Rose's Wheatfree Bakery

By Victoria Scott

Marguerite Firman has no food issues, but she is elated at the prospect of bringing her gluten- and casein-intolerant children to Rose's Wheatfree Bakery and Café, 2901 Central St., for pancakes they can eat safely.

"My kids will go crazy," says Ms. Firman. An Evanstonian, she is seated at a table with a Milwaukee friend who eats casein-free and whose children cannot tolerate gluten (in wheat, rye or barley) or casein (in dairy products). Another friend, Ruth Ott, is a Rogers Park resident who calls herself "a vegetarian who feels better as a vegan."

The three women are putting Rose's food to a taste test and pronounce it "very good."

Meanwhile, owner Rosemarie O'Carroll is doing everything in her power to make sure it is very good. That means the pancakes will have to wait awhile; she and her bakers are still working on perfecting recipes for, among other things, French bread.

Gluten-intolerant herself - and with a mother and daughter similarly sensitive - Ms. O'Carroll knows how hard it is to find palatable substitutes for baked goods containing gluten. "They taste like hockey pucks," she says of cookies she has tried.

She quotes a University of Chicago study claiming one-third of the population is gluten-sensitive to some degree. "Some people have never reacted," she explains. "Others have had a precipitating event" that triggers a reaction." Others, like a 95-year-old customer, have been recently diagnosed but have long suspected a problem.

Gluten is one of two proteins in wheat, rye and barley. The other is gliaden, which, says Ms. O'Carroll, is in every organ in the body. The mechanics of celiac disease, in which gluten causes the body to destroy the intestinal lining, are rather well understood, she says. Celiac disease can lead to problems as varied as osteoporosis or, in children, failure to thrive.

The effects of wheat intolerance on other organs are less understood, says Ms. O'Carroll, adding that the condition has been implicated in (though not said to cause) many autoimmune diseases.

Ms. O'Carroll, a retired U.S. Navy commander as is her husband, moved with their children to Evanston three years ago. About the same time, their 13-year-old daughter, who had known of her gluten sensitivity since age 10, began having severe reactions whenever she "cheated" on her diet.

A swollen face is unacceptable for a girl of 13, says Ms. O'Carroll. To help, mom began baking everything at home; almost no gluten-free products were commercially available.

The baking was full-time work. Just mixing the flour for each recipe - cake, cookies, pie - took a day, she says. She experimented with bean flours purchased from Indian and Pakistani grocers on Chicago's Devon Street and began thinking about opening a bakery.

In the beginning she used the first gluten-free cookbook, giving the foods her own twist. "Once you learn to substitute," she says, "you can alter any recipe." That makes her amenable to accommodating diverse dietary requirements - vegan, diabetic, allergic - at the bakery.

A year ago she took a baking and pastry course at Kendall College, another step toward going commercial. "I'd run big organizations before," she said. But she had no experience with the food industry.

She passed the required health certification course, then spent the summer in her kitchen, working through recipes with an exchange student she had met at Kendall.

By then the O'Carrolls had concluded their search for a place to accommodate both wholesale and retail outlets. Although she admits this was "maybe ambitious," Ms. O'Carroll says she was intent on having a café - "a place for people to come."

In June they purchased the building that had housed Daruma restaurant. Consulting with a bakery engineer, they equipped it with brand-new appliances: huge mixers, a walk-in convection oven, a four-rack pizza oven. Oscar, their state-of-the-art composter, can "eat" up to 400 pounds of scraps a day, says Ms. O'Carroll.

A bread slicer is one of her proudest purchases. For gluten-intolerant people, she explains, wheat-free bread is of no advantage if the slicer is contaminated with wheat products. Perhaps the most useful item is the formula scale. Pre-set for her recipes, it makes the tedious work of measuring a mixture of flours almost easy.

Beyond the equipment, Ms. O'Carroll says she is relying on only the finest ingredients. Everything is organic, including the butter; hamburger beef is grass-fed and antibiotic-free.

The café is in the hands of veteran Evanston cook Sue O'Malley. But, says Ms. O'Carroll, "I have to train all the bakers. I couldn't find a school."

They plan eventually to serve lunch Monday through Thursday, dinner on Friday and Saturday and brunch on Sunday. But for now, says Ms. O'Carroll, "We have to try and start simple." They are currently open every day, offering scones, cookies, brownies, sandwiches, and coffee and espresso drinks. In a windowed booth, a cake decorator is embellishing cakes for people who have probably not been able to eat them before.

Rosemarie O'Carroll seems to be everywhere - in the kitchen, waiting tables, questioning customers about their satisfaction. "I know there's a need, if we can just do it right," she says. Responding to a comment that she seems relaxed, she smiles and admits she is "maybe just tired."

SPAARC Approves New Condo Project at 2536 McDaniel Ave.

By Julie Hynes

The Site Plan and Appearance Review Committee (SPAARC) recently approved final plans for a six-unit condominium at 2536 McDaniel Ave. Dan Pontarelli, developer and president of Farmview Builders, Inc., presented material samples and made a few small adjustments to the plans for construction of the multi-family dwelling at an October meeting of SPAARC. This approval followed a preliminary site plan and appearance review on Sept. 26 and completion of a zoning analysis.

The building will be four stories tall, bordered to the north by another multi-unit building. Four two-bedroom, 1,300-square-foot units, and two two-story, three-bedroom, 1,800-square-foot units will range in price from $575,000 to $675,000.

The building will be located on the east side of McDaniel Avenue between Central and Harrison streets, less than a mile from from the Evanston Central Street Metra Station, Central Street commerce and grocery shopping. The frame house that formerly occupied the lot was demolished late last month.

The plans Mr. Pontarelli presented for the exterior lighting of the building led to a discussion of security issues. Optimum security will be achieved by illuminating the parking area with down lights mounted to the back wall of the building and coach lights at the front entry, over the parking garage and by the rear entrance. While ample exterior lighting is important for safety, the clear glass of the coach lights led Ingrid Eckersberg to question whether glare would disturb the neighbors.

In accordance with SPAARC commitment to harmonizing new developments with their surroundings, theydiscussed00 specific aspects of the proposed lighting scheme in more detail at the meeting after this possible problem was noted.

Because the most potentially obtrusive lighting will shine on the alley to the south of the building and the parking garage at the rear of the building, those areas should not be problematic.

The 100-watt bulbs in the entryway lights will be aimed down and partially encased, helping to mitigate any potential glare problems at that location, and the coach lighting on each of the balconies will be tenant-controlled, so a significant glare problem at these locations is also unlikely, the developers said.

Mr. Pontarelli showed the committee samples of the pale red brick and light gray cut stone he plans to use in the condominiums, as well as the slate for the roof. The cut stone will comprise the banding above the first floor of the building and around the entryway. He also presented an example of the proposed aluminum-clad windows.

Mr. Pontarelli said, Farmview Builders is not far enough along in the design process to announce what sustainable elements will be incorporated into the construction of the building. He said, however, that the roof of the condominium building will have R-38 insulation, a high-level insulation that will contribute to energy efficiency in the gas-heated building, as will the thermal-paned windows.