Over the summer I was only working part time, which led to some mid week adventures that I am quite happy about. In mid August one of my days off happen to also fall on a day that Mike was off. Now let me tell you, this RARELY happens. 

Having ants in our pants related to the summers ending we decided to catch a late night train to New York City. On the agenda: Visit my best friend from college, visit a few more of my friends, see Mike’s friends, visit a Museum and eat at as many GF places as possible.  

We spent the morning in the Columbia University area with Andrew and John (a childhood friend of mine). Having heard decent reviews of Dinosaur BBQ, which rumor has it has gluten free options, we made our way there for LUNCH. I was, to put it lightly, highly disappointed. While all meats and Sauces were Gluten Free very few of the sides that they prepared there were safe. I could get a salad, potatoes or plain steamed veggies it seemed, which is a disappointment from a place whose sides sound delicious and unique…In addition our Waitress was very nasty and had little time to answer my questions. She had a keen sense of acting how you shouldn’t act around patrons (eye rolling etc.) and needless to say got a small tip. The food is good, although the steak in my salad was charred, but I wouldn’t waste my time with this location again. Honestly, I would recommended buying the sauces and making your own dishes than dining here. Has anyone been to any of their other locations?

I didn’t let this disappointment stop us and next it was off to the Museum of Natural History where we met up with a few of Mike’s Friends. Mike and I take our time, and while relaxing it means that we usually don’t get far in Museums or other similar locations. Unfortunately we only made it through the first floor in the 4 hours that we were there. I love looking at these displays, although I wish more of them were real authentic items. My favorite room was the Human Evolution room, as you would probably expect. Guess we’ll have to go back!

Next, it was on to Heartland Brewery in Union Square for a brief drink and snack before the ultimate dinner. Heartland Brewery has several locations and a gluten free menu. The GF items are included on the regular menu and clearly labeled. (I have always been a fan of doing it this way to limit the stigma of GF eating). 

What is odd to me is that only a few of their locations have dedicated fryers, which somewhat makes the GF Menu obsolete at some locations that don’t have it. I assume they are slowly converting all of their locations to GF. Union Square recently got themselves one of these fryers so I had many options for a quick snack. Nachos were on my mind that day and they were great. They were even better when combined with a Woodchuck and Raspberry Liquor mixture (which is now my favorite drink). I’ll be heading back here to try more of their GF products soon. 

Our final destination of the trip was for dinner, although we were already full on nachos. I am going to save this part of the visit for another post, simply because I have a lot to say about the place we went. 

NOW: If I give you some hints do you think you can guess where I ate dinner? 

It was very small.

It’s a specialized Restaurant. 

You can make your own item.

It’s in NYC.

That’s all you get! Guess Away. I’ll post the correct answer later this week! 

Celtic Celiac @ http://celtic-celiac.blogspot.com/