Millie Cohen Knows Good Pasta*

Millie Cohen Knows Good Pasta*

*gluten-free

Isn’t every girl’s dream to sit on her couch, typing away on her laptop about her favorite things, just like Carrie Bradshaw?

When my friends started Senza a bit ago to bring [gluten/allergen free] pastina to my people, I never imagined they’d ask me to man the pastina blog, but it makes sense that I’d be their Carrie a la pasta. I’ve known your fearless pastina leaders since I was 12 years old and they knew me when I was 13 and diagnosed with Celiac Disease!

I’ll spare you the sob story - except I actually won’t if they’ll let me keep writing about my gluten free escapades through life - but in my now 14 years of gluten free eating, I’ve amassed enough wisdom to share my tips, tricks, secrets, mistakes, and more. But let’s start with something tried and true: Millie’s New York City Top 5.

by Millie Cohen


  • Modern Bread and Bagel (472 Columbus Avenue & Other Locations): The holy grail -- while the OG location in the Upper West Side holds the key to my heart, MBB has expanded to multiple other cities, putting everyone on notice that you can have an amazing gluten free bagel experience. If having a 10/10, nearly-indistinguishable-from-a-regular-bagel, gluten free bagel isn’t enough, MBB also has an insane selection of pastries, from babkas to cinnamon rolls to doughnuts and more. Special shoutout to MBB’s sister restaurant, Thyme & Tonic, which serves up a really eclectic menu of fun things our kind usually can’t have, like dumplings, pigs in a blanket, churros, and cookie skillets.
  • Senza Gluten (206 Sullivan St): You can’t outdo the doer. Hard to describe the feeling of getting a bread basket I can eat when I sit down at a restaurant but I’ll try - pure, unadulterated elation. Euphoria. Senza Gluten — no relation to my friends at Senza pastina but kindred in spirit — translates quite literally to…‘without gluten.’ Going to this restaurant makes you feel downright normal, without having to check on cross contamination or limit your choices for dinner. Don’t leave without getting the fried calamari, but make sure to bring a friend to share (the serving is huge!).
  • Lilli and Loo (785 Lexington Avenue): Maybe it’s just me, maybe it’s all of us, but I think Chinese food is one of the cuisines that hasn’t totally cracked the gluten free code yet. The exception is Lilli and Loo -- I order from here more than I’d like to admit because the chicken and broccoli is absolutely spot on to what I remember Chinese food tasting like pre 13 years old. Don’t sleep on the lo mein - there’s something awesome about digging into lo mein after the longest noodle hiatus ever since my diagnosis.
  • Kesté Pizza e Vino (77 Fulton Street): Gluten free pizza is pretty ubiquitous, but gluten free pizza that sticks out is not. Kesté has the best, hands down. Most of the time, GF pizza is thin crust-y, but this pizza is dough-y. All of their pizzas can be made GF, but I’ve also inhaled the meatballs on occasion as well. Your best bet is to go with a group and order a bunch of different pizzas to share. If you go with gluten eaters, they’ll barely taste the difference. 
  • Sushi Nonaka (410 Amsterdam Avenue): This place only has tamari -- they don’t even have regular soy sauce! Though this sushi restaurant is small, the fish is some of the best I’ve ever had. With daily deliveries everyday from Japan and the best omakase I’ve had uptown (or maybe ever...), it was great to see a sushi place really embrace tamari as the only option. Anyone claiming to taste the difference in the sauce? Hater. 

    • So there you have it -- my top 5 NYC gluten-free picks. What are yours? Let me know your favorite spots…I don’t know how you do that but the pastina people will.

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