Fish disasters

I eat fish pretty frequently, so when I saw gluten free fish in the frozen section, I had to try it. The product is called Fish Creations and it's by a company called Morey. I chose the Mediterranean flavored tilapia. I had to soak it in cold water for thirty minutes to thaw it, and then I had the choice to grill it, bake it, or microwave it. The first time I made this fish, I decided to grill it. I thawed it and grilled the fish for the instructed amount of time, and it came out hard and rubbery. I tried to eat it, but I couldn't. I figured that I might have been to blame, so to give the product a fair chance, I decided to try the fish a different way. I thawed my fish, but this time I baked the fish. Since following the directions yielded sorely overcooked fish, I decided to cook it a shorter amount of time and then check it. It was cooked with the shorter time, so I plated the fish. While the fish was a better consistency, it was still very rubbery. I am done trying with this fish. Fish Creations is a no go. Looks like the only fish I'll be eating is fresh. There's no easy way out.

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Gluten Free Stir Fry

I love Asian cuisine. Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Filipino, Vietnamese...I love it! So, I'm always a bit bummed about the whole most soy sauces having gluten in them thing. I can eat food at Pei Wei and PF Chang, but that gets expensive, and frankly, it's boring to eat out all the time. I love cooking at home, and I'm excited that I've found an easy way to make delicious stir fry! I use a brand of Stir Fry sauce mix called Sun Bird that is made with gluten free ingredients. The company does mention that it is made in factory that processes wheat, but I have never had trouble with it, and I'm pretty sensitive. They have many different types of sauce mixes available like beef and broccoli, sweet and sour, stir fry sauce, and Szechuan sauce. Tonight I made the stir fry sauce. All I did was add sugar, water, and soy sauce (San-J gluten free, although La Choy is gluten free as well) to the sauce mix and poured it on the vegetables I chose to use. The packet gives suggestions for fresh vegetables to use, but I was feeling kind of lazy and used a frozen vegetable mix that had broccoli, bell pepper, onion, mushroom, baby corn, and snow peas. It was great! I put it over some rice, and had a quick, easy, and delicious dinner! Tomorrow, I'll have the left-overs for lunch. Yum! Now, all I have to do is figure out gluten free egg rolls. God, I miss those! Any suggestions?

I can eat at Olive Garden?

Olive Garden used to be one of my favorite restaurants. I LOVE pasta. And their arrabiatta sauce is to die for. So, of course, I was pretty upset when I could no longer have my endless salad and breadsticks with linguini arrabiatta. Sigh. I think I had gone almost a year and a half without setting foot in an Olive Garden because of my diet. Then, I heard they had a gluten free menu. I wasn't too excited, though, because I've gone to other Italian restaurants that have one just to discover that it had no pasta on the menu. I mean, seriously ? That's why one goes to an Italian restaurant in the first place. So, a while went by, and I didn't care enough to check it out. However, I'm a curious person by nature, and I have this little blog here, so after a few weeks, I had to investigate. I was shocked and pleased to find both the salad (without croutons, obviously) and pasta on the small menu. Thanks to a friend who will always support an Olive Garden trip, I ate there on Friday. I ordered the salad and penne marinara (the only sauce that's gluten free). The salad was lovely, and because I had no croutons, I got an entire bowl for myself. To be fair, it was smaller than everyone else's, but it was mine! The penne was OK, but it completely fell apart, and some of it was crunchy. The sauce was good, though. It's nothing I'd crave, but it is good to know that if my friends want to eat there, I can eat there, too and not be a problem because of my dietary needs.

Knowledge - 4.5 stars
Accommodation - 3 stars
Taste - 2.5 stars

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The Mellow Mushroom

I have been wanting to try Mellow Mushroom's gluten free pizza for a while now, but despite how it looks on this blog, I don't eat out all the time. :) Today, however, has been pretty awesome, and Aaron and I went out to celebrate. We checked out the gluten free menu online, and found out that they also have vegan cheese in some locations, which is good news for all my gluten free vegan friends! We went to the location on Colonial Drive near UCF, which does provide vegan options. I was very impressed, because they had a pretty large gluten free menu, including Red Bridge beer and Woodchuck cider. They mention right on the menu that they take every possible precaution to keep the pizza gluten free, including separate prep spaces and utensils. Almost all of their specialty pizzas are listed on the gluten free pizza along with all of their base sauces. And if that isn't option enough, you can also create your own pizza with a large list of toppings and proteins. Tonight I chose the Funky Q Chicken pizza (with a few modifications). It usually comes with a BBQ sauce base, BBQ chicken, mozzarella, cheddar, caramelized onions, and Applewood smoked bacon. I substituted BBQ tofu for the chicken, and I added pineapple. It was delicious! Like pretty much all gluten free crusts I've had, it was thin, and had a slightly more crumbly texture than regular wheat crust, but it had a good flavor. The toppings were fantastic, and it completely hit the spot! I had an amazing experience. I was confident in my safety, I had great service, and the food was delicious. And, the best part is, I have enough left-overs for two more meals. :)


Knowledge - 5 stars
Accommodation - 4.5 stars
Taste - 4.5 stars

Pollo Tropical

I can't believe I've gone this long without writing about such a staple in my diet! I eat at Pollo Tropical all the time, partly because there are restaurants right next to both of my work locations, but mostly because they are inexpensive and delicious. ;) Pollo Tropical, on a corporate level, is also AMAZING with accommodating food allergies. They are a member of FAAN (Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network) and have identified four different meals that are completely free of the common allergens milk, egg, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, and wheat. In addition, they clearly identify allergens in menu items. As a Celiac, there are very few things I can't eat. YAY! I can't have the dinner rolls (obviously), Caesar salad & croutons, french fries (always sad), tortillas, tres leches, and key lime pie. Everything else on their extensive menu is fair game! And, even though they fry their plantains, I've been told that they use a separate fryer, so they're still GF! I eat them all the time and never have a problem, and I'm pretty sensative. There have been two times at two different locations where I've had issues with cross-contamination, which is pretty good, considering that I eat a Pollo Tropical at least once a week. This issues were the direct result of people in the kitchen not taking my allergy seriously. Every other time I've eaten there they are very receptive to my explanation of my allergies, change their gloves, and are very careful while serving the food. Today, the man putting orders together was uncertain about my request, and (Hallelujah!) asked what I NEEDED HIM TO DO. This was at the South Semoran Blvd. location. All restaurants should have this level of service!

Knowledge - 4.5 stars
Accommodation - 4 stars
Taste - 5 stars

Steaks, Shakes, and Spicy Chicken

I know it's been a while since I've blogged. I have let life get in the way of stuff. Oops! There's not a lot to say about my gluten free adventures since my last post. In fact, only two events come to mind.

The first was a lovely lunch with Aaron at Pei Wei last Sunday. They have a limited but delicious GF menu, offering edamame, salads, and a few entrees. The restaurant is very careful about cross-contamination, which makes me feel very safe. The only downside for me is that my diet is about 95% vegetarian, and other than the edamame, there is no vegetarian option for me on the list. Since I'm allergic to shrimp, my only protein option is chicken. I have not experienced large portion of the menu yet, because I like the spicy chicken so much. It is delicious, and the portion is large enough to share between two people. Aaron and I shared this on Sunday. I will review this restaurant in more detail later. :)

The second experience that stands out in my mind is one from Friday night. After an AMAZING performance of Suessical Jr. from Howard Middle School, Aaron and the cast, crew, and parents had an after party at Steak and Shake. Fortunately, I was able to rearrange my work schedule and get to the school in time to see the show, and I was invited to the party! Unfortunately, I was hungry and not very hopeful about Steak and Shake's gluten free offerings. My prediction was correct. There was not a whole lot on the menu that I could eat. After a talk with the chef, whose brother-in-law has Celiac, I did my best to navigate the menu. I could eat hamburgers without the bun, but I was reluctant to do so, as I strongly prefer to eat a vegetarian diet (GF wins, though, if a choice must be made). Finally, I found a Southwest chicken salad. It usually comes with ranch dressing, which would have been my first choice if it was safe. It however, was not safe and neither was any other dressing on the menu except for the vinaigrette. I ordered my salad with the change in dressing, planning to remove the chicken from the salad when it arrived. Within a few minutes, the manager came to my table and explained that the chicken comes pre-marinated and the supplier did not provide a complete ingredient list (WHY?), so they could not guarantee the safety of the chicken. As I wasn't going to eat it anyway, this did rock my world too much. I was, however, very grateful that I was informed and could ask for the offending item to be removed from my salad. Had it come on the salad, just picking it off would have not been safe enough! Considering the fact that there were about 50 middle school students running around the restaurant, I was very impressed that the kitchen took so much time to help me. I was also impressed with how quickly my food was ready. The salad itself was not that incredible, but it was OK. The ingredients were fresh, and the jalapeno in the pico de gallo was quite spicy, which was a surprise. Since Steak and Shake does not have much gluten free food available, I probably won't be dining there on a whim, but it is nice to know that I can eat SOMETHING there and be safe if the need arises. Plus, they have the fun flavor syrups. :)

Knowledge - 4.5 stars
Accommodation - 4 stars
Taste - 2.5 stars

A gluten free Sea World

After a long, hard week, I wanted some quality penguin time, and in Orlando, that means a day at Sea World. Aaron and I decided to get the meal wrist band, which have us unlimited access to 7 different restaurants in the park. With unlimited access to food, the only question was what could I eat. I asked guest services if they had a comprehensive allergen list, which they did not (btw, Disney does). So, I had to ask the chef at each restaurant what I could eat. We tried three different locations. Here's how it went...

The first place we went was called Voyager's Smokehouse, which had BBQ and salads. The chef there was quite knowledgeable, and was able to clearly tell me exactly what I could and could not eat. She even said that I couldn't have the fries yet, because they were fried with the chicken tenders, but after noon, they cooked them in an adjacent snack place, so the fryer was safe. I meant to go back for some fries, but I forgot. I will definitely get some in the future, though. She told me to avoid the deserts except for the fruit. I could have the salads, but they had to make new ones, because the two salads that they serve come with croutons or fried tortilla shell. I couldn't have sandwiches, macaroni and cheese, or chicen tenders. I could however, have all of the BBQ meat, corn, and baked beans, which excited me, because that's rare when eating out. While it's nice that I could have the BBQ, I eat a vegetarian diet most of the time. So, I did the best I could and got a BBQ chicken salad without the shell points and baked beans. The beans were disappointing. They tasted overwhelmingly like black pepper. The salad was nice, though, and was the best food I had all day. I ate some of the chicken, but mostly picked around it and ate the salad. Being the first stop of the day, I was impressed and hopeful at what else we might find.

Knowledge - 5 stars
Accommodation - 3.5 stars
Taste - 3.5 stars


After a few exhibits, we decided to get lunch at the Seafire Inn. This restaurant was mostly Italian food, but also had some stir fry. We went mostly for Aaron, but I decided that since I blog, I should at least ask what they could do. I was told that the only thing I could have was the chicken stirfry without the sauce. The chef offered to make it special for me, so I accepted, though I wasn't that hungry. The food took a LONG time. Finally, I man brought the food and said he only used olive oil, and didn't use any seasonings. After I got it, I asked if the watermelon was cut on a GF surface, just to make sure. He was happy to check, but a woman working at the buffet line gave me some strange attitude about it. She told me that watermelon was GF because it was a fruit. I told her that I knew that, but I was inquiring about the utensils and the cutting surface, because if watermelon touches something that is not GF, then it is no longer safe for me to eat. She started to make a snide comment, but trailed off, said "Whatever" and walked away. After a bit, the original chef came out and assured me that the watermelon was fine, and got some for me, because the line had grown significantly during my wait. I was impressed by the kitchen staff's knowledge and willingness to make different food for me, but the food took a while, and that one woman was quite rude. After this whole ordeal, I finally sat down with Aaron to eat. The stir fry looked good with nicely cooked chicken and a colorful assortment of veggies, but with no seasoning and no sauce, it was pretty bland. I ate more than I particularly cared to, mostly because the chef made it specially for me. After a few bites, though, I focused more on the watermelon.

Knowledge - 5 stars
Accommodation - 4 stars (would be 5 except for Miss Attitude)
Taste - 2.5 stars


The last place we visited was Mango Joe's Cafe. I was excited about this, because I remember really enjoying food there in the past. I was a bit disappointed when we talked to the chef, though. The most exciting thing on their menu is this fajita hoagie thing, which was obviously off-limits, but has given me a ridiculous craving for a steak sandwich. They have other sandwiches and wraps, but again, those are off-limits, though the chef tried to tell me that I could eat the vegetable wrap because it had a spinach wrap... Spinach wraps still have flour last time I checked. I thought that was a bit odd. All of their fajita meat it a no go, too, because it is marinated in soy sauce. The only option left after all of that was the salad. They had a chicken house salad that I could get without the chicken, or a fajita salad without the chicken. The house salad had a vinaigrette, and the fajita salad had ranch dressing. I asked if the dressings were safe, and they didn't know, so they told me to avoid them to be safe. I pressed the issue asking them to check, and he brought out the bottles so I could look at the ingredients. Both dressings seemed safe to me, so I chose the ranch dressing with the meatless fajita salad and watermelon. The salad was fine, but not as good as the BBQ one from Voyagers.

Knowledge - 1.5
Accommodation - 1.5
Taste - 3

I understand that Sea World is not Disney (which has won awards for its leadership in food allergy awareness), but even still, I was disappointed. If I have to ask the chefs at the various locations, the chefs should know what gluten is and what items I can eat. I was also surprised that none of the locations we visited had alternative food of any kind. The best food I had was mediocre. I do have to say, though, that throughout the whole day, I think I managed to leave unscathed, which, given the fact that I was flat out told I could eat something with gluten in it, is pretty impressive.

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