Having a gluten intolerance or Celiac disease means that, more often than not, you find yourself having to avoid popular comfort foods such as pasta and pizza.
The chances of you being able to eat anything in an Italian restaurant are slim to none unless you stick to olives.
However, Bar Primi, located in the East Village might be exactly what you have been looking for. In this article, we will look at whether Bar Primi serves gluten-free food.
Bar Primi is a small Italian pasta restaurant that is located on the edge of NoHo and the East Village. The restaurant opened in 2014, replacing a casual, hipster restaurant with rave reviews and loyal customers.
Despite the large shoes to fill, Bar Primi was quick to become an even bigger hit with the locals, and with good reason.
Bar Primi prides itself on producing high-quality, authentic pasta that is cooked to order and only made with the highest quality ingredients including semolina and 00 flour.
The high-quality, authentic pasta and delicious sauces, however, mean nothing if you have a gluten intolerance that prevents you from enjoying such dishes.
That means that the million dollar question is, does Bar Primi serve gluten-free food? Thankfully, the answer is yes, they do.
In fact, there is quite a substantial range of gluten-free options available on their dinner, lunch, and brunch menus which means you get to enjoy fabulous, authentic Italian food at any time of the day.
The best thing about Bar Primi is that all of their dishes are made completely to order. This means that almost any of the pasta dishes on their menu can be made as gluten-free options.
Whether you fancy the spaghetti Pomodoro Parmigiano-Reggiano or the penne ragù alla bolognese, ricotta, you can have them made with gluten-free pasta that has been made fresh, on-site.
In addition to the pasta dishes being available with gluten-free pasta and many of the sauces being naturally gluten-free, Bar Primi also offers a wide range of antipasti that are also free from gluten.
From their arugula salad to prosciutto with figs, and even the seafood antipasto with potatoes and red hots, there are plenty of options to suit any taste buds.
It is this range of antipasti options that make Bar Primi stand out from many other Italian (You might also like East Side Mario’s Menu) restaurants and pasta places where the antipasti menu is often limited and the focus is placed on pasta and bread dishes.
As with any restaurant that isn’t exclusively gluten-free, Bar Primi does have some items on its menu that are not gluten-free and because of their nature, cannot be made in a gluten-free friendly way.
It should be noted that such options are few and far between on their menu but they do still exist, so if you visit the restaurant, be prepared to have to forego a couple of dishes that sound incredible.
One such option that cannot be made gluten-free at Bar Primi is the stuffed noodle dishes.
Although they may sound incredibly tempting, Bar Primi is yet to make a gluten-free option for this type of pasta. Although, they are constantly working to bring even more gluten-free options into their menus.
Another option that is not available as a gluten-free dish is the linguine, 4 cloves of garlic, and breadcrumbs dish.
Even though Bar Primi does have gluten-free linguine, it is the breadcrumbs that are the downfall of this dish for people with gluten intolerance or allergies.
Because the dish is cooked with breadcrumbs as a main ingredient, it is impossible to separate them to make the dish completely free from gluten.
The list of dishes that aren’t available as gluten intolerance-friendly is minuscule in comparison to the list of dishes that are available as gluten-free which makes Bar Primi a great option for anyone who suffers from gluten intolerance.
An extensive gluten-free menu means nothing, however, if the staff that is taking the orders and serving the food aren’t knowledgeable about the gluten-free options and why they are so important.
Thankfully, Bar Primi seems to understand this and has ensured that their servers are knowledgeable about the gluten-free options that are available.
The simple act of ensuring that your staff is clued up on all the alterations that can be made to dishes to make them suitable for gluten-free guests provides a high level of peace of mind for people who have gluten intolerances.
Customer reviews have suggested that the staff at Bar Primi are not only knowledgeable about the gluten-free options that are available, but they also seem excited about the gluten-free options that are being worked towards behind the scenes.
The simple act of letting gluten-free customers know that you care about their needs can greatly reduce the amount of anxiety that can surround eating out at restaurants that aren’t exclusively gluten-free.
With the level of staff knowledge that has been reported by gluten-free customers, you could be fooled into thinking that you had stumbled into a gluten-free restaurant.
If you have had poor experiences at other restaurants that do not have a strong understanding of gluten-free needs, Bar Primi could be the place for you to start building your trust in non-gluten-free restaurants again.
The main source of gluten in pasta noodles is the flour that is used to make it.
Years ago, the alternatives to wheat flour were few and far between which meant that gluten-free pasta was often very different from regular pasta in terms of taste and texture.
Now that we have a greater understanding of gluten, intolerances, and a more connected world in which different flours are available to us, the quality of gluten-free pasta has greatly improved.
Nowadays, gluten-free pasta is often made with rice, corn, or quinoa flour. All of these options are naturally gluten-free and perform in much the same way as regular wheat flour does.
This means that gluten-free pasta has the same taste and texture as regular pasta and no longer becomes mushy, provided that it is cooked right.
The best answer to this question is, mostly. The vast majority of sauces that are available on Bar Primi’s menu are naturally gluten-free and are mostly tomato or cream based.
However, there are some sauces or pasta toppings that are not gluten-free, such as those that contain breadcrumbs.
Thankfully, because the staff at Bar Primi are so knowledgeable about gluten-free options, they will be able to advise you on what is and isn’t gluten-free.
Bar Primi offers a surprisingly large selection of gluten-free options on its menu. In fact, the majority of the menu can be made gluten-free if required.
This makes it a great option for groups that are solely gluten-free and groups that have a mixture of gluten tolerant and gluten intolerant people so that no one is left out of the fun.
