Quick allergy dining review

[disfan07]

We don't leave until Monday but i wanted to do a quick allergy review. We've been here since 8/12 and stayed at POR until this morning and transferred over to GF for the last 2 nights.

My allergies are: peanuts, tree nuts, eggs, shellfish, fish, gluten, soy protein (lechitin and oil are okay in small amounts), dairy, coconut, oats, sesame, sunflower seeds, ginger, cherries, banana, broccoli, avocado, honey, mustard, and chocolate. I also can't have raw fruit (except grapes) or raw vegetables. Cooked is okay.

POR food court: ate there about 7 times. The food was always good and fresh and the chefs were very knowledgable. I got the allergy chicken tenders and fries. Mickey waffles with Namaste mix. Tinkyada pasta with marinara sauce, sautéed mushrooms, onions, and peppers. Burger no bun with sautéed onions and mushrooms. All of the food was good but nothing outstanding. The best thing was the pasta but it was missing something...I just can't figure out what.

Only disappointment with POR was the lack of allergy snacks. They had no allergy products out in the food court so I think now you have to ask for them. I only asked about the enjoy life cookies but they only had chocolate chip so I couldn't have them.

Overall, I would give POR a 3.5-4/5

THE WAVE- Dinner: we ate here last year 3 times and loved it. This time was just as good. The chef was wonderful. I was able to get the pork tenderloin with ratatouille. I got the pork cooked medium well and it still melted in my mouth....so juicy and tender. He had rice dream ice cream for dessert but I can't have that so I got 4 enjoy life sugar cookies.

Overall, 4.5/5

CHEF MICKEYS: okay....so I was hesitant about this and I know a lot of people on these boards hate this place but IMO it's wonderful. My parents ate the buffet food and loved it. It was crowded but not really loud at all. The chef was the best chef we've had. I was able to get turkey, chicken, sausage, pasta w/marinara sauce, corn, sautéed carrots. I only ate a little bit because I wasn't feeling good but it was all amazing. And he also gave me a full box of enjoy life snicker diddle cookies. I'm saving those for the trip home!

Overall, 5/5

LIBERTY TREE TAVERN: loved it last year. New chef this year and just. Not as good. I got a burger with bacon, mushrooms, and onions. The burger was a little dry. I ended up just mostly eating the vegetables and fries.

Overall, 3/5

CRYSTAL PALACE: always one of our favorites. Much louder than chef mickeys. I was able to get turkey, beef, chicken, rice, sweet potato, green beans, and beet salad (which was AMAZING!). I was a little disappointed because the last 3 times I was there they had a wonderful ratatouille which they don't have now but the food I got was very very good.

Overall, 4/5

GASPARILLA GRILL (GF): I've only eaten here twice so far since we just got here but the chef and manager are wonderful. Everyone is just so nice and helpful. It's an amazing atmosphere. I got Mickey waffles with the namaste mix and bacon for breakfast. These waffles cam out nice an crispy with a wonderful flavor and the bacon was fresh and crispy. So good. For lunch I got the allergy chicken tenders and fries. Again, the manager was wonderful and the chicken tenders were great as always. The do have OMG brownies and cookies, Enjoy life chocolate chip cookies, Rocky Mountain popcorn, rice chips, and surf sweets. We will probably go there 3 or 4 more times before we leave

Overall, 5/5

We have reservations at Citricos tonight and tomorrow night and we might go to Grand Floridian Cafe tomorrow for lunch...not sure yet.

But the food this trip has really gone above and beyond what I was expecting. The only thing that wasn't as good or better than last year was LTT but it was still good and I left full so not much to complain about.

If you have any questions about any product availability or about anywhere I ate ask away and I'll try to answer it.

 

[GinnyBear's_mom]

Thanks for the review! We are staying at The Grand Floridian next month and DD has a long lit of intolerances. Can you tell me how log you had to wait for the allergy friendly mickey waffles at Gasparilla? I know some quick service locations take awhile to make them.

Have you seen Udi's blueberry muffins, tofutti cream cheese, silk soymilk, tofutti or rice dream ice cream? They are all listed as being available at Gasparilla Grill on the allergy sheets provided by Disney, but I know what is on those lists doesn't always match up with what is actually at the restaurant.

They also list namaste chocolate cake mix for GG, if you give them a day's notice, maybe they will be able you make a cake or some cupcakes!

Enjoy the rest of your vacation!

 

[Eliserose]

Thank you! Heading to the GF this week with food allergic children and glad to hear your review.
Hoping for the UDI's muffins!

 

[disfan07]

Thanks for the review! We are staying at The Grand Floridian next month and DD has a long lit of intolerances. Can you tell me how log you had to wait for the allergy friendly mickey waffles at Gasparilla? I know some quick service locations take awhile to make them.

Have you seen Udi's blueberry muffins, tofutti cream cheese, silk soymilk, tofutti or rice dream ice cream? They are all listed as being available at Gasparilla Grill on the allergy sheets provided by Disney, but I know what is on those lists doesn't always match up with what is actually at the restaurant.

They also list namaste chocolate cake mix for GG, if you give them a day's notice, maybe they will be able you make a cake or some cupcakes!

Enjoy the rest of your vacation!

The allergy Mickey waffles did not take very long at all. When I went, it wasn't crazy busy but fter talking to the manager, it took maybe 15-20 minutes at the most. But the managers and chefs were excellent. They give you a number so you can pay and go sit down at a table and they bring the food out to you. They only have 1 allergy waffle maker so if they are making them for someone else when you get there, it might take longer. But it was always worth the wait. I got 3 orders yesterday when we left (1 to eat there, and 2 orders to eat while travelling) and I took maybe 45 minutes to get them all.

I don't know about Udis or anything soy related b'/c Udis has eggs and I'm allergic to both soy and eggs. As for rice dream, it was offered, but I can't have it b/c of cross contamination issues.

So for the rest of the review. Citricos was. AMAZING!!! Same chef both nights. FIrst night I got the ribeye filet with oliv oil and garlic potato mash and sautéed carrots. The second night I got the chicken with the same potatoes and sautéed mushrooms. The chef also created a sauce for my meal that night. I told him it should be on the regular menu. All the food was just so amazing!

The chefs and manages at the GF are by far some of the best I've ever encountered. They remembered me after one meeting. It was so cool.

With where I ate, this is my opinion of the chefs/managers based on service:

Gasparilla Grill (2 managers took care of me.....on was Bethanny and I cannot remember the guys name who took care of me in the morning....way too early...lol)
Citricos
Chef Mickeys (Jaquin was amazing!)
The Wave
Crystal Palace
Riverside Mill Food Court (this was hit or miss.....I had 1 who wasn't good at all, 2 who were okay (but all I got was chicken tenders so very simple), and 1 who made a great pasta dish for me
Liberty Tree Tavern

Also, I noticed at the. QS, you had to ask about the special diets snacks and desserts a lot. riverside Mill had no allergy snacks out. You had to ask. Same with French quarter.

Also, all of this talk about allergy safe beignets.....I walked over to French quarter to ask about it.....they are made with Bobs Red. Mill pizza mix so if you cannot have those flours/mixes, than unfortunately they are not safe. Kind of wish I had know before going to French quarter. It was disappointing.

But otherwise, food was great. No reactions, and I loved not having to cook for a week!

 

[stackyallred]

Thanks for your review! I always enjoy reading about your experiences since I have so many similar foods to avoid. That stinks about the beignets, though! I think they are still safe for me but I did think it was the Bob's pancake mix, not the pizza mix so thanks for the update!

 

[disfan07]

Thanks for your review! I always enjoy reading about your experiences since I have so many similar foods to avoid. That stinks about the beignets, though! I think they are still safe for me but I did think it was the Bob's pancake mix, not the pizza mix so thanks for the update!

Yeah the chef at FQ that I talked to about the beignets said they are trying to figure out a way to make them completely safe but he said the namaste mix didn't work very well so they are trying to figure out if there is another brand or type of mix that they can use instead of Bobs but for right now if you are very allergic to tree nuts and can't have bobs red mill, the beignets are not an option. But hopefully they will figure something out soon.

 

[disfan07]

And also, from what our chef at Chef Mickeys told us, there are no longer peanuts or peanut products on the breakfast buffet at all. I don't remember if he said no tree nuts as well, but I think so. So from what he said, except for the pastures that come from the other bakery where there is a cross contamination issue the buffet is complete safe for peanut allergies. And honestly, I don't recall seeing anything with peanuts or tree nuts on the dinner buffet either.

But it sounds like they just very recently changed the menu for the buffet at chef mickeys. We were told they are really trying to limit the amount of nuts on buffets for various reasons.

And same at dinner at crystal palace. There were no nuts anywhere on the buffet when we were there but of course this can change as well

 

[Talking Hands]

And also, from what our chef at Chef Mickeys told us, there are no longer peanuts or peanut products on the breakfast buffet at all. I don't remember if he said no tree nuts as well, but I think so. So from what he said, except for the pastures that come from the other bakery where there is a cross contamination issue the buffet is complete safe for peanut allergies. And honestly, I don't recall seeing anything with peanuts or tree nuts on the dinner buffet either.

But it sounds like they just very recently changed the menu for the buffet at chef mickeys. We were told they are really trying to limit the amount of nuts on buffets for various reasons.

And same at dinner at crystal palace. There were no nuts anywhere on the buffet when we were there but of course this can change as well

This is actually sad for me. Since I have a dairy allergy I often use peanut butter as a spread for toast or bread. Not too keen on tree nut butters as I am allergic to cashews and cross contamination can be an issue for me. Unfortunately when you cater to one allergy group you often make it harder for someone with another allergy. Guess I will have to start carrying my own peanut butter so I can have something to spread on my toast and breads

 

[disfan07]

This is actually sad for me. Since I have a dairy allergy I often use peanut butter as a spread for toast or bread. Not too keen on tree nut butters as I am allergic to cashews and cross contamination can be an issue for me. Unfortunately when you cater to one allergy group you often make it harder for someone with another allergy. Guess I will have to start carrying my own peanut butter so I can have something to spread on my toast and breads

At chef mickeys they have the little individual peanut butters if you ask for them. He said they have them for Contemp cafe so they can get them as well. At least that's what he mentioned....didn't ever ask for it since I'm allergic to nuts.

Sounds like it might be the same at CP but not 100% sure.

But I agree with you about trying to cater for a specific allergy. The world is not created for allergies, and while I am beyond grateful for what Disney does to accommodate them and I'm so grateful that more and more people are becoming knowledgable about allergies, the world will never be allergy safe so each individual needs to learn how to navigate around their allergies. But that's just my opinion.

 

[Talking Hands]

At chef mickeys they have the little individual peanut butters if you ask for them. He said they have them for Contemp cafe so they can get them as well. At least that's what he mentioned....didn't ever ask for it since I'm allergic to nuts.

Sounds like it might be the same at CP but not 100% sure.

But I agree with you about trying to cater for a specific allergy. The world is not created for allergies, and while I am beyond grateful for what Disney does to accommodate them and I'm so grateful that more and more people are becoming knowledgable about allergies, the world will never be allergy safe so each individual needs to learn how to navigate around their allergies. But that's just my opinion.

I totally agree. We have to look out for ourselves because the world can't cater to our every need. I'll just carry a few of the individual cups and take care to dispose of them in a safe manner and clean my hands and face after eating. Do that anyway as my daughter has a peanut allergy plus the ones I have.

 

[Pamlur]

Did you decide against going to Trails End? I thought somebody in your family (don't remember if it was you or one of your parents) was really excited about going there.

 

[disfan07]

Did you decide against going to Trails End? I thought somebody in your family (don't remember if it was you or one of your parents) was really excited about going there.

No we didn't. My parents decided it was too early of a reservation and too much travel to get there on our first day. We went to the Wave instead.