finding gluten free pizza, or gluten free pizza crust is no easy task, let alone finding anything that actually tastes good. like french fries, pizza is one of my favorites and over the years, I have been determined to find a great tasting alternative.
I found a pizzeria in Victoria, B.C. last year called The Joint that makes gluten free pizza with an eye-opening amount of toppings to choose from including pesto chicken, mediterranean, greek, and ham and pineapple to name just a few. gluten free pizzas are available in either a 10 inch or 14 inch size (there is an extra charge for the gluten free crust but it was still reasonably priced). it was heaven!
today I found out that the Rocky Mountain Flatbread Company, located in Kitsilano and North Vancouver, makes a gluten free crust as well! the crust is a blend of brown rice, buckwheat, tapioca and potato flours. every pizza on the menu can be made with the gluten free crust, and all of the toppings are gluten free as well. the only exception is the italian sausage which may contain gluten. italian sausage is one of the ingredients in the 'naturally meaty' pizza, and of course watch for any of their daily flatbread specials that may also include italian sausage. the gluten free pizza comes in a regular 10 inch crust and there is also an extra charge of $5. I tried the Rocky Mountain Flatbread gluten free pizza tonight, and it was excellent! I ordered the spicy pepperoni that is made with organic pepperoni, mushrooms, herbs, mozzerella cheese, cherry tomatoes, and onion. the Rocky Mountain Flatbread Company is also a peanut free restaurant, and vegan friendly. the staff are very knowledgeable about the issues of cross-contamination and will be able to skillfully answer any questions you may have. the best part is the gluten free pizza's are prepared in a separate area of the kitchen, and are cooked in a separate gluten free oven (they are not made in the large pizza ovens with the wheat pizza), and staff ensure that clean pizza cutters are used too. I highly recommend trying it out!
it is important to note that both The Joint and Rocky Mountain Flatbread Company also make wheat pizza’s and can't guarantee that there will be no cross-contamination in the kitchen, but that efforts are made to ensure that cross-contamination is minimal.
making gluten free pizza crust at home is still the tastiest and most economical way to enjoy gluten free pizza. I have used Bob’s Red Mill gluten free pizza crust flour mix and it was excellent. local bakeries such as Choices Rice Bakery and Quejo’s also make fresh gluten free pizza shells that are good as well.
if you have a gluten free pizza crust recipe, share it with us in the comments!
Robyn.
Posts
8 comments:
mmmm, i had totally forgotten about rocky mountain. loving the blog! it looks great you two...
While not in Vancouver or the Lower Mainland, I thought I'd post about Boston's, the American chain of Boston Pizza. Located in the parking lot of Bellis Fair Mall in Bellingham WA, Boston's carries gluten free crusts and can make most pizzas safe. If a pizza on the menu can't be made GF based on the ingredients used, they indicate that on the menu.
I have gone into the Boston Pizza on Broadway near Hemlock in Vancouver and have spoken to the manager. He said there was no immediate plan he knew of to bring the GF pizzas to this side of the border, but if we (the celiac community) asked for it anytime we walked by one of the restaurants we might be successful convincing them to carry it.
On another note, and maybe for another blog, I often run down to Bellingham for my GF shopping. Their food co-ops are fantastic, giving Choices and Whole Foods a run for their money or even beating them, IMO. I also love picking up a few 6 packs of Redbridge beer everytime I go down there. The $6.99 US you pay sure beats the $18+ CAD you pay here at home.
Hell Pizza in North Van have a dedicated gluten free cooking area and can make any of their pizza's gluten free (snack size or double). I made it there during the Olympics and it was fantastic!
thanks for all of your comments kove, jeff and just a girl!
i think a post on gluten free bellingham is in order. thanks for these helpful suggestions, jeff! many of our readers want to know where to buy gluten free for less and also be able to buy products only available in the US!
i didnt know about hell pizza in north van, just a girl, that is so great! also good to know it was tasty. i will plan to post your recommendation soon to let our other readers know about it..
mmm pizza!
robyn + andrea
Another great place to find gluten free pizza crusts is 6th Avenue Bakery in New Westminster. They are made with potato flour and are amazing. They are $4 per pizza crust. They also have gluten free potato and onion bread as well as flax. On Saturdays the owner makes hamburger and hotdog buns which are very good, although a bit pricey. They make wheat products in the same kitchen so they can not guarantee cross contamination.
thanks talia! andrea and I have tried a few things from the 6th avenue bakery and while I really enjoyed the potato bread and buns, andrea got sick. I eventually felt sick but only after eating WAY too much of it! we will plan to post about this bakery soon.
Our final lunch stop - before leaving Vancouver - was Rocky Mountain Flatbread. While a bit pricey, it was so worth it! We had a terrific server and were able to order our pizzas exactly how each of us wanted. So tasty and no problems. Great atmosphere too. :)
Another restaurant we will return to on our next trip to Vancouver!
Thanks again for your great resources on where to eat. We also enjoyed stopping by Choices Natural Market and Capers (Whole Foods) for other gf products.
I got some gluten free pizza at Ed's Gluten Free yesterday on Arbutus and 12th, they carried the individual sized pizzas from mountain top as well as gluten free pizza crusts. The manager of the store said they will be getting GF deli meats in the coming weeks for the pizza crust.
The store also carries an array of gluten free products, apparently they are dedicated to gluten free only foods in their store. Hope this helps those looking for GF foods.
Post a Comment