Tag Archives: new york

36 Hours in NYC – Chinese food and Terri love

Over the last week I’ve been in and out of NYC for work, and tried to visit as many of my favorite places as I could. I didn’t quite get everywhere that I wanted to go, but here are a few highlights:

Terri Vegetarian – Flatiron

I’ve raved about Terri before, and since it’s right by my office I went there twice. They also recently created a menu that has all of their sandwiches reworked to be gluten free (just ask for it, they have it behind the counter). It’s basically just replacing any other fillings with their soy “chicken” strips, but still helpful to have.
I got the “Chicken” “Cheddar” “Ranch” wrap (so many quotation marks!) one time, and the Buffalo “Chicken” wrap the other.

I know that it weirds some people out, but I love Daiya cheese. It tastes like Velveeta to me, and I don’t see how that’s a bad thing. And the “ranch” dressing is really good, there’s a ton of flavor in it and I think I like it more than the bottled stuff.

Lili’s 57 – Midtown

This was a new one for me – gluten free General Tso’s shrimp! I haven’t eaten Chinese food like this since I was diagnosed, so it was a real treat. I can’t say that I really miss eating food like this, because it’s really heavy, but it was definitely delicious. And a side roll of sushi made it feel a bit healthier. They also carry Redbridge and have a full gluten free Chinese food menu.

Bluedog Cafe – Chelsea/Flatiron

I wouldn’t say that Bluedog caters to gluten free diners really, but they do almost always have a really yummy gluten free salad of some kind. This one was roasted carrots, butternut squash, and chickpeas. Holy Vitamin K.

Not pictured gluten free eats included a piece of cake from Mozzarelli’s, a bag of cookies from Babycakes, and a salad from the Birreria at Eataly, and a surprisingly fabulous bag of gluten free animal cookie from Duane Reade.

Being back in NYC sure did make me miss having all of my favorite gluten free places right around the corner, not to mention skylines like this:

I think that I can manage with my new DC skyline though. Nothing beats looking at this on your way to work every day.

Where would you go with 36 hours in the Big Apple? What are your “must-go” places in NYC?

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Eataly…gluten free?

You might call me a glutton for gluten punishment, but I love going to Eataly.  It’s right by my office, and it’s such a unique place.  But, the majority of their food is bread-based (pizza, pasta, bread, pastries).  Until this weekend, I hadn’t actually eaten at Eataly, only picked up some of Mario Batali’s pizza sauce and gotten gelato.  This time, I was determined to have something at one of their restaurant stations with the gorgeous marble bars.  I obviously nixed the meat station, and since I was planning on eating later, the Verdure vegetable bar seemed to be the right choice.

On the recommendation of the friendly waiter, we got the acorn squash with black lentils and pearl onions ($12), as well as the salad of the day, which had artichokes, green olives, and roasted red peppers ($18).  The acorn squash was definitely the star of the show, and the black lentils were really well seasoned (?), well I don’t know if it was seasoning but they were really flavorful.  Plus, I love adorable pearl onions and I’m committing myself to putting them in a dish at some point.  While both dishes were totally overpriced, you can’t beat the lively yet homey atmosphere.  Plus, the waiter filled my two glasses of pinot grigio almost to the brim, so I was happy as a clam.

Since I didn’t want to chug my second glass of wine, but wanted to go exploring the marketplace – I took advantage of their open-drinking policy and took my glass of wine with me for the walk.

Along the way I was surprised to see a few labeled gluten free options!  Like this farinata!  Also, what the heck is farintata!?  It looked to me like polenta, with rosemary in it.  You just add water and bake it in a pan.  Mayyybe I’ll try it one day.

Since almost everything in Eataly is pure Italian and not labeled in English, I was surprised to see this giant sign above their chocolate bar.  Which, by the way, features a chocolate fountain!  They either dip biscotti in it, or just put some of it in a little cup and you can drink it (sinful).  I’ve been surprised sometimes that chocolate truffles contain wheat, so it’s great to know that this whole stand is gf.  Pick up a cappucino and you’re all set for dessert.  I didn’t want to spoil my dinner though.

See at the bottom? "All of our products are gluten free." 🙂

I picked up something for my dad, some spinach for my Mario Batali pizza, and more sauce.  Finished my wine on the way to the checkout, and headed home relaxed and rejuvenated (and slightly tipsy) after a long work week.

Even though Eataly can seem like a big tease with all of it’s authentic gluten-filled wares, it was delicious and fun and surprisingly Celiac friendly.

P.S. – They’re opening a rooftop beer garden this summer.  Woot!

Eataly

200 5th Avenue

N/R to 23rd Street