Gluten Free in Upstate New York

Thirsty Owl Winnery and Bistro

I wasn't really ready to talk about Thirsty Owl yet, because I wanted to wait till I had been there several times this summer, but the lunch we had was so lovely that I had to write now. Thirsty Owl is one of several excellent wineries on the Cayuga Wine Trail in the Finger Lakes of New York and is one of our favorites. Thirsty Owl has a bistro too which is one of the draws for us. We can sit on the deck at the winery overlooking Cayuga Lake and have a very leisurely lunch.

Steve and I went to have lunch there and hear Bob Walpole, a local singer who often plays at various wineries' events, sing on the Sunday before Memorial Day. We had gone the week before and just had a bowl of lentil soup and a cheese plate (and dessert – not forgetting dessert!), but this time we wanted a larger lunch. I asked, of course, if the entree that I wanted was gluten free and was assured that it was. Everything is made from scratch by the new chef, and since the owner's mother and mother-in-law both are celiac, I tend to trust that things are as said. Steve had a bowl of tomato soup as an appetizer, and I ate some of that too, once I was told that I could. It tasted very fresh and was maybe even better than the lentil soup last week.

My entree was grilled shrimp served with a checkpea, carrot and spinach curry. The idea of a curry kind of put me off. I'm not really a curry fan, but this dish was very mild, light in tone, and very delicious. I ate every bite. I don't think I left a chickpea on my plate. The shrimp was good as well, but it was the accompanying side that was the better of the two. I might order it again, although the salmon that Steve had looked good too. We had Thirsty Owl's Dry Riesling with lunch. It went well with the lunch, but I think the Semi-Dry might have been even better.

Then we had dessert. We had had this the week before too and decided that it was a keeper. They changed the name though from one week to the next. I suspect that people were not sure what a "sabayon" sauce was, so the dessert this week was listed as a custard sauce with strawberries. It's a soft custard that is made with wine, and it was served over fresh strawberries. I didn't actually lick the bowl, but I spooned as much around the edges as I could.

Cathy