Kizbee’s Kitchen GF Bakery in New Jersey

I have so many exciting places to share with you from our recent trip, it was hard to decide which one to choose! First up is a dedicated gluten free bakery called Kizbee’s Kitchen (https://kizbeeskitchen.com/). It’s only about 20 minutes inland from Atlantic City, located relatively in the central part of NJ. It’s also only about 50 minutes east of Philadelphia, PA and 50 minutes north of Wildwood or Cape May, NJ. They are located in a humble building next to a gas station, but don’t let their size fool you–big time scrumptious stuff in here!

The owner Jenna is AMAZINGLY aware of allergens and went above and beyond for me, even at the craziest busy time right before Christmas! While they do have gluten free peanut butter cookies made at their bakery and I need to avoid peanuts due to an allergy, Jenna was able to assure me of what was safe and what was not for all of my food issues. Beyond the process of cleaning of utensils, she even assured me that in the case of the cheesecakes, they were wrapped in plastic wrap around the box as an extra precaution against nuts or other ingredients falling in!

We ordered a cheesecake, it was gluten free, sorghum free, arrowroot free, and nut free (though same facility). It was such a delight to have the yummy crust for once, made from Kinnikinnick graham cracker crumbs (which I love)! It was delicious (my gluten eating husband said so too) and absolutely beautiful! Bonus-it also froze well, I took about 1/4 home frozen and ate it the following week. Now I know I can get one to bring home next time we’re in the area.

She also had lots of other holiday treats available. So if you are anywhere in New Jersey or passing through, check out Kizbee’s Bakery. If you have food allergies beyond just celiac/gluten, give Jenna a call or email and she will let you know what you can safely have and it will be beautiful and tasty! She has options for vegan, soy free, and more. Bonus: their plastic bags were the biodegradable kind!

I will always disclose if I was given free items to try (though it won’t sway my review). I was not compensated in any way for this review.

Sedona Taphouse to Charlottesville

Sedona Taphouse in Charlottesville

Recently we made the trek out to Charlottesville to visit some family. We were there for dinner and lunch (we had breakfast in the hotel room). For dinner, we went to Sedona Taphouse. The atmosphere was that of a typical taphouse or pub. We had one part of our meal that was truly great and another that was really terrible, so this is a very mixed review.

We were excited to see how many gluten free options they offered and there had been pretty good reviews online too. You can see there are options marked GF that are gluten free as they come and options with GFO, meaning they can be modified to be gluten free.  

We decided to try the Crab & Artichoke Dip and I was suprised it came with a gluten free pizza crust for dipping (I am pretty sure the crust was Udi’s, judging by its appearance, taste, and texture).  I assumed they would have something more mundane like tortilla chips.  It was a nice treat to have the pizza crust and the dip was quite good. It was a hearty appetizer that we enjoyed and would get again.

Then I ordered the Julie’s Farmer salad as my meal.  It sounded like a delicious salad and in fact looked like it was at first glance, but then I saw the chicken closer.  It was sadly very undercooked!  The chicken was even sliced in the back, so I was shocked they would have delivered it to the table looking so pink and clearly undercooked.  My husband ordered something that I didn’t take a photo of, but it also came out undercooked though not as bad as mine.  I lost my appetite at this point, so I did not eat any salad.

      

Thankfully the appetizer had filled me adequately, so we just went downtown for some ice cream and called it a night. I did not get sick from the appetizer, so what we did have was safe from a gluten free perspective at least. I’m not sure I would return because of the undercooked chicken and the customer service after we pointed this out, but I did enjoy the appetizer so if we did return, it would be for that. 

The next day we went to an old faithful in the celiac community, Burton’s. They had changed their sandwich buns from Udi’s to a brand I didn’t recognize and they were hard and tasteless. The meal seemed same otherwise and was safe and gluten free, though the roll change was a bit disappointing. I regrettably did not remember to take photos at Burton’s.

(As always, I received no compensation for this review and it is my honest opinion of the good and bad that I share so you can make an informed decision about where you may be able to eat safely as a celiac.)

Air Travel with Celiac and Nut / Food Allergies

This is what a simple weekend trip away looks like sometimes for me, so getting trapped in an airport as someone with food allergies is a pretty big nightmare. You never know when a connecting flight will get cancelled!  It never ceases to amaze me how few choices exist, even in some fairly large airports!

As someone who not only has celiac, but also a nut allergy and some additional sensitivities, it’s no easy feat to have a long layover or face a potential unexpected stay in an airport due to delays, etc. Even a long flight presents quite a challenge (if your symptoms are anything like mine, no way you want to risk trusting airline food)! Bringing some chips, pretzels, or crackers that suit your allergies is a good start. Be sure to put them in a hard-sided case like Tupperware so they don’t crush. Also, homemade snack mixes or granola bars are good options. Some of my favorites are pictured below; but those are just snacks really, so what about covering one or more actual meals?

For me, I’ve found packing gluten free, nut free cereal in a Ziploc-type round container (seen below) is easy.  You can usually find milk to add while at the airport and cereal’s not a terrible meal. Just pack or find a plastic spoon and the Tupperware-type container can double as a bowl. It doesn’t need refrigeration or heating, so it’s good to have for any length of time. Glutino PopTarts are another hearty prepackaged option.  However, this doesn’t address much of a protein need.

For that, sunbutter is an option. Beef jerky can be a good option if you’re only on a domestic flight, but usually meats and fresh produce can’t be taken internationally. Likewise, the GoPicnic boxes may suit your needs (most don’t suit me now that they contain pumpkin seeds and the crackers have soy).

(P.S. With international travel, have a plan AND a back up plan. I learned in some places you pre-clear customs out of the country, so when I brought gluten free nachos to the airport in Canada from a safe restaurant out in town, I found out I had to clear customs at the same time as security.  So, I had to scarf down what I could before tossing it, which completely foiled my plan for a safe dinner before the flight and long layover!)

                 Basic ice pack                     Photo credit: Alibaba

For planned long flights or layovers, I’ve found taking ice packs frozen solid is allowed through security, so sometimes I take frozen lunchmeat and frozen ice packs, plus some bread and make a sandwich. I also like to take cheese sticks using this method. This may only work on the flight leaving home, depending if you have a freezer at your destination, but at least it’s a solution for part of your trip!

I always bring a few slices of gluten free bread (again in Tupperware-like container so they don’t get squished). In addition to other items I mentioned, if you can find hard boiled eggs in the airport and some mayonaise and mustard packets, you can make a fairly safe egg salad sandwich. Many airports also have tuna in a can or foil pouch, so you could make a tuna salad sandwich. You can also consider bringing your own pouch of pre-packaged tuna or chicken with you, unless international regulations will stop you from doing so. You might also enjoy the canned salmon and vegetable meal from St. Dalfour (I found these on Vitacost.com).

I’ve also brought other bread items that don’t need to be kept super cold, like crepes or gluten free pancakes and can usually find some safe jelly packets or butter and syrup packets at a McDonalds or Burger King type restaurant. You can also consider getting some of these individually pre-packaged items (like hot sauce, jelly, ketchup, mustard, mayo, butter, syrup) by buying them online or at your grocery store or saving a few from your favorite restaurant and bringing them through security in your liquids bag! The environmental waste of individually packaged items is frustrating, but it’s important to stay safe, especially when traveling with food allergies, so give yourself a break and make up for it the rest of the time at home!

Another option is the “just add hot water” macaroni and cheese cups, oatmeal cups, or cup o’ soup (if they make them for your allergies). If you can’t find them in the cups, just take the packets and a Ziploc-type container or use a coffee cup.  You can usually ask for a cup of hot water at any coffee place and mix away. Similarly, I’ve also asked for cups of ice after security to add to Ziploc-type bags to keep food cold. Sometimes it’s free, but even if you have to pay a little for it, it’s worth knowing you have options, right?

I also always make sure to bring an extra set of clothes. This is good advice in general in case the airline loses your luggage (or you unexpectedly have to gate-check your rolling carry-on), but especially with celiac, if you should get sick unexpectedly, it’s important to have back up options!

 

(As always, check the labels of items to ensure they’re safe for your allergies. I did not receive any compensation for the brands mentioned, they are just based on my personal preferences or experiences!)

Shield’s Tavern in Colonial Williamsburg, VA – Gluten free review

So first, I have to apologize as this is not up to the level of my normal review and it’s devoid of pictures, but I wanted to share the content nonetheless, in case it could help some of you.  I was in Williamsburg recently for work and the group chose Shield’s Tavern for our working dinner. It was very difficult to even find out if there were gluten free foods available, as the restaurant is run by the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, so not quite like a normal restaurant.

Shield’s Tavern’s website (https://www.colonialwilliamsburg.com/eat/shields) makes no reference to gluten free, but an article on them says gluten free is available. So, after calling the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, they said there is gluten free available, but couldn’t give me more information about which dishes were gluten free and if they had nuts or pork, so I had to nervously go to dinner without a clue!

Fortunately, when I got to the actual restaurant, they were able to inform me that all the entrees could be done gluten free. I see one lists couscous, so I hope they know to replace that with rice. I picked what the safest option seemed to be, the Molasses Grilled Flank Steak.  It’s listed as “Grilled Flank Steak with Molasses, Garlic and Ginger Roasted Fingerling Potatoes, and Three Sister Vegetables.” I’m happy to report I did not get sick (and I’m extremely sensitive) so I would consider this place safe, but the dish did not have a lot of flavor so I wouldn’t be in a hurry to return. I also verified it was also pork and peanut free, especially because seeing “West African” flavorings can sometimes indicate peanut or peanut butter, so as always, be sure to check if you dine there with whatever meal you’d like to order.

The tavern is as it was originally built in the 1700s, so there are candles (now electric and wick), but not wired lighting and their chairs are very hard and uncomfortable, in keeping with what was available in that era. It’s rather crowded, but a unique experience for those interested in the colonial era. Musicians played in front of the restaurant on the street and occasionally came tableside to play a fife or stringed instrument that resembled a cross between a mini-harp and a guitar.

Boatwrights Dining Hall allergy review

Boatwrights Dining Hall allergy review – gluten free, pork free, nut free (also pumpkin seed, arrowroot, and sorghum free)

A review of Disney World’s Port Orleans Riverside table service dinner option, themed with a partially built ship and boat wright tools, pictured here:

Many of your know I love Disney World–not so much for the characters like
many others, but because of their amazing allergy protocols! Most of Disney
World’s owned restaurants do a great job of keep people safe and most of them do it while providing great tasting food. We visit family in the area so we frequently add a few days in Disney World before returning home, specifically because of their generally good allergy protocols (knock on wood they stay that way!). One of the great recent additions that acknowledges the heavy allergy population of visitors is their allergy menus:

However, sometimes one falls short on taste and that’s how I feel about Boatwright’s Dining Hall at Port Orleans Riverside. They kept me safe, and for that I’m grateful, but the food was horrible! The rolls served were the normal GNI gluten free rolls and were fine, but the appetizer of Colonel Peace’s Pieces were terrible–they had no flavor or spices in the batter and the remulade sauce sadly didn’t help!

I didn’t feel like any of the entrees were good choices (except Voodoo Chicken and waffles, but I can’t eat Disney’s waffle mix because I cannot tolerate arrowroot or sorghum), so I went with steak, green beans, and potatoes–one would think it’s hard to mess that up, right? Wrong. These green beans had no flavoring, were rubber texture, and the steak was rough and flavorless. The mashed potatoes were decent, but not amazing.

The position of the lights throughout the restaurant also were not good, as the lights on the sides of the wall made both my husband and I a bit dizzy! You can see how harsh the glare is in the photo below. For dessert, I ordered the butterscotch creme brulee, only to find out it was a No Sugar Added dessert! (I avoid sugar substitutes and normally don’t have to mention this on top of my many allergies, because typically the menu denotes it, but this time it did not.)

I must add that I really enjoyed Port Orleans Riverside as a resort, but this was a major downfall, as we always like to spend at least one day where we don’t leave the resort–a rest day, which means there has to be decently good food for a few meals. There is no sit down location open for breakfast (just the quick service) and this is their sit-down dinner option, disappointing dining for an otherwise great resort!

Gluten free at Boston Pizza in Halifax, Nova Scotia

I apologize it’s been a while–I thought I had covered the rest of the Halifax restaurants completed, but I had not. Another restaurant we went to while in Halifax (Nova Scotia, Canada) was Boston Pizza. It was not a planned place to eat, but we walked past it hungry after we arrived in Halifax proper from the airport.

Boston Pizza is a chain and we had eaten at one in Niagara Falls safely a few years ago, so I stopped in to ask if they had the same gluten free options and they did. They have oven baked gluten free wings and delicious Kinnikinnick gluten free pizza crusts–one of the very few I’ve found that aren’t thin and crispy.  I often use these at home in fact for pizza since discovering them in Canada (they’re available at my Kroger in Virginia).

  

While I have to say this location was less well versed in gluten free than their Niagara Falls counterparts, with careful questions and guidance, it was suitable for a convenient meal and delicious! It’s just around the corner from the main bus stop getting into town, and a block or two away from the Marriott waterfront, so a great location.

The Wooden Monkey: Gluten free in Halifax, Nova Scotia

As I said in my other post, recently we made a trip north to Canada–more specifically to Halifax, Nova Scotia.  Now, Halifax may not be a gluten free paradise like some cities or Disney World, but it can hold it’s own for a small city/big town! It’s also beautiful, here’s a view of the waterfront from a boat:

There were a few places on the water with safe options for lunch and dinner, but having done my research before I came, I saw there was a gluten free bakery (that I’ll cover in another post) and a celiac-friendly (not just gluten free, celiac-friendly!) restaurant called The Wooden Monkey.

The Wooden Monkey has two locations–one in Halifax a few blocks uphill from the waterfront boardwalk area and one across the water at the ferry landing in Dartmouth, near Evan’s Fresh Seafood. The one in Dartmouth was closed on Mondays when we wanted to visit, so we went to the one up the hill in Halifax.

They are focused on local and healthy, they don’t even have a deep fryer, but they do have safe fries that are baked and delicious! They have lots of vegan and vegetarian options in addition to gluten free and their menu has entrees with nuts, soy, and dairy marked on the menu.

For their starters, they have lots of gluten free options, we opted to order the nachos and a side of their version of fries, called “Roasties.” It was a large order, flavorful, and plentiful. Truth be told, this with an order of their fries would have been enough food to skip an entree and then have dessert.
 

The entree menu is entirely gluten free but largely seafood based, as many menus are in this fishing town, but as I don’t love fish, I opted for the braised beef with mashed potatoes. It had good flavor though a little strong on the onion flavor, but it was too heavy for me to finish after the hearty appetizer. They also had gluten free pizza and buns which sounded great, but they had sorghum (which I also can’t tolerate). The full menu can be viewed on their website.

Dessert holds two gluten free options–tofu pie and local, organic dairy ice cream. While the Tofu pie comes highly recommended, I avoid most forms of soy and the crust is made from nuts, so I simple had the ice cream which was good.

I’d recommend the Wooden Monkey to anyone visiting Halifax or Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, but especially anyone with food allergies or dietary restrictions, as they know their ingredients and mark the top 8 allergens, too!

(I was not compensated in any way for this post, just trying to share what I know to help others with food allergies enjoy their trip more!)

Gluten free fish and chips in Halifax, Nova Scotia (Canada)

Evan’s Fresh Seafoods and Restaurants in Halifax, Nova Scotia

Recently we took a short trip to get away from the heat of Virginia and ended up in Halifax, Nova Scotia (that’s in Canada, above Maine).  I’ll be posting the gluten free places we found to eat.

While there, every time gluten free came up, it seemed one name was mentioned consistently: Evan’s Fresh Seafoods and Restaurants. They are located a short 10 minute ferry ride over the water from Halifax to the town of Dartmouth.  They are located right on the water.  So we took the ferry over and immediately saw them at Alderney Landing.

They are most well known for their gluten free fish and chips, so naturally that’s what we ordered.  They are celiac safe and made in gluten-free dedicated fryer.  The fish were very good, made using Schoolhouse brand bread crumbs-which don’t have sorghum (I emailed Schoolhouse, located in Nova Scotia, before I went)! Much of Evan’s menu is in fact gluten free in addition to their fish and chips, like their gluten free lobster poutine, which I wanted to have, but was too full to try!

They also have gluten free Digby (local) clam strips (pictured below) and gluten free dessert cakes–however, beware if you don’t tolerate sorghum, the cake and the clam strips are in a different bread crumb mixture that has sorghum.

I did ask what kind of oil they use and it’s currently canola oil (although be sure to check if that’s a concern).  After that, I didn’t ask specifically about nuts or pork (my other allergies), because I didn’t see any of either on the menu. Check their Facebook page for their hours and the most recent information.

When the weather is great, like it was on this day in early August, there are nice picnic tables to sit at outside.  If the weather isn’t good, there is a seating area inside.

Crab Louie’s – gluten free in Richmond

If you’re looking for a fantastic gluten free place on the south side of Richmond (technically Midlothian, Virginia), be sure to check out Crab Louie’s!

While unassuming in this historic building in a shopping center, this place has a HUGE gluten free menu. It’s not all seafood either! They are pretty well aware of the gluten free needs to keep it safe in the kitchen, but the servers can be a little hit or miss, so do stay vigilent.  Also, be prepared–they have several complimentary homemade sweet breads they serve, these are not gluten free!

The Martha’s Vineyard salad comes with greens, onions, tomato, mushrooms, dried cherries (my favorite) and a maple vinaigrette that is delicious! Be sure to specify gluten free because there is usually croutons on the non-gluten free version.

For some reason, I don’t have a picture of the chicken dish I sometimes get (grilled chicken dijon), with a baked potato as my side.

   

But the real charm here is the gluten free crab cakes!! And the delicious sauce that comes with them is amazing–I even use it on my baked potato too.

The Bananas Foster Sundae is heavenly, BUT you do have to be careful that they make it fresh and it’s gluten free, as it is usually served with a gluten-ful rolled wafer stick stuck in it. As a celiac, I have had to ask them to re-make it, but it is so worth it!
Here is the link to their very large gluten free menu: http://crablouies.com/site/gluten-free-dinner-menu/.  As always, all opinions are my own and to the best of my current knowledge.

Gluten free near Luray Caverns, VA

Continuing on our theme of western Virginia small towns, we come to Luray, VA.  A small town off I-81 famous for the amazing Luray Caverns, all hope is surprisingly not lost for gluten free food, even here! Aside from the Caverns and a modest but impressive car museum, there isn’t too much to this town. There are some bed and breakfasts and it’s near the Skyline Drive and Shenandoah National Park.

But, our highlight today for gluten free folks was a nice little place called Gennaro’s that had gluten free pizza! It was simple, but large, and enough! The waitress didn’t seem knowledgeable, though she was very kind and brought me the ingredient label when I asked (I was checking for my other intolerances, such as sorghum).  The cook/chef/maybe owner did seem knowledgeable (and he also had that comforting-to-a-celiac Italian accent) and I didn’t get sick.  The pizza was not anything impressive, similar to an Udi’s crust–but certainly something I was happy they had, so I could eat something! (Please ignore my family’s gluten sandwich and non safe fries in the background–only the pizza was safe!)

There was also a small bakery with gluten and gluten free items called Triple Oak Bakery nearby. I emailed the owner ahead of time and found out they had sorghum in their flour blend, so unfortunately I couldn’t partake.  However, she was so responsive and kind that I wanted to be sure to mention her bakery as an option for the many of you who are gluten free and can tolerate sorghum!

Also, here’s some photos of the Luray Caverns–truly a must see when you are nearby!