Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Gluten Free Road Trip: Mex in the City

The weather on Father's Day was too nice to pass up a trip down the shore, so we hopped in the trusty minivan and onto the Atlantic City Expressway after breakfast - destination Ocean City. We lucked out with a sweet parking spot two blocks from the northern end of the Boardwalk.

Pure Tacos owner Ted Schroeder
Strolling past the vendors hawking World Cup T-shirts and hermit crabs with shells decorated with the likes of SpongeBob Squarepants (Whose job is it to paint those? Not it!), we reached Pure Tacos. The eatery opened in May with a simple menu - nachos and tacos, all gluten free. We were all in the mood for sausage, apparently, since we ordered a plate of three chorizo soft tacos and several orders of chorizo nachos topped with zesty citrus guacamole and tomato-chipotle salsa. There's no seating at Pure Tacos, so try to find a nearby bench if you're not lounging on the beach or don't want to walk and eat. Whatever you do, grab a few napkins.

Inside the Bashful Banana Cafe
We wanted to finish off our lunch with something sweet before heading onto the beach, so we circled back to the healthy-oriented Bashful Banana Cafe, home of the famous Banana Whip. The Whip is a smooth custard-like dessert made solely with bananas. Toppings like chocolate chips, fresh fruit and fudge sauce can be added. The restaurant, open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, has gluten-free breads, muffins and other safe menu items.

Sand and shells at last! We dragged our chairs, towels and other paraphernalia onto the beach and set up shop close to the water, where we spent several hours relaxing.

After getting some sun, we headed to Gillian's Wonderland Pier and chaperoned the boys as they went on the rides. The amusement park has lots of traditional attractions, from the Ferris wheel to the log flume to the Tilt-A-Whirl, all family friendly.

We backtracked a bit before heading home, stopping at China Sea of Absecon for dinner. Ordering from an extensive gluten-free menu, we ate family-style, sharing several chicken dishes, pork fried rice and an order of Ho Fun noodles.
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1 comment:

  1. My husband was just diagnosed in November, but thanks to your website, we've been finding more and more places to accommodate his needs. I want to especially thank you for the info on Ocean City. Two weeks ago, we spent the week in Brigantine with our two girls. Although we were lucky to have PF Changs and Cuba Libre as gluten free options, we wanted to spend the day on a boardwalk with rides and games. Pure Taco and Bashful Banana were excellent suggestions for lunch and dessert. Although we live Princeton,I suspect that we'll be monthly visitors to Ocean City through the Fall. Thanks again!

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