Caffe Andiamo

Posted in Gluten Free in Florida, Gluten Free Living by PhoenixRize

For a while Thursdays were Date Night… then work got super busy (yay!) and by the time we’d stumble home in the evenings we’d be exhausted and dirty and not really interested in going to all the effort of getting cleaned up AND presentable and then going back out into public. Netflix and delivery became too tempting.

We made it one of our 2020 goals to get out and try more new things. Having food allergies/intolerances can make trying new restaurants unnerving, but it does certainly force us off the beaten track of chain restaurants and fast food.

Usually I find new restaurants on the Find Me Gluten Free app. I love being able to read others’ reviews before I put my own tummy on the line. There are lots of gluten free options where we live, but we have this one area that doesn’t have many places that I’m wild about. I started scrolling through Google Maps searching for ‘ gluten free’ and Caffe Andiamo popped up in one comment. I contacted the restaurant and they replied right away that they did have plenty of gluten free options. Woo hoo!

First 2020 date night! Caffe Andiamo

They didn’t have a separate Gluten Free menu, but the hostess said to talk to our server and they’d be able to direct us.

Our server said that any of the pastas could be made gluten free (spaghetti or penne noodles). He was quick to pop back to the kitchen to check that certain dishes were gf, but I had to keep reminding him that we were gluten free. At one point he offered us bread, again, and I had to tell him ‘no, it’s a serious gluten issue.’ ‘So, no bread,’ he asked. Yeah, no bread. Ugh. I felt pretty confident in the kitchen, but our server needed a lot of reminding. He asked Brian if he wanted to add meatballs to his spaghetti. I asked if they were gluten free. ‘Oh no, they have bread crumbs.’ Aaarrrg! I get that a lot of things are just routine like the bread and adding meatballs, but… BUT… I shouldn’t have to ask and remind every single time! By dessert he had gotten better. When he brought the dessert menu he’d checked that there were actually gluten free options. So, I’m giving him the benefit of the doubt that he was just having an off evening since he was good about checking with the kitchen and did at least seem to understand.)

Dinner was excellent. I ordered the special Vodka ummm… oh, crud. I’ve forgotten the name… Vodka something or the other with seafood and Brian ordered the Spaghetti Bolognese.

Dessert was actually really impressive. Many places only offer sorbet for gluten free desserts, but there were three options!

Brian chose the Chocolate Creme Brûlée (they also had a regular Creme brûlée)

I ordered the Bomba. Absolutely delicious! It’s a cherry, wrapped in vanilla and chocolate cinnamon ice cream and dipped in chocolate ganache. Absolute heaven! I’m going back just for this!

There were plenty of pasta dishes to choose from and honestly, I’d be happy just going for the desserts and a glass of wine.

I’m looking forward to taking Mom back for lunch and hopefully catching a server that I can grill about the menu a bit more. There appeared to be several other dishes that looked like they should be gluten free too. I’ll keep you posted!

1Dec2018

The Hawks Nest Grill – Daytona

Posted in Gluten Free in Florida, Gluten Free Living, Travel & Adventures by PhoenixRize

Last week Brian and I got the chance to visit Daytona for a few days and… of course… we went hunting for new restaurants. We turned to our favorite app, Find Me Gluten Free, to help us find something tasty that wouldn’t kill us and immediately noticed one restaurant that had received 30+ positive reviews. Thirty GF people ate there, liked it, survived AND wrote a review?! Decision made!

I’m gonna admit, I was a little surprised by the restaurant itself. From the reviews I’d been expecting a fancy Italian restaurant. Instead, we pulled up to a somewhat rundown strip of stores far off the main roads. The shop next door advertised ‘Cremation & Urns’. Awesome. I supposed that if the restaurant wasn’t gluten friendly that Brian could just drag me next door and leave me for them to package up in a nice urn. I suppose this just proves that you should never judge a book by its cover (except, that you totally judge a book by its cover, that’s why there’s all that cover art and the description and recommendations by other authors… but whatever… you know what I mean.)

The Hawk’s Nest Grill looked like your regular bar and grill on the inside. Vintage signs decorated the walls and the color scheme ran towards browns and black. Still not the fancy Italian eatery I’d been expecting, but it was clean and looked nice. The waitress hurried over, smiling and I started in straightaway that I had a gluten intolerance and I’d read about them online, then paused for her reaction. I like to start out with the fact that I’m trouble and give us both the chance to give up before the drinks are even served. She never even batted an eye. Apparently several of the owner’s family have celiac so they know the drill. Our waitress was super helpful… to the point where we ordered way too much, but everything she described sounded so good.

We started out with the fried mozzarella triangles. I haven’t had fried mozzarella since I went GF 6+ years ago. And yes… yes those melty, gooey triangles of cheese were just as delicious as I remembered. The marinara sauce was rich and flavorful too.

The four triangles disappeared entirely too fast and were followed by a plate of salad. I shouldn’t have ordered the salad, even though it was included with the meal. Why waste valuable tummy space on rabbit food, right?

Unfortunately, the salad was pretty tasty too and even though I’d planned to just pick out the olives I ended up eating most of it before I realized.

I really should have skipped the salad, even though it was tasty, because I was already starting to feel a bit full when our entrees arrived.

I ordered the Lobster Ravioli. Oh. My. Gods. Seriously. I had ravioli once since I went GF and it was nothing compared to this ravioli…. I’m not even sure pre-GF ravioli compares to this ravioli. The pasta was so tender and perfect and the lobster was sweet and plentiful. Absolute heaven.

Brian ordered the Chicken Carbonara with Basil/Parsley Fettuccini. Did I mention that all the pasta is house made? Yeah….. fresh, delicious, gluten free pasta. Heaven!

You can order the pasta from Amazon… dried, of course, but still…. You should absolutely try it!

There was bread too, because you can’t have all that amazing pasta sauce without bread to soak up every last bit. It was just a toasted hamburger bun, but it was still buttery, garlicky and tasty.

And, as if we hadn’t had quite enough food to last us the next week…. the chef’s wife makes homemade GF cheesecake. Yes, we ordered a slice of that too. We did at least have some sense left and managed to box up some of our pasta and bread before we stuffed ourselves too silly to drive home. We ordered the cheesecake to go too….. with blueberry sauce.

Considering that the location was rather unassuming, the bill, was not. I’m not complaining. Just offering you a warning not to be shocked when your $75 bill arrives.

The food was house-made fresh, gluten free and absolutely delicious. Our waitress was friendly and super knowledgeable and the chef checked in on us from the open kitchen. If you are even in the Daytona area, I would strongly suggest that you hunt down the Hawk’s Nest Grill.

5251 South Nova Rd. Port Orange, Florida 32127

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8Nov2017

Valley Smoke BBQ

Posted in Gluten Free in Florida, Gluten Free Living, Review by PhoenixRize

Considering that Brian and I work and, of course, live together you wouldn’t think we’d need (or want) any more time with one another. Strangely enough, even after a long day of renovation and shoveling dirt, we still kinda like each other. We’ve recently started a weekly ‘date night’ and it’s been a nice change for the two of us. Since our job renovating houses allows a pretty casual dress code (hello, sweats and ponytails!) its been nice to have a reason to get dressed up (by dressed up, I mean clothes that don’t have paint or dirt on them) and go out together.

Last week we decided to try Valley Smoke BBQ which had just opened in October. BBQ is generally a pretty safe Gluten Free choice and I’d had a GF friend that had visited and said that there were plenty of GF options. Since she survived… and even said it was pretty yummy, we decided to give it a taste.

I wasn’t quite sure how to dress for the evening. Valley Smoke BBQ, who bills themselves as a ‘upscale smokehouse’ is located on the Intercostal Waterway in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL. We needed reservations, they valet your car, but we’d also be eating BBQ… possibly with our fingers…. Upscale Smokehouse, huh? I shouldn’t have been worried though. As with most of the places we’ve discovered in Ponte Vedra Beach, the dress is a comfy mix of jeans, shorts, dresses, polo shirts and sandals. Our construction dress probably wouldn’t have blended so well, but jeans and a cute top were fine. For the BBQed fingers, they provided denim-like napkins that were perfectly suited for upscale BBQ.

I asked for a GF menu before we were seated and the hostess supplied me with the ‘hostess copy.’ So, yes, they have a printed GF menu, but it’s just a paper copy. (+ points for having a GF menu, – points for not having a ‘real’ menu.) The hostess did say if there was something on the regular menu that interested me, I could ask my server and the kitchen could probably make GF alterations. (+ points for adaptability.) Hopefully, they’ll add a real GF menu in the future, or maybe GF designations on the regular menu. It’s not a deal breaker, but it does make me feel more valued and a bit safer, like they’re taking their GF customers seriously. Luckily our waitress was GF too (Bonus Points!) and she was able to offer recommendations and attest to having eaten and survived.

Our waitress suggested the cornbread as a starter, but we noticed that it wasn’t on the GF menu at all, which was strange because most items were on the menu with the designation ‘Gluten Free’ ‘NO’ or the alterations necessary to make it GF (ie, remove croutons). She said she ate the cornbread and my GF friend had even mentioned eating the cornbread, so I asked that she just check in with the kitchen, but we figured that it had just been forgotten on the GF menu. I’m glad we tried it… the cornbread was delish! It was more on the savory side than I normally like but I smothered my slices with all the honey-butter and I thought it was perfect. Brian apparently prefers savory cornbread, so I actually had to share. One order was just the perfect amount for the two of us with enough left over to take home for lunch the next day.

For the entrée we decided to share the Que for Two, which was more than enough for both of us. We ordered the ribs, brisket and pork. For the sides we got Bacon Garlic Green Beans, Whipped Potatoes, and German Potatoes. I was disappointed to see that the kitchen sent out our order with the Garlic Toast on the side even though we were a GF order… It was on the side and not actually touching anything, but still…. (- points).

The food was fabulous! Forgive my picture, it doesn’t do justice to the deliciousness that filled our table… the early evening light, reflecting off the nearby waterway, filtered through the palm leaves was absolutely perfect for the ambiance… but crap for food photography.

After stuffing ourselves silly on BBQ and potatoes Brian rolled his eyes at the suggestion of dessert, but I’d thought ahead and saved a bit of tummy space. We packed up some of the ribs, brisket and German Potatoes for lunch the next day and happily ordered dessert. There were a couple of different GF dessert options, but I’ll admit that I got completely distracted once our waitress mentioned the Apple Crisp with Bourbon Ice Cream and quit listening. The Apple Crisp was piping hot and absolutely delicious. I would highly recommend it!

Valley Smoke will probably become one of our top choices in local restaurants. Like with the other restaurants we’ve discovered along the Intercostal Waterway/Roscoe Blvd, the location is small and the parking insanely limited. Reservations are necessary, but fortunately you can use the Open Table app. (+ points!)

I adore the decor… even the deer-head above the fireplace… which I know would normally have bothered me, but the deer seemed so serene as he stared at me over Brian’s head. Maybe it was the cotton blossoms in a vase beside him… I don’t know, I just liked the deer. The decor is a mix of… rustic industrial? Rich woods and stone mixed with wrought iron and glass. It definitely feels upscale, but I didn’t feel like a heathen eating BBQ in the beautiful surroundings…. a very interesting combination to pull off. Brian and I spent a silly amount of time discussing how they’d gotten the curtains hung from the galvanized pipe rods and how they would ever get them back down. Brian says it’s probably a safety feature to keep people like me from trying to steal the curtains. (I did really like the curtains…. )

Have you tried Valley Smoke BBQ yet? What did you think?

22Jul2017

Gluten Free Key Lime Treats in the Florida Keys

Posted in Gluten Free in Florida, Gluten Free Living, Travel & Adventures by PhoenixRize

When Brian and I visited the Florida Keys recently I made an extensive search of all the Gluten Free Key Lime treats. It was a challenge, but I love my readers…. Diet be damned! I ate every gf Key Lime treat I could find…. ’cause I love you guys! 😁

Coconut Fried Key Lime Ice Cream

Marker 88
88000 Overseas Hwy,
Islamorada, FL 33036
Not my favorite Key Lime Treat in the Keys. The coconut coating was good, but the ice cream was so frozen it was hard to scoop it up with the spoon. It had to be ‘stabbed’ more than scooped.

Key Lime Sorbet

Key Largo Chocolates
100470 Overseas Hwy
Key Largo, FL 33037
Again, not a favorite…. Key Largo Chocolates had good reviews on the Find Me Gluten Free app. Maybe I just got the wrong employee. She seemed disinterested and not very clear about what would be safe for GF people.

I was excited to try the Key Lime Ice Cream, but when pressed, the clerk said that sometimes, when one of the frozen Key Lime bars (which do have crust) break in manufacturing they’ll add it to the Key Lime Ice Cream…. so it’s not necessarily safe. The sorbet is gf…. but… it’s just sorbet…. meh.

They also had truffles and other Key Lime treats at the store, but by the time I’d badgered answers out of the clerk about the ice cream I was annoyed and ready to leave.

Kermit’s Key West Key Lime Shoppe
802 Duval St
Key West, FL 33040
Kermit’s had great reviews on the FMGF app and they were so right!

The staff was sweet and helpful. The first day…. (yeah…. I had to go back a second time…) I got a slice of GF Key Lime pie. OMG! It was so good. Rich and creamy… super Key Lime-y…. and NOT geen…. yay! (because it shouldn’t be green… that’s just dye… yuck!) Brian and I each got our own slice… because I don’t share pie!

On our second day in Key West we went on a Sailing / Snorkeling / Kayacking tour. Afterward we ate BBQ and then went back to the hotel to clean up (from the salt water, not the BBQ sauce!) Brian would have been happy to turn in early, but I wanted to find some Key Lime Ice Cream.

You wouldn’t think it would be so damn hard to find ice cream!

Here’s a list of where GF Key Lime Ice Cream ISN’T:

Häagen-Dazs® Ice Cream Shop
Kilwins Key West Chocolates Fudge (crust in the ice cream)
Mattheessen’s (this place really ticked me off. When asked, the clerk said it only had ‘little bits’ of pie crust in it. Yeah… ‘little bits’ are still a problem! Grrrr 😡

After checking all the ice cream places close to the hotel and only finding ice cream with pie crust chunks I was annoyed and determined to find GF Key Lime Ice Cream. Brian and I headed back to Kermit’s where I knew they had GF Key Lime Ice Cream.

Brian wasn’t ecstatic that I made him walk a mile for ice cream, but it was damn good ice cream… and I argued that all the walking burned up all the calories!

19Jul2017

Gluten Free in the Florida Keys

Posted in Gluten Free in Florida, Gluten Free Living, Travel & Adventures by PhoenixRize

Uggh… that’s so close to rhyming… ‘gluten frees in the Florida Keys’? Nope…. it’s kinda making me crazy. Maybe I should just change it to ‘What I Ate on Vacation.’ Boring, but the almost rhyme wouldn’t bother me then. *sigh*

Anyway… so Gluten Free Stuff That I Ate on Vacation in the Florida Keys.

The first day as we drove down the A1A (between St Augustine and the first Keys) we stopped for a picnic lunch along the beach. (Because there are sandy beaches along that stretch, but not IN the Keys.) We’re back on track with our much healither GF lunches… lunch meat, nuts, fruit and water. It’s easy to pack, way healthier, lower carb and travels nicely in the small cooler.

The Florida Keys are filled with Gluten Free Friendly resturants. You could walk around and eat forever…. which I strongly considered… and tried to argue for, but Brian wanted to be ‘healthy’ and sight see and stuff. 😩

Thank heavens for the Find Me Gluten Free App. I don’t know how any GF person can survive without it! FMGF was filled with recommendations all throughout the Keys.

For lunch we stopped at Marker 88 in Key Largo. They had good reviews on FMGF and the sales guy from the Visitor Center gave us a card for 10% off.

The food was really good and the staff was polite and helpful with ordering GF safely. They had a separate GF menu and I appreciated that the GF menu was posted on their website. It’s nice to see what’s available before you get to the restaurant.

Brian and I were even able to stay on our Arbonne Detox plan (a little longer). Except for the Coconut Crusted Deep Fried Ice Cream that we shared for dessert…. umm… but I had to order that for you guys, right?! I have a responsibility to my readers!

Brian got the Shrimp Zoodles. My mom has been telling me to make zoodles for forever, but I kept resisting… they just didn’t sound yummy…. Mom was right (As usual) the zoodles were delicious!

I ordered the Alligator Reef Salad. There’s no alligator in the salad…. but the crab, shrimp and hearts of palm were super yummy. It was served with a Mango Citrus dressing that really complimented the shrimp and crab.

The Coconut Fried Key Lime Ice Cream sounded better than it actually was. The coconut crust was good, but the ice cream was super frozen. Obviously it had to be really cold so it could be fried, but it made it really difficult to eat.

Marker 88
88000 Overseas Hwy
Islamorda, FL 33036

_________

By dinnertime I didn’t care about keeping to the detox…. I wanted pizza! Off the Hook Grill was well recommended on the GFMF app…. for a good reason! 🤤

Brian got the Duck BLT… made with duck bacon. OMG! Sooo good.

I got the Lobster Pie. It was good… but also kind of odd, but good…. I liked it, but it wasn’t my favorite pizza ever. The bits of fig and balsamic vinegar gave it a slightly sweet flavor. Not bad, but I prefer more savory pizzas. The crust was fabulous though!

Our waitress brought me a sample of the blueberry cider from Slim Pickens Cider and Mead. (A local brewer!) I’m not normally a big cider drinker, but I couldn’t pass up blueberry. It had a nice berry flavor, but not overly sweet…. crisp. Perfect with pizza.

We liked the restaurant so much that Brian and I went back the following morning for breakfast.

Brian ordered the GF pancakes. He liked them, but they weren’t my favorite. They were thick and a bit ‘biscuit’ like.

Since we were going out on the Sailboat / Snorkel / Kayacking tour that day I didn’t want to eat anything that might upset my tummy.

I ordered scrambled eggs and duck bacon with a side of potatoes and gf toast. The waiter was great and told us that the potatoes themselves were gf, but since they’re fried there could be cross contamination… but since we were the first customers that morning and they change their oil every day the potatoes would be safe. I appreciate that he took the extra step to warn me that they were safe this time, but might not be next time.

The toast seemed to just be Udi’s… I should have told them to skip the toast, but every once in a while I come across something new and yummy.

Word of warning: the restaurant is tiny. Seriously tiny… 18 seats at tables and about 8 at the bar. Make reservations!

Off The Hook Grill
728 Simonton St
Key West, FL 33040
___________

After a fun / tiring day on the sailboat, snorkeling and kayacking we were starved. (They fed us a good lunch on the sailboat, but I tried to stay out of the after lunch snacks… and a day in the water will wear you out!)

Brian had been craving BBQ. I argued for Mexican, but I caved when I heard that the BBQ place was closer. I was just ready to eat and then go back to the room and get cleaned up.

The waitress gave us a separate GF menu (single sheet of paper). She didn’t seem very knowledgeable about what was GF or not. I asked if the potato salad was safe and she said she thought it should be safe because potatoes are gluten free. Ugh. We ordered the BBQ Plate for Two. All of the sauces were Gluten Free and we decided to stick with green beans for our sides since they were listed on the gf menu.

Despite asking for a Gluten Free menu, talking about Gluten Free choices and SAYING that we were Gluten Free they still brought us a basket of cornbread. What?!? (Strangely, the only mention that I can find on their online menu about gf is that the cornbread isn’t Gluten Free… but no other mention of what is or isn’t gf. So why bother?)

The food was good and we didn’t get sick…. I’m not confident that they had the best understanding of GF…. it seems more like the meats and sauces are gf and if you stick to those you’ll be okay.

Charlie Mac’s 404
404 Southard St
Key West, FL 33040

_____________

I read some delicious sounding reviews for Le Petit Paris and had insisted that we weren’t leaving Key West until I got to go there for breakfast.

Cinnamon Rasin French Toast with cinnamon butter and walnuts. *gasp* It was syrup coated heaven! I should have asked what brand of bread they used, but I was so busy stuffing every last bite into my mouth I never managed to ask. It was absolutely delish!

Brian ordered the GF pancakes. They were…. cute? Four very small, strawberry decorated pancakes made up Brian’s breakfast. It was almost comical compared to my heaping plate of French Toast. Fortunately for me, Brian doesn’t like raisins, so I didn’t have to share!

Breakfast was not inexpensive. There was a $4 up-charge for all GF orders… which seems a bit steep to me…. but, the food was delicious. So just go in knowing that you’re going to pay an arm and a leg. (It’s worth it though!) The pancakes were $12 and the French Toast was $11 before the extra $4. Strangely, my French Toast got the upcharge, but Brian’s pancakes didn’t…. I took a bite of his pancakes and didn’t have any issues, so….

Le Petit Paris
825 Duval St
Key West, FL 33040

___________

I also made an extensive search of Gluten Free Key Lime treats, but that’s a whole other post. It was challenging, but I love my readers…. Diet be damned! I ate every gf Key Lime treat I could find…. ’cause I love you guys! 😁 Post coming soon

2Jul2017

Tijuana Flats

Posted in Gluten Free in Florida, Gluten Free Living, Review by PhoenixRize

Our new house is in a new community… so there is construction going on constantly. Which is actually not as awful as I had expected it to be. Even when the house next door to our was under construction it wasn’t really noisy. There seem to be small teams of trades that come, do their part and then move on to the next house. My only problem comes from the teams that play the spunky music like you hear in the Mexican restaurants. Apparently I’ve got some Pavlovian response going on and the second I hear Mexican music I start craving nachos and salsa. I can’t help it… I can’t shut up about it either. I may be making Mom and Brian slightly crazy with my constant talk about nachos. We’ve had taco bowls for dinner twice this week! I really hope that team moves out of earshot soon. I don’t seem to have any uncontrollable cravings from country or rock music, so I should be fine soon.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on if we’re considering my detox or my crazed cravings…. Tijuana Flats just opened in Town Center. Even though I’m on this 30-day Arbonne Detox I couldn’t miss the grand opening. I checked the menu online first to make sure I wouldn’t be faced with salsa and chips as my only options… because I wouldn’t be able to resist. They actually had a really easy to read/understand Allergy Information page. (Why can’t they all be like this?!) It’s a nice chart that clearly list gluten, eggs, dairy, soy, nuts and fish…. and best of all… says sensible things like “dairy free if ordered without cheese.” So often these charts leave you to wonder…. is there dairy/gluten in there somewhere that I’m not imagining? Would it be safe if I just didn’t get cheese on it? Is it worth the risk???

I figured I’d be safe with one of the Bowls and could even stay within most of the Detox restrictions. I’d have to forgo the chips this time… but 20 more days and everybody better stand aside!

Mom and I tried to go at lunchtime, but that was just silly. The parking lot was packed and cars and golf carts were circling the lot like…. well…. hungry sharks. To celebrate their Grand Opening, Tijuana Flats was offering free burritos…. there was no way I was going to get a parking spot at noon. Duh!

We replotted the schedule and did our grocery shopping first… on empty tummies…. Can you even imagine what I threw in the cart?!

Fortunately I was finally able to sneak into a parking space around 1:00. Mom and I darted across the parking lot, dodging golf carts all the way and were promptly blasted back by the music and chatter from inside. I feel old just for saying this…. but damn, turn the music down! The greeter at the door supplied us with menus and when I asked about a gluten free menu she said they didn’t have a ‘menu’ but they did have the allergy info and offered to grab it from the counter for me. I already had it on my phone, so I passed, but she did add that the people at the order counter could help me too.

After glancing at the menu, Mom and I decided to stick to our game plan… Burrito Bowls. I told the ladies at the counter that we were gluten free and they all nodded confidently, and started rattling off a long list of things that would be safe. They even mentioned items that are gluten free, but would be at risk for cross contamination from the fryers. (Bonus Points!) We ordered our Bowls to-go since we still had the groceries in the car and I sent Mom out to turn the A/C back on while I waited.

It was crowded and noisy (just turn the music down a little?) but all the staff was just so darn nice. They must have been feeding them pixi-sticks and Mt Dew in the back room or something, because after that crowd I don’t know how everyone was still being friendly. The restaurant had a giant mermaid picture on one wall and I thought about snapping a picture, but it was crowded and I didn’t think I could crop out all the people… so I guess I’ll just have to go back again soon…. for the blog. There is a nice patio area outside where I’d probably choose to sit next time… just to avoid the noise. When your order is ready a server comes out and YELLS your name…. repeatedly, because apparently no one pays attention, or maybe they just can’t hear either.

The Burrito Bowls were huge and absolutely delicious. We both ordered chicken, and had them hold the cheese and sour cream (this time). Everything was bright and fresh. I can’t wait until I’m done with this detox and I can try the tacos! The burritos were HUGE and look fantastic, but they’re made with a flour tortilla, so those won’t be safe for me even after the Detox Program is through. I’m just happy to have a safe and yummy Mexican place so close to home now!

I just noticed when I went to get the link…. I can order online… OMG!!!! Just think of the snacking possibilities!

Tijuana Flats – Nocatee

41 Settlement Drive

Ponte Vedra, FL 32081

27Jun2017

Present Moment Cafe

Posted in Gluten Free in Florida, Gluten Free Living, Review by PhoenixRize

Vegans are tricky.

Last week I had the chance to visit the Present Moment Cafe in St. Augustine. Someone had recommended it to me… with the warning that I shouldn’t let the “vegan-y” stuff scare me away. We’d been discussing gluten free restaurants and she told me that I just had to try the Present Moment. Almost everything on the menu is gluten free. Everything is dairy free… and meat free too….. It sounded like something I’d like to try eventually, but… but no meat? Ummm….

I’ve had Mom and Brian on this Arbonne Thirty Day Detox… ~~forever~~…. a week. The Protein Shakes are good and dinners are easy enough, but dining out is a challenge. No gluten, dairy, soy or corn is really hard at a regular restaurant…. but not at a vegan restaurant!

The Present Moment Cafe is really cute with colorful, eclectic decorations. It’s not a very big place, but there are lots of little tables, perfect for visiting with friends and enjoying a Detox Smoothie.

The three of us chose a low table near the window, surrounded by two cushy couches. The menu is clearly labeled if the food contains wheat or soy. Everything is obviously egg and dairy free since the food is vegan.

We ordered drinks while we decided what to eat.

Purple Haze Acai, blueberry, banana, cashew milk.

Detox Cooler Pineapple, cucumber, mint

After a bit of arguing over who was getting what… we all have to try something different and share… we finally placed our order.

Tacos of Life Pine nut and walnut pate, with fresh
salsa, Mexican “cheese” and guacamole in two romaine
shells topped with cashew sour cream and jalapeno
vinaigrette. Served with two dehydrated corn chips…10

Mom enjoyed the tacos. I tried a bite of the Pine Nut & Walnut Pate that was the “meat” of the dish. It was good. I’m not giving up meat anytime in the near future, but if I had to… this was a pretty tasty alternative.

Pad Thai Sweet and spicy Asian vegetables, served
over kelp noodles with a sesame garlic sauce, and topped
with curried cashews… 16

The Pad Thai was delicious. The kelp noodles weren’t what I was expecting… I was thinking of something green and… sea-weed-ish… The kelp noodles were a bit chewy, but in an enjoyable way. They had a definite “bite” and “crunch” to them. We liked the noodles enough that we bought a bag to take home and experiment with.

Okay…. so what would you think if the day’s special was a carrot hot dog? I mean, they had “burgers” that were made out of beans and stuff… and an “Un-Tuna” sandwich. It’s not crazy to think that the carrot “hot dog” was made from carrots and other stuff smooshed together to resemble a hot dog, right?

WRONG. Vegans are tricky!

It was a damned carrot on a hot dog bun! I kid you not.. a carrot… smothered in sauerkraut… on a hot dog bun.

Here’s the really crazy part…. it was actually pretty tasty. Yes, of course I ate it! I’d ordered it, I was going to try it. I’m pretty sure those Vegans were laughing at me for paying $10 for a carrot on a bun, but I’d show them…. I’d eat that damn carrot and like it!

It actually was pretty good though.

I only took a few bites of the bun because I am trying to avoid all the fake-y gluten free stuff while I do this detox, so I tried a few bites… (Yummy GF bun!) and then ate the rest of my sauerkraut covered “hot dog” with a fork.

The sweet potato salad was delicious and I’m planning to take a shot at duplicating the recipe soon. They had a cookbook of restaurant recipes for sale, but of course, that recipe wasn’t in it!

We’d made it this far and not broken many of the detox rules, so we decided to treat ourselves to desert. (The sugar was a no-no, but I think everything else was okay..) We ordered one Banana Split to share.

Classic Banana Split Homemade vanilla cashew ice cream, fresh berries, bananas, raw vegan vanilla and cacao creme topped with candied pecans… 9.5

The cashew ice cream was delicious! I’d rather not have to give up dairy, but I certainly wouldn’t mind having cashew ice cream if it turns out that dairy is one of my food nemeses.

I don’t think I’d like to become vegan, but the food at the Present Moment Cafe is certainly delicious enough that I don’t mind being vegan-ish for a meal or three. The staff was sweet and great about answering any food allergy/ingredient questions. The cafe itself is cozy and comfortable; perfect for a quick bite or a leisurely lunch with friends.

The Present Moment Cafe

224 West King Street
St. Augustine, Florida 32089

31May2017

Kamiya86

Posted in Gluten Free in Florida, Gluten Free Living, Review by PhoenixRize

Boo was sitting on my lap the other morning, trying to wheedle a few more nibbles of omelette from Brian. ‘She needs to get her teeth cleaned again,’ he said, falling prey to her big brown eyes and feeding her a bit of egg.

I’m not sure which one of us growled at him… honesty it could have been either one. Boo is a Pomeranian, and they’re prone to bad teeth. I try to brush her teeth, but she hates it and… well, I’m a terrible mommy.

Boo actually handles it all better than I do… I’m the one that needs to be sedated during her appointments. (I’m a Helicopter Pom Mom.) Once I dropped her off for her cleaning I had to keep myself distracted until it was time to pick her up, so Mom and I went shopping and out to lunch. Food and Retail Therapy are my solutions to most everything.

I’ve driven past Kamiya86 a dozen times and wanted to try it out, but when I’ve actually had the time Mom wasn’t feeling up to trying sushi (I’m still working to convince her that raw fish is yummy) or Brian was in the car (he’s going to take even more convincing). This time Brian was at home and Mom was feeling brave, so relying on the one review on the Find Me Gluten Free app we decided to give it a shot. (And we were only 20 minutes or so from home, so if we needed to, we could go home and die.)

I asked the hostess if they had a Gluten Free Menu. She said they didn’t have a specific GF menu, but most everything could be made gluten free.

Our waitress was very sweet, but didn’t have the best English. She nodded confidently when I said that we had a gluten allergy and said ‘no problem.’ She returned with our drinks and a bottle of gluten free soy sauce then peered at the menu with me. We started off simple and ordered Summer Rolls as an appetizer. The hostess was hovering nearby and made sure that I was getting the Summer Rolls and not the Spring Rolls, which are deep fried. She stayed close while we made our order and reminded the waitress to bring us the sweet and sour sauce instead of the peanut sauce.

Pad Thai is usually safe so I figured I’d go with an easy choice. The waitress nodded and agreed that it was gluten free. Mom wanted to be more difficult. She pointed at several different dishes that I was pretty sure weren’t safe for us.

“Please just order the Panang Curry, Mom,” I tried again.

“What about the Pad Thai? Do I like Pad Thai?” This is an old conversation.

“You hate the Pad Thai…. its noodles.”

She made a face, “I don’t like all those noodles.”

“I know! Order the Panang Curry.” Fortunately there weren’t many other diners in the restaurant to think that I am a horrible daughter for yelling at my sweet mother. (She just looks sweet, btw.) We have this conversation every time we order Thai. I think she’s just messing with me.

Mom finally settled on the Panang Curry….. shocker! She and I have very similar taste except where it comes to noodles/pasta. I guess throw her off when I order things with noodles.

I was actually a little jealous, the curry smelled delicious. Mom let me sneak a taste and it was very good. Surprise, surprise, she didn’t want to try any of my noodles. I did make her try the chicken from the Pad Thai though. So often the chicken in Pad Thai is dry and chewy, but it was nicely seasoned and juicy. The sauce was fabulous with just a hint of lime. The addition of bean sprouts added a nice fresh crunch. I wished for some crushed peanuts on top, but all in all, this is my favorite Pad Thai in Florida so far.

I got a text from Brian after lunch that Boo had finished her dental cleaning… no cavities! and would be ready to go home in a few hours. Such a relief! Mom and I shopped until it was time to pick her up. Apparently I was still really wound, I shop a little wildly when I’m anxious…. because I bought a giant cat-cube-tower-thing at the pet store and then went a tiny bit bizerk in Home Goods (that store is SO dangerous!).

Boo was not the least bit amused with me when I picked her up. She did give the vet a couple friendly licks before we left, so I’m taking that as a sign that she was okay with them. Boo isn’t the most…. well, she’s a bit anti-social. She’s not mean, it just takes her a long while to warm up to people and other dogs. Until she decides if she likes you she not going to let you touch her… she prefers to just watch people from under the couch. She’s a distrusting little introvert…. like her momma. (Too bad I can’t fit under the couch.)

She whined a little on the car ride home until I turned the air conditioning on full blast and pointed all the vents at her. She’s not impressed with the Florida heat. (She didn’t like Missouri winters either though!) At home, she ran straight to Brian even though I reminded her that it was his idea to send her to the vet in the first place. Snot.

—-

A week or so later Mom and I drug Brain to Kamiya86 for lunch. He was hesitant, but I promised that we’d just try a small sushi sampler and he could have Fried Rice for his meal.

We had a different waitress this time who seemed much more confident about the gluten free items on the menu. She said the Miso Soup was gluten free, and since it came with our meal anyway I figured I’d try it. (I did a quick google when she left and confirmed that while some Miso soups have barley they can be made gluten free.) The soup was interesting. It was a nicely flavored broth with bits of tofu and wide leaves of seaweed.

We picked a small sushi appetizer that our waitress assured us would be safe and give us a nice variety to try. I tried to use the chop sticks, but mostly ended up flinging raw fish around the table. Brian had better luck with the chop sticks and the waitress gave Mom a set of kid’s chopsticks to take home and practice.

The sushi was delicious. Mom and Brian even enjoyed it and agreed that we’d need to come back soon and try a few more of the different options.

Full disclosure: I did have a bit of an upset tummy later. I didn’t feel like I’d been glutened, that’s a faster reaction and hurts more and usually comes with a headache. This was just more like something didn’t entirely agree with me. The Miso soup could have been to blame, maybe it wasn’t GF(?), but Brian did some googling and read that some people have trouble digesting the raw fish. I’m going to lean toward the raw fish theory…. or maybe just too much rice for me. Sometimes I have trouble when I eat a lot of rice. I will definitely go back, but I’ll go a little easier on the sushi and skip the Miso all together (it was good, but not something I’d crave).

1286 3RD STREET SOUTH
JACKSONVILLE, FL 32250

27May2017

Deliciousness from Disney’s Boma Restaurant

Posted in Disney Stuff, Gluten Free in Florida, Gluten Free Living, Recipes, Review by PhoenixRize

I have a kitchen! More or less…. I’m just missing some crown molding and countertops. I have the old countertops sitting on the new cabinets so I’m not completely topless. 🙂

Living in the RV worked great for our situation, but I’m really happy to have room to move around again…. and a real kitchen. I missed my kitchen. I’m so excited to be able to really cook again! We’ll keep using the RV for work and travel, but I don’t see full time RV/Tiny House Living in my future.

We’ve been super busy getting things organized and settled for the past few weeks. To celebrate our eighth wedding anniversary Brian and I decided to skip town for a couple of days and celebrate at Disney.

I love pretty much everything about Walt Disney World, but as a foodie who can’t eat gluten, Disney is food heaven. Brian makes reservations at as many of the Signature Dining restaurants as he can and we eat, walk, ride a few rides, walk, eat some more…. waddle to the next ride… wait in line… ride…. eat again. It know it sounds unhealthy…. I’m not recommending this as a diet plan or anything, but its fun for a few days. (I actually lost a pound instead of gaining the ten I expected!)

One of my absolute favorite places to eat in Disney is at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. Boma – Flavors of Africa – “Resembling a lively African marketplace, this restaurant features all-you-care-to-enjoy buffets at breakfast and dinner.”

Now, I know we GF people hear “buffet” and think “certain death,” but Disney is really pretty good. I’m not going to die if I get into gluten, I’ll just wish I would, but I know there are some people that end up in the ER after being glutened. I wouldn’t risk a buffet if I was them, but I personally feel pretty safe at the Disney buffets. The gluten foods usually seem to be fairly separated from the GF items and the staff behind the buffets keep an eye out for spills and potential cross-contamination with spoons.

Even though Brian and I have eaten at Boma several time, I still ask to have the chef walk us through the buffet. Each time there has been something that caught me by surprise as being GF or NOT being GF. It’s always better to ask… and the chefs are so nice!

My favorite dish at Boma is the Bobotie. According to Wikipedia, Bobotie, pronounced ba-boor-tea, is a well-known South African dish consisting of spiced minced meat baked with an egg-based topping. This time I remembered to snap a picture of the tag with the dish so I could remember what to google when I got home. I found this recipe on Mad About the Mouse. It seemed pretty close, so I decided to give it a try as soon as I got home.

Okay, hear me out… I know you’re going to take one look at the ingredients and think I’ve lost my marbles… but you’ve just gotta trust me on this one. It’s delicious. I know, I know… Sugar? Raisins and ground turkey?? Together?! I swear…. it’s delicious. The curry, cinnamon and coriander combine with the eggs and meat for a delicate sweetness that you can “smell” in the back of your throat. Much like Thai food, its not so much of a “nose” smell, as a “throat” smell. That sounds weird, but there’s no better way to explain. You’re just gonna have to trust me on this one.

The following recipe, as I’ve said, is from Mad About the Mouse. I decided to actually follow the recipe once before I started messing with it. The Bobotie that I had at Boma last week had red and green peppers in it…. I’m sure because Brian picked them out and left a pile on my plate. The sign said there were mushrooms and I don’t remember any raisins or almond slivers. Most of the recipes that I’ve seen call for crumbled up slices of bread, but it is definately GF at Boma, so they’re either using GF bread or not using bread at all. The bread is crumbled up, so I can’t say for sure one way or another, but I’d think that the eggs and meat might need the bread to help bind everything together. I used Canyon Bakehouse GF bread. Next time I’ll try leaving the bread out and see how it goes. I’ll also omit the raisins and almonds (Brian doesn’t like them either) and add one cup of diced red and green peppers instead. I think the peppers added a lighter sweetness that I liked better than the raisins. (The raisins were good, but my tastebuds really wanted the peppers since that’s how it tasted before… you know how it is.)

Bobotie

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
1/2 cup minced carrots
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons curry powder
1 teaspoon ground coriander
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
2 pounds ground beef or lamb (I used ground turkey)
3 slices white bread, crumbled into pieces (I used Canyon Bakehouse GF bread)
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/8 cup sugar
1/2 cup blanched, slivered almonds
1/4 cup seedless raisins
1/4 cup golden raisins
4 large eggs
1/2 cup milk
Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 325º.

Heat oil and cook onions, carrots and garlic in a large pan over medium-high heat, cooking until caramelized, around 5 minutes. Once caramelized, reduce heat to medium and add cinnamon, ground coriander and curry powder. Stirring well to coat the onions.

Using the rice wine vinegar, and simmer, scraping the bottom of the pan to deglaze. Add ground lamb or beef, cook breaking the meat into smaller pieces. Continue cooking until meat is done, spooning out the excess grease, leaving about 1 tablespoon. (Since I used the ground turkey there wasn’t enough grease to bother.)

Pour the meat mixture into a 13″ x 9″ casserole dish and let cool slightly.

Add crumbled bread and 1 cup of cream, stirring to mix well. In a small bowl, combine sugar, raisins and almonds. Add mixture to the meat. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, remaining 1/2 cup of cream, and milk. Pour the custard mixture over the meat mixture to form the topping. DO NOT MIX.

Bake 40-45 minutes until golden brown.

Let me know if you try it and what you think!

2May2017

Cooper’s Hawk

Posted in Gluten Free in Florida, Gluten Free Living, Review by PhoenixRize

Now that we’re in a new house and settling in Mom and I have been venturing out more and more on our own. Okay…we’re just going out looking for food…. but, that counts. Last week we found CostCo all on our own (with a little help from Google Maps). Of course it’s dangerous to go into Costco on an empty tummy… I think my credit card may have a specific policy against it (if it doesn’t, it should!) So I turned to my trusty Find Me Gluten Free app and searched the restaurants nearby.

There was a Cooper’s Hawk Winery & Restaurant back in Missouri, but it didn’t get very good reviews for its GF menu so I’d never tried it. The Cooper’s Hawk in Jacksonville got excellent reviews on the FMGF app (and we were 20 minutes from home, so if we got sick….). I switched apps and made reservations on the OpenTable app*.

*Side Note – Check out the OpenTable app. It’s great to make reservations and read reviews. The best part about using the app that I’ve found is that the restaurants seem to have special reservation times held for OpenTable. (I can’t swear to this, but that’s what it seems like.) I’ve walked into a restaurant and been told that the first opening was 2 hours later, but when I checked the app there was an opening in 15 minutes and I was able to make reservations on the app and walk right in. So… there’s my Tip of the Day! You also earn points for most every reservation that you make (and keep) that can be used to earn rewards such as restaurant gift certificates and Amazon cards.

Cooper’s Hawk had an extensive, dedicated Gluten Free menu. Everything sounded delicious, but Mom and I had a bunch of shopping still to do so we didn’t want anything heavy.

They started us off with a bit of gf bread and butter (I think it’s the same buns that they use for the hamburgers) instead of the Pretzel Bread, while we purused the menu. Mom, who never really likes the bread, loved this. It has an ever so slightly sweet flavor and a really great texture. The whipped butter didn’t hurt either!

We finally decided to share a couple of appetizers and then hoped we’d still have room to try one of the desserts.

Mexican Drunken Shrimp
– Bacon Wrapped Shrimp, Tequila Lime Butter Sauce, Fresh Guacamole

Thai Lettuce Wraps – Grilled Chicken, Julienne Vegetables, Bibb Lettuce, Cashew Sauce.

The wraps were delicious. Mom wants me to figure out how to make the Cashew Sauce now!

Lemon Icewine Cheesecake – Macerated Berries

Now that cheesecake… oh, yum! The only issue that I had during my visit was with dessert. When the cheesecake arrived at the table it had a lovely graham cracker sprinkle… which could have been gf, but I asked just to be sure. Nope! The waiter had made a mistake and forgot to enter the dessert as Gluten Free. He was apologetic and replaced the cheesecake with the gf, graham cracker free version right away, but it was a good thing I asked. That would have been an awful way to end an otherwise wonderful meal.

Since I wanted to try everything else on the menu I waited until the next time we were out and Brian mentioned dinner…. then I insisted that he needed to try Cooper’s Hawk too.
Yum!

Cooper’s Hawk Winery & Resturant
4850 Big Island Drive
Jacksonville, FL 32246