Tu-Lu's is the first Gluten free bakery I set foot in, finding it unexpectedly next to Veniero's, one of the oldest pastry shops in America. Yes, next to Veniero's, as if it was done as a sign of defiance! Gluten free, vegan...To the regular foodie, it does not sound good and probably does not taste good. But I heard so many people with gluten-intolerance, Celiac disease or just willing to cut on gluten saying that there are great places throughout the city where eating gluten free is not synonymous with eating cardboard. That is how we decided to go back to Tu-Lu's.
This place opened in 2010 by Tully Phillips, after she was diagnosed with gluten intolerance, joined by Jennifer Goodhue in 2011, who was diagnosed in 2009 with Celiac disease. Since then they opened locations in Dallas Texas, catering to the gluten free (GF) and vegan fans.
It is a tiny place with only few seats inside. They offer desserts and cookies such as cupcakes, brownies, donuts..., where the wheat flour has been replaced with rice or tapioca flour.
For the cupcakes, they propose regular and small size, so we decided to try few of their specialties.
It was a pretty good donut, even if not the best I ever tried, with a consistency cake like rather than yeast like if I were to compare with the two kinds the Doughnut Plant proposes. I would not have known it was GF, I would not have noticed.
A vanilla cupcake:
I liked it: the cake itself was moist and the frosting light, well proportioned with the amount of cake.
The red velvet cupcake:
I did not like it, whether it was the cake or the frosting.
A chocolate and hazelnut cake bite:
I liked it: it was very chocolaty, moist, but did not really taste the hazelnut. Despite that, I would re-order it!
Last was the vegan chocolate chip cookie:
They propose it vegan or simply GF. In a bold move, we decided to go for vegan. I liked it: it is not at the same level than City Bakery, but let me tell you that it is a pretty decent one!
As you can imagine, I was quite surprised by what we got at Tu-Lu's: it definitely changed my mind about GF desserts and I am really amused that such bakery is right next to one of the most popular bakeries in New York. Tu-Lu's is the living proof that eating GF does not mean that you cannot satisfy these cravings that we all have! This is a good address whether you or your friends are vegan, need or want to eat GF...or not!
Enjoy (I did)!
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And Remember: I Just Want To Eat!
| * Restaurant Name | |
|---|---|
| Tu-Lu's Gluten Free Bakery | |
| * Overall | |
| ☆☆☆☆☆ | |
| * Neighborhood / Cuisine | |
| East Village / American New | |
| * Street Address | |
| 338 East 11th St., New York, NY 10003 | |
| * Phone | |
| (212) 777-2227 |
