Seminole Hard Rock Cafe- Tampa

Name of Eatery: Seminole Hard Rock Cafe-Tampa
Phone: 1-866-502-7529 (ask to be transferred to the cafe)
Website:http://www.seminolehardrocktampa.com/dining/hardrockcafe
Time of day: 6pm
Day of the week: Saturday
Server:(didn’t get the name!)

Menu Reflections: No nutritional information was available on this menu, only indications if items had nuts. Nothing online to indicate fat, calories, beef made from babies, etc.

Reaction to my being Celiac:When I called (because nobody ever got back to me, even a week later, from the website form for information) the staffer who answered the phone didn’t know what it meant. However, she did ask and was told that the dressings are not gluten free. The waitress when she took my order didn’t miss a beat and said that she’d make sure the back knew I was “allergic” to wheat.

Impressions of Restaurant in general: The restaurant with the music so loud that I got uncomfortable talking to my friends and eventually just shut up. Which is annoying. However, service was fast and friendly, which is worth noting.

What I ordered: Tadaa, side salad! Yay.

Review of meal: First of all, the only reason I ordered a salad is because it was the only non-meat looking thing that I hoped would be safe.  The croutons were definitely missing, but the first salad brought to me was covered in bacon.  Also, I’ve double checked, there is no indication on the menu that this side salad(House Salad) contains bacon. In fact, no listing of any of the side salad contents on the online version of the menu. Knowledge is power!

I hate bacon.  This is how you know I’m a serious vegetarian, right?  

The waitress for her awesomeness did immediately bring me another salad.  The contents were iceberg lettuce(yawn), cucumbers, carrots, one wedge of tomato, a sprinkle of what looked to be monterey jack cheese and craisins.  

If only there were a different lettuce in the world besides iceberg. I find iceberg lettuce boring and tasteless.

And that my only option for dressing the salad was oil and vinegar-- which I prefer at home. I also prefer to keep my bottles at home cleaner so that when I’m drizzling vinegar atop my salad, I don’t accidentally lose control of the bottle so badly that I may have sprayed one of my dining companions.  That was a bit disgusting. (I did let him know, and it seems my vinegar mis-fire did not hit him.)

Side salad isn’t a meal. So I wasn’t very full.  The 4 mojitos I drank made up for it.(Hey, if I’m going to blow a calorie count for the day, there has got to be lime involved. And rum.)

Would I go back?  Eh, maybe.  The service was very, very good.  I realized that this environment is just not designed to be healthy on any level.  This Cafe is in a casino on Reservation land, so smoking is in the entire building.  For another celebration on a friend’s behalf, I’d deal with it.
In addition to this, I wish to express how annoying it is to go to a company website on Monday to request information and not hear a damn thing by the next Monday. (I am still waiting and my email stated I’d be going to dinner on 2/12. I’m even checking my spam folders, as I really want to know!)  Frankly, that’s just disrespectful. I had submitted the form on the Hard Rock website specifically requesting information about the salad dressings as again, only the side salad that was on the menu looked like I could eat it.  When I called Friday afternoon, the person who answered the phone at the cafe didn’t know what gluten free meant.  This is usually my red flag to avoid the whole thing. However, they did say that I could bring my own salad dressing when I asked if that was an option since they said that none of their salad dressings were gluten free except for oil and vinegar. Some places have been known to be bears about that.  However, since the staff had no clue what I was talking about and also didn’t make any offers to create an option for me, I am disappointed.  The cost of an entree here is not cheap, nor is it reasonable for a side salad to be five dollars and contain boring iceberg lettuce.

TAMPA: Thai Ginger

Name of Eatery: Thai Ginger
Phone: (813) 901 8999
Website: n/a

Address: 6821 W Hillsborough Ave # 17, Tampa, FL 33634-5003Time of day: between 6 and 7
Day of the week: generally Wednesdays
Server: Got it to go so far
Menu Reflections: I’m salivating just thinking of it.  I’ll get one the next time I go in and try to scan it in.
Reaction to my being Celiac: They laughed! It was adorable. They asked if I liked tomatoes.  Then she went in the back, spoke to the cook and I waited.  She brought out a bowl of heaven; red curry.  Even better, when I said “Make it spicy” she’s actually making it spicy. It was a good tasty heat too.
Impressions of Restaurant in general: I thought it was a shade dark inside, but still really well done. I will have dinner there soon.
What I ordered: I put my trust in the cook's hands.
Review of meal: I had a delicious sauce, perfectly good selection of veggies including tomato, red pepper, orange pepper, green pepper, green beans and asparagus. Everything was *awesome*.  I rarely overeat, and I actually did over eat on the first bowl I got from this place.

Would I go back?  Most definitely. Such great owners!  I cannot recommend this little Thai place enough. It rocks.

OHIO: The Lemon Grove

Name of Eatery: Lemon Grove
Phone: (330) 744-7683
Website: http://www.lemongrovecafe.com/
Time of day: Varied
Day of the week: Mostly Friday nights, Saturday Nights, occasionally Sunday
Server: Varied
Menu Reflections: The Menu is very simple. I can sometimes ask them to serve my hummos with corn chips or I get their house salad, which is very good.  
Reaction to my being Celiac: They are very cool with my celiacness.
Impressions of Restaurant in general:  I love the Grove.  It is a YO jewel. Though I don’t think I’d ever go back to Youngstown, I’d have to go visit the Lemon Grove again.  They’re bloody awesome.
What I ordered: As stated, I can sometimes the Hummos with corn chips or veggies. Other times, I’d get the house garden salad and never ever had any issues with eating anything.
Review of meal:  Consistently tasty.  The first time I had their hummos, it had limeyness to it and I was immediately hooked.  Sometimes the service is a bit slow, but in the end it is a coffee/bar with nibbles.  Keep that in mind when you’re looking for tasty stuff fast, you might want to get a tasty glass of wine or a cuppa the best damn coffee in the YO.  The staff is always super nice, too.

Would I go back?  Definitely.  I’m looking for something akin to the Grove here in Tampa. :)

First! (Lame, I know)

I was one of those lucky people that discovered that I was celiac at an older age.  I read stories about how other people found out all the time, and I don't see much need to rehash mine outside of I have a much happier life when I don't eat wheat, malt, barley or rye.

That being stated, I choose not to eat meat either.  I won't say that there's any moral ground for it other than I simply just don't like it.  When I was first learning what I could eat, I did make myself eat chicken and steaks; I was miserable for it too. I really just don't enjoy it.  If you, dear reader, have enjoyment from such things, please continue to do so. I'm not trying to hype up my own lifestyle, I'm trying to bring attention to a detail of my life that I know I am not alone in enduring.

I don't eat meat. I don't eat wheat.  And often times, I have a bitch of a time finding things at restaurants to eat outside of a side salad. 

Don't get me wrong, I like salad. I usually eat 6 or so salads a week. But when I go out to eat, I want something different. I want something to wow me.

And yanno what? It just doesn't happen very often.  More often than not, I'm left with .... side salad. 

I'm eating a side. No entrees, no appetizers, just a side.  Let me tell you how that makes me feel as a diner, paying to be fed like that: I am not worthy of an item on the 'real' menu. I am marginalized.   I have had recent experiences that were orgasmically fantastic, I have had others were i canceled my entire order and will never, ever go back.

Am I a minority? Damn skippy I am. I'm not trying to say everybody should make their plates friendly to me.  I'm trying to encourage some diversity, to show some awareness, and maybe advise other veggie celiacs that there are possibilities beyond side salads.  And it shouldn't matter that I'm a minority eater-- I won't eat certain places, so my friends won't go there. So my minority eating situation is also affecting majority eaters.  Head's up, diner/restaurant owners: You may lose one sale to me, but you'll lose a slew others if my friends choose to dine someplace I can eat.

So here it is.. the first post. I never thought I'd have a blog. I never thought I had anything worth saying before that would be of any interest to anybody else.  However, after trying to google some answers on my own, I feel that maybe, just maybe, I may be able to provide a service to people who have celiac, who love somebody who is a celiac or somebody who just loves to read food reviews with a weird little twist to them.

I do travel some and I just moved to Tampa from Ohio. So I'll probably post a few reviews of things I liked from Ohio and other places around the country as well as when I visit restaurants in the Tampa/Clearwater/St. Petersburg areas.

Up for suggestions, hints and tips from anybody reading this. Hope I'm up to the task. :)