Philly Doesn’t Make the Cut on List of Best Gluten-Free Cities
Another day, another ranking, right? This one, listing cities with the most gluten-free-friendly restaurants, has us a bit miffed, especially since we were still strutting our stuff after Philly clinched the title of “World’s Most Celiac-Friendly Destination” back in January.
The latest rankings come via Huffington Post and GrubHub, a food-delivery website that’s apparently been tracking gluten-free orders. A couple trends to note: Demand for gluten-free food has skyrocketed in the last year, up 60 percent on GrubHub. The most-ordered gluten-free items include pizza, salads, burgers, wraps and sandwiches.
The top city with the most gluten-free options was Detroit, of all places, followed by Stamford, Connecticut; Eugene, Oregon; and Albany, New York. LA appears at #9 on a related list of most gluten-free orders per city, but neither New York nor Philly appear anywhere. What gives?
I have an idea. Maybe we don’t have a ton of gluten-free delivery options here (Real Food Works notwithstanding), but we certainly have delicious gluten-free options in droves. To make our lives easier, let’s just look at gluten-free bakeries in our area. Off the top of my head:
And then there are the myriad local restaurants that have been trained in safe gluten-free food service by the Philly-based National Foundation for Celiac Awareness. Zagat even has more than a dozen recommendations for where GF eaters can eat well in Philly. And don’t forget about Gluten Free Philly, a local blog dedicated to all things culinary and GF here in our own city. I mean, blogger-in-chief Michael Savett certainly finds enough to write about.
All of which is to say: While we may not have the lock on gluten-free takeout, Philly’s still a damn good place to be gluten-free. Can I get an amen?