Enjoy Italian Food, Gluten-Free

Car to Farm • New York City

By Mauro Clerici

If you are celiac or any degree near that on the allergy spectrum, you will feel blessed when you finally run into Senza Gluten. This New York City restaurant not only serves a 100% gluten-free menu, but the whole place is gluten-free itself.

There are many things that I personally like about this place: location, menu, the people. Right in the cutest part of town, the West Village, Chef Jemiko absolutely nails traditional Italian food, with some creative variations that keep the food authentic, and that’s on top of the challenges he faces in making his food with no traces of gluten. No pressure, right?

I’m personally in love with his signature cauliflower parmigiana (seen in this tip’s featured photo), his stuffed veal, and his tiramisu. It is one of the best ones I’ve found around, it literally melts in your mouth.

Jemiko’s best kept secret is his dream to bake for his guests, something that he recently started doing, starting with pizza and breads and finishing off with desserts. When I interviewed with Jemiko for my web series Car to Farm I learned that he grew up in Georgia (the country) with his father gathering the local communities around his home kitchen, serving fresh food from the local markets and cooking for them, making this an important part of Jemiko’s upbringing. Flash forward to now and you can see where his and his cousin Teona’s passion comes from. Both of them are constantly walking the floor, talking to their guests and making accommodations to make them 100% satisfied with their experience. Their presence is what makes you love this place even more.

When you go visit Jemiko and Teona, tell them that Mauro from Car to Farm sent you!