Gluten-Free Restaurant NYC: Prune

Prune Restaurant NYC Gluten-Free
I love picking out restaurants. I love researching and reading about them – looking at menus and imagining how the best dishes will taste. I love the problem solving aspect of selecting just the right place. How many people are coming? Are there any vegetarians? Any other diet restrictions? What’s the budget? Day of week? Time of day? Where is everyone coming from? Where are they going afterwards? Is dessert essential? Is a wine pairing important? What kind of ambiance would be best?

I consider all of these factors and more when giving a list of places to family and friends who ask for recommendations. When selecting ‘gluten-free friendly’ places, I start with the menu – does it look like there are enough dishes that I could create some amalgamation of a pleasurable meal? Prune had been on my list of ‘places to try’ for quite some time. [note: I literally keep a list divided by neighborhood, lunch, wine bars, ‘potentially good Mexican food,’ etc.]

Before the end of the year, I was able to visit Prune, this long-standing East Village institution (in the NYC restaurant world, it seems like 5+ years is long enough to merit that designation). I met my friend Erika for an early dinner, trudging through sleet and rain to arrive in the warm arms of this snug and inviting restaurant tucked away on East 1st Street.

I had looked at the menu and seen enough dishes that piqued my interest to know I would not leave hungry. But imagine my surprise when I discovered that the ‘bread’ that Prune serves at every table is gluten-free! How could I have missed this in the gluten-free blogosphere? So it’s not bread exactly, it’s a papadum, which is an Indian-style cracker made with a mix of lentil, rice, gram flour and spices.
Gluten-Free Pappadums Prune Restaurant NYC
Another shock? By far the best things we ate that night was a cabbage side dish. The lamb sausages were savory, rich and a fine-example of homemade sausage, but the cabbage was absolutely magical. We were so impressed with the cabbage we implored the table next to us to order it as well. They concurred with our evaluation and thanked us for guiding them down the right path.
Prune Restaurant NYC Gluten-Free Lamb Sausage
The other veggie side dishes were a little lackluster, the turnips and sweet cream butter were as odd a pair as it sounds. The cheese plate came through and ended the meal on a high note.
Prune Restaurant NYC Gluten-free Side Dishes
I never thought I would dream of cabbage, but I must get back to Prune before the weather thaws and a hearty dish of warm cabbage sounds too heavy.

Prune Restaurant
Address: 54 E 1st St #1
New York, NY 10003
Phone: 212-677-6221

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Twisted Cinderella said,

February 3, 2009 @ 10:59 pm

Sounds like a wonderful meal!

» Gluten-Free Restaurants NYC - Casellula Cheese and Wine Cafe | A Gluten Free Guide said,

March 22, 2009 @ 6:17 pm

[…] our order of cheese and a plate of gluten-free rice crackers. This was a complete surprise; like my visit to Prune, this gluten-free ‘bread alternative’ had not yet hit the blogosphere. To add to my […]

dana said,

April 14, 2009 @ 10:04 pm

sounds great — but are their papadum fried? they usually are, and if these ones go in the deep-fryer along with samosas and other gluteny things, then some people (myself included) would avoid them.

» Gluten Free Ice Cream NYC Lulas Sweet Apothecary | A Gluten Free Guide said,

August 11, 2009 @ 1:44 am

[…] doesn’t take much to stumble upon something outstanding – Mercadito Cantina, Knife + Fork, Prune, Terroir, S’mac and Back 40 are just a few of the options.  I can’t wait for her next […]

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