Fairway UES Has Big Gluten Free Selection

Unless you've been living under a rock, you know that a new Fairway supermarket has opened on the Upper East Side on E 86th between 2nd and 3rd. Likewise, for the past week since the store has opened, it has been mobbed by neighborhood shoppers as well as outer borough looky-loos who just want to say they walked through this food museum.

Honestly, I can't blame them. It is pretty sexy: two sizable floors, filled from floor to ceiling with quality food in a space that is brand spanking new. The customer service is superb, especially right now. The store has brought in additional employees and has posted greeters at the end of each aisle. So, if you even look the least bit confused or lost, there's always someone right there to ask, "Sir, is there a specific product or item I can help you find?" Then, they'll either tell you the exact aisle and shelf or, better yet, lead you right to it. I really dig that.

The prices are darn good, too. After shopping there at least 5 times over the past 14 days (yeah, I know, I need professional help), my total grocery bill each time was at least $8-10 less than shopping at competing stores in the neighborhood and about $5-6 less than if I made the trek to Whole Foods or Trader Joe's in Midtown.

But, seeing as this is a blog about Gluten Free eats, I'll stop gushing about the other aspects of the Fairway experience and tell you about the entire section that's dedicated to Gluten Free food.
On the lower level of the store near the organic section and frozen foods, there is a massive alcove of Gluten Free treats. Everything from cookies, crackers, and chocolate covered pretzels to Gluten Free breakfast bars and dinnertime staples like Quinoa pasta.

They even carry the elusive Jovial brand of fruit- and/or creme- filled cookies from Italy, priced at $3.79 a box. (That's a steal, by the way.) If you've not tried Jovial cookies, each cookie is gone in about a bite and a half, but they're really decadent. So, after 2 or 3, you feel really satisfied instead of gypped.

But, back to Fairway.

In addition to the graciously stocked Gluten Free section, Gluten Free items are found throughout the entire store. Especially the adjacent Organic Foods section, where they stock Gluten Free cereals and frozen dinners from brands like Amy's Gourmet and Gluten Free Cafe.
There were still a few fave brands or specific varieties of things that I couldn't find.

Nevertheless, every employee I asked told me, "Request it, we'll get it for you."

Time will tell if they do.

In any case, they might just live up to the "Like No Other Market" moniker.



Fairway (UES location)
230-240 E. 86th St
212-327-2008

Frozen, Fruity, and Gluten Free

Soft serve fruit.

First time I saw this place on Third Avenue on the Upper East Side (FYI, there's also a store on the NW side of Union Square on 17th and one in the Hamptons), I wrote it off as some new hipster fad. I figured it was sorbet dressed up in skinny jeans and nerd glasses. Or, worse, yet another knock-off of Pinkberry.

Oh, how wrong I was.

I can't say enough about how amazing this product is: It's smooth, creamy, fruity--all without having a bit of dairy or gluten in it.

It's also cholesterol free, if the first two points didn't automatically make you orgasm.

You won't be bowled over with dozens of different flavor choices. They keep it pretty simple, having maybe four or five flavors to choose from on any given day. On my recent visits, the lineup has been banana, pear, mango, and blueberry. All delicious.

Likewise, the ingredient list is simple: fruit, water, and cane sugar. Period.

Side note: Looking at that ingredient lineup, the food analyst in me has a hunch that each flavor contains banana puree, even though the website (http://www.softservefruitco.com/) doesn't specifically say so. I say this not because the flavor of banana jumps out in every bite (in fact, it doesn't, unless you order "banana"). I surmise this simply because the consistency is so velvety.
And since the ingredient list is so short, and "fruit" is cryptically listed as the A-1 ingredient, what else but bananas would have a mouth feel akin to butter fat? Huh? Huh!?

(Not to mention their logo is soft serve poking out of a peeled banana "cone." So, there's that, too.)

Anyway, if you are feeling indulgent or a little gluttonous, you also can top your Soft Serve Fruit with anything from chocolate chips to hot fudge or real maple syrup.

Celiacs and fellow gluten allergy sufferers beware, though: Just because the Soft Serve Fruit itself is gluten free, add-ons like the crushed cookies and pretzels are not. (I've already written them, suggesting that they offer their completely indiscernible Glutino counterparts instead. We'll see what they say...)

UES Store
1371 Third Ave. (between 78th & 79th sts.)
New York, NY 10075
212.794.2200
http://www.softservefruitco.com