Yesterday was our “Friday”–we have Wednesday and Thursday off. So, when we got off work yesterday, we decided to go out to eat. Going out to eat up here gives you exactly three choices–The North Rim Lodge Dining Room, The Kaibab Lodge, and Jacob Lake Inn. At the North Rim Lodge Dining Room you have to have a reservation for dinner. We called, and the earliest appointment we could get for a steak was 9:15 p.m. So, that was out as we were both already starving.
To get to Jacob Lake Inn, it is a 45 mile drive, so we also decided not to go there. Which left the Kaibab Lodge. It is about a 20 mile drive to Kaibab Lodge, not so bad, so we jumped in the truck and headed down there. When we got there, we discovered that they do not start serving dinner until 5:00 p.m and it was only 4:30. We decided to wait, and ordered a glass of wine and a beer. I was not impressed with the person behind the counter, either. She was just a little on the rude side, but we still decided to wait.
Right at 5:00, several people came in, went up to the counter, and were talking with the person there, the same one who seemed a little rude to me. I got the impression that these people were other employees there. They were waited on first. We waited until ten after five, and no one ever came to our table, or even looked in our direction, so we left. In all, we waited about 40 minutes before we decided to leave.
We went home, and I made some bacon and eggs–sooooo not what I had in mind for my Friday night dinner. This morning, we had to get up and move our trailer from one spot to another, which is a major pain in the hiney. You have to do just as much work to move 50 feet as you do to move 500 miles. It took up about three hours start to finish. It was about noon when we got done, and both of us were hungry again. We decided to go to the North Rim Lodge Dining Room for lunch. You don’t need a reservation there for lunch.
This is my third season working here at the North Rim. Last year, I had talked to the manager of the restaurant about getting some gluten free choices on the menu, but he never gave me a good answer “yes” or “no” that they would do that. I also talked to the park service person who is in charge of concessionaires. He asked me to email him some info on gluten free eating and gluten intolerance, so I did, but I did not hear anything back from him. Now, I don’t know if “I” had anything to do with this, but listen to this:
When we went to the lodge for lunch today, I asked about something on the menu by saying “Does it have any wheat in it?” and the waiter responded “Do you mean gluten free?” I was soooo excited about that. Ed, the waiter, brought me a two page gluten free menu, and told me that they need a 24 hour notice but they can make anything on that gluten free menu for me if I want them to. And there are some really good choices on that menu–not just stripped versions of the “regular” menu. They even have gluten free pancakes on the breakfast menu!
While Forever Resorts, the concessionaire that operates Grand Canyon Lodge at the North Rim, does not have their gluten free menu or the information about calling ahead 24 hours in advance to request some of their gluten free options on their website, I have sent them an email suggesting that they add it. But isn’t it wonderful to know that you CAN get a good tasty meal with a such a great view?
Here are some of the options on the menu:
Gluten Free Pancakes with butter and maple syrup: $6.60
Ranch Hand Breakfast: 2 organic eggs served with bacon or sausage and fresh cottage potatoes $8.20
Tiyo Tomato Salad layers of ripened tomato, fresh mozzarella and basil leaves $8.90
Southwest Shrimp Cocktail chilled jumbo shrimp with a cilantro-horseradish cocktail sauce $10.90
Pasta Primavera gluten free penne pasta tossed with sauteed vegetables, garlic, white wine and olive oil $12.45
Salsa Chicken char-grilled all natural chicken breast served over black bean chili salsa with avocado and roasted pine nuts $12.45
Fresh Utah Trout please inquire of our server for today’s gluten free special preparation and accompaniments $19.90
Wafer Surprise (dessert) gluten free wafers with chocolate fondue
These are not the only things on the menu, there are more items, just wanted to pass along that they do have some very good options!
So, did you eat there for lunch or make a reservation for twenty four hours later? 🙂
This is very cool. Now you can eat out locally, if you think about it ahead of time. They really should be advertising this with a Big sign.
Wow..thanks for sharing the gf menu…I have to eat gf too…