Gluten Free Italian Food- in NYC, Near Grand Central

I love Italian food, it's my favorite!  My maternal grandma was Italian, so we have always had amazing meals in our home.  Since we went gluten free, my mom and I continue the tradition of Italian food in our homes, but sometimes it's just nice to go out to a nice Italian restaurant.  But finding delicious, gluten free Italian food in a restaurant isn't exactly easy.

My BFF, Jose, and I enjoyed an amazing meal at
Bistango inside the Kimberly Hotel in NYC

This past week, I worked a day shift, so my co-worker and BFF Jose and I decided to go out to dinner one night after work.  He took it upon himself to find a restaurant that had gluten free food near Grand Central Terminal- where I would catch my train back home.  He found the Bistango Restaurant in the Kimberly Hotel on East 50th Street between 3rd and Lexington Avenues.

Here's the menu, anything can be made
gluten free!

The restaurant is beautiful and cozy but with very high ceilings- to make it feel much more spacious. Their entire menu can be made gluten free- including pasta, flatbread pizzas, and desserts, so I was a happy girl.

Jose and I decided to order a bunch of things and share.  He was kind enough to agree to eat gluten free, saying, "This is like your Christmas, I can eat anything I want, anytime!"  We decided to start with a flatbread pizza and cocktails.  We asked our waiter which flatbread he recommended.  He suggested the roasted wild mushrooms flatbread- with caramelized shallots, thyme and truffles.  They also have Tito's vodka which is gluten free.  I ordered the Bitter Sweet Symphony cocktail- which was made with Tito's vodka, grapefruit juice, campari bitters and rosemary.  It was quite bitter, but also very yummy and not too strong- which is a good thing for me!

They have Tito's Vodka which is gluten free
I ordered the Bitter Sweet Symphony

Then it was time to order our dinner.  I had a hard time chosing.  Everything looked soooo good!  I finally decided to go for the Ravioli di Formaggio with heirloom grape tomato pomodoro and fresh herbs.  I haven't had ravioli in years, since going gluten free.  It had always one of my favorites.  Jose got the Eggplant Milanese- layered eggplant with fresh mozzerella and marinara.

Bread with dinner?  Yes, please!
We ate a few pieces before the pic- sorry!

They brought us out gluten free bread while we waited!  The bread was sliced thin and toasted, but still soft and chewy in the middle.  They gave us olive oil with balsamic vinegar and hummus to dip it in.  I would have liked a little more vinegar with the olive oil, because when we dipped it, we really just got oil- but it was still good.  The hummus was delicious- it was very garlicky, which for me, is perfect!

My cheese ravioli

Jose's eggplant

Next our food came out.  (They had forgotten our flatbread, so we had to ask for it.  The waiter asked if we still wanted it, and we both said YES!)  The ravioli was delicious. The cheese inside was creamy and perfectly seasoned, the grape tomatoes used in the sauce were still chunky, I love it that way, and there were thin slices of parmigiano reggiano cheese on top, adding just the right amount of saltiness.  The eggplant didn't disappoint either.  It was sliced thin, and layered deliciously with the fresh mozzarella and marinara.  I really liked that the eggplant wasn't fried.  Even with the cheese and sauce, it wasn't heavy at all.

The wild mushrooms flatbread was worth the wait,
it didn't last too long!

As soon as we finished our meals, our pizza was ready.  Our waiter was right, it was amazing!  The earthiness of the mushrooms, the spiciness of the sauce, and the sweetness of the shallots were all a perfect balance.  We ate the whole thing!

Dessert menu- yes, even everything on
here can be made gluten free!

We had to order dessert!  We decided to share the Chocolate Tiramisu.  Again, it was so good.  The combination of the chocolate and the marscapone crema made it very rich, and we could not finish it.

As you can see, I was very excited
for the gluten free chocolate tiramisu

Overall, we were both thrilled with our meal and we are already planning our next dinner there.  Jose said he couldn't believe the food was gluten free.  So, if you're in midtown New York, looking for some great Italian food, check out Bistango.