New York City: Pips Place NYC
New York, New York… I was down in NYC for my birthday weekend back in January and got my eat on all weekend long. Besides doing lots of fun touristy things like Times Square, Broadway show (Kinky Boots – so good), and Central Park. We did a ton of walking despite the snow and cold, and of course, we ate a lot.
I wanted to make sure to sneak in lots a few gluten-free birthday treats while I was there and so we headed to Pip’s Place, a gluten-free cakery with two locations in New York City. It’s an upscale bakery that’s certified gluten-free so basically a celiac haven for baked goodies. They make their treats low fat if possible and don’t use preservatives. So off I went to their East 39th Street spot.
There were so many treats to choose from that I was actually a little overwhelmed at first. Did I want cookies? Cake? Scones? I only had 2 days to devour as many treats as possible before flying home so I opted for three things. I wanted to make sure I got to try a good variety. Luckily it wasn’t busy when we were there, and the gentleman behind the counter was very patient as I took photos and asked questions. What would you pick?
I tried the Magic Bar which I was told is their top seller. It’s a cookie bar thing with chocolate chips. The texture was nice, not too dense, and sweetly decadent. I liked it a lot. I didn’t want to share but I did anyway. D found it a bit too sweet but I didn’t mind.
I didn’t get a chance to try these brownies or the cinnamon roll looking things, but don’t they look so great? Same goes for these jam filled Linzer cookies.
Of all the cakey goodness on this shelf, I tried one of the chocolate cupcakes (bottom right, image below). It was just a little dry and didn’t have as much icing as I normally like. To be fair, I didn’t eat the cupcake as soon as I bought it, but saved it for the next day’s breakfast which is the likely cause of its dryness.
My favourite thing at Pips was actually savoury insted of sweet – a feta and zucchini scone that I enjoyed back in our hotel room. Let me say that it was moist, flavourful and had a nice chewy texture and again, I didn’t want to share but I did anyway. Trust me, this scone isn’t your typical scone yet it is not to be missed.
If you’re a celiac and in NYC, I would definitely recommend stopping in to Pips Place for some certified gluten-free treats. Even if you’re not celiac, you should pop in and try something. You probably won’t believe it’s gluten-free.
Gluten Free Note: Pip’s Place NYC bakery/cakery is 100% gluten-free and certified.
This was actually my first time since I was a young kid that I’ve been to New York for anything other than work. It was super fun, despite the deep freeze that hit the city. Here are a couple of my favourite tourist shots – the LOVE statue near the Museum of Modern Art and me enjoying the sunny and cold view from the Top of the Rock observatory deck (aka 30 Rockafeller – where Liz Lemon works!). Oh New York City. I want to go to there. Again.
