NEW COLUMN: The Curious Corner

by Sacha Breitman

Hi all! I'm really excited to have a new guest-blogger who will be visiting The Book Slayer Blog once a week, bringing us his insights into music, books, food and anything else that's on his young mind. Please give Sacha Breitman a warm welcome--you'll be seeing his name a lot around this blog!

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Hi. I'm Sacha Breitman and I'd like to welcome you to my brand new column, The Curious Corner. Now, a little about me: I'm a young guy who was raised in the fashion industry of this big--but small--city of New York. Some people may call me an airhead but I prefer to call myself a surrealist. What can I say? I'm a dreamer. I love music, poetry, books and rain. I also love meeting new people.

I'm so new to being gluten-free, I’m practically an infant. And for the past six months, I’ve been on the lookout for great gluten-free bakeries in New York City. Lucky for me, these bakeries are no longer difficult to find. Five or six years ago, when my sister told me she had Celiac Disease (an autoimmune disease where the body can’t process the protein in grains like wheat, barley and rye), I had no clue what she was talking about. But today, there's an abundance of people with CD, gluten intollerances or who are just more conscious about their gluten intakes. As a result, gluten-free bakeries are sprouting up all around the New York City. Though this is true, I wanted to single out two of my favorites.

Tu-lu’s Gluten-Free Bakery, located on 338 E 11^th St, has amazing deserts like brownies, cupcakes, cookies and loaves. They also sell gluten-free paninis that are delicious. To anyone who’s looking for a gluten-free hotspot in the city, Tu-Lu’s is definitely the place to check out.

I’d especially recommend their brownies. Both the vegan gluten-free and the gluten-free options are incredible. Also, their miniature cupcakes are to-die for. My favorite is the red velvet, which is made with a perfectly sweetened frosting. Tu-lu’s is open Sundays-Thursdays 10:30a.m. to 10p.m. and Fridays-Saturdays from 10:30a.m. to 10:30p.m. TIP: If you’re planning on stopping by, I recommend getting your food to go--space-wise, Tu-Lu’s is pretty cramped.

So far though, Babycakes is my favorite gluten-free bakery. It has a homey vibe that captures your attention and draws you inside. Not only is the presentation of this bakery phenomenal but so is the food! Babycakes serves cupcakes, cookies, cookie sandwiches, scones, donuts, loaves and brownies. All their treats also happen to be vegan too. My favorite is the cookie sandwich. In between the two cookies is a sweet white frosting that compliments the cookie. TIP: If you do get the cookie sandwich though, be sure to ask for it frozen or freeze it in your own home before eating--it tastes so much better this way! Their donuts are amazing, too; my favorite is the cookie crunch donut.

Babycakes is located on 248 Broome St (btwn Orchard & Ludlow) and its hours are Sundays-Mondays: 10a.m. to 8p.m., Tuesdays-Thursdays: 10a.m. to 10p.m., and Fridays-Saturdays: 10a.m. to 11p.m. I highly recommend trying this bakery if you haven’t already. It has transformed my once negative perception on gluten-free products into an ecstatic passion.

Until Next Time,
Sacha

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I'm off to the happiest place on earth!

by Brittany Geragotelis

photo credit: Disney

Got another rejection for Painless today...but no matter, because I'm heading to Disney World! Yep! My vacation is finally here, and Matt and I are spending the next four days in beautiful Orlando, FL, to get our fill of fun in the (not so) sun. Several months ago, we planned our trip and paid for it all ourselves; it's all-inclusive (hotel, flight, park hopper passes, meals, etc), and we're going to have a blast running around the resort, going on rides and eating our weight in yummy gluten-free food (they offer it practically everywhere in the park!). We're even spending one of the days at Universal's Wizarding World of Harry Potter. I can't wait to see how they were able to bring the magic of that book to life. And to drink some butterbeer (also gf!)!!!!

Don't worry, I'll be taking pics the whole time and I'll try to post them while I'm there. Have fun wherever you are and I'll be talking to you soon! Hopefully I'll even be able to bring a little bit of magic back with me!

5x5,
B.

Getting crazy in New Orleans...

by Brittany Geragotelis

Okay, so I'm not really getting crazy, but I am here in New Orleans right now. I'm in town for a business trip and figured that while I was here, I'd try to soak up as much of the Louisiana culture as possible. And because exploring just isn't as much fun alone, I invited one of my BFF's (Tammy) to come along with me (I asked Matt, too, but he's holding down the fort back home). So, when I was done doing a few things for work, Tammy and I headed out to sight-see around the French Quarter.

First, we went to this famous restaurant down here named Muriel's. Besides offering a gluten-free menu, the place itself was beautiful. After sitting down and ordering, we found out that the building had a rich history, including that the place was haunted! Apparently, one of the original house owners had lost the house gambling and before he had to hand it over to the winner, he committed suicide in one of the upstairs room (talk about drama queen!). Now, people see the owner throughout the restaurant and they've even created a seance room made of velvet and is red from floor to ceiling. More pics of this to come later.

Then, we walked around and window shopped...but not for clothes. The funny thing about this area is that voodoo shops are more popular than Starbucks down here! Because voodoo is such a huge part of the culture in New Orleans, Tammy and I jumped on board, stopped in some stores, going to the voodoo museum and visiting the shop of a high voodoo priestess to schedule a cleansing. Though we only made appointments today, Tammy and I are both excited to head back there in the next few days.

After that, we headed over to Cafe Du Monde, the original french coffee stand in this area, for some coffee and beignets (fried dough sprinkled with powdered sugar). Of course, being that the French treat is full of gluten, I didn't get a chance to take a taste, but Tammy did and she said it was awesome!

We headed home in the evening, to take showers, change and do a little work before heading back out for dinner. This time we sat down for a luxurious meal at Nola, Emeril's first restaurant EVER. Our waiter was super nice (and according to Tammy, really cute!), and the food was incredible. Speaking of, I have been blown away by the food here. Everything has so much flavor...it's truly incredible. And Nola was no exception: I had the pork chops!

When we'd filled our bellies, we walked it off on famous Bourbon Street...where you always see people throwing beads to girls during Mardi Gras. I've gotta say, I was surprised at what I saw there! First off, people can drink in the streets there, there's smoking in the bars, everybody's just walking around like it's a carnaval and there's plenty of depravity going on. Tammy and I wandered into one bar where a group of guys were singing all of the best 80s songs: Living on a Prayer, Jesse's Girl, Don't Stop Believing, etc. So we sat there for a half hour and just belted out the tunes at the top of our lungs. It was a blast.

It was such a full day, but one that I'll remember for years to come. Has anyone else been to New Orleans? Anything we should see while we're here?

5x5,
B.