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

5Apr2017

I Tried Third Love Bras

Posted in Review by PhoenixRize

If you’ve spent any time on Facebook you know that Facebook is sure that it knows what you need to see/read/do/buy better than you do. After being nagged by suggested posts for eons (possibly less, but it did seem like it was eons) I finally gave in and clicked. Yes, yes… Third Love has the bra for everyone. Uh, huh.

What really got my attention was the Try Before You Buy offer.

Try the bra for FREE for 30 days from when you place your order (you can even take the tags off!). Pay up-front for shipping.

If we don’t hear from you within 30 days of placing your order, we’ll know you love your new 24/7 bra and your card will be charged $68.

If you’d like to make a return, just contact us within 30 days of placing your order. Returns and exchanges are free.

If you choose to return within 30 days, your card will never be charged for the price of the bra.

That actually sounded like a pretty great idea… the solution to the problem of buying a bra online…. How will it fit and can I return/exchange it easily? Because, honestly, no two bras ever fit the same from brand to brand or style to style. Sure, just because you’re one size at Victoria’s Secret doesn’t mean the same size will fit you at Soma. I once bought three bras in the same day from both Soma and Victoria’s Secret… and they were all three different sizes! If Third Love would let me try them on and return/exchange them easily… awesome! Even better if I could try one for 30 days and see if it was really as amazing as they claimed.

I was also intrigued by their Fit Finder Quiz. That sounded a LOT better than being groped by a sales lady in the department store.

First you’re supposed to pick your breast shape from nine drawings. (I asked my husband to pick since I’m usually looking down at my chest…. he was nervous about this whole bra game… were these trick questions? Poor hubby.) Next you were asked if you had any fit issues with your usual bras. And then what size is your favorite bra and how old is it…. and what brand.

The Fit Finder said I should try the 24/7 Classic Full Coverage Bra.

Okay, some qualifying info here…. just so you know how my sizing might compare to yours. I’m five feet tall… so my shoulder spacing is shorter than your ‘average’ ladies. (Shoulder to shoulder and from band to top of shoulder.) I generally wear a 34 D or DD, depending on the bra and brand. (Soma or Victoria’s Secret usually.) I tend to wear medium shirts & dresses.

Okay… back to Third Love. I figured what the hell and decided to give it a shot. I have a drawer full of bras that I hate… what’s one more?

I ordered the recommended 24/7 Classic Full Coverage Bra in a size 34 DD. Sixty-eight dollars seemed a bit pricy… but again… I’ve spent way more on the drawer full of bras that I don’t like…. what if this was ‘the one’? And I was supposed to be able to return/exchange it easy-peasy.

I loved the shoulder straps. The length was adjustable and the strap itself was wider and padded so that they didn’t dig into my shoulder. The band widened as it came around the ribs and up to the cup so there was no spillage at the sides and it didn’t rub under my arms. Everything tapered and widened nicely, not like those ‘granny’ bras that are just wide everywhere. It still felt pretty. And the material was so soft. Buttery soft. I LOVED the bra. Mostly. The band really stretched. I was on the tightest hooks and it was looser than it really should have been. (When you buy a bra it should be on the loosest or middle hooks so that as it stretches with wearing/time you can switch to the tighter hooks and get more life out of it.) I figured that I had time and I’d wear it for a bit and see if I still loved it or if I had any other issues that I’d want to address before trading it for a smaller band size. But…. and this is (somewhat) my fault for not reading the fine print well enough… the returnable-after-wearing bra was the basic 24/7 bra. Not the 24/7 Classic Full Coverage Bra that I’d bought. I think you can see how I missed that… and the ‘try and return’ thing was a big part of their advertising. I was pretty disappointed at that point. I’ve had the bra four months. I like it… but it is defiantly too loose. If you’re planning to order this particular bra I’d recommend ordering a size smaller on the band as it’s very stretchy.

Last month I decided to give Third Love another try after I got an email featuring their new Perfect Contour Plunge bra. This time I knew that I couldn’t wear it and return it, but I could try it on and return it. Easy-Peasy, right?

Well…. sorta. On February 26th I ordered the Perfect Contour Plunge and the 24/7 Classic T-Shirt Bra. I ordered a 34E (which is the same as a DD) in both.

The band on the Plunge was much tighter and didn’t have much stretch to it. I liked it but is was squishing me too much. The band on the T-Shirt Bra was looser than the Plunge but not as loose as the Full Coverage had been. Ugh!

The Plunge does plunge nicely… and the cups are the same soft material as the other bras. The mesh at the top is a bit scratchy, but not horrible and the cups and mesh do seem to be angled magically to keep you stuffed into place comfortably without squishing.

The T-Shirt Bra was nice. The cups are made from the super soft material that I liked so much, but the straps were on the scratchier side. The band doesn’t come up as high under the arms as the Full Coverage Bra and the straps are wider out on my shoulders. It probably wouldn’t be a problem for an average sized person… I just have narrow shoulders.

Both of the new bras were pretty and mostly comfortable…. but both squished me more than I liked. I decided to return both and go up a cup size but keep the same band size.

I went through the return process on the website (easy-peasy) and printed my postage paid return label. Two days after receiving my bras I returned them at the UPS store.

And heard nothing…. no confirmation email… no changes to my account. Nothing. But I did get several emails asking how my return experience had been.

I emailed customer service, both through their website and responding to the customer experience email they sent me. I emailed several times with no response.

Now, I shop online a lot. A lot. My favorite is probably Amazon, so I’m a bit spoiled by their customer service…. but I also know what is possible. And if Third Love wants to advertise their super easy exchanges they should be able to pull of something closer to Amazon’s customer service. At least the emails….. I’ve returned things to Amazon using their prepaid return label and had a confirmation email within a few hours. These bras aren’t cheap and I shouldn’t be left worrying if I’m going to be billed for something that has disappeared into the postal abyss. I’m just asking for an email. I’m even okay if they want to hold the exchange until they receive the bras and make sure that I didn’t tear them up.

It took 30 days from the time I order the first bras until I received the exchange. I only received a response from customer service after 18 days had passed since I’d mailed them back. Their response was basically “sorry, we’ve been busy.”

When I finally received the new bras they fit perfectaly and I do love them.

Would I order from Third Love again? Yeah…. probably. I DO like the bras, and now that I know what size they’re calling me it should be easier to order.

Would I recommend Third Love to a friend? Again… probably. Especially if they’re a difficult fit.

I would suggest that they not be in any kind of a hurry. And possibly to order a couple of different sizes and then just return the ones they didn’t want as opposed to exchanging them for a different size. That’s more expensive up front, but once refunded comes out to be the same cost… then again, if you’re not in any hurry… the return/exchange thing worked. Just really slow.

If you’ve decided you’d like to give Third Love a try, please use my (updated) referral code: https://share.thirdlove.com/x/AEL7Nm

We’ll both save $15 off our orders. (And I’ll try ordering another one of those 24/7 Classic Full Coverage Bras with a smaller band size.) I’d love to hear about your experience with Third Love too!

Mayhem is a huge fan of the Third Love boxes. (I only let her wear the bras that I planned to keep!)

20Mar2017

D-Luxe Burger

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

Oh! All the wonderful Gluten Free FOOD in Walt Disney World!!

Thank heavens for all the walking we have to do around the parks or I wouldn’t be able to waddle back to the hotel at night!

During our most recent trip to Disney Springs (what used to be know as Downtown Disney) Brian was hungry (as usual). I’d read good reviews from the Disney bloggers that I follow so we decided to give D-Luxe Burger a try.

The burger was good. Nothing amazing, but better than a regular quick-service burger. The bun was dry… so so dry. The fries were good though and all the fry dips were Gluten Free.

Our meal was delivered to our table in a paper to-go bag. I assume that’s how they differentiate Allergy meals from regular meals which are served on plastic trays.

Not my most favorite meal in the world of Disney, but it was a good enough burger and we appreciated the differentiation between our meal’s (paper bag) and the non-allergy friendly meals’ (plastic tray) delivery.

The staff was kind and knowledgeable… of course we got the poor gal that was being trained that day… nothing like being a learning experience! Her trainer was with her though and explained how to enter allergy orders and then called the chef upfront who confirmed that we just had the one allergy.

They’ve added a lot of new shops and restaurants to Disney Springs since our last visit (a year and a half?). D-Luxe Burger is located in the new section and is situated next to one of the ‘river’ areas. We sat out on the patio and enjoyed the pretty view with our French fries.

Definitely worth a visit.

17Mar2017

Le Cellier Steakhouse

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

Brian finally managed to get lunch reservation to Le Cellier Steakhouse…. and I was so excited… until I woke up with a raging headache.

The nice thing about living near Disney and having Annual Passes is that it’s not like I’m ‘wasting’ a vacation day if I can’t get going…. but I really, really wanted to try Le Cellier and it’s not the easiest place to get reservations.

I took hot shower, aspirin and chugged a bunch of water….. then I moped around the hotel room and whined for an hour or two. Brian made me eat a banana and drink coffee… which because that cured my headache once, he assumes it should work every time.

I finally felt well enough to venture out… and I figured if the headache did finally kill me maybe the ghosts at the Haunted Mansion would take me in. You know there’s 999 ghost in the Haunted Mansion…. but there’s room for 1000!

Epcot was celebrating their International Flower & Garden Festival… which is GORGEOUS!!! They had a bazillion flowers and topiaries everywhere…. and food vendors. I love the food vendors at the Epcot festivals. The signs are clearly labeled with Gluten Free, vegan and vegetarian options. Most of the booths had at least one GF option. Since I was still whiny about my headache Brian stopped at every booth with a GF offering and made (oh, the torture!) me eat. And drink a bottle of water. I have a bad habit of getting my meals out of wack when I have a headache…. or letting myself get dehydrated…. so Brian just keeps shoving food and water at me until I stop whining.

I ate the scallops too fast to take a picture and Brian wouldn’t let me get another order even though I told him it was for the sake of the blog.

I did manage to restrain myself long enough to take a photo of the Raspberry & Chocolate Creme Macaron though.

We wandered around a enjoyed the topiaries until it was time for our lunch reservation.

Le Cellier Steakhouse is super hard to get a dinner reservation and only slightly easier to get a lunch reservation. It is one of Disney’s Signature Dining Experiences. (If you are on the Disney Dining Plan it will cost you two dining credits.) We’ve been wanting to try it for a while, but just haven’t gotten the chance. By the time we made it to our reservation my headache had mostly faded, but going from the lovely warmth outside to the air conditioned cool indoors made it flare up again. I felt guilty as I poked at my rather expensive chicken.

Poulet Rouge – Andouille-stuffed Chicken Roulade, Autumn Hash, Acorn Squash Purée, and Ginger-spiced Cranberry Glaze

Brian ordered the Rib-Eye.

Black Angus Rib-Eye – Crisp Fingerling Potatoes, Neuske’s Bacon Vinaigrette, Heirloom Carrots, Maple Bordelaise Butter

I didn’t get a photo of the Rib-Eye, but I did manage to steal and eat about half of it…. The chicken was good, but headache-tummy likes steak better. (I don’t understand it either… don’t even try.)

The food was fabulous… even with a headache I recognized that the food was delicious. The restaurant itself was beautiful. Dark and rich looking with gleaming wood and soft lighting. I really wish I’d been feeling better and could have tried more of the menu. My headache just really hated the air conditioning so we didn’t get to stay long. Once back outside I started to feel better. (I’m such a weirdo.)

Le Cellier is defiantly on my list of Must Visit Again places. I’ll try not to have a headache next time!

17Mar2017

Breakfast in Disney World

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

I love pretty everything about Walt Disney World. Dole Whips, Mouse Ears, Character Encounters, rides….. and the FOOD. Oh, the food. For a Gluten Free girl Disney World is absolute heaven. First of all, they actually have Gluten Free food…. and it’s GOOD. Even better… they have Gluten Free food available everywhere and the don’t treat you like a freak or punish you for asking for it. Disney is magical for anyone with food allergies. To be able to eat delicious, safe food and be treated like a normal human all in the same experience…. it’s just magical!

Now that we’re Florida residents and Annual Passholders, Brian and I have been trying to work our way through a wider variety of the Disney restaurants. (It’s a real burden guys, but I’m doing it for y’all and the sake of the blog. 😉)

I LOVE breakfast… but not first thing in the morning.. too early. I’m more of a brunch kinda girl. Which works perfect in Disney!

Boma – Flavors of Africa, located at the Animal Kingdom Lodge has quickly become one of my favorite places for breakfast. It’s a buffet, which would normally mean certain death for someone with a gluten allergy (cross contamination central!), but not in Disney.

Disney doesn’t unnecessarily add flour or gluten containing ingredients to things. (I don’t have a dairy or nut allergy, but I’ve seen other people who do at the buffet and there seems to be a great variety for them too.) Did you know that a lot of buffets add pancake batter to the scrambled eggs to make them fluffier? Yeah… wtf?! Not at Disney! Food just has ingredients that belong.

At Boma we told our waitress that we both had a gluten allergy. The chef came out and walked us around the buffet. He knew each item and the ingredients. The oatmeal is made with certified gf oats and water so it’s safe for GF and milk allergies.

The chef made us a special batch of Allergy Friendly Mickey Waffles and brought us a plate of gf donuts (Katz brand).

Be sure to try the Jamba Juice at Boma! Guava, pineapple and orange juices… yum.

We also had breakfast at the Grand Floridian Cafe. I ordered the Allergy Friendly Mickey Waffles (of course) and Brian tried to order the Allergy Friendly pancakes, but the waitress misheard and brought him waffles too.

As it turns out, the were celebratory waffles… Just as we were pouring our maple syrup Brian got the phone call that we’d received an offer on the house that we’d just finished rehabbing. Woo hoo! Under contract in 24 hours!

The waffles were delicious. Crisp on the outside and fluffy perfection on the inside.

Not every restaurant gets the Mickey Waffles right. I’ve had them a few times where they are too crisp on the outside and still gummy on the inside. I think the Allergy Friendly batter needs to be cooked a bit longer and at a lower temp to get them just right. Dont feel bad about sending them back if they’re not right. Disney won’t know what’s working and what’s not if we don’t speak up.

On our last morning we had breakfast at Hollywood & Vine in Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

It was a character dining experience, but I didn’t know any of the characters. It was also a buffet…. but it was nothing like the buffet at Boma.

The buffet was very basic… and not especially tasty in my opinion.

The eggs and potatoes were especially salty.

And the Allergy Friendly Mickey Waffles were gummy on the inside.

The did give us an Allergy Guide…. which was a nice idea… even though it was fairly limited/boring.

Boma is still my favorite Disney breakfast. If you have the opportunity to try only one… visit Boma. The food, flavors, atmosphere and staff are all amazing.