Michelle Retik, the owner, explained on the phone after my visits that her customers come from as far away as Holland and Canada, where they have read about it on gluten-free websites. At least 50 percent, however, have no particular allergies. Presumably they come, as I now will, because the food is bright, fresh and skillfully prepared.

The story of the cafe’s origins, and Ms. Retik’s evolution into a grain- and dairy-free chef, explains, to a large extent, the character of the place.

Image The chocolate cake comes topped with a brownie bomb. Credit... Fred R. Conrad for The New York Times

A newly single parent of four and a former merchandise planner, Ms. Retik decided to switch career gears in 2008. Being a pastry chef had always been her dream, and after graduating from the Institute for Culinary Education in 2009, she achieved it. Flour and sugar had become her tools. Working sometimes 12 hours a day, she simply assumed that her stomach maladies were the result of being a busy single mother. When her weight dropped to 87 pounds, she was given a diagnosis of ulcerative colitis. “The children were late for school 27 times that year,” she said. “I couldn’t even get out of the house in the morning.”

After conventional treatments and doctors did not help, Ms. Retik embarked on a strategy based on her own reading. It worked: “On Wednesday, I rid my kitchen of grains, refined sugars and dairy; on Friday, I got out of bed, walked the dog and felt awesome.” Even Thomas McCarrick, the doctor who was her fiancé at the time and is now her husband, marveled at the change. “What happened?” she recalled his asking.