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travel – surviving the food allergy apocalypse (archive)

surviving the food allergy apocalypse (archive)

Tag: travel

  • WW: Philly reviews of Sweet Freedom bakery, Agno Grill, and Yantze Chinese

    Sweet Freedom's Samoa Cupcake
    Sweet Freedom’s Samoa Cupcake

    Courtesy of a holiday trip to the Philadelphia area, I’m so glad to bring you a few brief restaurant reviews. I am finally becoming somewhat comfortable traveling and eating out despite my food allergies. Frankly, it’s about time! I’m still not all that daring, as being sick when on the road is awful, but the Philadelphia area had a lot to offer. (I’ll admit — I also just brought breakfast: instant gluten-free oatmeal, tea, and an electric kettle. Starting off safe makes each day easier.)

    We had three notable stops on this trip, places worth sharing with all of you: the Sweet Freedom bakery in Bryn Mawr, Agno Grill in Philadelphia proper, and Yantze Chinese Gourmet in Lansdale. Sweet Freedom and Agno are dedicated, 100% gluten-free restaurants. But let’s go backwards and save dessert for the last, yes?

    Yantze Chinese Gourmet is a very nice Chinese restaurant in a very dull and mostly empty strip mall in Lansdale, a suburb north of Philadelphia, and the above link goes directly to their gluten-free menu. It’s a pretty decent menu with a lot of classic American Chinese restaurant dishes on it, and all lunches come with soup and ice cream. There is a chicken rice soup that is solely on the GF menu, which is what I had, and there is a lemon sorbet option for dessert (I did not try that). The staff seems well-versed in what it means to have a gluten-free menu, and I felt comfortable eating there. I ordered the cashew chicken, a personal favorite, and it may have been one of the nicest versions of that dish I’ve ever had.The chicken was moist, the celery crunchy, the cashews nicely toasted and the sauce was flavorful, but not too thick and there was not too much of it. There are a lot of dishes containing nuts, though, so if that’s one of your allergens, your mileage may vary on this review. No photos from this one — I wasn’t thinking of a review at the time, but it really was good enough to mention. This is upscale Chinese.

    Agno's Rice Bowl with chicken
    Agno’s Rice Bowl with chicken
    Agno's Steak Wrap
    Agno’s Steak Wrap

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Agno Grill in Philly is a Mediterranean “fast casual” kind of restaurant near Rittenhouse Square that I read about in Kaila’s review at GF Life 24/7. Actually, that recommendation is part of the reason I’m writing about more than just the bakery. Knowing that other people with food allergy issues had an experience worth sharing is incredibly helpful and reassuring. Agno Grill was staffed by two knowledgeable women who were able to answer all my questions about ingredients in their food. I only wish I’d remembered to ask what was in the wraps (I didn’t want one, so it didn’t cross my mind!). I ordered the rice bowl, topped with chicken, the roasted carrot mint salad, the tomato cucumber salad (which did not have feta in it, as the photo on the website shows), and some of the pickled beets, with the lemon oregano sauce. My dining companion ordered a wrap with the steak, the same carrot and tomato salads, and the quinoa tabbouleh, with tzatziki sauce. I also had an iced mint tea, which was excellent. The individual flavors of all the vegetable ingredients really stood out in this meal, even the beets (which I keep trying, even though, eh, I don’t love them). This was a great filling lunch, and if this was in my neighborhood, I would be there regularly.

     

    Sweet Freedom Cinnamon Roll
    Sweet Freedom Cinnamon Roll

    Ah, Sweet Freedom. The Sweet Freedom Bakery’s list of “free”s is long and very much like my own list of allergies, which means it was freeing for me — of everything in the bakery’s two cases, the only thing I could not order because of my own allergies was the banana chocolate chip cupcake. Because of this, I had trouble not ordering everything.The bakery is vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, corn-free*, wheat-free, peanut-free, soy-free, casein-free, non-GMO, kosher, and refined sugar-free. I admit, I skipped over the last few, and I had no idea until I was looking at the menu again that the place was refined sugar-free — you won’t notice, I promise. They do use a lot of coconut, so they are not “nut-free,” but this was not an issue for me.

    *you can read their corn information here, towards the bottom, but they do source vanilla and leaveners without corn. the xanthan gum is corn-derived. YMMV on that.

    My top choice was the samoa cupcake. We also ordered a coconut caramel doughnut and a cinnamon roll. We also ordered cookies to take with us — the double chocolate mint chip (good), oatmeal raisin (amazing), a pumpkin cookie (okay), and a snickerdoodle (good). The cinnamon roll was a bit more of a cake texture than a “normal” cinnamon roll, but it still had the outer “crust” and chewiness of a proper cinnamon roll and the taste was spot on. We took another one of these with us for breakfast. The doughnut was a moist cake doughnut with good crumb and rich flavor. The coconut on top neither added to nor detracted from the doughnut; I wish I’d had a chance to taste another flavor of doughnut. To compare, you know?

    The samoa cupcake, though, was truly amazing. The cupcake was a yellow cake with a good crumb and lacking the softness that sometimes undermines gluten-free vegan cakes. The cupcake was filled with a rich chocolate frosting and caramel sauce, topped with a vanilla (I think?) frosting, coconut, and caramel and chocolate drizzles. It was rich and decadent and quite lovely. I would try any other cake from this bakery, happily.

    It’s possible that Sweet Freedom is out of your way when you visit Philadelphia. It’s worth the detour.

  • WW: Restaurant Review: Blue Ginger in Wellesley, MA

    It’s Whatever Wednesday, and welcome to our very first restaurant review.  This won’t be a regular feature on Surviving the Food Allergy Apocalypse, as we’re somewhat geographically constrained, and there are other websites that do this sort of thing, but when we find a great place to go out and eat with food allergies, we plan to share it with you.

    Blue Ginger, in Wellesley, Mass., was opened in 1998 by Ming Tsai, star of Boston public television’s Simply Ming.  He’s also a spokesperson and activist for food allergy awareness who has written the standard protocol for food service staff for dealing with patrons who have food allergies.  We were excited to go out for a (very) nice dinner and have our allergies dealt with easily and in a way that felt safe.  Three of us went to dinner, our friend Laura V, who lives in the Boston area and who does not have any major food sensitivities, and both of us, Mary Kate and Denise.

    Blue Ginger is upscale, but casual, with a clean and modern dining room and open kitchen. They have a gluten-free menu. Additionally, though, our server asked each of us about allergens, wrote down the list, asked about severity and cross-contamination, and was very well-versed in the ingredients of each dish on the menu.  After discussing the dishes we were interested in, she checked with the kitchen staff before coming back to tell us what the kitchen could do with the dishes we were interested in and our allergens.

    A bread basket was provided, and while they do not have a gluten-free bread, they did bring a basket of egg-free and dairy-free bread out for Denise, with olive oil for dipping. The egg-free and dairy-free baguette slices were homemade at the restaurant and contained flour, water, and salt, but somehow managed to taste buttery and melt in your mouth light.  It was crisp without being overly crusty and soft but still having lots of air bubbles and texture.

    Laura and Denise each had the Gosling’s Ginger Storm. Laura and Denise both have a high appreciation for Gosling’s Black Seal Rum in general. Gosling’s Ginger Storm was described on the menu as “Gosling’s Black Seal Rum  blended with house ginger syrup, fresh lime juice and a splash of soda. Shaken and served on the rocks.” It was very good, but Denise would have liked just a tad more lime. It also made Denise and Mary Kate consider whether we could make our own ginger syrup (which Mary Kate wants over ice cream, not rum).

    Laura also tried the Massachusetts Mojito, which was described on the menu as “Locally made Privateer White Rum, our Thai Basil Syrup and a touch of Cranberry.” Laura liked it, but said she liked the Gosling’s Ginger Storm better and that she thought the mojito could use more cranberry.

    Denise had the Crispy Fried Calamari with Thai Dipping Sauce as an appetizer. The breading was sweet potato flour (which we need to find and experiment with), regular wheat flour, and tapioca starch. There was no need for modification based on Denise’s allergies. The sweet potato flour imparted a distinctly nutty flavor to the breading and the calamari was perfectly cooked, so it had exactly the right level of tenderness without being rubbery. It’s really hard to cook calamari without overcooking it. The dipping sauce had more of a lime vinaigrette feeling to it than a Thai Dipping Sauce, but it was still good, and complemented the calamari. It’s very hard to find dairy-free and egg-free fried seafood anymore, Denise was tickled to be able to have it.  Denise ate the entire thing, which is why she didn’t end up having dessert, as noted below.

    Laura had the Foie Gras-Shiitake Shumai in Sauternes-Shallot Broth as an appetizer. Laura thought that the foie gras made them very rich, and a little went a long way.  The Sauterness-Shallot broth was excellent, with a sweetness that complemented the foie gras. 

    For the main course, Mary Kate had the Pan Seared Scallops with Tamarind Sauce,  and Sautéed Haricot Verts over a bed of sticky rice (this was a substitution for a fancier rice with edamame, which Mary Kate can’t eat). The scallops were perfectly seared, having a gorgeous caramel color as a result. It was simple and phenomenal, with a tang and spice from the tamarind sauce and a brightness from the herb sauce. The fancy green beans were also great.

    For the main course, Denise had the Garlic-Black Pepper Lobster with Lemongrass Fried Rice, Pea Tendril Salad with Tamari-Ginger Vinaigrette. The restaurant was able to substitute out all dairy products (i.e. a “great deal of butter” according to our server) for oil, and although that doesn’t really sound appetizing, it was luscious. The lobster was again perfectly cooked. Being from Maine and being a lobster snob, this was a huge deal for Denise. Whoever is cooking the seafood at the Blue Ginger really knows what they are doing. The garlic-pepper sauce was wonderful and the garlic morsels were cooked to perfection as well (Denise is feeling like Goldilocks at this moment and a bit like a broken record). Denise loved the Pea Tendril Salad. They were tender and the Tamari-Ginger Vinaigrette was a excellent complement. (How come restaurants in New Hampshire don’t use pea shoots or pea tendrils and you can only get them in the Boston area? It’s very annoying.) (I don’t know about restaurants, but pea tendrils are available at more than one local store. They aren’t cheap. -MK) [MK, where did you see them? -D] (Concord Co-op, Hannaford, and even Market Basket once or twice. -MK) [I’m blind apparently. -D] The Lemongrass Fried Rice was more like a rice pilaf and didn’t really have a lemongrass flavor to it. It was the only less than exceptional note to the dish.

    For the main course, our friend Laura had the Grilled Marinated Beef Tenderloin with Peppercorn Demi Glace, Housemade Corned Beef Hash with Brussels Sprouts Pomegranate Salad. It looked fantastic.  Denise and Mary Kate both sampled the Brussels sprouts with pomegranate seeds — the sprouts were separated into the individual leaves, which appeared to be pan fried to the point of being crispy in a flavorful fat, and the combination of pomegranate and Brussels sprouts frankly sang.  That’s one to play with, for sure. Laura thought that the Brussels Sprouts Pomegranate Salad was excellent and that she could have eaten a whole plate of that alone. Laura thought that the crunchy sweet pomegranate seeds perfectly complemented the savory Brussels sprout leaves. The tenderloin was cooked perfectly to medium rare as requested. The only thing that Laura would have changed was the inclusion of the corned beef hash. She felt it was an unnecessary element, and she would have preferred more potato as well.

    While the dessert menu did look fantastic, and the server had attempted to offer some accommodations for dessert, Denise and Mary Kate were quite full by then, and instead ordered tea. Laura, who does not share our dietary restrictions, ordered the Five Spice Apple Fritters with Cider Glaze, Cinnamon Ice Cream and Ginger Apple Compote. It looked wonderful. Laura thought that the spices they used cut the sweetness of the cider glaze and the fritters were crunchy on the outside and still moist and cake-y on the inside. (For anyone wishing to experiment, Penzey’s sells a great Chinese Five Spice blend.  It really is great with apples. -MK)

    The server graciously brought a small plate of the blood orange and yuzu geleés, which are outstanding (and normally part of the petite fours platter), and which complied with both Denise’s and Mary Kate’s restrictions.  Mary Kate is currently looking up recipes, as this was an unintended highlight and perfect ending to the meal.

    Although this was not a restaurant either Denise or Mary Kate can afford to patronize regularly, not to mention it being over an hour away, it was certainly a wonderful treat. The staff were very well educated and accommodating and we had confidence in their knowledge and did not have any anxiety about possible accidental exposures.  Beyond that, the food was excellent and definitely worth writing home about — or, you know, writing on the internet.

    Blue Ginger’s menu can be found on Ming Tsai’s website.

    This review was not solicited and neither authors have received any compensation.  Opinions are our own.

  • WW: Introducing Whatever Wednesdays with Travel Tips for the Allergic

    Now that Denise and I have established what we think is a nice rhythm, and we have a few readers (HI READERS!  WE ARE SO HAPPY YOU ARE HERE.  PLEASE KEEP COMING BACK!), we’d like to introduce a new feature, our catch-all for things we want to talk about or share but that aren’t recipes or links.

    Welcome to Whatever Wednesdays!  Anything goes here, so when we have a product review, cookbook commentary, personal essay, tips, tricks, or anything else to share, we’ll throw a post up on Wednesdays.  This feature will happen when we have things, not every Wednesday, so consider subscribing so you don’t miss a post.  We don’t want you to miss a post.

    First up, as we gear up for the holidays, we thought we’d put together some thoughts and tips and tricks for traveling with allergies.

    Denise’s Tips and General Opinions:

    Having a food allergy is a pain. And some of your family and friends won’t understand. They think that you’re making it up, that you can just have a little. They get angry, they get passive aggressive, they want what they’ve always had and don’t want your new weird health issues interfering with their food. Well, some of us with food allergies risk dying if it’s even in the air around us, or if we have just have a little. And for some of us, while we won’t die, we’ll suffer huge amounts of intestinal and stomach pain, we’ll vomit or have diarrhea, our faces and parts of our body may swell up, we may get rashes and we may feel like we have the flu for days after. I don’t know what your particular food allergy is and what your reaction is, but we all have a responsibility to a) not eat something that’s going to make us sick, regardless of what anyone else has to say about it; b) make sure that we understand what is in all food that’s being offered to us (i.e. some people don’t understand that milk means butter, cheese and sour cream too); and c) to provide for ourselves to make sure we’re never put in that situation.

    For holiday dinners, if you have anaphylaxis reactions where you could die if you are around a particular food, and your family refuses to catch a clue, then you no longer have holiday dinners with the family members who can’t be trusted. It’s that freaking simple as far as I’m concerned. I absolve you of all guilt and give you permission to cut them off. If someone doesn’t care that you might die, just so they can have what they’re used to having, they aren’t family. Family takes care of one another, and you are within your rights to ask that yours do this.  

    If your allergy is such that you can be around a food, but you can’t eat it, make sure you know how things are prepared. If you don’t know, DON’T EAT IT. One example in my life is turkey. My family bastes their turkey with a concoction made with margarine/butter (milk), bouillon (often containing milk), celery, onions and giblets. So that means I can’t eat their turkey. Most people wouldn’t expect that turkey would have milk in it. I’m going to be blunt here, but unless you have anaphylaxis, it is not your family’s problem to accommodate you. There’s no way I’m going to get my 96 year old grandmother to change her ways at this point, and she shouldn’t have to do so. So I bring my own turkey that I’ve made cooked safely. I’m not saying cook yourself a whole turkey, I’m just saying get some turkey, a piece of breast or a leg quarter and cook it yourself. I might even bring a potato I can nuke and a salad, and I bring my own dessert. Especially if it’s potluck. Because otherwise, you might only be able to eat the thing you brought. And don’t let anyone make you feel bad about it. Another strategy that I sometimes use for going to friends or families’ houses where I’m not sure what will be served is to just eat something before I go, so that if there’s nothing I can eat there, it won’t matter. It’s a hard lesson to learn, but after being at a few dinners where I couldn’t eat a single thing there, you start to catch a clue.

    When traveling out of your local area on a car trip, pack accordingly. If I’m staying at a hotel, I buy things that I can eat without cooking for breakfast. Breakfast is really hard for me to eat out these days, since I’m allergic to milk and eggs. I buy fruit that I can eat without peeling, apples, pears or nectarines, and allergy-free-for-me non-perishable snacks I can eat if I can’t find anything else to eat. It’s also a good idea to research before you go. For me, I know that Chinese and Japanese restaurants are the easiest places for me to eat now. I don’t have an issue with soy, and they don’t use as much milk, cheese, or egg as other restaurants. So I go to Yelp.com and do a search for those restaurants within so many miles of my destination. When I find one that looks good, I then go to their website if they have one and check out the menu. If it looks like there may be things I can have on the menu, I then go to Allergyeats.com to see if others with food allergies have rated it. There are other websites and apps you can use also, just do a search. You can call ahead to see if a restaurant will be accommodating, but honestly, most of the time I just go. You do have to be prepared to be very assertive and ask questions about what you’re ordering. Be nice, but ask. If you are not comfortable that the waitstaff knows what they are talking about, be prepared to pick something safer on the menu.

    When you are doing more extensive travel, again prepare. If you’re taking a cruise, flying or going to an all-inclusive resort, notify them ahead of time so they can make accommodations. If you’re traveling to a foreign country, check out these food allergy chef translation cards you might want to use. Also be prepared to educate those serving you. I took a cruise where they tried very hard, but didn’t really get it, and tried to pick off feta from a salad and tried to serve me sherbet, when I have a milk allergy. The waiter didn’t understand that sherbet has milk in it. Breakfast on the cruise was a challenge because I didn’t want to be served but went to the buffet. I ate so much melon on the cruise that I didn’t want to look at a melon again for six months after I got home. I probably should have sucked it up and gone to the formal dining breakfast where I could find out what was in stuff.

    Mary Kate’s Tips:

    First caveat: I do not have anaphylactic food allergies at this time, with the possible exception (which I’ve not tested, of hazelnut).  Even so, my allergies can ruin an entire weekend, trip, or week, so generally, if I don’t know what is in it, I do not eat it.

    Personally, beyond just food, I have about a gazillion environmental allergies, including dust and pets. (I know.  I should live in a bubble, but that’s just cumbersome).  Beyond taking my medications, there are a few things I can do while traveling to help me out.  I bring along my own pillow, if driving, encased in its own dust mite covering.  If I’m flying, I can take the dust mite pillow cover with me.  Sometimes I also bring along an allergen neutralizer — I use Allersearch ADS Anti-Allergen spray, which neutralizes pet dander and dust mites in fabric surfaces.  Depending on the severity of your allergies, you might consider a traveling air purifier, too.

    For most of my environmental allergy needs, I use National Allergy to find products.  My allergist recommended them, and I’ve found their customer service to be great.

    For breakfasts when staying in hotels, I know there is nothing on a continental breakfast bar that I can eat anymore.  I try to make sure there is a coffee maker in the room, and I make instant oatmeal, mixed with a travel cup of applesauce and a packet of sugar.  If you can’t tolerate oats, consider cream of rice or instant grits.

    If you can eat nuts, most of which I can eat, Larabars are a great travel food.  They’re compact, protein-dense, and keep reasonably well at the bottom of your purse or backpack.  They do not, however, taste good a year beyond their expiration date, so clean out your bags occasionally.  I also take dried fruit, plain nuts, or other snack-sized things when I can find them.

    For road trips?  Bake ahead.  Bring brownies or cookies with you, especially if you can make a breakfast-like cookie.  Roasted vegetables travel well and are somewhat neat to eat on the go.

    I used to be primarily a baker, and for years I’ve been making baked goods for other people’s birthdays — at first just because I enjoyed it, and later that, plus a selfish desire to be able to eat the baked goods.  But for potlucks, I never bake anymore, as I want more than dessert — always bring a main dish or a side dish that can be your main dish (check our small plates category — it’s our biggest so far — for stuff Denise and I both like).

    Most of all, try to find ways of enjoying holidays and spending time with people that do not revolve around food, as eating is the one area you’re most likely to feel odd or left out.  Game nights are kind of awesome, and I really love playing cards with my neighbors.  Movie night is also good.  Or invite everyone you know over and cook safe tasty foods for them — we’re working on giving you all the recipes you might ever need for entertaining.

    What tips would you share?