Gluten Free Road Trip: The Diamond of Queens

An outbreak of Phillies fever hit the Gluten Free Philly household a couple weeks ago, and we had to drive to New York to get some medicine. To help celebrate our younger son's seventh birthday, my wife and I surprised him with tickets to see the Phils play the Mets during their recent series at Citi Field in Queens.

Knowing that Mutts fans had abandoned their team earlier in the season, I figured it would be a cinch to get last-minute tickets via StubHub. I managed to snag four $30 seats for $10 each online the day before the game.

Bracing for the New York traffic we usually encounter, we left a few hours before game time. While traffic was unexpectedly light, the weather put the trip in jeopardy. The rain was coming down so hard during our drive north on the New Jersey Turnpike, I exited at one point to turn around, figuring the game would be postponed. Convinced the skies would clear, my wife talked me into resuming the drive. Sure enough, the storm passed and, while the sun never peaked out from the clouds that day, the weather was good enough to get the ballgame in.

Before heading to our seats, we stopped to get lunch. Concessionaire Aramark added added a dedicated gluten-free food stand at two-year old Citi Field this season. (Hello Aramark? Citizens Bank Park needs one too!) The stand offers hot dogs, sausages, burgers and Redbridge beer, along with puddings and gels from sponsor Kozy Shack. The meats are served on rolls supplied by The Grainless Baker. My older son was impressed with the foot-long hot dog, which he topped with mustard and onions.

The view from the nosebleed section wasn't bad at all, and we ended up sitting in the upper level with many other Phillies fans who also made the trip. We watched Roy Oswalt throw a complete-game shutout as the Fightins won 3-0.

We had planned to stop at the Chimney Rock Inn in Bridgewater, New Jersey for dinner, but thanks to my unreliable GPS (and my failure to trust my instincts), we ended up stuck in a traffic jam in Manhattan. I reversed course and eventually righted the ship. With the visit to the Inn no longer feasible, we opted to eat at an old favorite just off of Exit 10 on the Turnpike - Harold's New York Deli in Edison. While the restaurant doesn't have safe bread, it does offer a gluten-free menu with traditional deli and diner favorites like chicken soup, pastrami and corned beef (served on a bed of lettuce), steak fries cooked in a dedicated fryer, and a huge pickle bar. And the portions - oy! Our leftovers needed a seat of their own in the minivan.

Gluten Free Road Trip: A Second Bite of the Apple

With very few free weekends this spring and summer, the Gluten Free Philly crew decided to make their annual New York City jaunt on Mother's Day weekend. Unlike last year's trip (when we ran into the Phillies' Ryan Howard and his teammates in the hotel lobby), this one was more subdued.

We decided to avoid the bustle and stay downtown at the Andaz hotel on Wall Street. The Andaz brand is owned by Hyatt Hotels, and is the company's answer to the trendy W Hotels found in many a metropolis. It was a bit too quiet: I learned only a couple days before the trip that the subway line stopping closest to the hotel doesn't run on weekends, so we ended up taking a few more cab rides than anticipated.

The hotel, which opened in February, doesn't have a front desk. Instead, roving concierges welcome guests in the lobby and check them in via portable electronic devices. The same employees assist with baggage and provide information on local attractions. (Do they clean the rooms and cook meals, too?) The rooms are large by Manhattan standards and come stocked with free - yes, free - mini-bar snacks and non-alcoholic drinks. Our fridge had lots of soda and water, and Terra chips and chocolate bars were among the munchies.

We took a cab to Chelsea Market, an enclosed shopping mall and food court housed in a former Nabisco factory, and grabbed lunch inside at Friedman's Lunch before exploring the shops. The medium-well brisket burger my older son ordered was served alongside fries on a sesame-topped gluten-free bun from The Grainless Baker. (Another dining option in the area is Mario Batali's Del Posto, which serves gluten-free pasta.)

From there, we went back downtown to the South Street Seaport, where we took an hour-long cruise aboard the Zephyr to see the Statute of Liberty. Having never seen the statue this close in person, I was awestruck at the majesty of this American icon.

Risotteria has always been a favorite of ours, but we wanted to try a different restaurant for dinner. We decided on Pala, on the Lower East Side. For starters, the four of us shared arancini (risotto balls filled with spinach and mozzarella) in a light red sauce and potato along with an order of beet chips called patatini. My older son and I shared the gluten-free bufala cruda pizza, made with buffalo mozzarella, cherry tomato sauce and fresh basil. I'd recommend Pala for adults alone, but with kids Risotteria is the better choice, with more gluten-free options from start to finish.

We saved room for dessert, and burned off a few calories walking a few blocks north to the new Tu-lu's Gluten-Free Bakery. Since we arrived late in the day, the selection wasn't as varied but we loved the red velvet cupcake and the mini chocolate cupcake with peanut butter frosting.

On Mother's Day, we got an early start and ate at the hotel restaurant, Wall & Water, for breakfast. The kitchen prepared a three-egg Swiss cheese omelet, bacon and potatoes for my older son.

We then went uptown to the American Museum of Natural History, where the original Night at the Museum movie is set. Take note: The guards aren't anywhere near as funny as Ben Stiller. And they didn't seem to take well to being asked where the "characters" from the movie can be found. (There are a few, actually, including the Easter Island "talking" head and Dexter the capuchin monkey.)

Before heading home, we ordered lunch at Nice Matin, a French bistro one block east of the museum. The diverse gluten-free menu there included a grilled chicken sandwich that my son ordered.

Gluten Free Road Trip: A Bite of the Big Apple

Our original plans to visit my brother and his family in Gaithersburg, Maryland over Memorial Day weekend changed late last week when my 11-month-old niece became ill (she's since gotten better). Since we couldn't go there, we chose to head up the New Jersey Turnpike and spend the weekend in New York City, where, incidentally, the Phillies were taking on the Yankees. I went onto StubHub, Craig's List and some other sites on Friday night to see what tickets were still available for Sunday's matchup between the Phillies' Cole Hamels and the Yankees' CC Sabathia. Given the threat of rain in Sunday's forecast, though, I didn't pull the trigger but instead decided to see how the weekend went.

We checked in early Saturday morning at Le Parker Meridien, just south of Central Park and away from the bustle of Times Square. Curiously, we found a line of people waiting outside the front of the hotel when we arrived. We learned that the Phillies players were staying at the hotel, and the fans out front were waiting to catch a glimpse of their favorite players or snag autographs. Our kids could not believe that we were going to stay in the same hotel as the team! After checking in, we waited in the lobby as several players made their way out to the bus that would take them to Yankee Stadium for the late afternoon game. We spotted first baseman Ryan Howard coming off the elevator and heading into the lobby. I think the kids were a bit intimidated about asking for an autograph, so they went up to him just to say hello. Ryan was smiling as he gave each of the boys a high-five. I was so completely caught up in the moment that I went into the hotel's business center, logged onto StubHub and bought seats for that afternoon's game in the Bronx.

We were starving, so we headed down the street to Lily's 57, the sister Chinese restaurant of Lilli & Loo (where we've eaten before). Both restaurants have extensive gluten-free menus that include dumplings, barbeque ribs, fried rice and noodle dishes.

After lunch, we headed northbound on the Subway to the stadium to catch the game. The new ballpark was built across the street from the original Yankee Stadium. The new building, while imposing, lacked uniqueness. The teams slammed seven balls out of the park, the last of which Alex Rodriguez hit off of Brad Lidge to tie the game in the bottom of the ninth inning. The Yankees won the game two batters later, the only loss for the Fightins in the three-game stand. Because of the big lunch, we didn't eat at the ballpark, but the gluten-free items available included Kozy Shack pudding, Cracker Jack and Turkey Hill and Carvel ice creams. Hebrew National hot dogs are also available without buns at many stands.

For dinner, we went back to the hotel and ate at the Burger Joint, literally a hole in the wall that can't seat more than 25 or so customers. The restaurant, which serves only hamburgers, fries and milkshakes, is among New York's City's highest-rated places to get a burger.

The next morning, we met friends uptown at Peter's Gourmet Diner for breakfast. A., our older son, enjoyed gluten-free french toast made with Sterk's bread, along with eggs and hash browns.

After breakfast, we spent a beautiful afternoon visiting relatives and playing Wiffle Ball in a park by Columbia University. From there, we headed to the IMAX theater near Lincoln Center, where we caught the Night at the Museum sequel - the kids loved this one too, but frankly the first one was better!

Following the movie, we considered going for dinner at Risotteria, which is our favorite gluten-free restaurant in Manhattan, but we didn't feel like trekking downtown. Instead, we ended up at Slice, which serves pizza made with organic ingredients. The gluten-free pizza is made with a rice crust and can be topped with any number of ingredients. While A. enjoyed the pizza, he agreed with me that Risotteria's pizza is better.

The morning of our departure, we headed from our hotel around the corner to Jamba Juice for smoothies. From there, we walked down Sixth Avenue and decided to take in the NBC Studio Tour at Rockefeller Center. I'd been wanting to go there for a while but our schedule never seemed to coincide with a tour at the right time. We were able to see the studios used for NBC Nightly News, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and, of course, Saturday Night Live. One of the pages leading the group asked for two volunteers to be "readers," so I raised my hand and was chosen. It turned out that another tourist and I were being picked to read a mock newscast. I had the part of the meteorologist, so I stood in front of a "green screen" and pointed to different sections of the country on a map that I couldn't see. My wife and kids got a good laugh out of it!

After the tour ended, we hit the last two food stops on the trip, both in Greenwich Village. First, we went to Babycakes. The bakery makes delicious cupcakes, cookies and other sweets without refined sugar. We enjoyed gluten-free lemon and chocolate cupcakes in the store, and bought some chocolate chip cookies and agave-sweetened brownies to take home with us. From there, we took a taxi over to S'MAC, which specializes in macaroni and cheese served in a variety of combinations. A. ordered a small "All-American," which combines rice pasta with American and Cheddar cheeses. He opted to get gluten-free breadcrumbs to top off the dish.

We left New York City satisfied that we were able to cover lots of ground in a short amount of time. Given its size, Manhattan's gluten-free options are more spread out than in a city like Philadelphia, but restaurants with celiac-friendly menus can be found in nearly every neighborhood. If you're looking for other New York City restaurants with gluten-free menus, I suggest checking out the website for the Gluten-Free Restaurant Awareness Program.