Hu Kitchen! An NYC Hotspot!

Holy cow, you guys. I may have just discovered the Holy Grail. And it's called Hu Kitchen.

I just had, hands down, the best restaurant experience -- bar none -- at Hu.

Hu is revolutionary dining. As in -- it's real food. I mean -- check the door: No Tricks. Just food. 

They're setting out to change the way we eat. To bring food back to nature -- the pre-industrial way of eating. . Unprocess it. They want to cook and eat food the way it is found in nature. Hallelujah! 

Their revolutionary food philosophy is summed up in their Eight Hu Pillars. And if you read them carefully, it's not so revolutionary after all --- it's how we're supposed to eat! They follow the same food philosophy I do!

The Hu Pillars: 1) Unprocess. 2) Count ingredients, not calories. 3) Pull plants, push animals (pull fruit and veg to the center of the plate) 4) Minimize grain. 5) Embrace fat (the good fat) 6) Get back to animal (feed animals what they're supposed to eat -- ie: grass -- not GMO pellets) 7) Sweeten wisely (no cane sugar/artificial sweeteners) 8) Eat clean (organic)

And the cuisine here is nearly ALL SCD-Friendly! Yep! You heard that correctly! Everything is gluten free, the majority is grain free and ALL is dairy free!! And if that's not amazing enough, there are a TON of vegan options --- even Body Ecology Diet options! -- and they use organic, non-GMO ingredients! 

I met the owner, Jordan, and he couldn't have been more awesome. He's the picture of good health. He explained that this is the way he eats. He feels so good eating this way that he had to share it with the world! And boy, am I glad he did.

It's a self-service place with a cool vibe. The decor reflects the food -- clean and earthy. Everything is made out of rustic wood and metal -- It's really modern and cool. Airy with a lot of open space.

There's a hot bar, cold bar, bowl station (and for all the BEDer's, there's a quinoa option!!), juice and smoothie bar, "mashable" station (think SCD/vegan Pinkberry/FroYo with all the fixins!!!), grain-free bakery, homemade packaged snack station, and an organic alcohol bar!!!! Pinch me, right?! It's straight from my dreams!!

I felt like a kid in a candy store. There were so many delicious options to choose from! I just couldn't decide. So I did what any good foodie would do: ask the chef what his fav is;)

I had what's called the Grandmaster Veg, a side of their notorious caramelized and grilled pineapple, and a SCD-Legal Hu roll.

The Grandmaster Veg was an incredible grain and dairy-free lasagna. Carrots, cabbage and eggplant were deliciously smothered in the best homemade marinara I've ever had.

But the best part of this lasagna goodness was the layer of cashew cream on top. It had the luxurious taste and consistency of melted cheese. It definitely made the dish.

I really enjoyed mopping up the marinara with their grain and dairy free Hu roll! This little nugget was wonderfully chewy, slightly nutty, and had a great crust.

And finally, I had their "famous" caramelized pineapple with cashew cream. Jordan said that these were a big seller, and boy, do I know why! It was downright sinful how good it was. Pineapple bites caramelized with cinnamon and served warm with a sweet cashew cream. It was sweet, juicy and had a spicy warmth from the cinnamon. It was like dessert! And oh my gosh, the cashew cream was amazing. I wanted to bathe in this stuff! haha 

So as you can probably tell, I'm genuinely freaking out about Hu Kitchen. But you've got to realize, I haven't been able to go to a restaurant and literally order anything off the menu as is in over a year. Perhaps you can relate. So you can imagine how tremendously excited I was to find a restaurant where EVERYTHING is "Happy Tummy Approved!"

I will definitely be back to try more of their fabulous cooking! 

So if you live within a 12 hour drive of NYC, then you should probably hop in the car right now and drive to Hu Kitchen! haha But no....seriously.

It's 78 Fifth Avenue. It's on 5th Ave between 13th and 14th street. See ya there ;)

On another note, I did a really "touristy" thing on Wednesday! I went to the live taping of Kelly and Michael!

I was front row, baby! So fun. 

Want more GFHT?  You can now get my e-cookbook, The Best of GlutenFreeHappyTummy for only $2.99 on Amazon!