A month and a half ago we spent a short weekend in Washington D.C. visiting the National Zoo, my favorite gluten free dinner restaurant, Carmine’s, and one of my good friends from college. Our first day was a jam packed, mini adventure which on an unseasonably warm day in September. After our drive from New Jersey to Washington D.C., we spent the entire late morning and afternoon trekking around the National Zoo, followed by an amazing couple of hours stuffing our faces full of family style gluten free goodness, courtesy of Carmine’s. Make sure you check out the rest of the details from that day along with the impressive gluten free dining experience that we had at Carmine’s in my previous post here. While we always enjoy spending time in our nation’s capital, that day was filled with so much fun and excitement making it another one of our extra special family adventures, especially one that tuckered us out.
After a full day of showing Washington D.C. to our little girl we headed back to Hotel Palomer, a boutique Kimpton hotel chain that we love staying at, and bunkered down for the night. And I must say, oh what a night it was! Keep in mind our little one never sleeps with us unless we’re on vacation without any other option of sleeping arrangements. So when she does have the rare treat to sleep with Mommy and Daddy she has a ball. She’s already a mover and groover at night time, so her kicking and rolling on top of you every 5 minutes is to be expected. But the cutest little quirks of our sleepovers that my little one is known for is out of no where, you find her sitting on top of you and saying “Mommy, hi” or “Daddy, hi.” Whether it be 7 am or 2 am, it never fails we’ll get at least a handful of those wide awake greetings at least a few times at night. And even though we never get a restful night of sleep as a family of three in one bed, they definitely are special nights that we share with our little girl that we look forward to each vacation.
So after a long night of tossing and turning and middle of the night greetings and cuddles, as the sun peaked through the curtain, our little girl began flipping and flopping between us, making sure that we both were wide awake before she was. We decided to take our time getting ready and take a nice morning walk around the area before we snatched some breakfast and headed back to New Jersey. Little did we know that breakfast time in D.C. means a late brunch on the weekends, about 10 am or so, which is completely not our normal everyday schedule, nor our little girl’s. In comparison to the D.C. schedule, we’re definitely early birds, with breakfast between 7 and 8 am each day; so to buy us some time on that day we took a very long walk and got a quick bagel for our little one to nibble on for breakfast.
Finally, after we spent 2 hours sightseeing the Dupont area of Washington D.C. the restaurant that we had picked out for breakfast finally had opened for brunch. Breakfast really is one of my most dreaded times of day to find something to eat that is gluten free. I’ve found that no matter we go, oddly enough, breakfast seems to be one of the meals that restaurants most rarely take extra strides to accommodate for. So I was super excited to find that the restaurant that was right across from our hotel, had a great breakfast menu for my husband along with conveniently marked gluten free offerings for me as well.
Nothing too flashy, but a refreshing plate of fresh fruit was a nice treat while we waited for our late breakfast.
So as 10 am rolled around, we made our way over to Scion Restaurant. They had some great outdoor seating options which we couldn’t help but take advantage of since we rarely have this option at home, even though it was excruciatingly hot even at 10 am already. After we were seated, our waitress took our orders, I went with an omelet with bacon, tomatoes, and cheese along with a Mimosa; I love Mimosas and only ever get them on the rare occasion on vacation so it was a nice little treat for this Mommy. While we waited for our meals to arrive, Dan and I alternated helping ourselves to some fresh fruit from their buffet inside, a nice little appetizer to hold off our very hungry bellies along with keeping our little girl happy. Just as I was taking my turn inside getting some fruit, our meals had arrived and I had a huge omelet with some delicious looking breakfast potatoes waiting for me when I got back.
Scion’s omelet with breakfast potatoes.
The omelet was delicious, loaded full of fresh tomatoes, pieces of bacon, and cheese. But the real highlight on the plate for me were the breakfast potatoes. As a gluten free diner, many of you probably would agree when I’d say that we rarely can enjoy fries, hashbrowns, or many other types of potato concoctions when we dine out since very rarely are they ever fried in a separate fryer or cooked sans gluten. So I was definitely pleasantly surprised to see half a plate of delicious, thin cut breakfast potatoes staring back at me just screaming to be tried. They were a little crispy but still soft enough so they weren’t like potato chips. And the seasoning on them was perfect, not too spicy or bland, just right!
All together, I’m very happy that we hung around for a late breakfast before our drive home. While we love living in the suburbs, we really do enjoy some of the perks of living in a city, especially the accessibility of restaurants, great ones too that are nestled one after another along the main streets. We especially love the outdoor seating perk too where you can sit and watch the hustle and bustle of the city around you, which is really only an option at a few local chains around us like Uno’s or Red Robin, not quite the same as city dining though.
It was a great miniature weekend away. Ever since our little girl was born we’ve always tried to take the time for fun adventures like this one, no matter how big or small, we just want to show our little girl the world. It makes me so happy that at only 1 1/2 we’ve exposed her to so many of the fun things that Dan and I loved to share and enjoy pre-baby. We always agreed that we wanted to show the world to our little one, a little bit at a time, and introduce her to the beauty, fun, and history that exists outside of our tiny home state of New Jersey. Little by little we’re ticking off our list of must sees for her and have years more of fun and exciting sights to see ahead of us.
Sincerely,
Lindsay
Check out Scion’s full breakfast menu along with their dinner menu which also has some gluten free options highlighted.
A Disney vacation for us wouldn’t be complete with at least one character experience. While our little girl loves many a character, by far her favorites are Mickey and his friends. So without hesitation, we signed up for an early breakfast at Chef Mickey’s on our last full day of our vacation. We’ve dined here once before with little one when we were in Disney for Halloween and she loved it then so we could only imagine now almost a year later what her reaction may be.
The only tough part about having an early breakfast reservation at a Disney resort is the act of actually getting there. Since we stayed at Art of Animation this time around we didn’t have access to the boat to drop us off at the Contemporary, so for our 7:00 breakfast reservation our only option was to catch the earliest bus to Magic Kingdom, which was at 6:45. They dropped us off at Magic Kingdom where we then had to hike over to the Contemporary, making us a little late for our reservation. I’m guessing that we’re not the only ones that have ever had that happen, since they weren’t really phased by our tardiness. Still though, they should have a better system for getting guests to their early breakfast reservations.
Nonetheless, we arrived to our reservation, a little late, but we got there safe and sound, one of us dressed in her cutest Minnie dress. We waited only a few minutes before we were seated at one of the last tables in the first dining room. The chef immediately joined us and offered to escort me around the buffet to review my gluten free options. Knowing that I wouldn’t actually be daring enough to eat anything off of the buffet line I decided to save us both the time and just put in my order with him right away. I love Chef Mickey’s cheesy shredded hashbrown so that was a given, I also went with some eggs and extra crispy bacon too, and no Disney breakfast is complete without gluten free Mickey waffles and some fresh fruit. And as simple as that, my order was placed and Dan was up filling some plates for he and our little one.
Chef Mickey’s gluten free breakfast of cheesy hashbrowns, eggs, and crispy bacon.
I was busy cutting up Lila’s plate of food when my plates had arrived. Wow, that’s all I have to say, a lot of food for little old me. I knew that I wouldn’t touch even half of this amount of food, especially given the amount of distraction at this meal, but I had to at least try everything I wanted. Only a few bites into breakfast and the first of the characters began to circulate. Our little girl’s eyes grew ten sizes as she didn’t take her eyes off Goofy the entire time he walked around the room, only taking pauses to nibble at her food. And finally the moment arrived for her to meet her first character. I sprung her from her highchair and she ran up to him giving him a huge hug, a moment that makes our hearts melt for sure. She continued the same greeting with each of the characters, making Dan and I so thankful that we were able to bring her to Disney again.
Now the food itself was delicious, just as wonderful as I had remembered from months before. The hashbrown is always my favorite here, they remind me of a gluten filled hashbrown casserole that I used to enjoy at Cracker Barrel, a country style restaurant that we used to go to when I was younger. They’re the shredded potatoes that I love, coated with a cheesy sauce, can’t get better than that. The Mickey waffles I honestly can say I barely got a chance to enjoy as my little girl caught one glance and adopted half of my plate. But what I did taste was amazing! Besides being adorable, being gluten free didn’t impact their taste and texture at all. They’re beautiful aren’t they!
Soft and light gluten free Mickey waffles at Chef Mickey’s.
It was a wonderful start to our last full day of vacation and as you can see our little one was all smiles as we were leaving. We headed out to catch the monorail to head over to Magic Kingdom. We had some big plans for our last full day from meeting Ariel to enjoying the splash zone over by Dumbo, a surprise for little one that we thought she’d really enjoy, all ending with dinner at Kona Cafe and the electrical parade. The monorail took a bit longer then we had planned, so we missed park opening but with fastpasses in hand we headed straight back to begin our long day in Magic Kingdom. That morning we explored every bit of Fantasyland from Ariel and Dumbo to Peter Pan and the carousel. To escape some of the heat we even headed into Gaston’s Tavern to enjoy some cool air and a snack too. No, sadly the giant cinnamon buns are not gluten free but their specialty drink, Lefou’s brew, is. So it was one Lefou’s brew for each of us, mine I’d be splitting with little one. It was pretty tasty, a cold apple flavored slushy with hints of marshmallow and topped with a passion fruit foam. The marshmallow was a bit strange for me but I did definitely like the combination of the apple slushy and passion fruit foam which was a bit sour. All together it was a pretty good treat, just nice to enjoy something gluten free while everyone else around you is digging into the Mount Everest of cinnamon buns.
Gaston’s Tavern Lefou’s Brew is gluten free and delicious too!
The rest of our time in Magic Kingdom, before heading to dinner, we let our little girl enjoy the splash zone over by Dumbo. She loved the water shooting out from the circus cars and who wouldn’t, seeing as the heat index was well over 100 that day. Being soaked from head to toe didn’t bother her as we hopped on the train to take a relaxing tour around the park. Once we were brought back to Fantasyland we headed up to the front of the park to shop a bit before dinner while our little girl enjoyed her nap time.
Dinner that night we were super excited about seeing as we were revisiting Kona Cafe, where we had one of our favorite meals the trip before. We arrived a bit early but took advantage of the cool air and peace and quiet while our little girl was sleeping. Soon enough, we were all awake and being seated for dinner. It took awhile this time for the chef to come out to take my dinner order but I successfully placed my order for the gluten free noodle dish with chicken. Meanwhile, Dan ordered his sushi and it was Mickey shaped ravioli, and not to mention the deliciously sweet Hawaiian bread, on the menu that night for our little girl.
Gluten Free Noodle Dish With Chicken at the Polynesian’s Kona Cafe.
Our meals had arrived and not a peep was heard around the table, except for the occasional excited declaration of Mickey being on little one’s plate. The Mickey raviolis were a hit for sure, definitely a dinner item that I wish we could get at home. My gluten free noodle dish though was by far one of my favorite meals from that trip, in all honesty it was one of the only nights that I wasn’t feeling sick at dinner, but putting that aside, it was the only dinner that I wished I knew how to make at home so I can enjoy it more often. The flavors are just amazing and remind me fondly of the days when I could enjoy a warm bowl of lo mein. Rice noodles and fresh veggies, some still with a little crunch, slathered with a delicious gluten free terriyaki sauce of sorts made me one happy gluten free Mommy.
With our last dinner coming to a close and the end of our vacation drawing near, we couldn’t help but look back at the past week with sadness. As always, the vacation flew by much faster than we had hoped. It was a bit more eventful in the health department than we had wished for but that’s life, you just have to roll with what life gives you sometimes. All together it was a wonderful Disney vacation, that ended with a great electrical parade that night with a couple of characters stopping by to say hi to our little one and a full morning the next day in Magic Kingdom to enjoy some last moments on our favorite rides. I’m still holding out hope that our next Disney vacation we won’t have to order a prescription, retreat to the hotel room for recovery, or make an impromptu visit to the urgent care center. We’re not sure when we’ll be back for our next Disney vacation but my fingers, toes, and everything that can be crossed will be crossed, along with many a prayer, for a completely healthy vacation. For now, we’ll be dreaming of our next days in Disney and all of the memories that they will bring.
I know I know, it’s been awhile since I’ve treated you to Disney dining from our vacations. Sorry to leave you hanging on the rest of our last Disney vacation but there were a couple of other non-Disney blogging items that needed to be checked off the list. So without further delay I’ll fill you in on the events and meals that filled our last few days in Disney.
This vacation we decided to treat ourselves for a day at Blizzard Beach and thank goodness we did. The August Florida heat was kicking our butts, okay mainly mine, and we were in desperate need for a cool down day. Our little girl is definitely a water baby, she loves taking baths, going in swimming pools, and splashing in knee deep ocean water so we knew that she’d be a huge fan of the water park. So when day 6 rolled around we donned ourselves in our bathing suits, water shoes, and plenty of sun tan lotion to enjoy Blizzard Beach.
Blizzard Beach Fun
If you haven’t been to Blizzard Beach I highly recommend it. No not necessarily for all of the delicious gluten free eats and treats, which are kind of few and far between aside from your usual snacks, but rather for the family fun that can be had. They have a wonderful toddler/little kid zone equipped with a toddler deep pool with floating ice sculptures, squirters, and some really cool slides that even my little one could partake in. Even though we squished her little butt into one of those life vest swim suits we were still hesitant to send her on her way down a water slide. Following her lead though, she was ready and raring to go and scooted her way down the big slide with Dan at the top to send her off and me at the bottom to catch her safely. She loved every bit of it, especially the independence factor, and would’ve been content to spend the rest of the day in her area but we decided to check out the rest of Blizzard Beach.
We headed over to the older kid play area filled with tube slides, an obstacle course of floating ice caps to walk on, and a zip line, not really a play area for our little girl so Dan and I hopped in the pool and bopped around with her for a bit while the rest of her cousins explored their attractions. We did send her down a bigger version of the little kid slides and she loved every second of it. It was a little scary watching our tiny little girl do these big kid things but seeing as she had her life vest on and a once competitive swimmer for a Mommy waiting at the bottom we decided to let her give it a try. Afterwards it was onto the lazy river and wave pool, both of which were big hits for our little girl. All in all, a day with nothing but water is a winner for our family. Our little girl was a happy little clam and would’ve probably enjoyed a whole vacation just at Blizzard Beach.
We called it a day early- to mid-afternoon so we could head back to our resort, eat something little, get cleaned up, and head out for dinner at Hoop Dee Doo Revue. After reading some pretty good gluten free reviews we decided to give it a try. With an early dinner/show reservation at 4:00 and a less than direct route to Fort Wilderness we headed out early to make our way to Magic Kingdom to get a boat over to Fort Wilderness. Soon enough we had arrived at the restaurant and waited to be let in for our dinner time. Our group of 9 were escorted to our table, which had a great view of the stage. The waiter brought the chef over shortly after we were seated and he reviewed all of the gluten free options with me. On the menu that evening was a garden salad, gluten free corn bread, grilled chicken, baked beans, corn, mashed potatoes, and ribs, sounded good to me! And let me add that you get bottomless sangria too, yay!
Gluten Free Dinner at Hoop-Dee-Doo Revue
While we waited for our food to arrive the show had started which turned out to be a real blessing for our little one. Between nibbling on corn bread, coloring in and out of the coloring book, and watching the endless song and dance up on the stage, our little one was a happy camper. She would laugh and clap along with songs and even got the spotlight put on her, mid- corn bread bite I’d like to add, as the cutest little princess at the show.
Our little girl was certainly a fan of the dinner and show but I had yet to taste any of the gluten free food to be a judge. While everyone else’s food had arrived, I anxiously awaited mine while I cut up a plate full for little one. Just as I was finishing, an overflowing plate of barbecue heaven was plopped down in front of me. I didn’t take a picture of my food at this dinner, mainly because it was so dark, but also because we had a major distraction during our meal which I’ll tell you about in just a minute. So back to the food, the ribs were delicious, fell right off the bone, and were definitely one of my favorites along with the mashed potatoes. The chicken was just grilled chicken, nothing fancy here, and the other accompaniments were okay as well. The gluten free cornbread was pretty good, a little dense for me, but tasty nonetheless.
An added bonus….my husband was picked to be in the show!
I barely had begun to enjoy my food when one of the performers was next to our table asking Dan to join them up on stage. Now, if this were me I would say no so fast but my husband is definitely a team player and took one for the team here. So up he went and my dinner was put on hold as I had to capture these moments on video. I couldn’t stop laughing at my poor husband’s impromptu acting debut that lasted for a good 20 minutes. Our little girl was ecstatic watching her daddy perform and just kept pointing at him. He was definitely a trooper, more specifically a brave little Indian, and gave us a memory that we’ll be able to share with our little girl for years to come.
When the star of the show returned to our table our dessert was waiting for him. Strawberry shortcake greeted everyone else and I had a plate of fresh strawberries and whipped cream. The strawberry shortcake got rave reviews, especially from our little one who couldn’t get enough of the super sweet strawberries and cake combo. My dessert was tasty, nothing to write home about, but that was okay since I was planning on a gluten free Dole Whip later that night anyway.
All together, our dinner at Hoop-Dee-Doo was a night to remember, thanks mainly to my husband’s performance. The food was pretty good and the show was so-so but it was nice to have some entertainment that kept our little one’s attention, allowing us some time to ourselves. It was a great experience and we’ll definitely be back there one day but we have lots of other new restaurants to try before we return.
Stay tuned for our last full day of gluten free meals from Kona Cafe’s noodle dish to a Lefou’s Brew!
Finally, rounding out the Gluten Free Guides To Disney World are those for Disney’s moderate and value resorts. On two of our Disney vacations in the past 2 years we stayed at Art of Animation, an amazingly themed resort that offers family size suites and standard rooms. While the four movie themes, Lion King, Little Mermaid, Finding Nemo, and Cars, are perfectly portrayed in the scenery, pools, playgrounds, and rooms, I have to admit I’m mostly taken aback by a resort’s ability to feed me. Gluten free dining at Art of Animation lived up to the high standards that Disney has set everywhere else on property. From daily breakfast to an occasional dinner or lunch, I certainly never went hungry thanks to the help of the chefs at Art of Animation who I met with before each and every meal. So without further delay, here are my final Disney Gluten Free Guides for Moderate and Value Resorts, split up into four separate guides because there’s just so much gluten free fun that they offer!Gluten free donuts anyone?How about some allergy free breaded chicken tenders? Maybe some BabyCakes gluten free cupcakes? Take your pick in gluten free drinks and ice cream too!
As you can see Disney resorts offer tons of gluten free dining options, and what they can put together with this list of gluten free ingredients is really impressive. So make sure you pick a few restaurants out to try while your on your Disney vacation and use these lists to do just that!
No, sadly we’re not really going back to Disney World, but rather I’m getting in touch with my Disney side, yet again, to finish off my gluten free guides with the resorts. With my Disney theme park gluten free guides so far, you now can find your favorite gluten free products when you’re making your way around any of Disney World’s main theme parks. But what about the resorts? Home to many a character meal, quick service option, and sit down dinner, the resorts make up a large portion of dining options in Disney, so of course a gluten free guide would be coming your way for all of your favorite places to stay and dine in Disney!
For each of our recent vacations as a family of three, we’ve dined in Wilderness Lodge, the Contemporary, and the Polynesian, all of which are home to multiple restaurants that each offer a variety of gluten free dishes. Since we usually call Wilderness Lodge our home for the week though, this is where we predominantly eat breakfast and occasionally lunch. During our stay at Wilderness Lodge, every morning, with the exception of a character breakfast morning, we would head to Roaring Forks for a quick service breakfast. Dan would go straight to the counter and pick out a plate of hot food for little one and he to share, while I would wait with our little girl to place my order with the manager. Sometimes I’d have to wait a bit, especially in the morning as we’re early birds, but never too long, and soon enough my order is placed for whatever gluten free option my heart desires, usually a breakfast sandwich is my breakfast of choice on vacation. Once we pay and pick out our table, I get our little girl started with her breakfast. By the time she moves onto her banana, a delicious plate of gluten free breakfast sandwich arrives for yours truly, a heaping portion of carefully cooked eggs, crispy bacon, and cheese is placed between Udi’s bread. Oh how I wish I was in Disney enjoying one of those instead of the rice cake I just forced down!Quick service meals are not the only dining options available at Disney resorts; in fact, a large portion of their meal offerings come from sit down, table service meals. Usually during our stays in Disney, we use at least one or two of our meals at resorts, either for breakfast or dinner. We love picking out at least one character meal that we can treat our little girl to, but right now, since she LOVES Mickey and his friends we tend to go with Chef Mickey’s in the Contemporary for breakfast. The buffet spread at Chef Mickey’s is huge and offers anything you can imagine, from hot to cold to savory to sweet. But for me, even though the chef offered to escort me around the buffet line to point out the gluten free choices, I always opt to have my meal prepped in the kitchen away from the inevitable cross contamination that happens at buffets. For this meal, I usually go a little crazy and request a few different items, including gluten free Mickey Waffles, eggs, bacon, and my favorite, their cheesy hashbrowns. With hardly any wait at all, my plate arrives just as my husband and little girl are starting on theirs and soon enough the stars of the morning make their grand entrance too, bringing smiles all around the table. There’s many a meal at home that I wish Mickey or any of his friends would jump off the tv screen to make my little girl that happy again!After a long day of trekking around Disney theme parks in the hot and humid Florida air, we certainly are well prepared for our dinners. We plan our dinner reservations 180 days out and look forward to each and every one of them. While we love dining in the parks, we usually find ourselves for one or two of our dinners at the resorts. One of our favorite resorts to dine at is the Polynesian. Dan has fond memories of staying here when he was little and we just love walking around the resort and enjoying the greenery and water features. We’ve had great gluten free experiences at both Ohana and Kona Cafe and really love both of them for different reasons. Kona Cafe though, has become one of our more recent favorites, thanks to their gluten free Chicken and Noodle dish, something I can only get while in Disney, not to mention my daughter loved the Mickey shaped raviolis and sweet Hawaiian bread there too! But really whether we dine at Kona Cafe or Ohana, I’ve had some amazing gluten free food with even better company and scenery. For the foreseeable future, I think we’ll probably revisit either Kona or Ohana each time we go to Disney, so we always get our Polynesian fix each vacation. There’s so much in a Disney vacation that makes it as special and amazing as it is, but one of the highlights for us are all of the great meals we get to share and even better food that we don’t have to cook ourselves. Each time, after we get home from a trip, usually within a day or so, and that’s being generous, either myself or Dan asks when we’re going back next with a smile. We love going to Disney and we love even more that our little girl loves it so much too. No sooner having asked the question of when we’ll go back, do we follow it with “well, when we do go back, where do you want to eat?”. After every vacation, we create mental lists of where we want to go back to and where we haven’t yet been, we always like to try one or two new places when we go. We definitely have a growing list of places to visit that we’re slowly chipping away at, a number of restaurants of which are at resorts. Disney dining for us are the kings of gluten free eating in my book, and offer allergy free options flawlessly wherever you go. They really make sure to give each vacationer a great experience from start to finish, and that includes dining. What you eat, as a gluten free guest, is a priority to them and I for one am so glad it is! Thank you Disney for making our vacation dining so simple and easy!
So if you have a Disney vacation approaching or just dreaming of your next one, pin or print these guides so you can spot your favorite gluten free items while you’re out and about. Also, you might have noticed that there’s only the deluxe resorts listed on these guides; since there’s just so many resorts and so many gluten free food options, I had to split them up, so stay tuned for the moderate and value resort guides!
A couple of years ago, pre-gluten free, my husband and I first dined at Carmine’s in New York City, Times Square. We’d heard fantastic things from family and friends who had visited there in the past, so we were definitely excited to experience the Carmine’s deliciousness ourselves. And that we did, we left there full and satisfied, even planning our grand return in the future. We never did get back there to have our pick of the menu but we have triumphantly returned thanks to their massive gluten free selection taken right off of their regular menu with only a few adjustments.
Carmine’s has only a few locations, two of which we’ve visited in the gluten free phase of life. Just recently, we decided to take little one to the National Zoo in Washington D.C., which also meant a trip to Carmine’s too! While I’m always excited for a trip to the zoo with my family, it’s equally as exciting to go to Carmine’s again. We don’t get to go too often since we aren’t right around the corner, but whenever we’re in the area of one we’re sure to take advantage. We just love the family style serving theme of their delicious Italian food, not to mention the family and friend vibe that we always get dining here. After a couple of weeks in anticipation of the Carmine’s/D.C. day it had finally arrived and we were headed out for a little road trip. Even though it was early September, the weather lent itself more to a hot, summery day which was more than welcomed seeing as the weather forecast predicted rain instead of the sun that appeared. With a long drive behind us, we were raring to go to explore the gorgeous National Zoo. This zoo is phenomenal, home to all kinds of different animals, but perfectly set into nature with hilly paths and trees all around. If you haven’t been and are in the metro area, you absolutely must go and enjoy this day’s worth of adventure. Our little one surely loved it, even took to exploring a lot of the zoo on foot. Some of our favorites were the seals who made our little girl burst out in belly laughs when they starting talking to each other, the elephants, which she now calls by name and imitates all of the time, and the cheetahs, who she greeted with a growl! It was a great day in D.C. and made our little one’s weekend for sure.
A little tired and a lot hungry, we were ready to drop our stuff off at our hotel and head over to our dinner destination. While the food at Carmine’s is always a huge perk for me, I was also super excited this time to share our family style dinner with one of my good friends Sara, who lives in the metro area now. So after a quick drive to our hotel, we dropped our stuff off and headed out to catch the metro. A short ride later and we had finally arrived at our Gallery Place stop. As we made our way to the familiar red awning, I could just smell the gluten free Carmine’s Salad, Vodka Rigatoni, and Titanic soon to be coming our way.
Inside, our party of four was escorted to our table and we were set up with a gluten free menu, while the regular menu was displayed in their signature fashion, largely on the wall. Whenever we go to Carmine’s, my husband is always on board to partake in my gluten free choice since the portions are intended for an entire family, but always, per my encouragement, is sure to get a dish of his choice too though, gluten free or not. For dinner that night, Sara was more than happy to enjoy the gluten free Carmine experience with me, along with anything else Dan might choose.
On our menu that evening, we decided to go with the gluten free Carmine’s Salad and Scarpariello Chicken Wings to start, the gluten free Vodka Rigatoni and non-gluten free Chicken Parmesan for our entrees, and for dessert, the gluten free Tugboat, a miniature version of the Titanic, their signature dessert. Within just moments of placing our order, a basket filled with all types of non-gluten free breads were placed on the table. Some focaccia pieces were just seasoned while others seemed to be topped with a tomato sauce of sorts, I hate to say it but they looked incredible, but a no go for us gluten free folk. A great start to the meal though for my little girl, especially since she was chomping at the bit for some dinner.
Not long after though, the gluten free Carmine’s Salad had arrived and should have really come with a trumpet fanfare too, that’s how fantastic this opening dish is. The salad unfortunately did not survive for a picture (sorry) but no worries I was able to capture pictures of each of the other gluten free dishes before they were disturbed. Before we get there though, I have to tell you how delicious their salad is. I know I’ve mentioned it to you before when I made my own Carmine’s Salad at home, but it’s just so good. When the waiter placed down the masterpiece of salad in front of us the table fell silent in amazement. Their signature salad is a huge plate with a mountain of mixed greens, tomatoes, pepperoncinis, cucumbers, onions, roasted red peppers, celery, radishes, olives and assorted meats and cheese mixed throughout, including provolone, mortadella, salami, all slathered with their house vinaigrette. This salad is by far the best salad that I’ve ever had and is a meal in itself!
Now, our second appetizer were the Chicken Scarpariello wings, courtesy of my husband. These wings are one of Dan’s favorite Carmine’s dishes and actually happen to be gluten free without any changes. With their arrival, Dan’s face lit up and you could just see his excitement as he glanced over the heaping plate, piled high with beautifully glazed, crispy wings. The wings are cooked to perfection, with a crispy outside and juicy inside. On the flavor side of things, these wings are seasoned with a variety of herbs, most potent though is rosemary, making them incredibly tasty with a little zip on the end. These are amazingly flavorful wings I have to say but a little too zippy for me, but we all know I find a hint of pepper to be spicy so don’t use me as a judge of spiciness. My husband LOVES these wings which is absolutely fine with me, more Carmine’s salad on my plate and my little girl’s too who seemed to be a big fan like her Mommy!
Carmine’s Chicken Scarpariello Wings, they look so delicious don’t they? And they’re gluten free!
And, after much anticipation, Carmine’s family sized portion of Gluten Free Vodka Penne had arrived, made gluten free only with a substitution of the normal rigatoni with gluten free penne. I just love their vodka sauce, creamy with prosciutto bits mixed throughout, complementing the perfectly cooked gluten free pasta, amazingly. While this plate was placed down at my end of the table, the huge plate of massive Chicken Parmesan was placed at the gluten eaters end. I didn’t take a picture of this dish since it’s not gluten free but it was very drool worthy, as pretty much everything at Carmine’s is. Don’t worry though, at Carmine’s the deliciousness of their gluten free dishes more than makes up for the absences of those that you can’t eat.
Carmine’s Gluten Free Vodka Penne, my favorite!
While the chicken parmesan was plated, I couldn’t help but snag the first taste of the vodka penne. It was PHENOMENAL! Gluten free pasta cooked perfectly al dente and the sauce, one of the best vodka sauces I’ve ever had; mind you, vodka rigatoni was and still is one of my favorite pasta dishes, so I’ve had a lot to compare it to in my gluten and gluten free days. After my sneaky bite, I went on to ladle some pasta and cut up some chicken for our little Carmine’s diner to enjoy, and that she did. She gobbled up every last bite of both and even had a little bit of seconds of Mommy’s gluten free favorite.
Carmine’s Gluten Free Vodka Penne
A little while later, the aftermath of our meal fit for royalty was a sight to be seen. Some stuffed bellies all around with satisfied grins on all of our faces. It was an amazing meal shared with even more fantastic company. It’s been awhile since we’d been to D.C. and since my little girl had seen her honorary Aunt Sara, so a reunion was definitely in order. And for us what better place to reunite with a friend, who might as well be family, than at this family oriented, family style Italian restaurant. Carmine’s gave each of us a meal to remember and even some leftovers too!
While we chatted some more and little one colored, played with her souvenir bucket of animals, and was chatting and making animal sounds, the waiter had rejoined us and inquired about dessert. Okay, so you’ll by no means really have room for dessert when you dine here, but with the temptation of a gluten free behemoth of a dessert dangling in front of you like a carrot, you’ll more than likely need to try it. You’ll have trust me on this one, I highly recommend that you make a little room for it! Carmine’s offers a dessert called the Titanic, a mountainous sundae built to feed about 10 people, as are most of Carmine’s dishes, that can be slightly altered to be gluten free. Dan and I have both enjoyed this in the past and couldn’t let our little one and Sara get away without seeing and tasting this concoction. So for our smaller group of 4 the waiter recommended the miniature version called the Tugboat, made to feed half the number of people and for the half the cost too. We were sold, and soon enough little one and Sara would meet the miniature version of the Titanic dessert for the first time.
Carmine’s Gluten Free Tugboat Dessert, a miniature version of their Titanic
This dessert is enormous! It’s hard to picture what a family style ice cream and brownie sundae may look like but trust me, it is huge, and this is just the tugboat so picture a doubled version of this one for the Titanic. Okay, so what’s in this sweet treat exactly? Well you start off with a flourless chocolate torte on the bottom (great gluten free start, yay!), then some scoops of vanilla and chocolate ice cream are placed on top of the brownie, tons of fresh whipped cream are next, sliced bananas and strawberries decorate the sundae throughout, roasted cinnamon pineapples are placed on it’s sides, and chocolate syrup and chopped hazelnuts dress the top, and all of this is 100% gluten free! The only adjustment that is needed to make the regular version from here is to add those chocolate swirl cookie sticks to the top for the smoke stacks, which are not gluten free, but believe me they are not missed at all with all of the sweetness going on.
Carmine’s Titanic Miniature Dessert, The Tugboat
After the photographer was finished, this perfectly artful creation was demolished, divided onto four plates, and the first taster, who was the smallest one at the table, was busy taking the first bite. With her signature “mmm” in approval and plea for “more please mommy” we took it that our little girl was a huge fan of Carmine’s monstrous dessert, while the rest of us adults agreed completely with her praise. The gluten free torte was divine, but with the additions of the fruit and ice cream, this is what really stole the show! It was a delicious finish to a meal that couldn’t have been better in the gluten free department.
Years ago, when I experienced Carmine’s the regular way I thought then that it was amazing, but now, with gluten free glasses on, I’ve realized just how fantastic they truly are. Their gluten free selection is above and beyond what many other Italian restaurants are able to do. They offer countless gluten free options that are flavorful and just as delicious as their regular counterparts, which in my opinion is how gluten free restaurant dishes should be; their gluten free dishes never make you miss a gluten filled dish adjacent to you at the table but rather allowing you to enjoy your very own gluten free version just as much, hold the sickness.
If you’re local or visiting any of Carmine’s locations, two in New York City and one in Washington D.C., Atlantic City N.J., Las Vegas, or Atlantis in the Bahamas, you absolutely must try them out. Embrace their family style dining and go with your whole family or invite some friends along too! If it’s just you and your own little family, do as we do and don’t be afraid to treat yourselves, you’ll just have lots of leftovers later on, there are worse things. Do keep in mind their menus are priced for dishes that can feed a large number of people and everything is meant to be shared among your group. And even more good news, I’ve already mentioned that they offer a huge list of options on their gluten free menu, and I do mean huge so take a look, but they also cater to countless other food allergies, making them even better in my book!
So, we had yet another fantastic Carmine’s experience, to top off our little weekend away. You can’t get much better than a gluten free meal fit for your dreams and your little girl giggling and laughing with family all around. While I don’t know when we’ll be back to Carmine’s, I do know that we’ll always make it a point to get there when we’re in the neighborhood. I also know that Carmine’s has surely won a few more fans with that meal who will definitely be lifelong guests from here on. All of this reminiscing about that meal is tough but certainly gives me something to look forward to in the future, which makes our meals at Carmine’s that much more special. But until we return, it’s homemade Carmine’s salad for us and back to dreaming of those massively tasty plates of gluten free food.
Since I was slowly on the mend from my bout of heat exhaustion, our slower paced day in Animal Kingdom and light dinner at the San Angel Inn Restaurante in Epcot’s Mexico were a perfect fit. By the time we had made our way through all of the scenic and shaded trails of the park, hopped on a few rides here and there, and nibbled on a Gluten Free BabyCakes Donut and Flame Tree Barbecue Pulled Pork my appetite and energy level were pushed pretty close to the limit, but after a little resting at the hotel, we were on the bus again and headed over to Epcot for dinner. On our trip last fall, we had eaten at San Angel Inn and Dan couldn’t talk highly enough about the margaritas and other spicy dishes that he enjoyed. I, on the other hand, was not a huge fan of my spicy entree, even though my dear husband took a bite and swore that it wasn’t spicy at all, for my dainty little mouth it felt like there was a fire in there. So needless to say this restaurant didn’t necessarily take it all for the food for me but for the ambiance it was five stars. We loved the dark, nighttime feel, not to mention the fact that the restaurant overlooks the canal where the ride passes through.
Since Dan loves the food here and I the environment, this trip we had decided to revisit this restaurant. This dinner couldn’t have come on a more perfect day in our vacation either. At our last visit, on top of my too spicy entree, I tried the gluten free Sopa Azteca, a delicious bowl of traditional tortilla soup, hold the pepper. I knew that this would be the perfect light dinner given my sensitive condition at that point in our trip.
San Angel Inn Restaurante in Epcot’s Mexico
After checking in, we were escorted to our table nestled right along the water. It was the perfect table for our family of three with the best view in the house. Soon after being seated, the chef joined us and took my order for my gluten free soup. While we waited for our orders, our little girl couldn’t get enough of the riders passing along below us. In fact she even gave most of them an extra treat, waving and saying hello as the boats passed by, even getting lucky to get a few waves back. She is such a little sweetheart and so friendly too!
Soon enough, after only waiting a few minutes, my bowl of tomato soup with gluten free tortilla strips, avocado, and cheese was placed in front of me. It was just as delicious as I remembered and filled the little vacancy in my stomach. Sadly, I didn’t do the soup justice and left quite a bit behind, but I was incredibly glad that my stomach cooperated so I could enjoy some of it at least. Just as before, our experience here was amazing and our little girl loved every bit of it, food included, so it seems her palate may be more similar to her Daddy’s.
So, if you love spicy food, there are so many gluten free options at San Angel Inn, not to mention some pretty tasty dessert choices too. Make a reservation for this restaurant as far in advance as possible because it books up pretty quickly. Also, if you want to snag a seat like we had, try to get an earlier reservation and request a table along the water when you check in, you’ll have a better shot earlier in the dinner service I think.
Keep me posted on your gluten free selections here and any other Disney restaurant!
After hibernating a bit the day before, I woke up to feel a tad bit better on our Animal Kingdom day. I managed to get down a few bites of breakfast and we were off to walk the wonderfully shaded trails of Animal Kingdom, certainly a great choice in my book for this day in particular. We moved a bit slower and found quite a few benches but we still managed to see all that we had hoped.
With fastpasses for some of the more popular rides, we headed straight back to Dinosaur where our riders barely had to wait. I was hoping to maybe get on this ride this trip as I hadn’t yet been, but instead, I happily sat out with my little non-rider and took advantage of a few more minutes of rest. Once all of the group was out of the Dinosaur ride, we made our way back to the safari for our fastpasses.
Our favorite Animal Kingdom photo spot, great angle for the tree.
In route to Asia, we passed the Allergy Kiosk, you know the one I raved about last trip, that stands conveniently towards the front of the park by the Bug’s Life show. Since this time I was totally not my usual hungry self by mid-morning I wasn’t really in the mood for anything BabyCakes, but since we had some snack credits to use and I hadn’t eaten but two bites of toast that morning I decided to pick up a gluten free chocolate glazed donut like last time (check out my review here from before). Throughout the morning, I nibbled on the donut and managed to eat most of it, that’s how you know the donut was that good seeing as I had zero appetite but managed to convince myself to eat most of the sweet treat.
BabyCakes Gluten Free Chocolate Donut, Spring Disney Trip
Soon enough we had arrived at our destination and hopped on board for the morning safari ride. Our little girl was so tuckered out already that she decided on an early nap for herself (little did she know that Mommy would’ve gladly joined her). The animals were all out and about, grazing along happily and giving us some great picture worthy moments. When the safari came to a close, in the transition from arms to stroller little one woke up after her cat nap and was ready to explore the Pangani Forest Trail, one of our favorite things to do in Animal Kingdom.
Nap time and a safari.
The trail let out near Camp Minnie and Mickey where we decided to stop in since the line was on the shorter side. After some hugs and pictures we were off to experience the Kali River Rapids. This was another ride that I hadn’t been on yet, so Dan and I were excited to maybe get to go on this one together while little one was out with her cousin, Aunt, and Nanny. It’s no surprise that we managed to get ourselves in the wet seats, Dan more so than me, but it was certainly a welcomed cool down since it was so hot. This really was a great ride and I can’t wait to take our little one on here someday.
Another trail walk later and we found ourselves in a rain shower under the awning at Flame Tree Barbecue for lunch. While Dan managed the ordering, I headed down to snag tons of dry seats for our group under some coverings along the river overseeing Expedition Everest, a view that the kids loved. I was kind of disappointed that one of my favorite lunch spots in Disney happened to fall on a day that my stomach was still not right but don’t worry I did manage to squeeze in a little bit of my favorite barbecue dish here. That day I decided to order the pulled pork, sans bun, with the usual accompaniments. The pork was deliciously tender and juicy, just how I remembered, and hit the tiny pang of hunger that I was starting to feel (Sorry no recent picture on this one either, I certainly didn’t want to even look at food let alone take pictures of it.). To give you a little reminder though, here’s a picture from our last trip that certainly portrays just how tasty the pulled pork is.
Flame Tree Barbecue, gluten free pulled pork, Spring Disney trip
After eating some of the pulled pork, enjoying a nice cold drink, and waiting out the rain, we wandered around the park a little while more checking out wait times on other rides and shopping a bit too. After a busy morning I for one was ready to head out and rest a bit before our dinner that night in Epcot’s Mexico. It was a fantastic day in Animal Kingdom, and even though I wasn’t feeling the best, I’m so glad I decided to not stay in and miss out on some great memories. It was just the kind of day I needed to get going again without baking in the sun all day. And may I just say, seeing as the first real bites of food that I managed to squeeze down in my sicky state were at Animal Kingdom, I think it’s safe to say that the gluten free eats that I’m able to get here, from the BabyCakes treats at the Allergy Kiosk to the Flame Tree Barbecue pulled pork, are some of my favorites by far.
As the fourth morning of our summer vacation rolled around, we were up and raring to go for our first full day in Magic Kingdom (well at least most of us, I on the other hand was still a little run down). Our Magic Kingdom days are really some of my favorites. Almost everything we do is for our little girl, from rides and character meet and greets to parades and even special dining, each moment spent here is all about our little one. Just as we had on our previous days, we had our fastpasses all planned out ahead of time with a Be Our Guest lunch reservation smooshed in the middle. To say we were all excited would be an understatement.
Little ones headed the line to the Pirates of Caribbean.
The buses were packed on the way over but thankfully this tired and slightly ill mama, with baby in hand, snagged a seat so I could enjoy just a few more minutes of some blasting cold air. Soon enough though we were pulling up at our bus stop and unloading for our very busy day. Since we had morning fastpasses planned for some of the busier attractions in the new Fantasyland we decided to not follow the herd of people in that direction and head over to Adventureland first to hop on Pirates of the Caribbean. This was such a great idea, especially since we were able to go on it twice in a row with no line each time.
Afterwards, the rest of our group of thirteen decided to talk a walk through the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse; while Dan and I love doing this too, walking up tons of tiny steps holding our antsy toddler, or worse her insisting to do the steps herself, did not sound like very much fun. Instead, we decided to catch a ride on a magic carpet, something we’d yet to do since the line for this ride is always insane during the day and very much so in the sun. Not this morning, we waited a grand total of 5-10 minutes and were flying high in the sky. Little one loved this ride and actually put her arms up, I think someone’s been watching her Daddy on rides.
She wanted those gemstones stuck in the ground so badly.
Just as our magic carpets were landing, we spotted a small line forming for Jasmine’s first meet and greet so we decided to scoot in line. We waited only about 10 minutes in the shade and our little girl just loved the queue, with all of the gemstones and other miscellaneous treasures embedded in the ground. And we were up, it was her turn to meet Jasmine, to whom she ran up and gave a huge hug to. Did I mention how much she loves almost every character in Disney World?
By the time we had finished the sweep of Adventureland, in such a short time may I add, it was time to make our way over to Fantasyland for the first of our fastpasses. The plan to start in Adventureland was such a great idea; if you can avoid Fantasyland with fastpasses for the main attractions, especially first thing in the morning, please do, and try to hit some of your other favorite rides elsewhere in the park, you’ll be thankful you did when you’re walking straight onto rides. Anyway, we had arrived in Fantasyland and had a little bit of time before our early Be Our Guest lunch reservation so we took advantage of our first fastpass and met Anna and Elsa and then went over to Dumbo for a quick ride.
A little pre-lunch Dumbo ride.
Finally, it was time for our lunch at Be Our Guest. Even though it was on the early side we had all done so much already that day we were certainly hungry and ready for it. Ordering at the kiosks is pretty easy if you have a food restriction but for me I always ask to speak with a chef, it just makes me feel more comfortable in what I’m eating. I ordered the gluten free Turkey Sandwich that I’ve ordered in the past and you can catch a review of here. We picked out our tables in the Rose room and waited patiently for our orders to arrive.
Gluten free turkey sandwich from our spring trip to Disney.
Unfortunately for me, even after such a short morning I was already run down and feeling sick again with my appetite being nonexistent, just as it had at breakfast and dinner the night before. Once my meal did arrive it looked just as wonderful as always, with two portions of the gluten free version of the turkey sandwich and fries on the side, but I just couldn’t manage to eat very much at all. What I did eat though reminded me of just how tasty this sandwich was in my past visit too, hence why it’s one of my favorite lunches in Disney. On this day though, food was not my friend no matter how much I loved a meal in the past (tear).
Quick shot on the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train (sorry if it’s a little blurry but it was the best we could do).
After my pseudo lunch, I knew I wouldn’t make it much longer so we headed over to the Mine Train for our fastpass time. We split into two larger groups to watch the too little little ones, which thankfully the downtime gave way to an earlier nap time for mine. Even though I wasn’t really in the shape to go on this type of ride, I decided not to miss out on the rare opportunity to wait only 10 minutes to get on this one. It was really lots of fun, fast and a bit more intense than I thought but fun nonetheless, very glad I didn’t sit out.
Finally we had come to our last fastpass of the day over at Splash Mountain. While my little girl slept, I took advantage of this time for sure and plopped my exhausted and sick butt down in some shade where I could maybe snag a great picture of our family coming down the big drop. Mission accomplished, and with picture in hand we decided since we’d made it to mid-afternoon at that point to call it and head back to the hotel for some relaxation and pool time for little one.
The rest of the day for my little family of three was very mellow and relaxing. By the time we had gotten back to the hotel I was ready to collapse, and collapse I did. I definitely had heat exhaustion and with no food in my stomach I desperately needed to just lay in the cool air. While I did that, Dan took our little girl out for some pool time, moments that I definitely didn’t want to miss but had to. We decided to skip our Mama Melrose dinner reservation that night, I never would’ve made it there, and settled on a night inside with the cool air and soft beds. Our little girl was certainly a trooper and didn’t mind too much with the downtime, thank you my princess! But don’t worry, her Daddy took good care of her and Mommy with a couple walks in the stroller, a trip to the gift shop leading to her coming back with a present in hand, and the best part, a huge Mickey cupcake that made her eyes grow ten sizes. That husband of mine even brought back a small edible treat for me too, not quite as appealing as a huge Mickey cupcake but a necessary evil for me that night, some fresh fruit and a little salad put together by the chef’s at the Landscapes of Flavor.
After 8 hours of laying in the air conditioning and a full of night of sleep to follow, the next day seemed a little bit brighter. The next morning I was still so nauseous with zero appetite and pretty darn sore too, but I certainly wasn’t going to let this heat stuff ruin any more of our vacation plans. Next up, was our Animal Kingdom day and our last dinner in Epcot at Mexico!
After a great day in Hollywood Studios we were off to Epcot for a dinner in Germany. We debated on this one for a little while. We’d been there pre-baby and loved the environment and entertainment but were so so on the food. For me, the cuisine is not really up my alley, but I’m always willing to try new places for my husband who has much more of an adventurous palate than I. Even though our first experience at Biergarten didn’t quite wow us we decided to give it a second try, just the three of us, so our little girl might be able to enjoy a little German music and entertainment.
We caught a bus to head over to Epcot for dinner that night and in route our little one dozed off for her afternoon nap. We crossed our fingers that this nap would stick and hopefully get us through a little bit of dinner, just long enough so we could put some food in our stomachs. After pulling up at the distant bus stop, we began our trek towards the World Showcase. With temperatures in the high 90s and humidity levels off the charts, the walk from the bus to Germany in the World Showcase was brutal, making me light headed and nauseous. Little did I know that this wasn’t a promising sign for the rest of our evening and really for the next few days. The heat certainly got the best of me and made enjoying our dinner very difficult. Thankfully though, my little girl helped her mommy out by continuing napping through quite a bit of dinner, allowing me to relax and attempt to eat some of my meal.
A little Germany love with my little Snow White (this was the day before our dinner in Germany, just had to share how pretty Germany is).
So back to the food. After being seated, we were told that the chef would be over to walk me through the buffet to review my gluten free options. While I waited with our peacefully sleeping baby, Dan went up to the buffet to retrieve a plate full of authentic, German cuisine. It was a busy night at Biergarten with several other food allergy diners so it did take awhile for the chef to come over, but the peaceful relaxation was warmly welcomed on my part. Once the chef appeared, she escorted me over to the buffet and reviewed the can and cannots along the line. After our quick walk through, I requested my menu choices to come from the kitchen rather than from the buffet line where gluten free items were sometimes surrounded by non-gluten free ones making cross contamination an absolute possibility. The chef was so happy to accommodate and promised to give me generous helpings of each of my requested gluten free items (In retrospect, I probably should have forewarned her that the extras might be wasted on this gal that night since I was apparently suffering from heat exhaustion.).
Epcot’s Biergarten in Germany, The Gluten Free Cold Selection
Whilst I waited for my food, the show began and caused a little rustling from inside the stroller, but thankfully our little girl continued to snooze for a little while longer. Soon enough, the chef reappeared with two full plates of almost everything gluten free from the kitchen. Had I had the appetite that I normally have after a full day of pushing around the stroller through Disney’s humongous theme parks, I would’ve been thrilled with the wide selection and overflowing plates. Sadly, the enormous amount of food was somewhat wasted that night.
That being said, I did manage to try bits and pieces of almost all of the dishes, especially since I knew they had come safely from inside the kitchen. On the cold plate above, I had a green salad with their house made dressing, tomato salad, and potato salad. I wasn’t a huge fan of the dressing on the salad so a lot of that remained. But, I really enjoyed the tomato salad which was very similar in flavor to summery tomato salads that I make at home. The real surprise on the plate though was the potato salad. This was deliciously creamy and the red potatoes were perfectly tender. Not quite as wonderful as my grandmother’s homemade gluten free version, but Biergarten’s potato salad was definitely flavorful and tasty just the same.
Epcot’s Biergarten in Germany, The Gluten Free Warm Selections
This next plate was more of a challenge for my sensitive stomach that night, so I must admit I didn’t try everything on there. Okay, so the main gluten free entrees were the German sausages and roasted pork (there was also a fish option in there too that was gluten free but I don’t eat fish). As far as the gluten free sides go, there was a warm potato salad, green beans, and roasted potatoes. I took a few bites of the roasted pork and was really disappointed because it was exceptionally dry. There was a sauce on the buffet that was intended to be paired with the pork but that was off limits to me. Meanwhile the sausages were pretty tasty, actually one of my husband’s favorites on the buffet, but I could only stomach one or two bites of each kind. As far as the warm sides, I honestly didn’t try them, by that point in the meal I was pretty well spent. However, I’m happy to report that my personal gluten free taste tester, aka my husband Dan, happened to really enjoy the warm potato salad, so I’m pretty sure I would have too.
As I had finished my nibbling, I looked to my right to see our little one sitting up in her stroller, looking around with bewilderment. It must be very strange to go to sleep in one place and wake up in a totally new one, not to mention in Disney World where you can essentially wake up in a different country. Needless to say, she wasn’t too pleased with the music and singing going on around her that caused her nap to come to an early close so she was certainly ready to go at that point, cutting our time short in Germany. Afterwards we slowly made our way back around the World Showcase, grabbing dinner for little one and stopping at the Nemo ride and Spaceship Earth to make her night a little extra special.
Hot and steamy nighttime family picture in front of Epcot.
So unfortunately for us it appears as though we were going to hit another little sickness, thanks to the heat, while on vacation. Thankfully though, this one didn’t take Mommy out of the equation for too long. Sadly, the first night of my sick days happen to fall on our Germany dinner night which left a lasting negative impression on me. While the food that I did taste was pretty good, Dan and I both agreed that it just wasn’t our favorite place for dinner in Disney, so I think the ship has officially sailed on Germany for us. However, just like every other place in Epcot, the restaurant was so perfectly authentic to the country and the food was just the same. So if you love everything Germany be sure to stop at Epcot’s Biergarten, they certainly do offer a great experience along with a large variety of gluten free foods.
Stay tuned for more Disney gluten free fun from a Lefou’s Brew to some Mickey Waffles!
