2014 EPCOT Flower and Garden Festival: Taste of Marrakesh (Morocco Pavilion)

None of the items at Marrakesh are gluten free, but the Moroccan pancake is vegetarian. This makes me sad, as I love Moroccan food. Hello… any country that makes baklava is gastronomical heaven in my book. I love just about anything wrapped in puff pastry. Sigh. Perhaps one day I will attempt gluten free phyllo dough. Don't hold your breath though. Phyllo is no easy task.

Taste of Marrakesh Outdoor Kitchen at EPCOT Morocco Pavilion

Marrakesh Passport Page

Morocco's garden display includes giant mosaic spice balls, which are quite stunning.

Garden display at Marrakesh Outdoor Kitchen

Baghrir (Moroccan Pancake with Honey, Almonds, and Argan Oil)

I was curious what exactly is in in Baghrir, so I looked up a recipe here. Definitely not gluten free :) And while many of us have heard about argan oil's benefits for skin and hair, I hadn't heard much about the possible health benefits of consumption. I found this WSJ article that is a good primer on argan oil, if you are interested in learning more.

Tim the Test Kitchen ordered the Lamb Brewat roll. I would have been more envious of this light, flaky deliciousness if it hadn't been lamb. Actually, if they could just wrap the fruit and nuts in the phyllo and leave out the meat entirely, that would make me happy. Oh, right, sweetness and nuts in phyllo dough... that would be pretty close to baklava. Ha.

Lamb Brewat Roll with Prunes and Sesame (wrapped in a phyllo type dough!)

Lamb Brewat Roll with Prunes and Sesame, inside view
(they were out of plastic knives at the time, I had to saw through with a plastic fork- this is the best I could do :)

If you would like to make your own Brewat rolls at home, or just know more about their ingredients, you can find a recipe similar to this one on the Disney discussion boards, here.

For more photos and descriptions of the food available year round in EPCOT's Moroccan Pavilion, check out their website, here. Tip: Restaurant Marrakesh at Moroccan Pavilion features belly dancers at dinner. Another tip: they offer a 10% discount to Annual Passholders during the week for lunch.

A third tip: Spice Road Table is a brand new Mediterranean restaurant at the Morocco pavilion. It is an open-air restaurant on the World Showcase Lagoon, and features tapas-like dishes. Spice Road does not accept any discounts at this time, not even Tables in Wonderland.

Evolution Fast Food

I wanted to share some of the neat things we saw in San Diego. One of the cool places we visited was Evolution Fast Food.

Evolution is a 100% vegan restaurant, with a lot of raw options. They have a wonderful variety of healthy selections. Salads, wraps, smoothies, burgers, fries, shakes, and desserts. 

100% healthy, no artificial crap:

It's a cute place with a cheerful vibe, friendly staff, and great open air patio seating. Inside, there is a walk-up counter, where you can order from the large menu on the wall, or choose from their daily specials. Many items are made to order, but some of the wraps, salads, and desserts are pre-made and out front in deli cases, which is nice if you are in a hurry. They even have a drive through window:

Partial menu (click for larger image):

You can also view Evolution's entire menu on their website. There are several menu categories, so click each one to view them all.

I went with three other people, none of whom are vegan, but we were all able to find something on the menu. I believe everyone was full and happy!

We walked to Evolution from Kari's office. It was a beautiful day to walk in San Diego. We ordered from the walk up counter, and sat on the patio to enjoy our lunch. It didn't take long for our food to arrive, so although the food is made to order, it is still a viable option for those on a quick lunch break.

The patio was much larger than is shown in this photo. I didn't get a wide angle photo of the entire dining area- darn. The entire patio is about three times what you see in the photo, with beautiful plants and succulents everywhere. It is outdoors, but shaded.

Now for the important part: the food! I ordered a white bean wrap. Ed, Kari, and Joel all ordered burgers. Evolution offers several options for their burgers- your choice of a few Gardenburger style burgers, or a black bean burger they make in-house.

Of course, I had to take photos of everyone's food : )

Mushroom-swiss burger:

Sweet potato fries:

Ed and Joel each ordered salsa burgers:

My white bean wrap from the deli case:

Look! Tasha-safe ingredients! Woohoo! 

For drinks, I had a green smoothie, Ed had a chocolate milkshake, and Kari & Joel had Kombucha. 

And... raw vegan dessert!

Lots of variety at Evolution. I highly recommend stopping by if you are visiting the San Diego area. Check them out online: Evolution Fast Food, and they also have great reviews and photos on Yelp!

Dining out with food allergies

Restaurants have greatly improved in knowledge and accommodation of food allergies. Many restaurants now have gluten free menus. I always find this an encouraging sign- it means they are aware of gluten sensitivities, and likely conduct staff training regarding food sensitivities. This translates to other food sensitivities as well, so even if your sensitivity is not gluten, a restaurant with a gluten-free menu will likely understand your allergy to "x" and take the same precautions. Tip: even if dining in a restaurant with a gluten-free menu, be sure to discuss your allerg(ies) with your server, or the manager. Be sure they understand your specific needs, and make sure they understand issues of cross-contamination, etc.

The best option, if you need to be away from home for any length of time, is to bring a little cooler with some allergy-safe snacks. Fresh or dried fruit, veggie sticks, nuts, granola, water, etc. Or a big green smoothie in a glass! I use a mason jar, plastic lid, and a big fat glass straw.

Other options

Asian restaurants- steamed rice & steamed veggies. Depending on your allergies, you might also be able to use soy or other sauce, but be aware that soy sauce contains wheat AND soy. Also be aware of the oils used for stir-frying veggies- it could be soy, peanut, sesame, canola oil or a blend- any of which may be a problem for you, so always ask. I play it safe and get steamed rice and steamed veggies, no sauce, no oil. Be sure they use a freshly sterilized pan to prepare your meal (good restaurants already know this, but it never hurts to ask the server).

Salad bars- In my opinion, salad bars are not a good option- there is too high of a risk for cross-contamination. Customers pick up tongs from one item and use them for another item, food falls off tongs into another bin, etc. Be careful about salad bar items that come from a jar or can: artichokes, olives, water chestnuts, even beans. You can't be sure what they were packed in. You can ask the manager to check for you- I've found they are usually very accommodating about this. Don't even think about a salad dressing- there are waaaaayyyy too many ingredients in commercial salad dressings. Use oil & vinegar if you go the salad route. Ask what kind of oil if oils are a problem for you (it's usually olive oil but you never know). Salad bars are not impossible- I often use the one at Whole Foods- but be aware of the risks, and choose wisely based on your own sensitivities.

Juice and smoothie bars- The best options for juice and smoothie bars is those that make the juices FRESH, from whole, fresh ingredients. You can often find these types of juice bars in health food stores and Whole Foods. Be careful about chain stores, such as the smoothie stores you see in shopping malls. Those ingredients are often canned or frozen, and have added ingredients for color, sweetness, etc. It is not impossible to find a viable option at one of these places, but it takes a lot of time, label reading, and communication with the staff. If that is the type of smoothie bar near you, and you want that to be an option, I would recommend speaking with the manager at a time when they are not busy. Explain your food sensitivities and ask him to check the package ingredients, to see which might be an option for you. Also, ask about every ingredient that goes into the smoothie. Commercial smoothies are not only fruit. They often also add a thickening agent, and sugar. Some have an added protein (soy, whey, egg) that might be an ingredient you are trying to avoid. Ask specifically about these items. Often it does not occur to the staff that those items could be a problem. As with other restaurants, smoothie bars should also use a freshly sterilized blender carafe to prepare your item (again, this is usually not a problem). In my experience, I've found staff totally understand using sterilized utensils, but they rarely understand hidden ingredients.

Stay tuned for future posts on this topic.