My office isn’t far from North Star Dining Room, so it’s the Cornell Dining eatery I’ve been in most since I started working for Campus Life. And yet, I had no idea there was an area stocked with Gluten-Free foods and a toaster set aside for gluten-free baked goods!
There’s a cooler stocked with gluten-free food at North Star Dining! If you’re following a GF diet, just ask a staff member to grab some gluten-free goodies for you.
I’ll be tempted to try these gluten-free waffles and some scrambled eggs for breakfast later in the week, but Team Gluten-Free, which descended on North Star en masse for lunch, also took note of the GF brownies in this cooler. They’re moist and chewy and delicious! Good to know I wouldn’t have to give up brownies if I ever needed to go gluten-free full-time. The same corner has a toaster, a couple of gluten-free cereals, and a jar of peanut butter that won’t have bread crumbs left behind by the last diner. We toasted a couple of slices of the gluten-free bread, as well, and it’s got a nice texture and a slightly nutty flavor.
But it’s lunchtime, and North Star had some tasty-looking food at all of its stations today. The Asian station was out; both dishes were labeled with wheat warnings. Same with the eggplant moussaka at the Hot Traditional station, layered with noodles.
What about the chipotle glazed chicken? That dish’s card bore a soy warning, and soy sauce is a GF no-no, so we decided we should ask. The helpful cooking staff behind the counter went to check the marinade, which had a reassuring “gluten-free” mark on the label. The sautéed vegetables were also a safe bet.
Hit the salad bar for an easy, filling GF lunch packed with veggies and protein!
One reason I love Cornell’s all-you-care-to-eat dining rooms for lunch is that they offer extensive salad bars, and North Star’s is a good example. I was going to have to stay away from the croutons, but most of a salad bar is safe for gluten-free diners. A hard-boiled egg can make a salad a filling lunch even for vegetarians, and I added a little grilled chicken from the grill station on the way back to our table.
Last stop? Today’s taco bar offered a taco salad! I think I could have used the corn-based hard taco shells, too, but I decided to play it safe, and just combined lettuce, cheese, olives, salsa, and taco meat.
On the way out, I grabbed the one piece of fruit you’re allowed when you leave an AYCTE dining room. Tomorrow’s breakfast: a banana!
