Since I'm on a GF food-writing kick I just have to mention my friends at the Kobayashi Noodle Company. It's a wonderful, certified GF facility that makes pasta and various kinds of traditional Japanese noodles (ramen, kishimen, and udon) from brown and white rice. I met the two responsible for company publicity, Seiji Mugishima and Satoru Inukai, by chance at a mall one weekend. They were manning a stand for the Kobayashi Company, talking to passerby and selling rice noodles. They both lived and studied in America, so they are very fluent in English. This helps them because they travel back-and-forth to NYC a lot as they are trying to expand the company internationally.
Additionally, they told me about a restaurant they work for called Godmother. It's an Italian restaurant in downtown Gifu (mapped), that makes excellent pizza and pasta, among other sides, salads, and cocktails. The restaurant is owned and operated by Hironori Kobayashi, the son of the owner of the noodle company, so he gladly takes the rice noodles and makes them in his restaurant for people like me. All you have to do is email or call them (again, they are all excellent at English), and they'll make arrangements.
At our most recent meal, they made bolognese and carbonara pasta, a delicious salad, and a mushroom and bacon omelette, all GF, for our entire party to share. While my friends still ordered regular pizza that I couldn't eat, apparently the newest venture from the Kobayashi company is rice pizza crusts. While they are teeny tiny right now, they are delicious, and I ate two bite-sized Margarita pizzas in Japan! It must also be noted that Kobayashi makes GF rice paper for gyoza, so I've even eaten GF gyoza here now. Lest you say, oh, the meat filling and the sauce might be dangerous, I'll raise you a "they understand GF 100% and make the GF gyoza with wheat-free soy sauce in another pan separate from the regular gyoza." Are you convinced that a visit to Gifu might not be such a bad thing?
If you'd like to try the pasta, they ship internationally. You can contact the company directly at kobamen-kk@basil.ocn.ne.jp, or the publicity company that represents them, G-Free Table LLC, at g.freetable@gmail.com.
Additionally, they told me about a restaurant they work for called Godmother. It's an Italian restaurant in downtown Gifu (mapped), that makes excellent pizza and pasta, among other sides, salads, and cocktails. The restaurant is owned and operated by Hironori Kobayashi, the son of the owner of the noodle company, so he gladly takes the rice noodles and makes them in his restaurant for people like me. All you have to do is email or call them (again, they are all excellent at English), and they'll make arrangements.
If you'd like to try the pasta, they ship internationally. You can contact the company directly at kobamen-kk@basil.ocn.ne.jp, or the publicity company that represents them, G-Free Table LLC, at g.freetable@gmail.com.
yum! I desperately want to come visit Gifu again just to eat there once more! And to see you guys again, of course. :-)
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