Friday night, Dan and I met some friends at Tommy Doyle's in Kendall Square. Pub type restaurants don't seem friendly to the gluten-free, so I ate beforehand. Which is good, because when I asked whether they could accommodate a gluten-free meal (just out of curiosity of course, not out of the desire for more food... um... yeah), our waitress said "um, no, I don't think we can". And then she walked off. There was no "let me ask the chef" or "let's take a look". I am always appreciative and pleasantly surprised when I find out that a restaurant either has gluten-free options or is willing to accommodate. So why did I find this so upsetting? It probably didn't help that I'd had a rough week at work and was pretty tired (could you please at least bring me my glass of wine a little faster??). Supposedly 1% of the population has Celiac disease, which between Boston and Cambridge alone means about 7,000 people. I don't expect every restaurant to be safe for us, but I guess with so many affected people I think that a restaurant should be aware of the problem and maybe a little more polite about it. But maybe that is just too much to ask.
On Sunday we went to Cape Cod for the day to celebrate my Grandmother's 95th birthday (wow, I hope I got the age gene from you, Grandma). When we arrived at the house, there was a big old box of meltaways sitting open on the counter. Do you know what a meltaway is? Well, let me show you.
Besides being all chewy, gooey, and melty, they smell darn good too. Now I know I am not supposed to be eating things like this anyway, you know what with the core and all, but for some reason it's just worse knowing that I couldn't cheat if I wanted to. So I sat in the living room with 7 other people happily munching away on these bad boys... and I ate a few pieces of fruit instead. So there.
Later we went for lunch at the Wayside Inn, which was fine. I got the spinach salad with chicken. The waitress checked with the chef to make sure the chicken wasn't marinated in anything bad. She was helpful and friendly. The food? Well, it was a spinach salad with cold chicken. Enough said.
To end the day, the group headed to the Chatham Candy Manor, which makes THE BEST fudge in the world. Bolt statement, I know... but really, this place rocks. It's been a summer staple for as long as I can remember. Summer trip to Chatham always meant a stop (or five) at the Candy Manor.
They have a little statement on gluten that you can read upon request, and while they list a few "these should be safe" items, they also clearly state that all of their chocolate uses shared equipment and they don't guarantee anything. Damn oreo fudge, you ruin it for everyone. I'm sad that this chocolate haven is a no-no for me from now on. At least I had a delicious Clif Twisted Fruit snack to satisfy my sweet craving.
That's all for now, less whining and more real recipes coming soon, I promise :)
2 comments:
i give you credit for sticking to your GF diet, and avoiding the delicious fudge and grandma's meltaways! hope your treats were just as tasty.
Everyone needs to let it out every once in awhile, and I know that gluten free isn't easy when you travel, so I'm sure next time will be better. It always is =D.
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