Friedman’s

hello hello hello!!!

It has been wayyyyyy too long since I blogged anything!! I’ve missed blogging but school has been kicking my booty so I haven’t gotten around to putting up any new stuff.

It’s been about four weeks since I got back to school from my spring break and I am somehow still in deep denial that I have to be doing work (shiver). A regular workload for a week of a chem major is about three lab reports, a problem set, at least one homework assignment, and the occasional quiz/exam (so basically I never stop doing some kind of work). When I need the occasional distraction from all of this, I can think about this bomb meal that I ate at Friedman’s over break.

We went to a NY Rangers game in the city on one of my blissful, schoolwork-free days home, and we needed a place to grab some food before the game. We referred to the handy dandy Find Me Gluten Free app to see what was close to Madison Square Garden and we found Friedman’s, which had rave reviews. My dad and I had actually been to their Friedman’s Lunch location in Chelsea Market a little over a year ago when we visited the Whitney Museum of American Art, where I got a delicious grilled cheese with tomato soup and tried my dad’s amazing fish tacos, complete with cute little gluten free marker flag:

 

When we got to the Friedman’s restaurant only a couple blocks away from MSG, the first thing we asked about was their gluten free options. They told us everything (yes, I said EVERYTHING) except one item on the menu (the matzo ball soup) could be made gluten free. They told us the owner’s daughter has celiac so they are all very well trained in how to deal with a gluten allergy (which you can read about on their website). It was almost overwhelming to have a whole menus worth of options to choose from. Lucky for us it was happy hour meaning half off appetizers, so we got two! There was no way I was seeing vegetable potstickers on ANY menu without getting them, so that was app number one. Number two was the Korean chicken wings, because, well, chicken wings.

 

I think when I ate these I died and went to heaven. The potstickers were sooooo good—so  crunchy, so flavorful. There was a Sriracha aioli drizzled over top of the potstickers, and a ginger soy dipping sauce, and just the combination of everything together was amazing. The Korean wings were equally as heavenly. They were so crispy, as a chicken wing should be, and the SAUCE you guys. It was a sweet chili glaze, and I could have licked it out of the bowl. The theme of the appetizers for this meal: crunchy and delicious.

After the apps, I was almost too full to even eat my regular meal. But we power through for good food. I really wanted the chicken and waffles, just because I’ve never actually eaten chicken and waffles and I wanted to take advantage of the opportunity. Unfortunately, their waffle maker was broken 😦 BUT I still wanted some good ol fried chicken. So instead of a waffle, I got mac and cheese which is a pretty good tradeoff.

 

AND THE HEAVEN CONTINUED!!! The fried chicken was perfectly crispy, as expected after the perfection of the chicken wings. The pieces of chicken were huge, but I did my best to work my way through it. Sadly, the breading did not stick to the chicken too well so it started to fall off, but either way I was a happy girl. The mac and cheese straight up blew me away. The pasta was perfect, the creamy combination of cheeses was decadent, and the crispy breadcrumb topping provided a great crunch. I wish I had an endless bowl of this mac and cheese right now, I would never stop eating it.

I literally can’t believe how amazing Friedman’s was. I expected it to be pretty good based on its reviews, but I never would’ve expected it to be that good. I would go back here in a heartbeat, and I expect this to be a new regular spot for our visits to the city 🙂

Friedman’s breakfast, brunch, lunch, and dinner menus for their Herald Square location

Snap Custom Pizza

Wow, it’s been a while since I blogged. I’ve really been slackin’. I’m sorry, but I’m back!

I’m a little over halfway through my spring semester. It’s been going well, my grades are all A’s (except for chemistry with that dang C+, but I’ve got a couple weeks of quizzes and exams to get that baby up). Since I’ve been here at the good ol’ University of Delaware, I’ve been working my way through the restaurants on Main Street. There are literally so many choices, and a lot of them have gluten free options!

One of my favorites on Main Street is Snap Custom Pizza. They just opened at the beginning of last semester, and I could not wait to try it when I heard they would have gluten free crust! It’s a cool set up for a pizza place; it’s almost like a Subway but with pizza instead of subs. You pick the crust you want, the sauce, the cheese, the meat, and any other toppings you want, pick your finishing touches, then it gets put through the oven and in a few minutes, you have a nice fresh pizza! When you tell them you want a gluten free crust, they’ll ask you if it’s an allergy or preference. When you say allergy, they will change their gloves and apron and make your pizza separately in the back to make sure theres no cross contamination. They also have a separate pizza spatula (I think it’s called a peel?) to get it out of the oven and place it in a separate area to cut it with a separate pizza cutter. Needless to say, I love Snap Pizza.

My standard pizza is usually this beauty: gluten free crust with pesto, shredded mozzarella, chicken, tomatoes, artichoke, and spinach, finished with roasted garlic oil. I mean, come on. Does that not just sound amazing?? The crust is one of the best I’ve had. The flavor is great, nice and thin but not too much so, and they always manage to get it perfectly crispy. The roasted garlic oil gives it the perfect amount of moisture and deliciousness. It is truly heavenly. My other go-to, for when I’m in the mood for your more typical pizza, is tomato sauce, shredded mozz, and pepperoni, finished with basil and parmesan. Also amazing. Now, I try to just treat myself to going to Snap every once in a while, but if you asked me if I’ve ever eaten there three times in one week…let’s just say I can not confirm nor deny that… 🙂

At Snap, you can either create your own pizza (which is my method of choice) or get one of their signature pizzas. But they’re not just all pizza, they also have salads and grain bowls, but when this girl goes to Snap, she wants to inhale an entire pizza. But you can see all their options on their menu. They have locations in Pennsylvania and Delaware, so you can find out if theres one near you!

Now, in the recent past, I was very upset with Snap Custom Pizza. On the day before St. Patrick’s Day, my local Snap in Newark, DE was having a promotion for $5 pizzas if you wear green. So I changed my shirt and walked my way up to Main Street to find a huge line of at least 40 people pouring out the door. But I thought, “I came all the way here. I’m not in a rush. I’ll wait in line. It’ll be worth it.” Well, 45 minutes later, I finally make it to the front of the line. I ask for a gluten free crust. She tells me they ran out of gluten free crust. Excuse me…what??? You what???? I was very upset, and since I was already on Main Street I angrily made my way over to Panera and bitterly ordered a Greek salad and tomato soup instead (which, by the way, was actually delicious, just not what I intended on eating). Waiting in line also made me late for my 8pm Grey’s Anatomy, which is obviously very important. So I did what my mother taught me to do: I wrote an angry (yet polite) email. And guess what? It paid off! I got a response from a very sweet woman named Nicole from Snap’s corporate offices, who sent me a free pizza card to use at my next visit (thank you Nicole!!!!!). So I actually ended up with a better deal than I would have gotten if they didn’t run out of gluten free crust. Moral of the story: angry emails work.

And moral of the blog: go to Snap Custom Pizza! If I could eat there every day I would. I love how attentive they are to my allergy, and they’re always very friendly and understanding. Definitely one of my favorite restaurants on Main Street, and one of my favorite restaurants anywhere.