Chop't Does Jersey (and Gluten Free)

If there's one thing I rarely order at a restaurant, it's salad. (Except when I can't eat anything else on the menu. Thumbs down, Celiac. And of course, there's a .gif for that.) 

Yet, for some inexplicable reason, I am addicted to Chop't. Maybe it's because I get a little Type-A-high from hand-picking every ingredient? Or because their tofu is laced with something that makes it just DIVINE? Even if I can't put my finger on it, that doesn't change how excited I was when Chop't asked me to craft a salad highlighting one of their new, super-seasonal ingredients: Local Jersey Peaches. (And HELLO - I'm from Jersey.)

My absolute favorite way to prepare peaches (not that they require much preparing) is in sweet, spicy peach salsa. Like, I could scarf chips and peach salsa every day for the rest of the summer. But that’s not entirely realistic or, ahem, nutritional. So why not turn it into a salad? That’s exactly how the Chop't Peach Fuego was born. Chips and salsa every day makes you a college student. Salad, however, makes you a mature adult who makes sensible food choices. Or something along those lines.

If you're interested to know what goes into the Peach Fuego, head on over to the Chop't blog. 

And if you have Celiac or must eat gluten free, here are a few pro-tips for eating safely at Chop't:

• You can find a PDF of their menu with allergens clearly marked here. Since most of their ingredients are gluten free, there's a section on the left listing the only ones that are NOT gluten free.
• If you tell your salad-chopper, or preferably a Manager, that you have Celiac disease or an allergy, they will kindly change their gloves and use a new cutting board to avoid cross-contamination.
• When they ask if you want bread, say no! Sometimes it's wrapped nicely in foil and you can pawn it off on a friend, but other times they'll plop it right on your salad. Better safe than gluten-ed. 

Pretty easy, right? Bonus: if you order the Peach Fuego you get to cut the line. HA kidding. That'd be way too sweet. I'll be waiting right there with you, likely at the Flatiron location. See ya there!

Disclosure: I wasn't required to write a blog post as part of creating a salad for Chop't; I just love them so much that I did it anyway.