Vodka notes

Yes, people on the celiac listservs claim that distilled liquors are gluten-free.

Yet, when I ask them if they've specifically tried the liquor in question, I hear chirping of crickets.

I tried Smirnoff when I was still having diet control issues. I had a reaction. Don't know if it was the Smirnoff, since I was informed that it is made from corn, but not willing to try again.

When I was at Picazzo's Restaurant in Scottsdale, I was looking over their gluten-free menu. I got to their drink section. They listed their gluten-free beer, ciders, and their martini list with Chopin vodka (a potato vodka). I went back to the regular menu, and their martini list said they're made with Sky or Smirnoff.

The owner of Picazzo's went over the gluten-free menu with a dietician from ASU. I don't know what this proves or disproves. I just thought it was interesting that even those that are striving for gluten-free foods and drinks don't use Smirnoff or other distilled spirits, but potato vodka.

It makes me feel a bit better in justifying the cost of buying potato vodkas.

And speaking of potato vodkas, when boyfriend and I were browsing AJ's, we were compelled to check out their liquor section. It's kinda nice that they have a resident expert who's only job is to answer liquor questions. And boyfriend noticed that the Teton Glacial Potato Vodka was on the shelf. He picked up a bottle, and was stunned at the $23 price tag - which is $5 less than he pays for it at BevMo.

Gluten hell

The hardest part of a vacation is maintaining the diligence about being gluten free.

The Hilton restaurants were great in helping me with my dietary restrictions. There was an AJ's market just down the street, and while they didn't have any flourless cakes currently available, the berries/chocolate/cream desert was nice.

I've come to accept the fact that group camping events and the dietary restrictions are very difficult to manage. I try not to be a major pain in the ass about things. Boyfriend is always quick to interject "she's allergic to wheat" while I grit my teeth and smile in agreement.

We stopped for lunch at a BBQ place. After the manager brought out the BBQ sauce to make sure I can eat it, I think it was the seasoning in the rice that did me in. Not a great start to a vacation.

Recovered pretty well, and enjoyed my days at the resort. But think it was something at a Mexican restaurant that did me in again. I try not to be a pain in the ass about asking what's in the red enchilda sauce, since most are okay anyway. But Friday things were not pleasant, and I was glad I had a long drive in a car by myself.

Friday night, things had leveled off a bit. Boyfriend and I hit the stores to get lettuce for sandwich wraps, gluten-free lunch meat, Potato Crisps, and I had my bag of Rice Chips that I had bought in Tucson. Fast food dinner was okay since I didn't eat anything - I had had a late lunch of salmon on my Almond nut crackers.

Saturday, us girls starting hitting the wine bottle and left it to the men folk to prepare our dinner. Mr. Matchmaker asked if garlic salt for the steak was okay. First they had built a roaring fire for lots of coals. Then we tossed the potatoes in, and after 45 minutes, it was time for the steaks. Mr. Matchmaker had taken over by this point, and I wasn't too worried.

But he's having a hard time keeping up with the steaks. The pile of red hot coals for the potatoes was too hot for the steaks, and he was afraid of overdoing the steaks. He asks for a can of beer to help cool the coals down a bit.

In my slightly intoxicated state, I thought he was going to lift the rack, pour the beer, and replace the grill rack. To my horror, he pours the beer on the steaks and along side them to cool the coals.

Boyfriend chimed in before I could find my voice "Don't pour anymore beer on that one steak. She can't have that beer on the steak, dumbass."

I apologized for the dumbass remark. People that don't have to live gluten free don't think about those things.

Then when it was time to get the steaks off the rack, he puts my steak on the bottom. Boyfriend chimed in again "Here's her plate, separate that steak so the juices from ours doen't get on hers."

It was quickly getting dark by this point. I ate a couple bites of steak, and quietly gave the rest to the dog. He was very happy to receive it. I was disappointed I had to give up such a tender and tasty steak. I instead ate baked potatoes, and beans to get my fill.

It was good the next day we were back to indoor plumbing.

The worst was that the next night I had horrible leg cramps. Something that I haven't had for many months. I think it was the repeated gluten exposures in such a short amount of time.

Best service ever

Part of the enjoyable stay at the Phoenix Hilton resort was the service. Yes, there were the door openers, bell hops, etc. But the service I'm raving about is a waitress.

Our first night there, we walked down to the "Point in Thyme" restaurant. Lots of dark wood panels. We decided since we were a bit underdressed we'd have our dinner at a table in the bar area.

We order drinks first. Italian margaritas for me.

Then we start going over the menu. The only appetizer I can have is a shrimp cocktail, so we decide to pass (one shrimp cocktail is pretty much like all the others). I am interested in the veal with a sherry sauce.

Waitress brings drinks, asks if there's questions. I ask if there's flour in the sherry sauce.

"This is our new menu, so I don't know. But I'll go ask."

I start looking for Plan B. Sure there's just steak, but it'll pretty much be like any other steak. The only other possibility is the rack of lamb.

She comes back, and said that the sherry sauce was reduced with flour. She then asked why I cared.

Boyfriend immediately chimed in "She can't have gluten."

Waitress immediately recognized what I was talking about and said that her father in law has the same problem. So I order the lamb with a side salad. Since I don't want the dressing bottles to be brought out to me, I just asked for oil and vinegar.

She rushes off to put our orders in (boyfriend also got lamb). She comes back a minute later - "You didn't want croutons on the salad, right?"

Oh, duh. I always forget that part. "Sorry, about that. No croutons on the salad."

She brings out the salad a moment later. She said that she had talked to the chef, and found out that the lamb was crusted with breadcrumbs. But the chef would make mine without breadcrumbs.

Now, we are both impressed. The menu said only that the lamb was herb crusted, nothing about breadcrumbs. And she caught it, and fixed the problem for me.

The lamb was wonderful - even without the breadcrumb topping. The carrots were a bit undercooked, but still edible.

We paid for dinner, and left a hefty tip. I even filled out a very positive comment card.

It was a great start to a very enjoyable trip to get away from it all (if only for a couple days).

Good things about my "vacation"

True, I needed a bit of a vacation from my vacation. But slogging through I-17 after an accident could do that to anyone. Here's some of the good things that happened on my vacation:

Boyfriend. Enough said. We talked a bit about the "holding pattern" of our relationship. He said that he's scared of his job standing and might be looking for a new job in six months. So he's scared to have me come out there, and have to up and leave again if he's working somewhere else. But he said that he thinks about it a lot, and wants to make sure he can support me if needed.

Hilton Tapatillo. Yes, I'm still mad at Hilton for the whole Fran's disaster. But it was an awsome resort. We had a suite, complete with comfy bathrobes, and big bath towels. There were six pools with complentary hot tubs scattered throughout the resort. One was hidden towards the back of the resort (where we were staying) and up about 30 flights of stairs. We had that pool area to ourselves all Thursday except for the pool guys. My only gripe was that there was a charge for using their internet access. But the waitress at one of the restaurants top notch (requires further details).

Picazzo's Pizza. Boyfriend and I met with my sister and brother in law at their Scottsdale location. With the 101 freeway, it didn't take us that long to get there. By in far, they offer the biggest gluten-free menu I've ever seen. They were out of the gluten-free beer, and their flatbread for the brie and garlic was terrible. But their gluten-free pizza only took five extra minutes to make, and was soooooooo good. To me, it didn't taste gluten-free. Boyfriend shared my gluten-free pizza, and sister and BIL shared their own medium. All very filling, and very tasty.

Parent time. Yes, I get along very well with my parents. They came down Thursday night, and we treated them to the Mexican restaurant. My parents like boyfriend a lot, and vice versa. They're going to HI on Thursday, so I'm glad I got to see them before they go out of town.

Good friends. Drove out to matchmakers on Friday. Early that evening, we drove out to Blue Ridge Reservoir. We stopped for fast food on the way, and still managed to find a realatively dry campsite and get tents setup before darkness set in. No rain while there, but plenty of beer drinking, and good company.

Minimal carnage. Got home finally Sunday night, about three hours later than I had hoped. Forget laundry, but it isn't necessary since work clothes weren't used on vacation. Only one small pile of dry cat food that Magnum puked up was visible, and the remotes were scattered on the floor. Not too bad considering the potential damage that could have been caused by the terrorists in fur coats.

Good things about my "vacation"

True, I needed a bit of a vacation from my vacation. But slogging through I-17 after an accident could do that to anyone. Here's some of the good things that happened on my vacation:

Boyfriend. Enough said. We talked a bit about the "holding pattern" of our relationship. He said that he's scared of his job standing and might be looking for a new job in six months. So he's scared to have me come out there, and have to up and leave again if he's working somewhere else. But he said that he thinks about it a lot, and wants to make sure he can support me if needed.

Hilton Tapatillo. Yes, I'm still mad at Hilton for the whole Fran's disaster. But it was an awsome resort. We had a suite, complete with comfy bathrobes, and big bath towels. There were six pools with complentary hot tubs scattered throughout the resort. One was hidden towards the back of the resort (where we were staying) and up about 30 flights of stairs. We had that pool area to ourselves all Thursday except for the pool guys. My only gripe was that there was a charge for using their internet access. But the waitress at one of the restaurants top notch (requires further details).

Picazzo's Pizza. Boyfriend and I met with my sister and brother in law at their Scottsdale location. With the 101 freeway, it didn't take us that long to get there. By in far, they offer the biggest gluten-free menu I've ever seen. They were out of the gluten-free beer, and their flatbread for the brie and garlic was terrible. But their gluten-free pizza only took five extra minutes to make, and was soooooooo good. To me, it didn't taste gluten-free. Boyfriend shared my gluten-free pizza, and sister and BIL shared their own medium. All very filling, and very tasty.

Parent time. Yes, I get along very well with my parents. They came down Thursday night, and we treated them to the Mexican restaurant. My parents like boyfriend a lot, and vice versa. They're going to HI on Thursday, so I'm glad I got to see them before they go out of town.

Good friends. Drove out to matchmakers on Friday. Early that evening, we drove out to Blue Ridge Reservoir. We stopped for fast food on the way, and still managed to find a realatively dry campsite and get tents setup before darkness set in. No rain while there, but plenty of beer drinking, and good company.

Minimal carnage. Got home finally Sunday night, about three hours later than I had hoped. Forget laundry, but it isn't necessary since work clothes weren't used on vacation. Only one small pile of dry cat food that Magnum puked up was visible, and the remotes were scattered on the floor. Not too bad considering the potential damage that could have been caused by the terrorists in fur coats.

Bad doctor?

I forgot how I even got his name as a referral to see this GI doctor. It might have been the first available in the office with several practicing GI doctors.

Anyway, this GI doctor hemmed and hawed for over a year before giving me a biopsy confirmation of celiac. And after the biopsy, he called me to tell me the news. He didn't want a follow-up visit - just go gluten-free and you'll get better.

So I haven't seen him in about 14 months.

But I have to go back to get my acid reflux under control. The dentist I saw Monday warned me to do something about it.

So I call the office, tell them I'm a patient, and need to see him for reflux.

"We can get you in tomorrow morning at 8:15."

"Uhh, sure."

Generally, the quicker you can get in to see a specialist for non-life threatening issues is a sign that maybe there's a reason why he isn't so busy.

Hopefully he can treat my reflux without too much of a strain on his abilities.

And I just got a call from his office to confirm the appointment. I politely reminded me that I haven't forgotten about the appointment in the last 90 minutes.