A friend was visiting and wanted to try someplace I’d never been before (keep in mind I’ve only lived in VT 2 months so everything is new and great!). We headed to Leunigs and expected a wait (turned out to be 45 minutes, reasonable for a Saturday night), so went upstairs for a drink and an app. It was easy to get seated there and there were plenty of GF items on that menu– cheeses and meats, etc. [Note, I already knew the Vermont Smoke and Cure products they featured were GF].

While enjoying our apps and a glass of wine, a near-by customer was discussing GF options with the waitress (I mean, really? Small world!). It sounded like some of the GF options on the main menu aren’t available in the 2nd floor bar– something about the GF rolls being in the basement freeze and having to be retrieved by the kitchen staff– all too complicated for them  to execute on a crowded Saturday night. Personally, I’d rather they say they can’t handle it than, say, pop a roll in a wheat-filled oven to thaw and serve me something contaminated. Or have them piss off the kitchen staff who spit in my food.

Anyways, I was surprised to find this notice on their main menu:

The gluten-free menu was a subset of the full menu and didn’t contain many or any specialty items that I noticed (such as a gluten-free bun– maybe the lady upstairs was just trying to convince them to carry them in the future?). It did have a wide range of options– you could have handed anyone that and they’d believe it was a full menu, that’s how many items were on it. One point of caution is that their frialator is used for things that contain wheat so if you are Celiac or truly very sensitive, you will want to avoid those items. For me, they substituted fries for garlicy kale (tres Vermont!).

So, Leunig’s, way to go. Let’s see you continue to expand your GF services.