Please welcome Tim Mitchell, the second dude confident enough to guest blog here at Celiac Chicks! ~Kelly

Remember being able to go out for French toast on Saturday morning?  Well, at Petit Cafe you can do just that.  Though Petit Cafe has always offered some gluten free items since opening two years ago, they have now started offering gluten-free French toast served at any time daily.  You can choose between white or multi-grain breads, served with either a maple, blueberry, or strawberry syrup.  Though the menu is not strictly gluten free, there is also a variety of sandwiches that can be prepared with gluten-free bread, a daily gluten-free soup, and they have gluten-free cookies and brownies as well.  They will also soon be offering a gluten-free mac 'n cheese.

I spoke with owner Jason Portnoy who explained to me that his mother had been diagnosed with Celiac disease five years ago and since then, they have tried to always have celiac friendly options available at Petit Cafe. The French toast however is a relatively new addition and in fact, all the French toast is gluten-free and is made on a dedicated gluten-free grill.  For sandwich prep, the counters are cleaned and then covered and all the gluten-free items are stored in separate containers.

I only just discovered Petit Cafe a couple weeks ago (with much thanks to my non-Celiac friend Sara looking out for me!), so I'm still in French toast nirvana.  Each of the three times I've visited, I ordered the multi-grain French toast with a side of scrambled eggs, only changing syrups.  Having tried all three (and they're all great!), I suppose a sandwich or soup would be in order.  But we're talking forgoing French toast, the best breakfast of all, so come on let's be realistic, there's no way I'm not getting French toast unless they're out of French toast!  I can also highly recommend getting a gluten-free chocolate walnut cookie, which proved too delicious to be photographed up close.

One thing to note is that the name Petit Cafe should be taken quite literally as they do not have a lot of seating. They do however have free delivery on orders $7 and up as well as takeout.

Petit Cafe
70 Greenwich Ave. (at 7th Ave.)
New York, NY 10011
212-229-0804

Hours:
7AM-7PM M-F
8AM-8PM Sat
8AM-6Pm Sun

Fun international and at least Wikipedian-true names for French Toast:

• Gypsy Toast, United Kingdom
• Poor Knights of Windsor, United Kingdom
• Betrunkene Jungfrau, German (Translation: drunken virgin.  Used when the French toast is made with wine instead of milk.)
• Bundás Kenyér, Hungary (Historical, literally "coated bread" or "bread with fur")
• Ekmek Balığı, Turkey (literally, "breadfish" / "fish of bread")