Gluten-Free Travel: December 2018

Sunday, December 30, 2018

Celiac Safe in Destin, Florida

Eating out Celiac Safe in Destin, FL was a bit of a challenge. Eating out in any restaurant can be daunting, and a bit risky. I accept that responsibility, and work to stay safe when I’m out and about with my girls. Doesn’t matter where we go, my first request is for a Gluten-Free menu and when ordering I make certain they know I want my choices to be Celiac Safe.

I know I did get glutened somewhere along the line, but thankfully it didn’t hit until Sunday when I was home again and able to deal with it. Three days of very painful joints and living near the bathroom was a small price to pay for seven days of love and fun with my Daughters and Granddaughters. Even so I was able to stay Gluten-Free and Dairy Free with all our choices that week.

One thing we did notice was pricing was off. We consistently chose places with $$ and each and every one of them should have been $$$ when we got the bill. So be careful, we ended up spending far more than planned on our meals out. Thankfully, we had also rented a Condo on the beach with a full kitchen. So we had Shipt deliver food for breakfast & lunch or snacks for the week on the first night we got there.

BEN & JERRY’S – If you’re looking for a Dairy Free Ice Cream Cup or Sunday, don’t waste your time. We were very disappointed when we discovered their one Dairy Free choice that they advertise was the same store packaged option offered in every single grocery store. So we stopped at Publix Grocery, grabbed one of every other GF, DF option, picked up some GF Cones and went back to the Condo. That way each evening we enjoyed our own Ice Cream Cone and decided we wouldn’t waste our time with Ben & Jerry’s again.

https://www.benjerry.com/miramarbeach

MELLOW MUSHROOM – This one made us all smile! We were all able to get Pizza’s that were not only Gluten-Free, but Dairy Free AND a Vegetarian option so everyone was happy. Any pie can be made on a Gluten-Free crust; however, only those pies and ingredients with the GF designation can be made with their allergy-safe procedures.

https://mellowmushroom.com

MARGARITAVILLE – They did have everything clearly marked Gluten-Free on the main menu which was nice…things were clearly marked GF. I ordered the Catch of the Day (Grilled and served with Island Rice, Chef's choice of Vegetable and Mango Salsa). Very tasty, I cleaned my plate :-)

https://www.margaritavilledestin.com

My Granddaughter got the Volcano Nachos (Tortilla Chips layered with Chili, Cheese, Pico de Gallo, fresh Guacamole, Sour Cream and Jalapeños) Also clearly marked GF but I was trying to avoid Dairy as well. Plus it was big enough to feed four!!

ROCKIN TACOS – This one was well worth the trip, I would have gone back for seconds if I could have. They didn’t have a Gluten-Free menu, but our Waitress was very helpful. I got the Mexican Street Corn (Fresh grilled Corn on the Cob with Chipotle Aioli, Queso Fresco, roasted Red Peppers, Cilantro and a squeeze of fresh Lime) I’ve never had Aioli before, now I’m a big fan! I’m going to need to learn how to make that stuff.

http://www.rockintacos.com

JACKACUDAS – We were all excited to try this place…not so much when we left. Everything was tasty, but nothing much to write home about. I got the Basic Veggie Roll (Cucumber, Avocado, Asparagus, Daikon Sprouts). They were all out of Avocado (??) and made no attempt to substitute with something inventive so my basic roll was even more basic, but still the same price.
https://www.jackacudas.com

THAI TANIC – We just had to eat here, if only because of the name alone :-) But this place was a great find! No Gluten-Free menu, but I’m a huge Thai food fan so finding something Gluten-Free would have been easy. I got my favorite Pad Thai (thin Rice Noodles in a Tamarind Sauce with Shrimp, Bean Sprouts, Green Onion, Egg garnished with Peanuts and Lime). This one was definitely worth the visit.

http://thaitanicdestin.com

ANGLERS GRILL – I think this was probably our most disappointing stop. Probably because they had some really great reviews and our hopes were high. I opted for the Catch of the Day (grilled Red Snapper with Mashed Potatoes and Broccoli). The fish was very overcooked and actually crunchy around the edges. The mashed potatoes were nothing to write home about.

https://www.anglersgrill.com

CarolAnne Le Blanc

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Saturday, December 29, 2018

My Adventures in Portugal, Gluten-Free

This is the lovely Country House that we rented in North Portugal, situated in a quiet area between Guimarães and Braga. My friends and I have been using these Vacation Rental Homes around the world for the past 20 years…and this house is a real gem! It’s now one of our favorites. The house is beautifully decorated and spotlessly clean. Our hostess, Rosario was there to greet us when we arrived, to show us around and make us feel truly welcomed. She had even prepared a light lunch buffet just for us with local

cheese, presunto, fresh bread and fruits. There were even some homemade wine & cakes…what a wonderful surprise!! Of course I couldn’t enjoy it all…but my travel mates loved the extra hospitality.

My favorite spot was the Lilly Garden, in beautiful bloom, just outside the kitchen balcony. I spent a lot of time just sitting out on the balcony, enjoying the peace and quiet of the countryside and watching my Granddaughters playing

outdoors. The children’s favorite were the two Splash Pools they discovered were only about 2-feet deep and perfect for some fun and splashing around.

The house provided us with some of the basic items needed for our stay…trash bags, soaps, paper goods, some non-perishable cooking supplies…those were a big help. Not all rental houses provide things like that. Many are stripped clean after each renter and it’s up to the renter to scramble

for supplies that first day. Honestly, houses that are stripped like that are a huge disappointment. But Rosario even took us to the local grocer so that we didn’t get lost. So our first stop was a store called Bolama’s in Guimarães.

I'm afraid that Portugal was the least Celiac friendly place I've visited. The Portuguese people are some of the friendliest

on earth, so the people were wonderful; they honestly tried to be helpful. But for the most part they had no clue, or real interest. On the positive side...REAL ingredients abounded!! In restaurants and grocery stores...they used REAL food :-) So I did quite well...and I lost a bit of weight, no complaints.

As we normally do, we asked the locals for their favorite

places to eat. One place was so good…and did so well with my requests…that we went back two or three times to enjoy ourselves. The first time we went, my daughter used a translator app on her phone to communicate with the owner. When we went back the 2^nd time HE had the app on his phone! Now that’s customer service :-)

When you walk into any restaurant, aside from giving you a

heart-warming welcome, they immediately begin putting food on the table! We all looked at each other in amazement as the table began to fill with small plates of bread, butter, olives, cheese, Pasteis de Carne, Bolinhos de Bacalhau, Presunto you name it! Every time we sat down the offerings were always local, always different choices, and we enjoyed every bite. But we never ordered any of it. Menus came next, and we always ordered dishes to share…or some places actually served the entire table family style which was fun. It wasn’t until the

check came after that first meal that we realized we were being billed for all those little bites we enjoyed before our meal! Lol If we ate 6 olives, we were billed for 6 olives, or 3 pats of butter, or two wedges of cheese…it was an interesting process. We didn’t complain though because the prices were reasonable, and the food so tasty, and we had planned on ordering hors d'oeuvres anyway. It was simply a wonderful way to explore all the different foods and flavors that Portugal had to offer. And a surprise every meal!