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.

19Feb2017

Flava Moose

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

I posted something on Instagram a while back… I don’t remember what, but I do post a lot of food pics (food, Jamberry, seashells and my Pomeranian!) and I received a notification that Flava Moose liked my photo.

Flava Moose? Oh, I had to see who was this Flava Moose.

Flava Moose is just the yummiest, most overwhelming and awesome ice cream shop in the universe! (And I’ve made it my mission to check them all out!) Flava Moose may just be my favorite though.

Why? Well, to start with, the combinations are endless!

You begin by choosing a size… a Small is still three scoops…. just sayin’….

Then you choose whether you want Ice Cream, Gelato or Ice.

Next you you have to pick a Milk…. Soy, Cashew, Almond, Coconut, 2% Lactade, Whole or Greek Yogurt. (I’d vote for whole milk, but if you have a dairy issue, they’ve got you covered!)

Nope, not done yet…. What kind of sugar do you want to use? Splenda, Honey, Regular Sugar, Maple Sugar or Stevia?

How about a waffle bowl? Or would you like you ice cream in a crepe? They’re made fresh as you watch.

(I was talking with the Flava Moose man during my last visit and I’d mentioned that I was Gluten Free so I couldn’t have the waffle bowl….the delicious smell was torture! and he said that they’d been considering adding GF waffles and crepes. Eeeeep! Of course I squealed and promised that I’d come in and taste test for them! One in each flavor should do it, right?)

No no, we’re not done… I got side-tracked with the whole GF waffle bowl thing….. NOW…. pick a flavor. Your brain may just possibly explode from the sheer possibilities of deliciousness.

Brian chooses chocolate every time. He says he’s a purist. (whatever) Mom is working her way through the fruit flavors and I’m bouncing around the menu. Blackberry & Raspberry was delicious! So was Lavender & Raspberry….. (I’m on a raspberry kick lately.) I’m thinking I want to try the chai next time… or maybe the rose? There are also veggie flavors to choose from.. carrot, broccoli, aloe, corn…. I’m not sure about those…. they sound too healthy.

Okay, but that’s just the ingredients… now lets talk about how it’s made! Each order is made individually… that’s how you can have so many combinations. They first blend the base flavor and the milk then the concoction is poured over a -40° pan. Using two scraper/spatulas they scrape and smooth and blend the ice cream mixture until it is just the smoothest, creamiest and dreamiest.

Of course you can add toppings and sauces, but I don’t usually choose to add any. I think I heard that there were over 18 different toppings.

It’s not a super fast process, but it is fun to watch. We took our out-of-town-friends to try Flava Moose last week. It was our last stop on the two-day “See Where We Live Now” tour and we were all getting kind of tired from running around. It was nice to stop and let the ice cream be the entertainment for a bit. The Flava Moose crew mixed our ice creams and chatted with us as one at a time we each received our chosen creations. We’d all grab a spoon and sample each other’s and oooh and ahh. Then the next ice cream mix was being drizzled on the -40° pan and the scraping, smearing and squooshing show would begin again. It would probably make a great first date stop. The shop is only two blocks from the beach… after you got your ice cream you could walk to the beach to eat it…. yeah… ice cream and a walk on the beach… totally romantic! (Yes, my idea of romance does include ice cream…. duh.)

Every time you leave the Flava Moose crew hollers “Bye, see you tomorrow!” and I think ‘thank, goodness I don’t live closer or, yeah… I would back tomorrow. Blast you, Moosie!’

311 North 3rd Street
Jacksonville Beach, FL 32250

18Feb2017

Taziki’s Mediterranean Cafe

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

A few weeks ago I noticed the sign for Taziki’s Mediterranean Cafe and immediately googled the menu. Jackpot! Right on the front page of the menu it said that most items either were, or could be Gluten Free.

I’ve been trying to drag Mom and Brian there, but they kept making faces at me. I like really Greek food… the more olives, grape leaves, lamb and feta that you can throw at a dish the better. Mom and Brian aren’t quite into it that much, so I had to keep giving them the menu and whining to get them to go.

It’s a good thing it took me several tries to get them to go since apparently Taziki’s didn’t open until that very day. We missed the grand opening event by an hour, but they were still quite busy. The owner, John, came over to greet us and chat about the menu. I told him that we were excited to see so many Gluten Free options on the menu. (I like to make tell the owners/staff/chefs how much I appreciate the GF options. I know it can be more work to keep things safe for us GF people and I like to make sure they know how much it is appreciated… and that it affects our decision to choose a restaurant.)

John was super sweet and knowledgable about the menu. He mentioned a lemon chicken soup and since Brian was working on a cold I asked if that one was GF. He thought for a moment and then replied that no, it wasn’t because the stock had wheat. I was impressed that he knew. Later when he visited our table to check on us he told us that everyone who works at the cafe has to take tests on all the menu items and has to know what is in everything. Nice.

I ordered the Taziki’s Feast without the skordalia sauce, since it isn’t GF.

Taziki’s Feast with the Chargrilled Lamb – Fresh grilled lamb, carefully seasoned, and served with our homemade skordalia sauce

It was fabulous! I really liked the salad too. Could have used more olives, but that could just be me and my olive obsession.

You’ll notice the Pita triangle on the edge of my plate. Not Gluten Free. I mentioned it to John when he stopped by to check up on us. I said it would be nice if they had a button or something to denote Gluten Free orders to prevent cross contamination. He was very apologetic and said they did have a GF button (or something similar) and that the kitchen should have known better. They’d only been open a few hours, and it was crazy busy. I was impressed with how well they did with our orders as it was, so I didn’t really want to complain… just point it out. It was obvious and I was able to remove it and just avoid that area of the salad.

Mom and Brian really enjoyed their lunches too. Brian had salmon, Mom had shrimp and I stole nibbles from both. I think I’ll order the shrimp next time. It was quite tasty with the lemon and butter.

All in all I’m pretty excited about the new restaurant. They’re impressive with they’re understanding of the menu and all the ingredients. The Pita Triangle guy needs a bit of work, but it was the first two hours, so…. The food was delicious, fresh and bright and the restaurant is pretty and spacious. I’m looking forward to going back soon. Mom and Brian even agree… I win again!

14035 Beach Blvd.
Suite 8
Jacksonville, FL 32224

17Dec2016

Tommy’s Brick Oven Pizza

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

Brian has been wanting to try Tommy’s Brick Oven Pizza for a while now, but some how Epik Burger keeps interfering… (I dunno… don’t look at me…. ) The other night he was craving pizza and I’d had my Epik Burger fix the day before so I couldn’t really say anything. Tommy’s had really good reviews on Find Me Gluten Free.

Why haven’t we been eating here all along?! The pizza was fabulous! No, seriously… not ‘good for gluten free,’ but GOOD… actually good. Best of all, the Gluten Free-ness of the pizza seemed to be an honest concern for the staff. Out front there’s a guy tossing pizza dough in the air and stretching crust onto pans….. and that just looks like Gluten Doom…. but then I saw one of the other guys dissapear into a different room and come back with the prepared GF pizza on a sheet of parchment paper. The pizza was transfered from the paper into the brick oven…. completely avoiding the gluten-ed crust tossing area.

According to their menu all the toppings are Gluten Free except for the meatballs.

Mom and I decided to share a pizza. They’re 12″ and that’s plenty for the two of us.

Funghi Pizza
This pesto based pie is topped with Portabella and button mushroom slices, and lightly topped with mozzarella, then dusted with Romano cheese for the finishing touch.

The Brumos (59) Racer Pie
A ‘World-Class’ Pie, for our local ‘World-Class’ Daytona Racing team: Pepperoni, Sausage, Bacon, and Ham. A True Champion!

Brian was right…. and now I’m addicted to Tommy’s pizza. We went back again a few nights later. This time I wanted to try a pizza with the tomato sauce instead of the Basil Pesto…. Brian has already settled on his favorite and he went with the Brumos (59) Race Pie again. This time Mom and I split the Jack Murray Pie.

Jack Murray Pie

Everyone loved Tommy’s Uncle Jack, and he loved it loaded! Here’s his favorite with Pepperoni, Sausage, Mushrooms, Green Peppers, Onions, Olives, and Bacon.

I’m not sure which was my favorite…. both were really good. I’m thinking next time I’ll tell Mom to order the Funghi Pie and Brian to order the Brumos Racer Pie and then I’ll steal pieces from them both!

4160 Southside Boulevard Unit 2
Jacksonville FL 32216

30Nov2016

Rice Bowl

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

I’ve been trying to convince Brian to go to The Rice Bowl since we first visited Jacksonville in July, but he kept turning his nose up at the suggestion… and then, knowing me so well, would distract me with Epik Burger or MShack. Last week I finally put my flip-flop down and insisted we give The Rice Bowl a try. (Honestly, because I have no control at Epik Burger or MShack and will eat myself stupid… and I’m trying to be better…. all this eating out is delicious… but not good on the waistline!)

We asked for a Gluten Free menu before we were seated and it took them a bit to find one…. it had gotten mixed in with the other menus… but they weren’t at all perturbed by the request. The GF menu was extensive and clearly marked and the waitress was helpful with suggestions and clarifications.

Mom and I decided to share an appetizer and entree. (See? I can be sensible.)

Spring Rolls

Cilantro, lettuce, basil, carrot and shrimp wrapped with ricepaper and served with hoisin sauce

Royal Dish

Chicken,beef,lobster and shrimp served with special blend of vegetable with a traditional brown sauce (white sauce for GF)

Brian ordered a huge bowl of Fried Rice…. most places use soy sauce in their fried rice, so he doesn’t get to have it often.

Fried Rice (Combination)

Includes your choice of meat and onion, carrot, green pepper, scallion. Toppings include tomato, cucumber, pineapple, cashews

The Royal Dish was delicious. It’s a good thing that Mom and I decided to share because I’d have been compelled to eat it all….. and I might have exploded in the attempt. The GF white sauce (used instead of the usual brown sauce) was light and flavorful. The vegetables were plentiful and cooked perfectly…. the meats… tender and delicious. The fried rice (served as a side with the Royal Dish) was quite good too…. light and flavorful.

The Spring Rolls were just so-so… they could have used a bit more flavor… maybe a bit of mint? And the shredded lettuce was difficult to keep from falling out of the wrapper. The Hoisin sauce was yummy though.

I was very pleased with the Rice Bowl… even Brian admitted that it was a good find… ha!

Rice Bowl Asian Cuisine
13947 Beach Blvd #110
Jacksonville, FL 32224

19Nov2016

Larry’s Giant Subs

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

We stumbled across Larry’s Giant Subs with the help of the Find Me Gluten Free app the last time we were in Florida. Since our move to Florida Larry’s has quickly become a favorite.

I’ve been to three different Larry’s locations and each one has been great about reassuring us of the gluten-less-ness of our sandwiches.

The first time they handed me my sandwich I thought they’d made a mistake and given me ‘real’ bread. I tried to hand it back, but the lady just laughed and said it really was their gluten free bread. It’s really good GF bread… fluffy with a nice flavor, and not crumbly or grainy like some GF breads. Like most sub sandwich breads, it’s still more bread than I want/need and I tend to yank hunks off and discard them. Mom liked the GF wrap… I need to try that next time. She said the flavor was good and it seemed to hold up nicely…’bendy’ would be the technical term, I suppose.

It was a $2.25 up charge for the GF bread on the 8″ sub and $3.00 on the 12″

They could be a little more generous with the meat on the deli sandwiches, but the chicken breast sandwiches are just the right amount.

All in all, I love that sub sandwiches are available to me again. Few GF carry out options travel well…. It’s nice being able to pick something up quickly and take it home or to the beach… wherever.

21May2016

Gluten & Allergen Free Wellness Event

Posted in Gluten Free Living, Review by PhoenixRize

Mom and I went to the Gluten & Allergen Free Wellness Event in St Louis today. I don’t think there were quite as many vendors as last year. Though maybe, they were arranged differently? I dunno, I swear I ate a lot more samples last year! It was still a fun event.

I got to meet a GF blogger that I follow. Of course, when she started to introduce herself I said something stupid like, ‘Oh! I follow you!’ like a creepy stalker. Sema of Eat Without Gluten is an adorable teen who blogs about growing up GF and posts delicious recipes. It’s always interesting and weird to meet people that you follow online in real life. You’re meeting them for the first time… but you already feel like you know so much about them.
Mom and I snacked our way around the room. It’s so nice to be able to sample anything in the room without having to grill the staff and then still weigh whether its safe or not. Everything was Gluten Free!

I tried Andrea’s Lemon Bars – available in Dierbergs, Schnucks & Hy-Vee. I’ve had them before and love them. Every time I see them at the store I think about buying them, but I know that I will eat the whole pan. All – by – my -self. I will not share.

I also came a cross Full Flavor Foods which offers soup mixes, gravies and stocks. According to their website they’re only available online…. and of course, on Amazon. I was mostly interested in the Mushroom Soup Mix because it is hard to find a good GF Cream of Mushroom Soup and some of my old/favorite crockpot recipes call for a can of cream of something soup. On Amazon they look to be about $5 a pouch… which seems a bit steep, but they did taste pretty good. Its always nice to have another option.

There also seems to be a new GF restaurant in St Louis. The menu looks tasty, so I’ll have to give it a try soon and report back to ya’ll! It’s called A² The Cafe. “Protein rich, gourmet completely Gluten (GF) & Casein (CF) free options for all.”

My favorite discovery of the day was the Outrageous Baking Company. I picked up a couple of loaves of their breads (Cranberry Orange Bread and Cinnamon Coffee Cake). I’ve been craving French Toast lately and I plan to experiment with these… If I don’t eat them straight first!

There were other vendors there… yup…. ummm… BBQ sauce? And UDI’s of course…. um… Yeah, I didn’t say this was going to be a comprehensive review. If you wanted to hear about all the vendors you should have gone yourself… I did tell you about it. I did. On Facebook… a couple of times. See? This is what you’re missing out on if you don’t follow mw on Facebook. Go fix that right now. 🙂