I’ll be honest – work conferences are never that much fun. Conference all day, and then a full day’s worth of work afterwards makes for a tired Brian. Hence the double day post today. Hence the lack of “travel-related” posts as I promised. As I sit here in DTW (Detriot, for those of you that don’t know talk in airport codes), I hope to fix that. And in the air later. And in LAX after that. Gotta love gluten-free travels!Here’s my past two days:
May 22
Breakfast: Fully Loaded Scrambled Eggs with Cheddar Cheese, Sautéed Mushrooms, Diced Tomatoes and Chives with Virginia Ham and Chicken Apple Sausage, Gluten Free Muffin.
Eggs were…hotel eggs. You could tell that they were a mix, and weren’t that good. Knowing it would be in a hotel for breakfast, I was expecting this, but I forgot how much I hated hotel eggs. As you will notice, no muffin. The “bread” for each meal was lacking more times than not. Not that I was missing it – I was talking with other people at the table. Because that was the point of the meals. Not scrutinizing every bit of the meal. But, I do that anyway. Obviously.
Lunch: Iceberg Wedge Salad with Bleu Cheese Dressing, Penne Pasta With Grilled Chicken Tossed With Sliced Portobello Mushrooms, Sweet Peas and Sun Dried Tomatoes and Olive Oil with Gluten Free Pasta, Gluten Free Bread
Does the picture above look like the description? Nope, not to me either. When I was emailing the hotel, I had asked for another dressing than Bleu Cheese, namely because they were going to have the salad pre-set on the table prior to everyone sitting down (cross-contaminiation risk), and I’m not a fan of bleu cheese dressing. Salad didn’t come out.
The grilled chicken didn’t come out either. I’m assuming that it might be because the chef didn’t want to risk me getting sick – which I appreciate. However, I was about 3/4 of the way through the meal when everyone else at the table started getting their entrée. As they were eating, I had a strong fear that they gave me a veggie plate rather than a gluten-free plate. And honestly, the pasta tasted like real, gluten-filled, normal pasta. I figured it was too late to do anything, and really couldn’t find/converse well with the staff, so I finished what was remaining in my plate and ran to the bathroom. I settled in for a fun afternoon and started crafting an email to send to the hotel in case something happened. Still wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt, y’know? So I sat there, waiting. And waiting. And waiting. I sat there so long my legs fell asleep. And nothing happened. I waited almost twice as long as my “normal” reaction time (20 minutes), and I was still in the clear. Bewildered, I stood up, fell against the side of the stall (legs were asleep, remember?), tried to walk back o the next conference session. Still have email the hotel to figure out which pasta that was – it was that good.
May 23
Breakfast: Fruit and Berry Plate, Plated Omelet with Pepper jack Cheese and Sausage with Chipotle Salsa served with Crispy Bacon and Chicken Apple Sausage, Gluten Free Muffin.
Notice that this plate doesn’t match the description, at all. I think it was because they either a.) weren’t expecting me, or b.) gave all of the gluten-free plates away and didn’t have a plate for me. My waiter said that the chef was working on my plate, so I think they rushed this plate together. And by rushed, I mean I waited 20 minutes. It was…ok. Eggs were hotel eggs, again. Glad this is the last breakfast. Also, the spinach was bland and not edible. At least the asparagus was cooked properly.
No lunch from the conference today, as it ended just before lunchtime. For where I ate lunch today, as well as dinners this week, more articles coming soon!
