The Most Important Meal of This Day: Ice Cream

Grand Central Market has something for everyone … at least I hoped so. Chinese … Mexican … American ... Peruvian … Seafood. Surely, they must have something for people with food allergies. We walked around and explored all of the menus until I set my sights on one that specialized in rotisserie chicken. There couldn’t possibly be any of my allergens in chicken, right? Wrong! The waiter revealed to us that they use peanut oil to cook. Why restaurants still use peanut oil is beyond me, but thank God he told us after we did a bit of probing. That could’ve been really bad.

So, foodless, I watched my mom eat her fish tacos, while my besties consumed their mushroom pasta and pad Thai bowl, all of which were filled with MY allergens. I thought I might be foodless before I decided to give McConnell’s Ice Cream a try. By this time, I was starving and just needed something! I don’t even eat ice cream nearly as much as the next person, but desperate times call for desperate measures.

As we stood in line, I observed the workers using the same scoop no matter what flavor of ice cream was ordered, including double peanut butter chip. They did what is commonplace in most ice cream shops — they dip the scoop in a container of water between orders. Feeling stressed, we finally reached the front of the line and I had barely finished my normal “I’m allergic to peanuts” spiel when the worker offered to go to the back and get my ice cream with a clean spoon from a container that had never been touched. Thank the heavens! And, boy was my double scoop of mint chocolate chip and sea salt cream and cookies yummy! To my fellow food allergy sufferers, McConnell’s Ice Cream is definitely a venue to add to your list. Check it out!

SEA SALT CREAM & COOKIES

INGREDIENTS: Cream, Milk, Cane Sugar, Non Fat Milk Solids, Organic Egg Yolks, R.R. Lochhead® Vanilla, Kosher Salt, Chocolate Chunk Cookies (Flour, Butter, Brown Sugar, Cane Sugar, Kosher Salt, Baking Soda, Eggs, Vanilla, Guittard® Semisweet Chocolate (Cocoa, Cane Sugar, Chocolate Liquor, Cocoa Butter, Sunflower Lecithin, Vanilla)
CONTAINS: Eggs, Milk, Wheat

MINT CHIP

INGREDIENTS: Cream, Milk, Cane Sugar, Non Fat Milk Solids, Organic Egg Yolks, Guittard® Bittersweet Chocolate (Cocoa, Cane Sugar, Chocolate Liquor, Cocoa Butter, Sunflower Lecithin, Vanilla), R.R. Lochhead® Vanilla, Peppermint Oil, Vegetable Color
CONTAINS: Eggs, Milk (Gluten Free)

For more information about McConnell's Ice Cream, check out their website.