Rice Manhattan
227 Mott Street
212-226-5775
Rice Brooklyn
81 Washington Street
718-222-9880
Note: We initially posted our schpeel on Rice back in February, but after a much appreciated heads up from a reader regarding some unreported soy sauce, we pulled the piece and started stalking Rice management to clear things up. We do our very best at passing on accurate information, but the fact is that we’re ALL eating at our own risk, even after asking all the right questions. Anyway, the whole fiasco has a really great ending. After a lot of correspondence with the cool people at Rice, they’ve agreed to create a GF menu, available upon request! We want to thank the management at Rice. Especially Emily, who put in a lot of time and effort researching at celiac.com, cross-referencing ingredients from their menu and repeatedly emailing her findings to us for verification. Now, back to the original blog …
The owners of Rice had a concept to open a restaurant that blended dishes from some of the rice nations, like Mexico, Vietnam, and Thailand. The name of the place alone is just so inviting. Let’s start with the complimentary Rice Chips that they plunk down as you take your seat. Talk about addictive … they’re paper thin, a little greasy, and sprinkled with a bit of chili powder. You just wish you could buy a giant bag of these!
There’s a good selection of GF friendly main courses which come with your choice of rice: Japanese, Basmati, Brown, Thai Black, Bhutanese Red, or blends of rice with peas, edamame, beans, and spices. Yum! Now, the GF menu is brand new, so we all have to be patient with the staff at Rice … even encouraging! If they see a noticeable increase in requests for the GF menu, they might even create a GF brunch menu and who knows, might be inspired to design new creations with us celiacs in mind!
Adding to the Far Eastern culinary contents of our bellies, we ordered a pot of tea called Gen Ma Chai (Japanese Green with roasted rice grains). This unique tea had such a comforting, earthy, nutty flavor. It was served with our choice of honey which made us honey/tea-snobs very happy indeed! Kelly and I ate at the D.U.M.B.O. location, which is a great neighborhood to check out. It has become the "next big thing" in the world of NY neighborhoods. Kelly and I both had lived there back when it was a big nothing! It was fun to see all the changes and share old D.U.M.B.O. war stories, including the very spot where over 10 years ago I was held up at gun point. I think there’s now a florist and chocolatier on that corner, isn’t that funny? Anyway, get the gang together and plan a meal at Rice. It’s fabulous, and the GF menu adds that sense of relief that we all cherish.
Rice Chips! ("Um, can we order another 20 bowls of these please?")
Green/Toasted Rice Tea with honey selection … who could ask for anything more?
What are the possibilities of Rice opening in Pittsburgh, PA?!?!? I see all these amazing places opening, but can’t check them out! Thanks!
Hi
Just wondering what anyone’s feeling is on oats?
I hear mixed reviews about whether it’s ok to eat…
Thanks!
Alexandra
hi, i am married to and the mother of 3 celiac’s. we love to eat out and you restaurant venture has made our lives so much better, we have visited Cafe Baldo, Wantaugh NY, Risotteria, NYC, PF Changs, SEA, and Pravda, you are doing an amazing thing
i would like to speak to you and learn if there is any way others can help get more gluten free menu’s available
thanks
Nicola Hawkinson, Long Island, NY
I am sooo happy that Rice now has a gluten-free menu. I discovered the restaurant over a year ago and loved eating there, but it was always 20 questions trying to figure out what was safe, until someone finally said that most of the meats have soy sauce in the marinade except the chicken used in the curry: so I’ve been sticking with that. I’m looking forward to my next trip and seeing the new menu.
rice is right around the corner from me and i absolutely love it–and i’m so glad i found your site-it was exactly what i’ve been looking for! any word on if their thai coconut curry is gf?
Just went to Rice Manhattan yesterday. There is no gluten-free menu but the waitstaff helped me pick GF dishes. There were no rice chips offered at the table either. However, it did have a nice atmosphere and a friendly and helpful staff. The Pad Thai was great!
I get takeout from Rice in Manhattan at least once a week, usually twice-I absolutely love it!
They do not publish the gluten free menu, but keep it as a reference for themselves.
While most of the staff is very nice and I’ve marked my own menu with what I know so far is GF, it’s not always consistent. Not all of their staff knows what they need to specify to make certain dishes gluten free.
I have gotten unsafe dishes twice after asking for them gluten free and trying to communicate this with the server. I also emailed Rice some time ago to request my own copy of their gluten free menu so it would be easier to order and never got a response..Any help Celiac Chicks??
Much Appreciated,
Christina
I had my first meal at Rice on 28th & Lex and it was a great disappointment. The food was bland, and one of our party asked for a dish without the rice and they brought it in a tiny, I mean tiny, bowl. It was ridiculous. As always I liked the security of the gluten free menu, but the waitress didn’t know if the rice crackers were GF as well as some other items. She didn’t know which desserts were GF. The place nickels and dimes you with notices of extra charges for special rices.
It was lunch time and the music was blaring.
I won’t go back, even though my local support group meets there often. Why even think of it when the marvelous Chenai Garden is just a block away?
I live around the corner from the Rice in Ft. Greene and get them all of the time. They do have the Rice chips on the table. Mine is quite tasty and some dishes very spicy. They added corn items now too, many of which are (they claim) also GF. I don’t remember which ones were which. My husband gets many of those items actually. I want to know about the pad thai too as I get that a lot and was under the impression that it was sans soy sauce. I also want to know about the grilled chicken satay. I am fairly certain that all tofu is with soy sauce, so I do not get that. Pad thai is traditionally without soy sauce though. Hmm. The pho that they have at mine is also OK. I am very very allergic to cocounut, so I do not get that curry, so I wonder if other stuff really is OK. I feel alright when I go. I get the grilled fruit for dessert sometimes and the plaintain leaf and sticky rice one too.
Anyway, pequena says they use only corn flour tortillas and corn chips and no MSG or other additives. Lots of chilis though. They are yummy.
Another restaurant near me that swears they don’t use flour is Paquena. It is in Ft. Greene as well. I would ask them for sure though. I get the tacos or enchiladas and have never been ill. I have a very mild case right now (I have an autoimmune disease and flares cause celiac flares and right now I am controlled enough that I tested negative to celiac in my last tests but positive to the others before) and have been testing things out a little under medical supervision. I do not eat wheat/rye/barely etc. or anything, but I do not watch obsessively beyond asking what the waitress says the ingredients are. I have them check though and I usually can tell right away when they are wrong.
On that note, Mesa Grill and Aureole in NYC are extremely knowledgeable about gluten. The chefs always offer back suggestions and even tell me when they are unsure if the vinegar has been stored in proper gluten-free bins or if they accidentally cut on a board that had gluten on it. Disneyworld restaurants were the same way. It is great to get that!
edit: oops, meant to type “another autoimmune disease”
I visited my daughter in NYC a week ago and she took me to Rice and Babycakes; what terrific experiences. Wonderful food and baked goods.
Carol
I began a blog recently for Boston people. Boston is a little behind NY, but we are getting better! It’s a work in progress and I have so much more to add, but I wanted to share this site for anyone who might be visiting Boston.
http://modestfrog.blogspot.com/
Question: Does anyone know if Yankee Stadium serves Redbridge or any gf food? I will be there this week. Any feedback would be much appreciated! Thanks.
I went to Rice last night and ordered arepas and Thai curry off their gluten free menu, and was sick this morning. First time in a long time.
Curry looked a lot like Chinese (not Thai) and I was suspicious when I got it but, since they had gluten-free menu, thought they knew what they were doing. May have had a little flour. Also ordered arepas, which were great but did not have corn consistency on reflection and may have contained some flourm too.
No contact information on their website, so please ask them to double check recipe and contents of “thai” curry. Something was not as advertised.