Alice and the Hatter - A Free-For-all and a Gluten Free Taste of Wonderland!

[disneyfav4ever]

Originally Posted by alicehatter

Wow that must have been a tough cleanse - hard to get used to. I'm guessing you mainly ate vegetables, unless you weren't counting the sugar in fruit!

Yeah, it was just added sugar that wasn't allowed, fruit was fine, and I could also have stevia and agave in small quantaties, which saved me when I really wanted a soda since I could drink Zevia brand, of course now I'm addicted right back to diet Coke. I drank a lot of green juice, and then my meals were a lot of salads, sometimes tofu and rice pasta when I wanted something hot and filling.

In Disney I plan to eat a lot of fish and other seafood, and sub out sides if they sound very dairy-heavy. I still don't eat red meat or poultry anymore. My aunt and friend did the same diet as me, and they feel / eat the same way I do now. Except they're good about not drinking soda, but their weakness was always coffee.

[alicehatter]

Before we made our way to the movie theater, the Hatter and I quickly detoured in order to get breakfast the next morning.



We attempted to utilize several of our snack credits, since this is the one thing we generally fail to do before each Disney stay has drawn to a close. Not this year! I was determined to take full-advantage of the fact that these treats - at least in my slightly warped line of thinking - were free. They were included in the Deluxe Dining Plan. So while we would have normally spent $2-4 dollars on each, instead we simply used snack credits that would have otherwise gone towards something much less delectable.



For those that may not know, BabyCakes offers treats for sweet lovers that either have food sensitivities, or choose to follow a more “persnickety” diet (their own terminology). All natural, organic, and deceptively delicious, the sweets are free of most common allergens, including wheat, gluten, dairy, and eggs. They generally use agave to sweeten, and use it sparingly. This creates something that can be eaten without the sugar-induced coma of a Mickey Ice Cream Bar. BabyCakes is even certified Kosher and Vegan!



Hopefully that did not deter anyone from making a trip to this tiny, tucked away bakery. I promise, you would never know they were "healthy" - just ask my husband!



The Downtown Disney location has an online menu, meaning you can go ahead and drool over what you’ll be ordering when your vacation nears. I can personally vouch for the Red Velvet Cupcakes, Cream-Stuffed Cookies, Cinnamon Buns, Black and White Cookies, Banana Chocolate Chip and Pumpkin Loaves, and every single flavor of Doughnut. (This is from more than one visit, mind you!)



The Doughnuts. How do I love them? Let me count the ways. They taste like nothing even remotely resembling healthy. Bordering on the cake-like, the consistency is very moist, slightly crumbly, and dense. One is enough to fill you up and stave off hunger, which means you don’t crave a box of them. They certainly aren’t your run-of-the-mill Krispy Kremes, not simply because of the alternative ingredients, but because they aren’t dunked in hot oil and fried. Rather, the happy ladies who spend their day creating these treats bake the doughnuts. And they are baked all day long, meaning that if you pop in for a late night snack, you won’t be purchasing something that’s been sitting behind the counter for twelve hours.

Delicious!! We bought an entire box of various confections, and I even managed to get them back to Beach Club without taking a bite during the Movie! I have to say, I went a bit wild and bought so much that we had breakfast for the next SEVERAL mornings.

[Snow Lily]

Do you know if the doughnuts contain sugar? I tend to prefer/feel better about agave than loads of refined sugar as the latter always seems to reek havoc on my digestive system/body. At home it is easy to avoid, but dining out, not so much.

[alicehatter]

Originally Posted by Snow Lily

Do you know if the doughnuts contain sugar? I tend to prefer/feel better about agave than loads of refined sugar as the latter always seems to reek havoc on my digestive system/body. At home it is easy to avoid, but dining out, not so much.

They use agave whenever possible, and when they used sugar it's unrefined. This is what their menu says:

Chocolate Dipped (gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, soy-free, unrefined sugar-sweetened)
Cinnamon Sugar (gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, soy-free, unrefined sugar-sweetened)
Toasted Coconut (gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, soy-free, unrefined sugar-sweetened)
Chocolate Crunch (gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, soy-free, unrefined sugar-sweetened)
Vanilla Crunch (gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, soy-free, unrefined sugar-sweetened)

Looking at the menu, it looks like the Pumpkin and Banana Loaves are Agave Sweetened, as are all of the Cupcakes!

[DonaldDoleWhip]

Great review of babycakes! I tried it for the first time on my most recent trip - really liked the carrot cupcake (partly due to the impressive cream cheese-like frosting, so I think I'd like the red velvet one as well). Didn't love the brownie bite or blondie cupcake, but it sounds like next time I'll have to try one of their baked donuts.

[alicehatter]

Originally Posted by DonaldDoleWhip

Great review of babycakes! I tried it for the first time on my most recent trip - really liked the carrot cupcake (partly due to the impressive cream cheese-like frosting, so I think I'd like the red velvet one as well). Didn't love the brownie bite or blondie cupcake, but it sounds like next time I'll have to try one of their baked donuts.

Well since I haven't tried the Brownie or Blondie Cupcake, I'll now know to steer clear! I think my favorite item was the Cinnamon Rolls, followed closely by the Coconut glazed Donut - although the Red Velvet cupcake's frosting was pretty amazing as well!

[letthewookiewin]

Those cupcakes look amazing!! We are having dinner one night at Fulton's Crab House and we are going to stop by there and get a few cupcakes. I love being able to show my boys that good for you, can be just as yummy as really bad for you. How sweet was the frosting? I usually take almost all frosting off of any cupcake or cake b/c I find buttercream frosting WAY too sweet for me.

[DonaldDoleWhip]

Originally Posted by alicehatter

Well since I haven't tried the Brownie or Blondie Cupcake, I'll now know to steer clear! I think my favorite item was the Cinnamon Rolls, followed closely by the Coconut glazed Donut - although the Red Velvet cupcake's frosting was pretty amazing as well!

Those all sound like great suggestions - I'm definitely going to try a few of those items when I return to babycakes (I might not get to DTD in May, but then I'll definitely try for August)!

[alicehatter]

Originally Posted by letthewookiewin

Those cupcakes look amazing!! We are having dinner one night at Fulton's Crab House and we are going to stop by there and get a few cupcakes. I love being able to show my boys that good for you, can be just as yummy as really bad for you. How sweet was the frosting? I usually take almost all frosting off of any cupcake or cake b/c I find buttercream frosting WAY too sweet for me.

It really wasn't too sweet at all! Since they don't use refined sugar - and not even a ton of unrefined, at that - it gives it just the right amount of sweetness. The flavor is pretty incredible

[Kewz1]

I'm a Foodie who is part Hobbit too!

Enjoying your TR very much. I may have possibly convinced my DH that we must branch out and try different restaurants on our next visit.

Thanks!

Kristen

[jabead]

I loved your 2010 Dining Review so was very excited to see you were doing another one. Great job so far and I can't wait to read more!

[alicehatter]

Originally Posted by Kewz1

I'm a Foodie who is part Hobbit too!

Enjoying your TR very much. I may have possibly convinced my DH that we must branch out and try different restaurants on our next visit.

Thanks!

Kristen

Hello fellow Hobbit! I understand your husband's sentiments about wanting to stick to the restaurants you know you love, but I really enjoyed getting to know a few new places, as well!!

Originally Posted by jabead

I loved your 2010 Dining Review so was very excited to see you were doing another one. Great job so far and I can't wait to read more!

Hello!! Glad you're back on board

[alicehatter]

Judging from my last review, you may know what I munched on in the morning hours for our day at Hollywood Studios. It was glorious to get up a little later this particular morning. We slept in, grabbed a Donut on the run, and walked to HS via the walkway leading from our hotel. I just love that walkway! What also makes the proximity of the Epcot area Resorts great is the ferry service. After a day at the park, you might want to skip the walkway and simply take the ferry back if all that walking has tired you out!

The morning was spent as all mornings in Hollywood Studio are - frantically rushing from one ride to the next in the hopes that we can secure the necessary fastpasses. Of course, that generally means Toy Story! I will pose a question for you - what is it about that ride that makes everyone go crazy? It's perhaps one of the Hatter's all-time favorites, but I have to say, about half the time we travel to Disney, we don't get to ride this ride. We just aren't the type of people that will wait 2 hours for 1 ride!! In all honestly, I do everything not to wait an hour, either. But I guess that's the beauty of having been so many times - you can relax more and not stress about getting to every single thing.

But back to the subject of this post - lunch!



The Hatter had never dined at this particular location before. We had been to the bar in past trips, getting the famed PB&J Milkshake or perhaps a Cocktail, but he had never actually been inside the restaurant itself. What entertainment it is!!

There was a wait of perhaps 20 minutes, and then we were sat in a very friendly, very LOUD waitress’s section. But that’s also the atmosphere you need to know about before coming here – the staff treats you like their own family, and that includes admonishments, teasing, and complaints about your not eating enough vegetables. They are also costumed in 50s housewife attire, complete with apron and wagging finger.

With Entrees such as Fried Chicken, Meatloaf, and Pot Roast, the menu items really do take you back to your childhood, reminding many people of a time when they sat around the family dinner table as kids.

Because of the Dining Plan, we had the option of starting off with a milkshake as our beverage choice, but that (very filling) mistake happened last year at Sci-Fi. This time we just opted for water and ordered some appetizers.





Jeremy got the Onion Rings, which I was secretly envious of. While some places in Disney offer gluten free onion rings (such as Raglan Road), 50′s Prime Time’s version is deliciously beer battered, making them off limits to me. So he indulged in the two-person sized appetizer, and I chose Aunt Annie’s Seafood Salad. This came with Shrimp, Scallops and Crab tossed in a citrus vinaigrette. It was tasty, but I was saving room for my entree!



Jeremy isn’t one for the usual home-cooked meals that most people think of. He doesn’t like meatloaf, roast, pot pie – and usually likes his fried chicken in “nugget” form. So he bypassed the usuals and ordered the Fish Sandwich. An odd choice to be sure, but he really enjoyed it! I also think he was a little on the full side after all those onion rings!



I however, really like all that comfort food, and opted for Grandma’s Chicken Pot Pie! The chef shocked me when he said that he could make a gluten free version, so I happily took him up on it. It came out piping hot in a very large bowl, and in place of the crust were two large tapioca rolls to soak up all the gooey goodness. I was in heaven!



Of course the dessert menu was soon to come. We had purposefully not ordered the milkshake at the beginning so that we could enjoy dessert. Jeremy got his favorite – the PB&J. It tastes exactly like it sounds, and it’s fantastic! I had ordered one to-go last year from the bar section of the restaurant, and walked around the park with it for an afternoon snack.



The chef made a special creation for me – a Brownie Sundae with Tofutti Ice Cream. I was a little kid in the ice cream shop, wanting to bury my face in the plate that was set in front of me! Rarely do I get dessert anywhere, so my time at Disney is always a delicious indulgence.

We really like 50′s Prime Time. The theming is fun, the food is filling and offers a ride down memory lane, and the waitresses are an attraction in and of themselves! Will we go back every time? Most likely not. But it's certainly not our last visit, either!

[DonaldDoleWhip]

Wow! I haven't been to Prime Time in years (and I don't plan on fitting it in anytime soon), but your meal looks absolutely delicious. I think I'd be happy with that seafood salad, chicken pot pie, and even the brownie sundae with tofutti!

Really enjoying your reviews - I'm very impressed with the gluten-free food that these places are able to come up with.

[PrincessBetsy]

Loving the reviews! I definitely need to make a visit to BabyCakes to try some of those baked doughnuts.