Where to get gluten-free Italian food on Long Island

At first, Rocco Baldanza was resistant to going anywhere near gluten-free pasta. Yet over the years, he and his brothers, co-owners at Mr. Sausage Italian Fine Food in Huntington, had customers who urged them to try. So one day, Baldanza, a native of Italy's Calabria region, began applying his pasta-making acumen to fresh gluten-free pasta, something of an aberration in the tough, textureless world of dried penne and spaghetti.

Not long ago, diners who avoid gluten but craved Italian food wandered a wasteland of pallid, brittle breads, flavorless pizza crust and rigatoni that would break into crumbles. As their ranks have grown, chefs such as Baldanza have been compelled to meet them halfway. At first, Baldanza had some stumbles. "It was not easy to work with," he said of the earliest days wrangling gluten-free flour, which lacks the gummy protein found in grains such as wheat and rye. "I made a lot of mistakes — too hard, no texture." With those, I made breadcrumbs."

Sesaoned gluten-free Italian breadcrumbs are now just one pillar of Mr. Sausage’s robust lineup of gluten-free carbs, tucked into almost every corner of the crowded store — tagliatelle and ciabatta in a freezer by the front door; chicken Francese and lobster ravioli in another freezer; dried gluten-free pasta on a back shelf (imported from Italy), and even pizza, zucchini pies and gluten-free Italian bread onto which Mr. Sausage will make a ginormous Italian hero.

It’s a trove for gluten-free eaters, especially those with celiac disease who love Italian food, arguably Long Island’s most beloved cuisine. "I knew what it felt like to be that person who can’t have this or that," said Caitlin Masone, a registered dietician from Manorville who was diagnosed with celiac disease, or the inability to properly digest gluten, about 17 years ago, when she was 9. "Back then, gluten-free foods were not readily available. Restaurants were fewer and far between. My mom used to order my food from a website in Canada, or we would go to small health-food stores that carried some gluten-free products. Now, there is a gluten-free section at Stop & Shop."

Celiac disease, an autoimmune disorder triggered by gluten, affects about 2 million Americans, according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, and about 1 percent of people worldwide. "There are so many different symptoms, and different ways celiac can present itself," said Masone, whose experience with the disease likely compelled her into a career as a nutritionist, she said. She also runs an Instagram account, @glutenfree__longisland, devoted to gluten-free eating; it has over 5,200 followers

The ranks of gluten-free diners stretch beyond those with celiac: Non-celiac gluten sensitivity, or NCGS, has fueled an ever-growing gluten-free food industry, as well as an aversion among diners for anything with gluten. Because gluten is found in so many foods — it’s in soy sauce, for instance — and because flour can spread almost like aerosol in a kitchen, market-friendly claims of certain dishes being gluten-free have left many celiacs on guard. Restaurants, bakeries and other food production facilities that keep gluten far away from dishes prepared without it win esteem and loyalty from the gluten-free community, for whom word-of-mouth and social media are major drivers.

"Tell the server it’s not just for fun," Masone advises.

GLUTEN-FREE ITALIAN RESTAURANTS ON LONG ISLAND

Mr. Sausage Italian Fine Foods

3 Union Pl., Huntington

You could send yourself on a gluten-free treasure hunt in Mr. Sausage, where the coolers are loaded with non-glutinous dishes such as fresh tagliatelle and chicken Francese. Co-owner Rocco Baldanza sometimes arrives at 2 a.m. on the one or two days each week he makes gluten-free pasta, pizza, bread and other dishes using a separate workspace and equipment, as well as bags of Bob's Red Mill Flour. Don't miss the lobster ravioli, ciabatta or supple fresh pastas; dozens of sauces, such as pomodoro and Sunday sauce, are in another cooler near the back of the shop. For gluten-free sweet tooths, the shop produces cheescake and cannoli. More info: 631-271-3836, mrsausagefinefoods.com

Osteria Umbra

197 Terry Rd., Smithtown

During the two years he was planning his Smithtown restaurant, Osteria Umbra, chef and co-owner Marco Pellegrini, an Umbrian native, knew gluten-free dishes should be part of the formula. When it opened in September 2020, much of Osteria Umbra’s wood-fired fare, such as veal, steak, chicken and fish, naturally lacked gluten. Settling on the right pasta was another matter. "Ten years ago, gluten-free pasta was very bad. There was almost nothing in the supermarkets. I used so many brands," said Pellegrini. He eventually chose a gluten-free penne from Rummo, which he uses for versions of each of Osteria Umbra’s pasta dishes. Served to al-dente chewiness, it holds its integrity and particularly shines in pasta alla Norcina, an Umbrian dish with crumbles of fennel-laced house sausage in a lavish, creamy white mushroom sauce. "If I served it to someone else, they would have had a challenge to know it is gluten-free," said the chef, who uses separate boiling water in the kitchen and gluten-free flour for celiac-friendly versions of breadcrumb-topped calamari, chickpea vellutata with shrimp tempura and a few other dishes. While finding a gluten-free pasta at the level of Osteria Umbra’s pasta is like striking gold, don't miss the kitchen’s polenta — rich, cosseting and laced with pungent taleggio cheese and smoky, salty shards of speck. More info: 631-780-6633, osteriaumbra.com

Ragazzi Italian Kitchen & Bar Restaurant

2950 Middle Country Rd., Nesconset

A banner out front proudly proclaims this massive Italian restaurant as gluten-free-friendly, and a separate menu gives diners plenty of choices. Start with gluten-free bruschetta, then segue to a particularly crisp fried calamari or scratch-made pizza crust that can be ordered margherita-style or topped with, say, spinach, mozzarella and ricotta. More info: 631-265-8200, ragazzi-ny.com

San Remo Ristorante Italiano

328 Sunrise Hwy., Rockville Centre

The separate gluten-free menu at this Rockville Centre trattoria is lengthy, and cooking mediums are kept separate; the kitchen also plants tiny paper flags into gluten-free dishes to keep them well-marked for staff. "We have separate fryers, separate machines to make pasta," said Omar Mekic, who manages San Remo. The restaurant launched its gluten-free initiative two years ago when owner (and brother) Ralph Mekic’s wife learned she had celiac, said Mekic. "We wanted to make everyone happy." On the appetizer front are gluten-free versions of fried calamari and zucchini, as well as stuffed artichokes and pasta e fagioli soup. While some gluten-free pasta is dried — and made from corn flour — linguine and ravioli are scratch-made. The latter, filled with ricotta, comes in a creamy pink tomato sauce, and even a savvy omnivore might be hard pressed to know the dish was free of gluten. More info: 516-764-0800, sanremorvc.com