Dollar Tree offers gluten-free travel friendly snacks

The last time we took an int'l Delta flight, in 2017, my gluten-free meal was mostly inedible.  So for a recent international trip, I packed enough food to get through the 8+ hour long flight.  There was a snack, dinner and breakfast being served and I was given all but the snack.  The flight attendant actually apologized for that, and mentioned that her own daughter has celiac.  She was the most thoughtful such employee I've encountered on the subject in over a decade.

When you have to make a meal out of snacks (assuming you won't have access to a microwave), it's a good idea to include some protein, fat and limited carbs.  Crackers and pretzels don't really satisfy if you're in need of a proper meal.  While I packed some items I got at Trader Joe's (trail mix snack bags, for instance), I also found some worthwhile items at the Dollar Tree store.  You know...the place where everything is literally a dollar.  Who knew such a place would offer some interesting gluten-free snacks which are perfect for traveling?!

Even though I had a bag of bacon jerky (you can find many gluten-free jerky options these days), I also picked up a mini pack of pepperoni.  It was real pepperoni, not turkey, so it's fairly greasy. However, it will provide some much needed protein in a pinch.

Lay's Stax chips, which are labeled gluten-free, are also a good option.  You can remove some of the chips from the can, and put baggies of other things inside, under the chips, if need be.  My husband isn't a fan of Stax chips so a whole canister is a bit much to pack for just me.

Jiff peanut butter 3-pack is a great value for only a buck and I still have two containers left over for future adventures.

The only gourmet type item I found at Dollar Tree were seasoned olives.  I'd first discovered GAEA olives in Montreal or Victoria, Canada...I really can't recall for sure...but the pack didn't cost anywhere near a $1 at the airport...lol!  There were just two flavors of the GAEA brand olives at the discount store, including my favorite - Lemon & Oregano.  As always, the olives were delicious!

There are some nuts, seeds and such available at the Dollar Tree as well.  There are obviously many items that travel well, but not many I've found in regular grocery stores are a good value. They're  convenience items and you pay for said convenience.  But not at Dollar Tree...everything's a dollar...convenience item or not ;)

Safe and happy summer travels to all!

    

Beware of gluten-free menus - even more than before!

The amount of restaurants that now have gluten-free menus is staggering and many offer incredible options that are safely prepared (as much as is possible in a mixed kitchen).  But the number of menus that list fried items that are not made in a dedicated gluten-free fryer seems to be on the rise.  Forget chips and fries - I'm talking about even gluten-free breaded items in some cases.

The good news is that many places will denote on the menu that the items are cooked/fried in a regular gluten fryer.  The bad news is that most of us can't take the risk of getting sick, and therefore must avoid those items.  In some instances, avoiding those items will leave you with few safe choices on the menu.  And at least in my case, that's not a place I'd bother patronizing.

So when you're doing your homework, looking for gluten-free options at your neighborhood or on your dream vacation, pay great attention to the little things regarding food prep, etc.  It's not only about the ingredients.  It's not even about those and the preparation methods.  It's about the plating after everything has been done to prepare the meal correctly.  One line cook tossing a piece of bread ruins the whole darn thing.

Years ago, I watched someone throw a roll on my plate at Ted's Montana Grill.  Someone yelled "no bread gluten-free" quite loudly.  The roll was quickly removed and they brought out the plate as though nothing happened.  They had no idea I'd seen the whole thing from our table.  I explained that I could not eat anything on the plate now and I'd take just a baked potato.  We didn't have the time to wait on another steak...and I really had no trust in the place at that moment.  I think Ted's has improved greatly since then, but it's not a favorite because of the incident years ago.

What many companies don't understand is that it's hard to forget simple mistakes, because those mistakes can take us down for the count.  If you get the feeling a place doesn't take gluten-free orders, or food allergies, seriously, it's hard to shake that feeling no matter how much you'd like to.

Restaurants that don't understand how to feed us safely would be better served to do away with their gluten-free menus altogether.  And the places that do get it, and care about our business, are the places we all need to support as often as possible!. 



    

Gluten-free find in Palm Harbor, FL!

When visiting in-laws in the Clearwater, FL area, we needed to find a place for a birthday celebration dinner.  Besides having a safe meal, I wanted to enjoy the food as well....just like any other diner would.  Thankfully, the options my in-laws gave us to look into turned out to be extremely gluten-free friendly!  For reference, I classify "gluten-free friendly" places to be great for foodies looking for a safe gf meal.  Places that might have a gluten-free menu and even understand what gluten-free service entails, but that don't have anything special to offer gf patrons are what I call "gluten-free knowledgeable" places.

So, in checking out the menus for EE Steakout and Mystic Fish (both in the Clearwater, FL area), we decided to have dinner at Mystic Fish. The ambiance was simply charming and while the place was hopping early on Saturday night, we could converse at the table without speaking loudly which is always a plus!

When it came to the menu options, so many dishes naturally gluten-free, or can be prepared as such, that is was hard to make a decision.  I finally settled on fish chowder (yes, gluten-free chowder!) and two small plates for dinner.  Those included artichoke bottoms with crab meat topping, and seared scallops with strawberries and goat cheese over fresh salad greens. Each dish was artfully presented (particularly for this price point restaurant) and better yet - both dishes were seriously delicious!

Even though a starter soup and two small plates was plenty for dinner, I had to try one of the many gluten-free desserts, of course!  The desserts are quite small, and priced accordingly so it's common for people to order more than one.  However, the key lime panna cotta was the perfect size to finish off my amazing meal at Mystic Fish!  And the flourless chocolate torte was delish as well...lol!

In addition to the lovely meal we all enjoyed, it so nice to feel well taken care of by the chef, owners and even the educated server. It's wonderful to go to a new place and leave without wishing you lived in Europe where they take food allergies much more seriously than here at home.

Hopefully, we'll get to check out EE Steakout during our next visit to the area!

          

Follow a gluten-free traveler through wheat country!

If you enjoy interesting gluten-free blogs, you must check out Not Even A Crumb!  In just a short time, the author of this wonderfully upbeat and informative blog has shared some amazing things about living gluten-free. And she's done amazing things like putting this PSA together in partnership with the Celiac Disease Foundation.  Can you imagine how amazing it would have been to be at a San Francisco Giant MLB game when the PSA aired during a game?!!!  Yes, Not Even A Crumb is definitely a blog to watch!

Hope everyone has a fabulously delicious gluten-free weekend and stays cool in this blistering heat! Atlanta definitely lived up to its nickname - Hotlanta - this week! 

Gluten-free awareness still lacking in U.S. hospitality industry

Anyone who reads my work knows I love to travel. For short or long trips....just let me pack some gluten-free food and I'm ready to go! Well, I should note that I love to travel as long as I get to choose where we're going. As anyone who's married knows, there are times when family functions are planned without your input because the events are not about you. When that happens, sometimes you luck out and other times you don't. The latter happened to me recently. We got stuck in a bad hotel with the most uninformed hotel manager I've ever encountered since going gluten-free. If I had been in public when speaking with him, I would have thought we were on Candid Camera.

It's understandable that in a small town in a non touristy part of Florida, a hotel manager might not know what gluten is. However, when you explain you can't eat wheat and therefore, can't have the waffles the guy is telling you about and he says "we also have muffins, bagels and cereal" - that is just not OK. Seriously - this person is in charge of a hotel that serves customers breakfast every day of the year. The place is not nice at all, but still, to think the manager didn't know that wheat is in all the carb items in their free breakfast line-up is incomprehensible to me.

The regional hotel also serves eggs and sausage at the location we stayed at. The meat appeared to be gluten-free, but since it contained MSG I could not have it. The eggs come in a bag with an ingredient list as long as my arm so whether or not they were gluten-free was irrelevant. We prefer real eggs. I did appreciate the manager cutting the ingredient lists off the food boxes so I could read them when we checked in. For that, he deserves credit for having good customer service skills.

For the two night trip (thank goodness it was short!), I took my own sausage, an Udi's muffin and bagel for breakfast. The only part of the free breakfast I could have was the fruit. One day I ate in the room (the manager gave us a microwave and the room had a mini-fridge) and one day I used my Toast-It bags to heat my bagel in the toaster in the lobby. Admittedly, this hotel was a budget (very cheap) hotel. Even so, how much a place costs should not indicate whether or not the manager knows what wheat is.
   
The name of this hotel will remain nameless to protect the guilty. Just remember that no matter where you're staying, don't assume that eggs and meat are always gluten-free. And presently, we should not  assume that all managers in the hospitality industry have any idea what gluten-free means. For now at least, they most certainly do not.

One last gluten free hurrah in Texas!

On Sunday morning we checked out of the Adolphus Hotel and headed to the Kozy Kitchen for breakfast. I’d read about the place on Yelp.com and it was listed as a safe place on the Dallas Celiac support group website. The restaurant was in a tiny strip mall a few miles from downtown Dallas and if you were not looking for it, you'd never find it. We walked in to find a few tables seated and some interesting looking employees. Our server had a Mohawk haircut with an interesting color. He seemed annoyed that I questioned him about the gluten free French toast, as if every restaurant served such a dish. When the toast arrived my husband tasted it and said there was no way it was gluten free but when the table next to us got their’s (they’d also ordered the gluten free version) we knew ours must be safe for me to eat. It was without question the best gluten free French toast I’ve had and the only version I’ve had in a restaurant.

For my main course (yes, I had courses for breakfast) I had breakfast tacos which were made with corn tortillas. All the food we had was outstanding and gluten free. They do serve gluten there so you need to ask questions if you go - there is no gluten free menu but the gluten free items are pretty clearly marked. I have no idea what flours they use in the bread here but it’s a dark grain as the color is almost a chocolate brown. Whatever it was it was some of the best gluten free bread I’ve had. It was light and fluffy….and well, it was unlike most gluten free bread you can buy in the freezer section of the grocery store.


We knew that carrot cake was a signature dessert at the Kozy Kitchen so we got a piece to go. We ate it at the airport before boarding the plane and while it was fine, there was nothing special about it. There was nothing about it either that would indicate it was gluten free. It was just a basic piece of carrot cake which any glutenoid would have been happy to eat.

All in all our vist to the Lone Star state was fun and especially tasty and we’d go back in a heartbeat. Places not to miss if you’re ever there are the Little Aussie Bakery in San Antonio, Laura’s Bistro in Plano and the Kozy Kitchen in Dallas. You know those Texans do things big and they really do gluten free big there. We’re still waiting for a 100% gluten free restaurant in Atlanta and I think we’ll be waiting for a long while.

Another 100% Gluten Free Restaurant in Texas!

UPDATE: 2010 - This restaurant is no longer open.

We headed to Plano for lunch around 10 a.m. on Saturday since we wanted to have an early lunch and then rest a bit before the wedding that night. When we arrived at the shopping center where Laura's Bistro is located, my husband was sure I had wrong directions and we were lost. There was really no activity in the strip mall to speak of but I finally saw the Laura's sign and a sign that says 'open' in the window. We parked and went in just after 11 a.m. Needless to say we were the only ones there except the staff but the Chef wasn't even there yet...he was running late. They actually don't open for lunch until 11:30 but they have a store for shopping for gluten free food. I think my auxiliary pantry has more food than their store shelves did but in any case, we were seated by a cheery server and started reading the extensive menu.

Like the LAB in San Antonio, everything on the menu at Laura's is gluten free. Unlike the LAB, this menu is very extensive and so it's very overwhelming to decide what to order. Should I try the country fried steak with gravy, a pasta dish, catfish, pizza, crab cakes? It was almost too much to think about. Since we could not order for a bit, we started ruling out what we could have at home - crab cakes, pasta, salads, etc. That left pizza, onion rings and fried catfish - or at least those tempted me the most. So for an appetizer we had a pepperoni pizza. It was a personal 8" size so it was just enough to share and it was very good, with a crust that was somewhat similar to a Cheebe but better. Next up came an order of catfish with fries AND a basket of onion rings. The onion rings were really, really bad. When the server noticed we were not eating them she asked why and when we told her she admitted they bought them frozen and didn't make them there with their own batter....that would explain it. We asked her to take them away and she did but never mentioned taking them off the check. We were so happy with the rest of the food we didn't mind paying the $6 for something we found inedible. The catfish was some of the best I'd ever had but without the onion rings, my husband thought we should order something else to eat. So he ordered the crab cakes and we split them too. They were fabulous though I didn't care for the sauce served on the side so the husband got all of that.
When we were sufficiently full from the largest lunch of our lives, it was time for dessert. This place is also a gluten free bakery and they supply cakes to a fancy bakery Dallas for gluten free weddings and special events. They make great cakes but don't pretend to be expert decorators (see photo of cakes above). I knew I had to try their award winning chocolate cake but that would be my dessert for the wedding reception. For that day, we decided on the strawberry cake and since they had chocolate cake doughnuts, my husband had to have one of those as well. The sandwich shown below was not ours, but the people at the next table were nice enough to allow me to take a photo of it. It's a simple BLT with fries but oh how the simplest things can excite our set!

My husband said the doughnut was okay but we agreed piece of strawberry cake we shared was incredible! I don't even like strawberry cake but it was moist with a great flavor and the icing was also exceptional. It's hard to believe but I really didn't feel overly full when we left Laura's but I wasn't hungry again for many, many hours.

For the wedding reception, the staff had been made aware of my dietary needs and indicated to the Bride's Mother that it was not a problem to accommodate me. When everyone else's salads arrived, I was a little surprised to see they brought me a fruit salad instead. There were no croutons on the salad so the only thing I could think of was that the candied nuts in it contained flour. The fruit was fine and it was clearly gluten free so I just ate it and didn't ask about the salad or nuts.

When the dinner plates arrived, everyone at our table was served exactly the same thing. The server insisted my meal and everyone else's was gluten free. Considering the plate has a potato casserole of some kind on it, we were not too sure he was right but at that point I could have eaten the tablecloth since I'd had to skip all the appetizers served before the reception doors were open. So I ate almost every bite on my plate. The steak wasn't quite done enough for me so I ate the outside and gave my husband the middle. The salmon was perfect and both sauces were very good as well. The veggies were tasty and the potato casserole was amazing! It was my favorite part of the meal. My meal was indeed gluten free and delicious!

Obviously neither wedding cake served was gluten free and I was a little surprised that I was not offered anything else for dessert. No worries though - we simply asked for small plates and pulled out our huge piece of chocolate cake from Laura's. I'd put the take out container in a small gift bag and stuck it under the table on arrival. We split the cake and it was absolutely the best gluten free chocolate cake I've had to date. I like my own chocolate icing better but the cake itself was out of this world delicious! No wonder it won a taste test against gluten cakes! Way to go Laura!

So, if you're ever invited to a wedding or event at The Adolphus in Dallas, be assured you can get a great gluten free meal. You just need to request it when you rsvp for the event. The Chef said he'd prepare gluten free Afternoon Tea service with advance notice but we didn't have time for that. If any locals try it, please let me know how it is. And if you're within driving distance of Plano or are ever in Dallas you have GOT to go to Laura's Bistro for a gluten free meal. You will not be sorry you did!

Gluten free in Austin Texas

On Friday morning we sadly had to say goodbye to Anne and Joe at Chicken Paradise and head to Dallas for the wedding - the real reason for this trip. We had to arrive in Dallas in time to press clothes and change for the rehearsal dinner. Of course I had called the restaurant to figure out what I could eat and it turned out I could eat nothing being served on the buffet...such is the life of someone with Celiac. No problem, they were happy to make me some beef soft tacos (fryer issue) rice and beans. All were checked to confirm they were gluten free. My meal ended up being not only gluten free but pretty darn tasty as well!

As it turns out, when you are driving to Dallas from San Antonio, you drive right through Austin. There is a place there called Wildwood Arts Cafe that has a gluten free bakery onsite and they serve many gluten free dishes as well. They serve lunch so of course we had to go - no question. We'd been warned that traffic in Austin is horrid but being from Atlanta we always think people that say that have no idea what real traffic is. Unfortunately for us (and Austinites), the warning about Austin traffic was accurate. It took forever to get to Wildwood even though it was not that far off the interstate. We arrived during the lunch rush and it was crazy busy so I had plenty of time to figure out what to order while waiting in the long line. We snagged a table (they don't have many there) and waited for our meals to arrive. I had pork tamales with rice and beans and my meal was outstanding. My husband ordered some kind of sandwich and said the rice bread it was made from was ok.

When it was time to pick a dessert from the massive gluten free offerings, I started reading ingredients and realized most things there seemed not only to be gluten free but dairy free as well. Some of my favorite treats are made with canola oil and not butter so I was not completely scared away. I chose a cookie to have later (it wasn't good) and my husband chose the brownie, which was made with margarine instead of canola oil. I'm sure at some time I've had a worse tasting brownie but I'm not sure what or when that was. I could not believe my husband ate the whole thing after admitting he didn't like it...but he couldn't bring himself to throw it out.

For the following morning I needed something to eat in the room unheated so I chose a pumpkin muffin. My husband chose a blueberry breakfast bread which was huge. Considering the traffic delays and the quality of the baked goods, I would not bother returning to Wildwood if I was ever in Austin again. There are more places in the area than Wildwood that can provide safe gluten free meals. You'll find them on the Celiac Alamo site.

The pumpkin muffin turned out to be the best thing we bought at Wildwood and I should have gotten a few more. The blueberry breakfast bread was inedible except for the blueberries that my husband literally picked out of it...he had some protien bars to supplement his breakfast as there wasn't time for him to get service in the hotel cafe at this point.

Like another well known 'almost' gluten free bakery in NYC - I don't get what all the fuss is about regarding Wildwood Cafe. I can make better gluten free baked goods at home and I'm no baking expert. I just use the very best mixes on the market and that doesn't take much skill - except to find said mixes. I guess people accept these less than stellar tasting items just because they don't want to make every single cookie or piece of cake at home, and for that I don't blame them. But for me, if something isn't good enough for a discriminating glutenoid to eat, I usually don't like it. Life is too short to eat bad food - gluten free or otherwise.