Redstone Delivers!

Well, Redstone American Grill was fantastic. I've finally become one of THOSE bloggers. I had the camera with me for the obligatory family shots for allergic mom's birthday, and I thought, "Why not?"

So a few seconds after we all started eating, I commanded everyone to stop and took a few photographs of mine, NAH's, and allergic mom's plate (they were sitting on either side of me).

I told the waiter that a phone call had been placed about my allergies, and he assured me that they could cook me any kind of fish completely plain. I ordered the catch of the day, the striped bass, and was told that it would come sans oil, seasonings, and dairy, and even requested that the chef hold the parsley (for some reason chefs have this compulsion that food cannot leave the kitchen looking boring). I asked for a baked potato (obviously the sauteed broccolini and tomato and onion marmalade were a no-go) and asked for that plain as well. The waiter, Michael, returned, and was very concerned that the potato had been previously rubbed in salt and that it may have come into contact with oil or butter. I simply requested that it come on a separate plate (as you can see in the first two photos above). My meal was boring, plain, and superb.

Allergic mom, the birthday girl had a cut of prime rib (first photo) with the bacon wrapped asparagus and mashed potatoes. She loved it. NAH had a larger prime rib with the bacon wrapped asparagus, and I quote, "Even that won't trick me into eating asparagus!" He also had what they call the loaded baked potato. I think his meal photographed rather well, don't you. And no, he didn't eat the asparagus.

All in all, it was a delicious meal, and a wonderful birthday celebration. The biggest surprise of the evening? The allergic brother likes calamari! You'd have to have grown up with this kid to understand the leaps and bounds he's made since the years of refusing to eat anything but macaroni & cheese. The family was together. The birthday was lovely. It was one of those nights that we'll always look back on and smile. Happy Birthday Mom!

Redstone American Grill. This has possibilities!

Allergic mom has a birthday on Sunday, and she's selected Redstone American Grill in Marlton, NJ for us to meet for the dinner and festivities. Having never been there, I told her we'd be happy to meet her down there, and while we were on the phone I went online to look at their menu. American grills are always promising, allergy-friendly places.

She stopped me mid-google. "Dad already checked on your allergies," she said. "He called the restaurant and told them one person in our party has severe allergies, and get this, the woman's response was 'gluten-free or multiple?' "

Incredible. Apparently allergic dad (who himself has no allergies but is married to allergic mom, so what the heck) responded multiple, specifically oil and seasonings, and that I would need something made plain. He was told not a problem. I'm loving this already for two reasons. One, I didn't have to do the legwork myself (thanks, Dad!). Two, I already feel like I'll be well taken care of and I haven't stepped a foot into their establishment.

Please expect a review of Redstone American Grill on Monday, and have a VERY Happy 4th of July (and a SAFE one)!

~Your Allergic Diner

Ah, Chicago, How I Love Thee....

Well, I am back from Chicago, safe and sound. Outside of a few airfare snafus, the trip went off without a hitch. Unfortunately, we gabbed for far longer than we thought and never made it to the aforementioned restaurants. Some views from the ferris wheel at the Taste of Chicago for you to enjoy above. What's wonderful about the booths at the taste of Chicago is that they offer their signature dish in a "taste of" portion. It costs fewer tickets, is a smaller size, and it allows you to sample some of Chicago's best restaurants to determine where you might want to eat later. We had previously had a fantastic lunch at Foodlife, the gourmet food court in the Water Tower Place, before heading over to the festival, but that didn't stop us from sampling the goodies!

Mazzone's water ice booth is HIGHLY recommended, should you make it out there. Delicious water ice in several flavors. The Chicago Chocolate Company had incredible fruit kabobs (covered in chocolate, natch) and chocolate-covered strawberries. Dominick's, the produce stand, was offering a "taste portion" of watermelon that was bigger than our hands! Also impressive was the line at the fruit stand. It's always good to see people making healthy choices.

I can wholeheartedly recommend Grand Lux Cafe, as I recommended in last year's post, though we didn't eat there on this visit. Sunday morning (this visit) we did visit Chicago Bagel & Bialy II. The bagels were delicious!

It was a wonderful visit with old friends, and is fast becoming an annual event. Thanks ladies!

Yours in allergy-free travels & eating,

Allergic Diner

update

Hi All....
As my company hits busy season I've had less and less free time in the evenings to post. Please accept my apologies. This weekend I'm having a college-reunion of sorts in Chicago. Upcoming reviews to expect in this column: Berry Chill, a lactose-free frozen yogurt shop! Taste of Chicago, the mammoth food festival that draws millions each year, Orange, a brunch restaurant in the city, and maybe even a review of my trip to the Chicago Green Market. It's a lot to squeeze in one weekend, but we're going to try to do it. I'm packing my comfy walking shoes and I'll check back in with you all on Monday!
Happy Eating,
Your Allergic Diner

Take me out to the ballgame...

Non-Allergic Husband (NAH - as I shall revert to in this blog because some confused people have no idea who Big Guy is. For that I apologize, he shall hereafter be referred to as NAH) surprised me on Monday with Phillies Tickets for the following night. So we raced home from work on Tuesday and made it to the Phillies/Reds game with about 5 min to spare.

I always finds baseball games interesting from an allergy point of view. Just about everything is labelled, but how much could I actually eat? The new Citizens Bank Park Stadium in Philadelphia offers a bevy of options, but I'm not exactly a cheesesteak kind of girl (which, yes, I know is sacrilegious, but they just can't stand my stomach, or vice versa). In my last couple of trips I have scouted out options, and I am pleased to report that I have successfully eaten the following:

A superpretzel

Minute Maid Frozen Lemonade

All-Beef hot dogs

Cotton Candy

It's a surprisingly small list, but given my previously acknowledged love of hot dogs, it works. Better yet, Tuesday was dollar dog night! I, of course, insist on getting the hot dogs from the stand where the sign says "all-beef hot dogs," even though somewhere in my head I have to acknowledge that they are the same hot dogs being sold at the stand next door (which does NOT say "all-beef"). It just tends to ease my nervousness. Or qualifies me to be a crazy person. The jury's still out.

Pat Burrell hit a two-run homer, Ken Griffey (Cincinnati Reds) pinch-hit (and was walked because there was no way Philadelphia was going to let him score his 600th home run on OUR turf), and we won the game! A sold-out crowd and a fantastic allergy-free "all-beef" hot dog evening.

-----

Fast forward to this Friday night, when my company goes to a minor league baseball game. Even though we get bracelets to the picnic area as part of our tickets, I will insist on going to the stand and purchasing the hot dog from a place where the sign says "all-beef." Again, crazy, perhaps, but it's $3.00 that goes a long way towards easing my nerves and allowing me to enjoy my food. Besides, how do I know they're not feeding us the cheaper, filler-filled (can one say that?) hot dogs because it's an all you can eat picnic. I'd make that decision if I handled the food ordering for a stadium that ran this promotion. Ergo, I will purchase the food, despite the bracelet.

I will be away this weekend but returning next week with more fun-filled (not filler-filled) stories of my adventures in allergy land. Enjoy the warm weather,

Your Allergic Diner

Ahh, Barbecue

As an allergic diner, I've never uttered the above words. Never. Please don't misunderstand, I love a good hot dog on the grill as much as the next person, but I can't exactly go gallivanting off in search of the best barbecued ribs, pulled pork, and fried chicken. I'm allergic, and yes, as its been pointed out many times, I know I'm missing out. I just can't exactly tell you what I'm missing out on.

Big guy, however, loves all things barbecue, especially fried chicken. He is to fried chicken what I am to stuffing! So when we got allergic fiance's NYC birthday invite that included this restaurant, Rack and Soul, he was ready to go.

Barbecue restaurants always worry me. So much risk for cross contamination. So much tomato and oil and spice everywhere. I was relieved to see that there was salad on the menu. Ah, salad. Safe, non-contaminated, and on one plate. When our party was seated, everyone started ordering off the good part of the menu, and I'll confess to feeling a little bit left out. Collard greens, black eyed peas, crawfish, chicken livers, macaroni and cheese, and home-style mashed potatoes, and that was just to start!. Big Guy had an order of fried chicken, and opted for the macaroni and cheese and mashed potatoes, figuring that if he was going to do it right, he was all in. I couldn't bring myself to order a salad to pick at amongst the plates of all this marvelous food, and thankfully, we weren't eating until 8 o' clock at night, so I had passed the hunger period (with a fairly large bag of skittles at the movie!).

Big Guy gave me his restaurant review in typical Big Guy fashion, "Very Good."

And that dear readers, sums up my olfactory experience at Rack and Soul.
~Your Allergic Diner

New Jersey and New York City in the span of 24 hours....

Well, the bad news is that there was no foray into the Cheesecake Factory.

The good news? My non-allergic friend found a sushi place in the area and we went there instead. I highly recommend Mikado (find menus and southern NJ locations through this link). The sushi was excellent, the atmosphere nice and peaceful, and the service attentive. It was wonderful and well worth the long drive! Unfortunately, this allergic diner did not care as much for the movie we saw, Sex & The City. I realize that I may be slaughtered by womankind for this, but it was just "ehh." Ah well, you win some you lose some.









So that was Friday night, and Saturday morning Big Guy and I were dragged out of bed by the alarm to make the train into NYC for allergic fiance's birthday party. We met both our friend and her allergic fiance at the Arte Cafe at 73 & Columbus. We were a little waterlogged. Hah. As we exited Penn Station a grumpy woman to our right remarked that she might as well be waiting in line for an ark! Nevertheless, we arrived, somewhat soggy, to the Arte Cafe, a place where we've eaten before and had spotless service and spot-on food. Not to mention excellent attention paid to allergic detail, of course.



This time was a little different. I'm a big fan of their pizza, and the chef usually makes one for me, sans seasoning, oil, and of course, tomato sauce. It's a wonderful brick-oven thin crust that has cheese, mushrooms, and garlic, and smells better than any garlic bread I've ever had. I was so very crushed when the waiter informed me, up front, that the chef could not accommodate any major special requests today, as he was incredibly busy. He was kind enough to go double check with the chef after I showed my med-alert bracelet, but came back saying "the chef apologizes, but he has already mixed the oil into the pizzas(?)"

Just when I thought the meal was ruined, and by ruined, I thought that there would be no food, so how could I indulge in their endless-mimosa brunch (?), our waiter came to my rescue. "Tell me what you're allergic to," he said, and I did. He pointed to a meal on the menu that was grilled chicken with a salad that has tomatoes. "I can get this for you without tomatoes," he said. "Great! And please tell them no oil, and no spice as well." And with that, we ordered our unlimited drinks and set about enjoying a wonderful occasion with good friends.


When the orders came, and we were all on our second drink, I had Big Guy taste test the chicken for me, because it looked like there was oil on it. There wasn't, and my salad was blissfully dressing free. Interestingly enough, the piece of grilled chicken had been flattened out to look as if it were a piece of pita bread, and the salad was on top of it (where's a camera when I need one?). It was positively delightful. They have fantastic berry muffins that they serve you in place of bread during brunch, and they were snapped up by our table at once. Big guy had eggs and toast, friend had a wonderful brick-oven pizza, allergic fiance had a panini sandwich, and I had my chicken and salad. All because a waiter took the time to help me. It was a wonderful start to the weekend!

~Yours in the quest for safe food,

The Allergic Diner

weekend update.

Well, between my nerves, and a recent comment from an allergic mom (not mine, but the mom of The Allergic Kid), Bahama Breeze has been scrapped. She pointed out that there wasn't a whole lot of allergy information on their website, and that they pretty much say that the eater owns the responsibility. Seriously, no allergy policy in place? How horrendous in this day and age.

Anyway, we're going to the Cheesecake Factory. I've never had a problem there. I've also never received the dreaded eye-roll in the 6 years I've been a customer. Hooray! I will fill you in on the (hopefully) wonderful meal with an old friend over the weekend. The Big Guy and I are also off to NYC this weekend for an allergic fiance's 31st birthday party. Looks to be a good weekend....
~A

Bahama Breeze?

Well, allergic patrons, I'm meeting a good friend for dinner tomorrow night and she's suggested that we go to Bahama Breeze. Places like this are difficult for me because they use lots and lots of Caribbean seasoning.
I just spoke with a host on the phone, and he told me that they could make something plain for me. Actually, the conversation went like this, and now I'm extremely nervous.

Me: Hi, my girlfriend and I will be eating dinner in your restaurant tomorrow night and I was wondering if I could talk to you a moment.
Him: Sure.
Me: I have terrible allergies, and I was looking at your menu and am calling to find out how difficult it is for me to have something made plain for me when I get there.
Him: What do you mean, plain? (ACK!)
Me: I mean, were I to order a piece of grilled fish off the menu, could you grill it plain for me, with no seasoning and no oil.
Him: HOLD ON. (cue hold music)
Him: Yes, we can make you food with no seasoning.
Me: And no oil? (not to belabor the point, but "hold on" isn't the most confidence inspiring term)
Him: Yes ma'am, and no oil either, it won't be a problem.

Now, here's the thing. He said yes, he said they could accommodate me, and he placed me on hold so he could obviously go talk to someone about it, so why am I still nervous? Would you be...Stay tuned. I'll post over the weekend and let you know how it goes.
~Your Allergic Diner

I am a food nerd. I admit it. Consider it a creative outlet and leave me be....

Calling all culinary nerds! You know who you are. You love tweaking new recipes, trying new restaurants, and insisting to people in your party that you can replicate what you're eating at home. You read food magazines, collect cookbooks, and love to entertain.

Check this out....over 1,000 food blogs. Not too shabby for some entertaining reading. Keep an eye on my blogroll, as I have some downtime (ha! I may have to break my cardinal rule of no computer on the weekends and do this then), I will continue to add noteworthy sites that I've found through this, The Foodie Blogroll.

Aren't blogs grand?
Your Allergic Diner

The joys of being truly taken care of...

On the first night of our trip, allergic mom and I went to King of Prussia for dinner, and ended up at Legal Sea Foods, an upscale seafood restaurant that has locations all over the eastern U.S.

I informed our server, Brian, that I had severe allergies, and asked if it would be possible to have my tuna steak grilled with no oil or spices, and so that it didn't come into contact with anything else?

I braced myself for the response. Brian said "Actually, I can do you one better. What we usually do for our allergic patrons (I didn't interrupt at this point and inform him I was THE Allergic Diner, it seemed rude) is place your fish in a skillet as opposed to directly on the grill or our wood planks, and cook it with an herb vinaigrette that contains no dairy. This way it doesn't come into contact with anything you might be allergic to. For you, we can do the fish this way but totally plain so that you don't have to worry about spices or oil in the vinaigrette." Seriously? Would one of you inform me if I was dead and this was heaven? What a weekend this was!

About 10 minutes after we placed our order, a manager, Jeff, came over and introduced himself and asked me to list my allergies (Brian had previously done the same, so it was obvious to this allergic diner that they were double checking for safety and cross-contamination). He spent a minute or two with me to make sure I was comfortable, and then went back to the kitchen to personally oversee the process.

I ate the delicious meal, a medium-rare tuna steak and baked potato, along with some of their fresh bread, without taking A SINGLE PILL. No dairy, no allergens, so why take medicine I don't need?

I thought that was the perfect meal, and as allergic mom and I were squabbling over who was going to pay the check (and lest you think ill of me, we were fighting because we both wanted to pay), Brian came back and offered us dessert. I was so full I couldn't even dream of it, but he insisted that he had a gluten-free option that might interest me, as well as a sugar free option. I thought that was very sweet that he was letting me know that they could find a way to accommodate me. Though I declined, I made up my mind to not only give them an outstanding review, but to forward this post to their customer service.

In a review of their website, I noticed they have a gluten-free menu as well. Here's a link to all their menus. It was the perfect dinner to start the perfect weekend with allergic mom. There was NO allergy alert or allergy problems ALL weekend.

Thank you so very much Legal Sea Foods, for putting this food-allergic diner at ease,

~The Allergic Diner

The Inner Gremlin

I'm writing today's post in support of an entity I never thought I'd eat in, never mind laud on this blog. I'm not necessarily a fan of big business, especially when it closes down local mom and pop shops. However, as an allergic person, I find that a chain has more consistency and knowledge when dealing with allergies than the local mom and pop shop often does. Saturday morning (day 2 of our annual girls' weekend) allergic mom and I arrived at the King of Prussia mall BEFORE it opened. The only place we could have breakfast at the mall was the Starbucks. I shouldn't say THE Starbucks, as I know there's more than one in the mall(s).

On vacation, I must drink tea. I'm not entirely certain as to why, as I don't often drink it at home, and I have no particular feelings about it either way. However, the moment I go on vacation its as if a small tea gremlin enters my brain and begins bugging me. "You're on vacation, have a nice cup of tea," he says. "It will relax you, and it's good for your health." Unfortunately, if ignored, this gremlin begins to bellow "MUST HAVE TEA! FEED ME TEA!" like some sort of toddler. I have discovered that upon having the tea, all is well. Most people have chocolate gremlins or french fry gremlins, but true to form, even my gremlin is abnormal. Ah, well.

I entered the long line at Starbucks, and set upon deciding what to eat with my tea. They do have quite a selection of baked goods. The tea gremlin spied a scone (perhaps its a British gremlin?) and decided that I should eat that, as well. I do love a good scone. At the register, I cringed and asked the very young cashier if there were any nuts in the scone. I was utterly shocked when he replied "no, but I feel it is my duty to inform you it was baked in a facility that does bake other items that contain nuts." Well, the tea gremlin and I could have been knocked over with a feather. I ordered my tea and raspberry scone, and had a delicious, allergy-free breakfast, which not only quieted my gremlin, but gave me plenty of fuel for a morning of shopping. Thank you Starbucks!

~Allergic Diner

The Americana Diner: Never leave unhappy. Or hungry, for that matter...

What a lovely weekend we had, big guy (refer to previous posting) and myself. We had our first house guests! My friend from NYC and her allergic fiance were in for the weekend for what we called the "Jersey Experience." Unfortunately, due to time, weather, and the fact that we hadn't all gotten together in awhile, the Jersey Experience really consisted of taking allergic fiance and friend to one of our favorite diners, the Americana Diner on Rte 130 (recently written up in the Washington Post!).

I've been to this place several times, and in addition to the incredible variety of food (it has a menu that could be considered a book), I'm always pleased with the service and attention to detail. These servers, without fail, answer almost any question with, "I'm not sure, let me go ask the chef." Subsequently, without fail, everything I've ordered there has come to the table allergy-free and uncontaminated.

We had a fantastic meal there, and highly recommend it as a must-eat stop in New Jersey. Big guy had an omelet, allergic fiance a blackened chicken sandwich, friend had a tuna salad sandwich (that came to the table looking like a house...it was enormous!), and for me, an egg salad sandwich, of course. I've had plenty of other things there, but the egg salad is a keeper.

Allergic mom and I are heading out Friday for our annual girls' weekend, so I should have some new and hopefully good reviews for you then.

Until next time,
Your Allergic Diner

What food! What service!

What a lovely evening we had, the non-allergic in-laws, NAH, and myself. When we got to Outback, we were seated immediately. When the waiter came to take our order, I explained that I had called previously, and was told that they could make anything plain to accommodate my food allergies. I then requested the salmon, plain, the steamed veggies, plain, and a baked potato, you guessed it, also plain. To which he responded, "Not a problem, but I'm required to ask about your allergies so I can oversee this in the kitchen." I jokingly said "all of them," and then realized I was going to have to be more specific, so I asked to him to look out for olive oil, dairy, tomatoes, and every spice/seasoning known to man (I can add my own salt & pepper, and it's much safer that way). To my relief, there was NO pity (though there appeared to be a brief look of astonishment at what I was listing), and I was so heartened by the fact that I already felt safe eating there I ordered a drink, too!

I especially enjoyed when they brought out NAH's prime rib, and our waiter handed it to him and said "here, big guy!" (I almost dissolved into a fit of giggles, and had no drink in me at that point). NAH will most likely be referred to hereafter on this blog as big guy. Too funny.

The big guy had a most excellent prime rib, mom-in-law and I both enjoyed our salmon, and dad-in-law had a wonderful strip steak. I can't neglect to mention that the table started with the requisite Bloomin' Onion. My Wallaby Darned (Australian peach bellini), on the recommendation of my mom-in-law, was fantastic, and I'm happy to report that not a single spice, drop of butter, or any other of the dreaded allergic contaminants touched my salmon plate. It was a fantastic meal had in great company! Thank you Outback, we'll be returning soon!

Also, before I leave you for the day, when I looked at the Outback website I was heartened to see that they offer my gluten-free friends a gluten-free menu! A sign of the times. Check it out here, and enjoy your next meal being well taken care of in an allergy-friendly environment!

Yours in the pursuit of anxiety-free eating,

The Allergic Diner

Let's go Outback tonight....

Tomorrow night NAH and I are taking the non-allergic inlaws to dinner at their favorite restaurant, Outback Steakhouse. I was just reading their menu, and grew a little concerned at the amount of seasoned items on their menu. Then I read:

When the worries of the day are too much, Australians say it's time to let go and 'Go Outback.' A place to stop, unwind, and share time with family and friends. So kick back, relax, you're Outback. No Worries!

I thought I'd put this to the test. I remembered reading somewhere that Outback, if you told them upfront about your allergies, would be more than accommodating. I decided to test that theory, and was more than upfront, I called 24 hours ahead of time.

The conversation went like this:
Me: I will be eating dinner at your restaurant tomorrow night with my family, and I'm a little concerned about my food allergies and the amount of seasoned items on your menu. Do you know if it's possible to get something without all the seasonings, or if those spices and marinades are placed on the meat ahead of time?

Outback representative: Certainly! You can get anything on our menu without seasoning except for the Tuscan Ribeye, because that marinates for a long time before we grill it. Everything else can be made to order, as we season each food before we cook and serve it.
(Wonderful! But wait...there's more!) Also, as long as you inform your waiter, we'll have our line chefs switch their gloves and we'll clean the spot on the grill right before putting your food on it to make sure there's no cross-contamination (I almost swooned!). If you're concerned about simply telling your waiter, tell the manager when you come in and if you're specific about your allergies, he will oversee the whole process to make sure it's safe.

Me: That sounds wonderful, THANK YOU!

And then I did a little dance...well, not really, but those of you who have food allergies know how good it feels to know you don't have to worry (as much) about the food you're going out to eat.
Check out the Outback menu, and happy ordering! I'll check back Wednesday with a dinner review. I'm off to review the menu to figure out what I'd like to eat, allergy-free.

Thanks,
Allergic Diner

Cookbooks and cookbooks and more cookbooks!

In an earlier post I may have mentioned my love of all things cooking. I especially love cookbooks, and take it as a challenge to try and alter everyday recipes so that they become allergy-friendly. As such, I've started a wonderful cookbook collection, and subscribe to several cooking magazines. I recently found a group for people like me. I'd like to call it a support group, but it's a cookbook book club (like a Doubleday, or a Columbia House).
Check this out!
The Good Cook (and admire my fabulous new hyperlink skills while we're at it. Thanks husband, I love you!)

I have 5 new cookbooks coming in the mail for the low price of $26.00! Oh happy Day!

~Allergic Diner

And for those of you wondering where my top chef recaps have gone, until the show stops being "whiny chef," I am not reviewing. I am watching, and I am enjoying, but I am not going to condone some of the cast members' bad behaviors with a review. They stop whining, I'll start recapping! Should have done the butternut squash soup, though.....

A Mastercard ad in the making.....

Today's shopping list:

2 yams
2 baking potatoes
2 yellow onions
1 red onion
3 stalks of broccoli
1 head of cauliflower
1 zucchini
4 large plums
2 large nectarines
2 1/2 lbs. of bananas


For a grand total of.....$11.57. SERIOUSLY!

NAH and I have been griping about how high the grocery store bill has been lately, which is made even more difficult by the fact that we eat a lot of fruits and veggies. A few coworkers recommended a local farmstand and said I would be amazed at the prices. Amazed is an understatement.
Eating healthy is a wonderful thing. Supporting the local agriculture is also a wonderful thing. Eating healthy, supporting local farms, and saving money in the process? Priceless!

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

So it's official. Every once in awhile I take a leap and test one of my allergies (the non-anaphylaxis ones) because these things can and do change over time. I am no longer allergic to pineapple. And it is quite yummy! Right in time for the upcoming trip to Hawaii!

But I want to talk about Top Chef. Actually talk about it, instead of doing a really long recap, because last night's episode had a moment that upset me greatly. At the very end, when the red team was called before the panel of judges and was utterly incensed at having lost, Andrew crossed a line. At least with me. He told head chef Tom Colicchio that the only way he was going home was if "security guards dragged him away." Ok, that kind of enthusiasm could be considered cute. Then he followed, rather emphatically, with the statement, "This is MY HOUSE." Noooo....

He's competing with other very gifted chefs in a competition that thousands of people want to enter and few are very carefully selected (don't know what the heck happened in Season 2, but I digress). You are in front of some of the experts in your field, and you're telling them you're in charge? Don't think so buddy. If I was Chef Tom, I would have stood up, walked around the table, and smacked the guy in the head (a la the V8 commercial). Seriously! No respect at all for seasoned professionals who are the stars of the culinary world? No respect for your competitors? I remember watching Hung (Season 3) become giddy with enthusiasm when he got to meet some of the guest judges, especially upon learning he'd be cooking with Rocco diSpirito in the finale. None of that gratitude was in play here.

Anyway, both teams were lousy. Nikki's (blue team) macaroni and cheese was a mistake from the get-go, and Zoi (red team) was very upset about a pasta salad she felt was beneath her, and then screwed up anyway. The only thing that really looked delectable was Dale's pork skewers with red curry BBQ sauce - and his red team lost (I liked their fare better, but only because it was simpler and I'm a sucker for dips). A Waldorf salad without mayo (?), and then without crunch (?)....ick. Erik's soggy corn dogs got him sent home, and thus ended an edition of what should have been called "adequate chef."

Show a little respect, man.

Top Chef Recap!

My two favorite things in one episode: cooking and animals! Thankfully, they were not cooking those animals.

Let's start with the Quickfire:
A bunch of shots of the chefs running around Chicago's Green City Market, generally displeased with the selections of meat, and getting grumpy remarks when attempting to rummage through the wares of the seller. The Quickfire challenge was simple: Cook a dish with no more than 5 ingredients (though salt, sugar, pepper, and oil were gimmes).
I really liked the look of Erik's dish, the lamb chop, baby carrots, and potatoes, but as I've said in earlier posts, the plainer my food arrives, the better. Wylie Dufresne, the molecular gastronomist and guest judge of this Quickfire, thought it too plain and told Erik it lacked cohesiveness. Grr.
Hyperactive Andrew, whom I can't decide if I'm taking a shine to because of my earlier days as a teacher, or because I'd pay money to see the man given Ritalin (or are these things one in the same?), is called out on his illegal use of balsamic vinegar. Which was ok with me because the whole plate was brown! Probably tasted out of this world, but not as visually appetizing as his end product usually is.
Mark, who we see running around the market unable to decide, purchasing items down to the last minute, and then LEAVING a key ingredient in his dish behind, pulls it out with his sirloin steak with turnips, mushrooms, peaches & butter. Looks like he didn't need the other vegetable after all. Wylie was suitably impressed, and Mark was granted the first immunity pass of the season.

The Elimination Challenge:
They drew knives and matched up in teams according to the animal on the knife: lion, vulture, penguin, bear, and gorilla (this is where the hearts of half the viewing audience stopped: were they going to cook these animals?).
Nope, they were charged with catering a cocktail party at the Lincoln Park Zoo. Each team had to create a menu of hors d'oeuvres that incorporated elements of their animals DIET (phew). Zoi immediately showed a great sense of humor listing what a vulture likes to eat. Just how many ways are there to cook a dead carcass?
The winning team of the night was penguin, with their black-and-white themed canapes, penguin decorations on the table, and Andrew's special edible yuzu glacier. Team vulture came in not too far behind with Mark's marinated anchovy on a quinoa croquette (high in protein and fiber, yum!)
Unfortunately, two of the other teams didn't fare as well: gorilla and bear were called to explain themselves.
When the camera man showed team bear's stuffed mushrooms (Nikki's) I turned to NAH and said, "those look like poop!" The thing was, that's exactly what they resembled. No thanks! Dale seemed to recognize this, and decided to add pecorino cheese to make the color more varied. The downside? After all that work they were too cold too serve at the party. Nikki thought she was remedying the situation by serving them to the chefs, but they appeared to be confused as to why they had to eat them if the other guest weren't. Seriously, they looked that awful. Blueberries and mushrooms is circumspect to me to begin with. Cold blueberries and mushrooms with pecorino cheese were even worse in the judges' opinions. Thankfully (and I'm saying this because I get the feeling Nikki could do well), team gorilla had two lousy dishes as compared to bear's one. Here's where things got tricky.
Gorilla had Valerie's black olive blini (which for the love of god, people is pronounced BLEE-NEE - no extra syllables!! A bellini is a drink!) with slightly-raw rutabagas on top, and Stephanie's pre-salted so it drew out all the moisture crab salad on celery chips that were too soggy to serve. In the judge's eyes Stephanie redeemed herself with the banana bread in caramel sauce (not to mention Antonia's vote that she'd rather keep Stephanie), and Valerie was sent packing.
Until next time!
~The Allergic Diner

101. Who would've thought?

Yesterday I realized that I now have 100 posts. 100 posts! This post makes 101. I started this blog as an exercise of sorts. My job requires far more editing than actual writing and I did not want to get rusty. Plus, I savored the chance to tell some of these restaurants what I think of their treatment (anonymously, of course). I was also hoping maybe I'd make some friends in allergy-land, people with whom I could discuss allergy experiences , and we could learn and share from each other. This is getting a little too Barney&Friends for me, so I'll stop now.

I simply want to say THANK YOU!
When I started this blog I had no idea that I'd have the faithful readership or the overwhelming support/advice/interest that I have from all of you. It is very much appreciated. I always look forward to posting and to hearing from you, and to reading quite a few of your blogs. Here's to post 200!

I've mentioned in some of my past postings the dreaded tomato allergy, and the latex= death allergy problem that I have. I've discussed my distaste for oregano (a result of the allergic reaction it causes), and explained how I alter recipes. I have seen many allergists, all of whom confirmed both the tomato and the oregano allergies, but could never really give me a reason or a grouping for them. A good example of a grouping in this case would be my banana allergy, which directly ties to my latex allergy because of a similar protein. I need order and reason (to just about everything), so for me, this is important.

Today, on www.msn.com, the main page, there is an article "Unusual Food Allergies." I'd like to cut and paste a section of the article from Dr. Rob, one of the Health & Fitness expert bloggers.

I also need to mention another possibility, the latex-fruit syndrome. While triggering symptoms similar to those of the pollen-food syndrome, the latex-fruit syndrome is an allergic response to specific proteins present in latex. And since similar proteins are also contained in certain fruits, vegetables, nuts and spices, touching or eating them may cause a reaction. These foods or spices include but are not limited to: almonds, apples, bananas, kiwis, raw tomatoes or potatoes, as well as spices such as dill, oregano, ginger or sage.

I finally have my reason. They all tie together! Isn't that crafty? What a wonderful thing to discover for my 101st post. What follows is a link to the article (one day maybe one of my lovely readers will teach me how to link through a word, rather than post the entire link? I'm still a newbie out here). I will post my Top Chef thoughts later.

Thanks for reading!
Your Allergic Diner

http://health.msn.com/health-topics/allergies/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100164460&GT1=31022