CeliacChicks

Kelly Visits Florida, Discovers National Chain with Gluten-Free Menu

Recently I went to sunny Naples, Florida and the Keys for about nine days. Now I understand what Jimmy's been singing about! I thought it would be helpful to post the variety of places where I found what we call "Kelly-friendly" food and expand the dining latitudes and attitudes for the gluten-, corn- and dairy-wary. 

P.F. Chang's China Bistro
Naples, FL

Early on in the trip, friends of my friends had finagled a "bachelor friend" of theirs to go to lunch with us. "Oh, it's totally a coincidence that he is here!" Yeah, right...the same guy you told me about weeks ago who wanted to meet me. Whatever. His name was "Bub." Anyhow, the wonderful gluten-free discoveries at P.F. Chang's mitigated any potential awkwardness.

It's a chain restaurant, but decorated very Ming Dynasty chic. I immediately looked for the Singapore rice noodles, since that is a standard soy sauce-free dish at most Chinese places (most soy sauce has wheat in it). But when I asked the waitress some questions regarding corn starch and soy sauce, she shocked the carp out of me by offering their gluten-free menu! The entire group was shocked! Wow! Sooo, here it is for ya...

I haven't had soy saucy Chinese food in soooo long! They use wheat-free soy sauce on these items. Notice how they even make it clear what contains corn starch too, for those of us who are sensitive to corn. Right on! Click here to find the location nearest you. Kim can't wait to go to the one in White Plains. People in our office are now telling us how they love this place. Helloooooo! Why didn't anyone else know about this special menu?!! hahaha oh well...now we do. And now you do!

P.S. -- Our waitress, Katie, was so accommodating: When I inquired about some rice noodle soup and why it wasn't on the gluten-free menu, she knew that the broth contained oyster sauce, which would contain regular soy sauce. I was impressed and ate with confidence.

Inside P.F. Chang's China Bistro

Bha Bha Bistro
847 Vanderbilt Beach Rd.
Naples, FL

I discovered this Persian bistro while bike shopping with my friend Jane. It was her first Persian food experience and she claimed the sandwich there was the best she had ever eaten -- even pushed some leftovers on her workmates back at the bike shop. I had the soltani, which is yummy beef with tons of garlic on a skewer with rice and roasted tomatoes. Mmmmm....you can also get a variety of other gluten-free items, such as hummus or baba ghanoujh. I just enjoy them with greens or rice instead of pita. I even indulged myself with their sorbet, which was made with just sugar instead of corn syrup. The touch of rose syrup on top was quite nice.

WORLD Bakery & Cafeteria
4075 Pine Ridge Road
Naples, FL  34119
(941) 304-0333

This place was amazing in an inexpensive yet totally yummy way! It is totally Cuban. They roast whole pigs, OK?! I had the shredded beef with black beans, rice and plantains...mmm mmm mmm. I would be a regular if I lived in Naples. The whole thing, which could have fed two people, plus a bottled water only cost me about 6 bucks! If you can tolerate dairy they had amongst their bakery goods a tempting-looking flan. Of course, I was so stuffed from my meal that I had no problem resisting any of the glutinous baked goods...besides, the sweet plantains were enough for me. I hear they serve some mean Cuban coffee there, too.

Lor.e.lei Restaurant & Cabana Bar
MM 82 Bayside
Islamorada, FL
(305) 664-4656

On our first evening in the Keys, we stumbled upon the Lorelei. Very cool casual place; I even bought myself a baseball cap with their mermaid logo on it! I had some sort of fish special with a mango sauce that was really good...complete with rice and veggies. We ended up eating there twice for dinner and once for breaky. The view and feel were great: dock-ish dining with live acoustic guitar player. What more could you want from a beachy dining experience? As you know, breakfast is fairly easy to find: they had the whole egg and bacon, yada yada variety to choose from. 

Time Out BBQ
MM 81.5, Oceanside
Islamorada, FL
(305) 664-8911

I was a little uneasy when finding out that all of the award-winning BBQ dishes are tainted with corn syrup. Even the beans...argh! I felt boring ordering the blackened fish salad, but it was actually really good! They even had olive oil and lemon for me to use as a dressing.

Blue Mountain Cyber Cafe
Caribbean Village
81905 Overseas Hwy.
(305) 517-9610

This place was quaint, located behind a fabo bead shop. It was a very cute hole-in-the-wall place with the best fruit smoothies...they use frozen fruit and add all-natural apple or orange juice. It turned out sorbet-ish and had to be eaten with a spoon...very nice. We especially chuckled at the pleasant service from the Rasta guy who mumbled incomprehensibly behind the counter. I guess it is a convenient place for him to work if he gets the munchies!

To sum it all up, the biggest discovery was P.F. Changs, since a lot of people may be able to find one in their area.

Enjoy!

Bogus Celiac Disease Time Out New York Article

We can't resist sharing this article from a recent issue of Time Out New York magazine. It projects everything we're adamantly against, image-wise: the sour image of the allergic and/or intolerant person's mindset. There's even some scary misinformation in there. Below is the letter we wrote in response, but it was never published. You'll see what we mean...

In response to Issue No. 408, "Rash Decision" by Sari Botton:

We greatly appreciate the effort to educate the public about food allergies and the challenges of dealing with them in everyday life. Even though the transitional period after discovering these sensitivities may seem overwhelming, it doesn't have to be such a drag. "Is there a sexy way to inform someone that you can't eat pizza crust because of an icky intestinal problem called celiac sprue?" Sexy? No. However, we've found that it is less awkward to simply state, "I choose not to eat wheat or dairy," and at that point, "Why?" can be answered with, "Oh, I have uncomfortable reactions to them." Most people will catch on that you're sparing them the uncomfortable details, and no one can accuse you of wearing your gastrointestinal woes on your sleeve. In addition, you will feel more comfortable having not set yourself up to look like a hypochondriac.

Knowing what you can enjoy proves helpful when planning where to go for dinner and drinks (Sari, you may be reacting to only grain alcohols, and there are options). New York City is full of many options when it comes to the dining experience, and our allergic friends shouldn't have to "suffer socially," as Sari lamented.

Which leads to the importance of NEVER EVER EVER 'cheating' when suffering from celiac sprue. The damage can result in malnutrition, anemia, osteoporosis and cancer! (For more information, see this article in the NY Times.) TimeOut readers should know more than anyone else that with the abundant diversity of restaurants, all those with food restrictions need never feel left out.

(FYI, allergies to latex and Nonoxynol-9 are not so uncommon and would be easier to discuss, perhaps, with someone you've known for [ahem] more than a few weeks, as in the case of "Joe". And TONY, you really owe it to your readers a bold clarification that lambskin condoms, although used as an alternative to latex, DO NOT prevent the spread of STDs!!!)

Once you learn how to deal with these issues positively, instead of feeling "handicapped" by them, you will benefit from a sense of accomplishment and of taking control of your health and well-being.

Kim and Kelly
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