Bamboozled by Jackfruit

Before all this social distancing, I went out to a restaurant with a friend.  She was my boss at the bakery where I used to work, and we hadn't seen each other since I left the bakery to focus on my last semester in school.

The restaurant was one of those fancy, local, organic Mexican restaurants, with many of the taco names in Spanish. We both got the pick three tacos option, and blue corn tortillas. I got two meat tacos, and one vegan taco with jackfruit on it. I've never eaten jackfruit in my life. I usually have sour cream and cheese on my tacos, but none of the ones I picked had either.

The Al Pastor One
Pork shoulder marinated in pureed onion and Guajillo Pepper with grilled pineapple, onions and cilantro. (I got this one for the pineapple. It was my favorite - slightly spicy, but not too much.)
According to the Pioneer Woman, "Al Pastor" means "shepherd style." This pork taco takes inspiration from Lebanese immigrants to central Mexico. Read more here

The Mole One
Puebla Pollo (chicken) with radishes, sesame seeds, and cilantro. Contains nuts. (This wasn't spicy. It was kinda bland, and my least favorite. My friend thought "mole" might mean it had chocolate, but it didn't taste like it.)

The Jackfruit One
Sauteed BBQ jackfruit with mango salsa, chipotle date yogurt and cilantro. (This was super spicy. I avoided all the tacos on the menu with a flame icon next to it, but this was the hottest of the three I tried. Keep in mind I'm not used to spicy food. I think it's the chipotle that brings the heat. Speaking of Chipotle, I usually get chicken there because it's the least spicy, and skip the salsa.)

When my order arrived,  I could not tell which order was which. I was wishing I had photographed the menu, because after reading all the descriptions, they ran together in my brain. Lets see there's the pineapple meat one, the mole one and uh... they all look and taste like they have meat on them. That's odd. If one has mango and another has pineapple, wheres the jackfruit? I was expecting something sweet.

Later, I looked up jackfruit and turns out it has stringy flesh that vegans love to barbecue as a meat replacement. I could not tell the difference! Note that jackfruit has less protein than meat.

(If you couldn't tell yet, I listed the taco descriptions first to last in the order they are in the photo left to right.)

My friend got the the Carne Asada One: roast (grilled marinated flank steak, onion, cilantro, and cotija cheese [cow's milk hard cheese]), the Cauliflower One (veggie: roasted blackened cauliflower topped with avocado slices + red cabbage + guacamole salsa), and the Tinga One (spicy chipotle, crema and micro greens)


Local friends: Vivir Modern Mexican has reopened with limited hours and menu due to COVID-19 according to their Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/eatvivir/ May 15 2020.

Problems Only Gluten Free People Understand Continued

In case you missed it here's Part 1.

You are annoyed at hidden sources of gluten.

Why does soy sauce have wheat in it? Why do Campbell’s soups have wheat in them, and why do people put canned soup concentrate in casseroles?

Five Guys Burgers and Fries Restaurant Review

I’ve eaten at Five Guys multiple times, and in multiple different locations and I can confidently say the food is great, and so is the service. (Sadly, I have not had their milkshakes since they are only available at select locations.)

Basically, everything but the bun is gluten free.

Gluten-free Restaurant Pizza

I was minding my own business, browsing the internet, when a banner ad caught my attention. It announced that Pizza Hut is partnering with Udi's Gluten Free brand to make gluten-free pizzas in select locations. I actually clicked on the ad, which is something I wouldn't normally do. (Don't ask me how many times I have accidentally clicked on an ad!)


I couldn't find the exact banner ad again, but you get the idea. Basically, the fine print says if you order just cheese, or pepperoni and cheese pizza, it is certified gf, but if you want other toppings, they are from a shared kitchen so you are taking your life in your hands.

Anyways, I decided to try their pizza and compare it with the gluten-free pizza I have eaten at AJ's Heavenly Pizza. Read on for the review.

Find Me Gluten Free

Today what I'd like to share with you isn't a recipe but it still has to do with food.

Have you ever wanted to have a fast and easy way of finding gluten free restaurants in your area without playing a guessing game and Googling "Is [restaurant] gluten free?" Or "[Food place] gluten-free menu"? Some places have gluten free menus, but they don't make them easy to find on their website. Or they have a gf menu that is overpriced and not that great *cough* Garden Olive *backwards*. Enter Find Me Gluten Free (http://www.findmeglutenfree.com/)

(I snagged their logo from their home page)

The Outback Steakhouse: Restaurant Review

First of all, The Outback Steakhouse did not pay me to review their restaurant. Several days ago I went there of my own free will and curiosity.

I knew from looking it up online that The Outback has a gluten-free menu. If you want you can take a look at it here. At the restaurant, I requested and received the gluten-free menu without any hiccups. The menu has most of the items that are on the regular menu, with details about what is and is not gluten-free. Next to the salads, it advises, "ask for no croutons." The Outback does not offer gluten-free bread or buns, so if you want a burger, ask for no bun. The main dish I ordered was also on the regular menu, and by default came with Aussie fries. The gluten-free menu alerted me that Aussie fries are not gluten free. I am not sure if the fries themselves have gluten, or if the fries are fried in the same oil as battered-and-fried foods. Either way, I opted for a different side. When I ordered, the waitress asked, "Are you the gluten-free one?" I said yes, and she made some note on her paper. I suspect that cook took some precautions with my food. See if you can guess what I ordered from the picture: