Lucky Charms Shake

Perfect drink for a Post-Trick or Treat evening, also delicious as a Saturday Morning treat. Try this mix some time:

DIY Lucky Charms Shake

It’s a homemade version of Burger King’s Lucky Charms Shake. At least when you make it home, you know it will be gluten free.

Lucky Charms Still Gluten Free?

Lucky Charms are still Gluten Free. I have seen some Facebook posting about how Lucky Charms is not safe. All the information I have found out over the last few days are quite the contrary. The FCC hasn’t posted any warnings and there’s nothing about it on the General Mills website.

Fact is that Lucky Charms is still Gluten Free and currently meeting the US guidelines of being gluten free.

In 2015, there was a change.org petition titled, "Change testing and production of gluten-free Cheerios to be safe for all.” While not directly related to Lucky Charms, the Cheerios testing would have impacted testing and certification by General Mills. Oddly enough the petition failed to pass by one person.

Halloween Candy 2017

Its Halloween season, time to start thinking of gluten-free candy.

Several bloggers have put out their annual list of gluten-free candy. Rather than duplicating their work, here's a link to verywell.com website. It's a good list of popular candy that and if it safe for celiacs.

Comprehensive Gluten-Free Candy List - Halloween 2017

There are some big changes in what's safe for celiacs this year. The biggest surprise is that there are many Hershey products are no longer safe.

We are going to be handing out both gluten-free candy and non-candy goodies. We got our non-candy goodies from Oriental Trading. Don't forget your Teal Pumpkins.

Hopefully we distributed the right amount of candy and toys and we don't get eggs on our cars.

Back Deck

This past summer we saw Phantom of the Opera at the Boston Opera House. We searched around looking for a great place to eat Gluten Free. We found some great reviews with Back Deck and thought it would be good to check out.

Back Deck

Brief description from their website:

Gluten Free Options

They have a dedicated fryer for their french fries. Which isn't all that important for adults but its good news for a six-year-old. My daughter order the usual Cheeseburger.

They have a separate Gluten Free menu with lots of options to select from, check out the Dinner menu online.

The waitress was very knowledgeable about their gluten-free options and how the kitchen is set up to prevent any cross-contamination.

The Flourless Chocolate Sundae was yummy and highly recommended.

Overall Experience

It was actually a good experience eating at Back Deck. We had an early dinner, which was good since we could take our time and not feel the rush to make the show.

Note: We tried to get a reservation closer to the 6 pm show time but they didn't have anything available. If you do eat early and have sometime before the show, there are a couple of nearby coffee shops where you can sit and chat. Caffe Nero is direct across the street from the Boston Opera House.

The Downtown Crossing area isn't a fun shopping experience as it was back in the 80s and 90s. It's not as fun to walk around and browse the stores. (Hasn't been the same since Barnes and Noble left.)

As we were leaving the restaurant was getting busy - clearly from the theater crowd.

We certainly will be going back to Back Deck for our next show at the Boston Opera House. The food was delicious and they had great gluten-free selection.

Muddy Moose Restaurant and Pub

Muddy Moose is located in the center of the busy North Conway Shopping area. Tourist visit here because of the location and the food. It's a very popular location.

If you arrive during the typical lunch or dinner hour, expect a 20-30 minute wait.

Gluten Free Options

The Muddy Moose has a separate Gluten Free Menu. Be sure to ask for it when they call your name. (or as you see them collect the menus as you walk to the podium.)

There are lots of excellent Gluten-free options on the menu, including Burgers and Sandwiches on gluten-free bread. They don't have a separate fryer, so french fries are not available.

Trailside Burger

My daughter ordered the Trailside Burger with a side of white rice. She was happy to get the rice since she actually likes that when we go out for Chinese.

The person taking the order was educated about the Gluten Free options and make sure to put that it was for an allergy.

My daughter liked the Trailside Burger but didn't really like the rice. While she did like the thought of getting rice, I think she was disappointed because other children had french fries with their order.

Recommended?

If you do go to Muddy Moose, my daughter would recommend getting the Baked Potato as the rice wasn't that good. Otherwise, it wasn't a bad place to go. It was a good casual restaurant that seemed reasonably priced.

Directions to Muddy Moose

The Muddy Moose is located at 2344 White Mountain Hwy, North Conway, NH 03860. Directly across the street is the 1768 Country Inn.

110 Grill

A few months ago we tried getting to the 110 Grill and found that it had a 40 minute wait. On the next attempt, we arrived early and we were seated within a few minutes of arriving.

Allergy Friendly Resturant

From the top of their menu:

Gluten Free Bread

Most places don't have any gluten-free bread as an appetizer while waiting. 110 does have it. The waitress was very helpful in making sure that my daughter had a Gluten Free bread. Which is nicely toasted. When one didn’t arrive, she ordered another one.

My daughter was delighted to get two pieces of fresh warm bread. (I suspect that its frozen dough and they warm it up in the oven.)

Dinner

110 Grill has a separate Gluten Free menu with lots of choices. (You can see the menu on their site.) My six-year-old daughter was excited to order Fish and Chips.

We were delighted that they were able to make a kids size portion of the meal. It was the perfect amount. She loved the Fish as well as the chips.

Desert

For dessert, 110 Grill actually have a Gluten free cake. This is a perfect option if you're looking to do a cake to celebrate a birthday or any special occasion. I got the Caramelized Banana Flatbread, which isn't gluten-free, and it was delicious. I wasn't able to finish the whole thing and had to take it home.

Finding 110 Grill

The 110 Grill that we ate at is located in Hopkinton, Massachusetts - just off of exit 21 on 495. As mentioned earlier, this is a very popular restaurant, we highly recommend having an early dinner - especially if you have hungry kids.

There are locations in Berlin, MA, Braintree, MA, Chelmsford, MA, Haverhill, MA, Hopkinton, MA, Leominster, MA, Nashua, NH, Rochester, NH, Wayland, MA.

Metropolitan Coffee House and Fine Art Gallery

In North Conway is a small coffee shop located directly across the street from the old '5 & 10' store is The Metropolitan Coffee House and Fine Art Gallery.

From their website:

Really Good Coffee

We stopped in to get some coffee after a long day at Storyland. The store was pretty quiet as it was very close to closing time. The service was awesome. We didn't feel rushed.

They worked with us to make a very good coffee. We wanted a delicious low-calorie coffee. They knew exactly what would satisfy our taste buds Almond Coffee with sugar-free caramel.

Wow were they right!

Try the SugarFree Caramel Coffee with Almond milk - its way better than what's offered at Starbucks. (Not sure why there's is better. )

Gluten Free Snacks!

In the refrigerator are some gluten-free snacks to enjoy. We saw brownies, cookies, and other treats. Perfect snacks to fill you over until lunch or dinner.

Highly Recommended

We love Dunkin Donuts and Starbucks but there's something special about trying the local flavor. People that get hired to work at a local shop go out of their way to satisfy their customers.

Next time you're walking around downtown North Conway, stop in for a treat. If you eating Gluten-free, you'll be happy to enjoy a snack as you walk through all the small shops.

Nothing like holding a nice hot cup of coffee while walking around North Conway to explore all the outlets.

We tried going back again on our trip but our schedule didn't make that option available. It's on our list for our next trip.

Red Parka Steakhouse & Pub

Red Parka Steakhouse & Pub, located in Glen New Hampshire, is a pub style restaurant well known for their grill food and BBQ sauce. It's a favorite for locals and seasonal visitors. There have live entertainment on the weekends.

They are famous for the BBQ ribs. I remember getting some back in the late 1980s. They were really good and I look forward to trying them again.

On this particular trip I skipped the ribs as I didn't want to spend much money - we were on a low budget trip.

Gluten Free Options

They didn't have a Gluten free menu. Our server worked with us to create a dish that my six-year-old daughter could eat. They do have gluten free buns.

The server did tell us that they didn't have a dedicated fryer so we couldn't order french fries.

We ordered a cheeseburger with no bun and a side of string beans - fortunately, my daughter like string beans over french fries.

We went to the salad bar and got from fresh vegetables to start. My daughter was very tired from a fun day at Storyland. She just ate the salad and didn't touch much of her dinner.

Overall Feeling

The food was delicious and my daughter loved it. I think she was a bit skeptical about her food because they didn't have a Gluten free menu.

Can't really recommend this place because officially they didn't have any gluten-free options. However, if you're looking for good BBQ this is the place to try. The BBQ sauce was delicious and I would go back just to try the ribs again.

Finding the Red Parka

The Red Parka is located in Glenn, New Hampshire. Just down the street from Storyland. It's a great place to stop after a long day at the park. You can enjoy a nice meal and avoid the traffic through North Conway.

You can purchase the Red Parka BBQ sauce, which is gluten free, at the bar or at Zebs General Store in North Conway.

Ashland Ale House

The Ashland Ale House is a local pub in Ashland, Massachusetts. It's far away from all the busy shopping area near Route 9 and the Natick Mall. It is located in the same plaza as Market Basket.

Five Things I learned about the Ashland Ale House

The place is very popular with the locals, so expect a 20-30 minute wait during the typical dinner hour. If you arrive before 5:30 on a Saturday night, you shouldn't have much of a wait.

The booths are made to sit six adults. On our recent visit with a party of six, we opt for a table. While we had to wait 20 minutes for our table, we made the right choice with 2 kids. It just made things a bit more comfortable.

You can play Mass Keno while you're at Ashland Ale. Learn about the game before you go. You place all bets and collect winnings at the bar. Who knows you may win enough to pay for your dining experience.

Most people visit to try the large beer selection. They have over xxx different types of beers mostly from New England. I tried the Apple Cider from Lookout Farms. It was very good. My advice is if you're trying something new, don't order a large - you don't want to be stuck having to finish off a beer you don't like.

Framingham Beer Works has about 15 beers on tap and British Beer Company has 26 Beers on tap. Ashland Ale has 20 Beers on tap

Gluten Free Options

Ashland Ale house has a limited Gluten Free menu. They don't have a dedicated fryer for French fries but will bake the fries. Which tastes just as good as the frier and I would recommend getting those instead of the regular french fries.

My daughter got a cheese burger. She liked it a lot, especially when we cut it in quarters. She ate most of it and we didn't take any home with us.

Finding Ashland Ale House

From Downtown Framingham, take Concord Street all the way to about a 1/2 mile from the Ashland town line.

Orange Leaf - Natick, Massachusetts

Do it yourself yogurt places are coming and going. They all have the same business model, let the customer pick their ice cream and topping and then they pay by weight.

The one place that stands out from all the rest is Orange Leaf. They have a flat rate based on the cup size.

Customers pick the size they want. There are no surprises when you get to pay. Which is good to know!

Allergy Friendly Toppings

If you have any food allergies you may shy away from such places. Such places could be a cross contamination nightmare.

However, Orange Peel has a special section behind the counter. They have special sprinkles containers where you can put on allergy free toppings. There's a sign above them that indicate they are for those that have allergies.

As for the soft serve ice cream, they had a large selection with only one of them that wasn't gluten free. (Cookie and Cream)

Orange Leaf

You can find Orange Leaf in Natick at the Route 27 / 9 plaza.

Dirty Water Dough

If you're looking for great gluten free pizza in the Back Bay, you can't go wrong with Dirty Water Pizza. Locals know this is the place to go to get delicious pizza in the Back Bay.

You can buy just about any pizza by the slice. However, they don't offer Gluten Free pizza by the slice. They told me that the best bet is to order a head of time. They only have a small size gluten free. It's really good, as my company has placed many orders from there and the gluten free pizzas are always a big hit. After a company meeting, typically there's leftover Cheese or Vege pizza but there's never ever any left over gluten free pizza.

California Pizza Kitchen has gluten free pizza, but if you want something different in Boston, try the dirty Water Dough pizza.

Four things I learned about Dirty Water

1. They have a small area for in-house dining. With 28 seats inside. There are no outside dining options. There are a couple of tables setup by the window where you can sit and watch people walking down Newbury Street. Great place for People Watching.
2. There is a TV where you can watch ESPN TV. If you want to change the channel just ask! On the wall is a picture of Sam Adams with a slice of pizza.
3. If you order online via their website, use the "Special Request" to ask for the Gluten Free Dough.
4. If your still hungry after eating at Dirty Water, Ben & Jerrys is about a block away.

Finding Dirty Water Dough Company

Dirty Water Dough Company is located at 222 Newbury Street in Boston Back Bay. (Easy address to remember!) Take the Green Line to Copley Square and head North to Newbury Street. (Walk away from the Boston Public Library and Copley Square.)

Take a left on Newbury Street and Dirty Water Dough will be about a block and a half down. (Just after the Exeter Street intersection)