunday 10 am to 5 pm
Web: food-works.org