I knew the challenge of a holiday (vacation) would present itself sooner rather than later and last week I found myself off to crazy Las Vegas, USA to celebrate my nephews 21st birthday.
Filled with huge holiday (child free) excitement but then sudden dread – would I be able to eat??? So I packed my little case with lots of gluten free snacks just incase and headed off to the home of the supersized portion
First up on the plane – we prebooked via British Airways a special request meal GLUTEN FREE – we then followed this up with a phonecall to say I had other allergies to fish and seafood. Cabin host arrives “I have a gluten intolerant meal”. The moment of truth … <breathes> it’s cod with potatoes, a side crab salad and a GF roll. The second meal came and there was a normal bread roll on the plate with a meal missing the sticker and a GF brownie – I made do with the brownie as I didn’t want to risk anything else.
We were staying at the Cosmpolitan of Las Vegas which most of the facebook groups (Coeliacs Abroad) (Coeliacs eat out too) all were complimentary. We headed to the famed food court Block 16 to explore and see if I could find something to eat…
Block 16 is a “street food” style scene with lots of little pop ups – a little research and the glory of facebook directed me to Hatty B’s. Famed for it’s fried chicken would this be suitable? I headed to the counter where 2 extremely friendly ladies (at 12 am this was so welcome) greeted us – I asked about what was Gluten Free – they were new to this food stand so found a manager who talked me through the menu.
I ordered some Crinkle cut fries for quickness and as they were cooking the chef came over to say they use a seperate fryer so I could rest easy. Well they were a taste sensation after the 12 hour journey 🙂 The next day as I past by – one of the team recognised me and pointed out they had updated their board with GF markers …
We headed out to the famed EggSlut for breakfast and wow this was soo good. They are so CC aware they have separate cooking units/utensils when an allergy order comes in. Most dishes can be adapted – I went for a Cheeseburger. It had been a while since I managed a good one complete WITH a bun so I ordered and was not disappointed…. The bun managed to hold it’s own complete with patty – perfect eggs and GF pickles!
I had a disastrous third day when we ventured out to look at the other hotels – I struggled to find anything suitable so ended up in a 711 and grabbed snacks. We went to the Rock Bar at Planet Hollywood and a wonderful server Jerry who was very GF aware suggested a Brisket Salad as the most friendly CC option.
Day 4 was an amazing food day we returned to the Cosmopolitan and the wonder of Henry’s (located down on the casino floor). I opted for the Henry breakfast complete with Sausage and poached eggs. It was divine and totally normal food which was great when I wanted to fit in with our large party of 10 people. The service was soo great here we returned the next day and I got the Californian Omelette equally as good and comforting.
We followed this up with a late lunch at P.F Chang’s – now you’ll know if you have read my blog before about how much I miss Chinese Food. I’ve still not managed to find a great gluten free and coeliac safe restaurant local to me so this was on my top to do things in vegas. We entered a little apprehensive and it was one of those moments for me that I worried I had built it up in my head so much that I may be disappointed … We were greeted and seated provided with the allergy menu. The server was knowledgable and confident I would enjoy it. We took her advice and ordered Chicken Lettuce wraps to get our culinary adventure under way followed by Mongolian Beef (one of the signature dishes) and Fried Rice. I was super excited and waited with anticipation – the smell, atmosphere of the whole restaurant was completely exhilarating and got the taste buds ready.
First dish up and it was so good that my husband almost devoured it – thank god his muggle dumplings arrived
! The dish was comprised of Wok fried chicken, mushrooms, spring onions, water chestnuts and crispy rice noodles with an intense flavour served with lettuce to create little parcels were THE best start I could have hoped for. Not too keen on the chilli sauce that accompanied as the flavour sensation didn’t need any alterations. Then the main dish arrived. I guess the closest thing I could put this too is a combination of a black bean dish with the depth of a satay dish. It was a triumph – our server came back to check in and said she was happy to see my smiles. I couldn’t eat both massive portions so she kindly boxed up my leftovers and sent me on my blissful way.
Our adventures were over so we headed back onto another British Airways flight where my two meals redeemed themselves – firstly a steamed chicken with veg & rice and a beautiful omelette breakfast. Glorious end to a wonderful adventure … I think my best advice is to take your snacks on the plane, our cabin steward let us know on the return leg if you provide a letter from your doctor you are entitled to additional baggage allowance and RESEARCH. Have some preplanned options and DON’T forget to check that it’s coealic friendly as not every food outlet was aware of the cross contamination issues.
Bye for now
V x
So not so long ago I turned 35 and to my delight (I’m rock & roll I know) I got a Morphy Richards Soup Maker! Now I’ve never been much of a soup lover unless it’s Heinz Tomato Soup and I’m feeling in need of a little comfort; however after a really great first meeting with my Dietician she advised it as a really great way of upping my veg intake and clean eating solution.
One of my favourite past times is going out to eat a gorgeous meal with great company and indulging myself with the novelty of no dishes…
The Gluten Free Mackem 