I don’t know about you guys, but I’ve started the official eating season off with a bang. I’ll be putting my vegan’ness on a part-time schedule, as there is much dairy and meat to be had. Much. Gluten-free mac and cheese, I’m talking to you.

I discovered even more goodness last Friday when the family decided to be adventurous and head outside of our neighborhood. Hey, it’s LA. It’s not easy to explore. I mean, unless you have a car. Which we do. Nevermind. Let’s just say I left my neighborhood and found some things.

I’ve never been to the Grand Central Market in downtown LA. And now I want to go back every weekend. Not just for the gluten-freeness (which is spotty, but totally available) but because it’s unlike anything else in LA. It hasn’t been Groveified (even if I do enjoy hanging out at The Grove, I do!) and feels gritty and animated at the same time. From the pupuseria to the multitude of taco options and juice bars, the gluten-free should be pretty safe. There’s also a little “health” type of market if you’re like, screw these delicious food stands, I need protein powder! Really, something for everyone.

The most popular joint I’ve heard about over and over is Eggslut which is right at the entrance to the market. And I would have tried their crazy sounding burger without a bun, or any other magical egg dish, but the line was like 500 people long. Or less. I’m not good at counting. But I will be back with a book so I can just hang out and wait for delicious eggs.

Moving on, I’d heard a rumor about a downtown deli serving Rising Hearts gluten-free bread, so I waited inline at Wexler’s to see if maybe this was the one. Spoiler alert—it was not. The rest of my family however, had decided they were going for the pastrami, so I’d resigned myself to picking out a taco spot on my own.

That’s when my daughter insisted on heading over to Belcampo Meats because she wanted a lamb belly sandwich. Yes, I am raising a food snob. I took that fancy pants to the counter and decided that surely the Belcampo burger could rival Eggslut’s version, and so that’s the direction I went. And lo and behold, just like a Black Friday miracle—they had a gluten-free bun! Also, the beef tallow fries were gluten-free. Drooly, drooly, drool.

Belcampo also has a meat counter that is incredibly impressive from an array of sausages down to the duck confit.

I made a note to come back here for Christmas meats. Also, I just like saying “Christmas meats.”

It’s true that none of us needed dessert, but since there is a McConnell’s ice cream stand we decided it was imperative to celebrate the eating season with a cup of (mostly) gluten-free ice cream choices. Alas, the line at McConnell’s was also huge, which just meant we went to the original Santa Barbara location when we visited SB on Saturday. Problem solved.

So, yeah, lots to eat at the GCM in DTLA. Tell me your favorites there if you’ve been!