"Gluten Free review This was my second time coming to Nick's. Both times, with perfect weather, we ate at the sidewalk tables. The first time was a year before on a Memorial weekend Sunday around 4 pm. The atmosphere was serene, where I enjoyed a bison burger (which they no longer have on the menu) on a GF bun, while my wife enjoyed her Southwest salad. We would have rated the experience a 4 or 5 at the time. This time, dining with my sister who is also a celiac, it was a Friday in late June around 5:30 pm. It wasn't difficult to find street parking within a block. We were seated right away. The atmosphere was substantially louder with frequent bus and large trucks passing on the street. They don't have a GF menu, but have marked dishes, on the regular menu, that are or can be made so. There were an adequate amount of choices, so the menu was not too hard to navigate. The GF brew choices were Prairie Path ale, Vander Mill spiced cider, and Angry Orchard crisp apple cider. My sister ordered the latter, while I the former. Our waiter was quick to point out Prairie Path is gluten removed, which I appreciated but already knew. It hasn't affected me in the past. We both got a full order of ribs asking for a center cut. Our waiter explained that they would use a commercial sauce, Sweet Baby Ray's, over ours. The fries are GF here, but I substituted sweet potato fries for $2 more. I asked if they had a honey mustard sauce instead of ketchup for them. They did and it went along better than ketchup, but it tasted closer to a Dijon mustard. We both asked for extra crispy fries, but neither came close to crispy. There was a lot of rib meat fell and it fell off of the bone, but they were just on the up side of done. The sauce helped with that, but we were somewhat disappointed that it wasn't a Nick's' recipe. The small ramekin of cole slaw was good (not too sweet/ not too vinegary) but not enough for this type of meal though it wouldn't take a whole lot more. For an inexpensive side dish (to make), it seems like they're cutting the wrong corners. After I finished my ale, at the waiters suggestion, I tried the spiced cider interesting. It has more of a flavor suited to the fall (cinnamon, pecan, vanilla see photo of the can) and was a bit of an odd match for the ribs. The golden ale or crisp apple cider were better pairings. I should also add that after our meal we were thirsty most of the rest of the evening. We were both too full to check out the dessert menu. All in all, though the ribs were a meh this time, I wouldn't hesitate to come back and try other items, because I sense it's a safe GF environment with knowledge staff, and I did have a more positive food experience on my first visit. However, I'll only dine curbside when there is less traffic."
