Gluten-Free Expo Brings 100+ Booths to Secaucus Nov. 7-8

Fried dough, soft pretzels and fresh pizza, all at one festival, is a lineup that could justify a trip across the Hudson for New Yorkers who avoid gluten. This month’s calendar has one: the Wicked Gluten Free Expo, taking over the Meadowlands Expo Center in Secaucus, New Jersey, on Saturday, November 7, and Sunday, November 8.

Billed as the country’s largest gluten-free food festival, the two-day event promises more than 100 booths of celiac-friendly baked goods, snacks, pantry staples and hot food, with sampling built into the experience. According to Time Out New York, which first reported the details, the lineup includes fresh breads, cookies, sweet and savory treats, pizza crusts and cooking sauces. Food trucks will serve festival staples like fried chicken, fried dough and soft pretzels, all made without gluten.

Vendors will both sample and sell, which means attendees can taste a product before deciding whether to stock the freezer with it. The expo also plans presentations and demonstrations, a play area for children and a gluten-free red carpet for photos. Every attendee receives a free branded tote bag, though organizers encourage shoppers to bring extra bags and even rolling coolers for the haul.

One caveat deserves attention from anyone with celiac disease or other allergies: gluten-free does not mean free of every allergen. Organizers allow some vendors that operate in shared facilities, and say they vet those vendors’ cross-contamination protocols. Booth signage is meant to identify production arrangements and allergens, so attendees can ask questions and make their own call about what to sample or buy.

The logistics are straightforward but strict. The expo runs from 10am to 5pm on Saturday and from 10am to 3pm on Sunday. Tickets must be purchased online in advance through the Wicked Gluten Free website, as none will be sold at the door. Admission is timed, and organizers note that even with an entry window, there can still be a wait to get in. Bring both cash and a card, because some vendors take cash only.

For the city’s gluten-free community, the expo arrives at a moment when options are expanding closer to home. Time Out also pointed readers to a new restaurant at the base of the Manhattan Bridge that caters to celiacs. But for a concentrated afternoon of tasting, comparing and stocking up, a single exhibition hall in the Meadowlands offers something no neighborhood restaurant can: a hundred-plus makers under one roof.

So if you are plotting a snack route, treat the tote bag as a starting point. Those freezer shelves, as Time Out put it, won’t fill themselves.