Now we all know I’m a big fan of the niche sites. Why? Because there are any number of sites out there that focus on being everything to everyone—which makes them mean basically nothing to no one. It’s the focused sites—those sites with which we can personally identify—that hold a great deal of promise.

And nowhere do I see people in the Portland area get more niche-y than food. I mean, we like food.

Portland-based Gone Raw is a great example. As is Bacn. And today, I’d like to introduce you to another Portland-area food-focused niche social site: Vancouver-based Gling, the social network focused on the gluten-free community.

What kind of information does Gling provide?

The three major features of the application are a Recipes Database, a Foods Database and a Locations Database. Individual ingredients within a recipe connect to their corresponding record in the Foods Database, allowing members to research at fine grain detail by clicking on the ingredient and moving to the record in the Foods Database, which lists any recipes that contain that ingredient.

But isn’t there already a ton of gluten-free information available online? Well, yes and no. You see, the problem—according to CEO, Founder, and gluten-free guy Mike Lee—is that there’s information, but it’s not always useful.

“There is no shortage of Gluten free sites, but consumers like us still have difficulty finding an online resource that not only informs them, but also equips average people with tools to make dining choices today for a tricky diet choice. ‘How do I hold onto recipes or my favorite locations?’ With Gling, you can do so much more of what people actually need and use each day,” said Mike in a press release.

I think he may have struck a chord. Because even though the site just launched, there’s a stream of gluten-free restaurant info from all over churning through the site. And I can name at least a handful of people off the top of my head who will likely be using—and contributing to—this site as soon as they can.

What’s that? You don’t want all over? Well, they’ve mapped out the Portland gluten-free spots too.

For more information or to participate, visit Gling.

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