Cape May Cafe -- Dinner -- Table Service -- Beach Club

*This dining experience took place in December 2016.Cape May Cafe, located at Disney's Beach Club Resort, is a table service seafood buffet that has been a long-time favorite in my family. As a special diets diner, navigating a buffet can seem pretty scary, but thankfully, Cape May Cafe is not only very gluten free (and even dairy free) friendly naturally, but the chefs there will prepare you food from the kitchen upon request to avoid cross-contamination.Cape May serves both breakfast and dinner, but for me, the dinner is the best of the two -- if you're a seafood lover. Breakfast is also a character meal, while dinner is not.Before this month, it had been a few years since I'd had dinner at Cape May Cafe. A few weeks ago, I had dinner there with my friend Ron, and we had such an amazing meal. So, I didn't argue when my family decided they want to go there too for our early Christmas celebration meal.On my previous visit, I got the Cape May Salad, prepared in the kitchen for me, and on this visit, I knew I wanted it again. The flavors are so good, and I adore the citrus dressing and candied walnuts in it.I also got a repeat of the peel and eat shrimp and cocktail sauce, along with their olive medley which was extra garlicky and delicious on this visit. I noticed that the salads on the salad bar (potato salad, antipasto salad, etc.) had changed from the previous week when we went. The ones on this visit were much more gluten free and dairy free friendly.On the previous visit, I avoided dairy completely but since I've been reintroducing it a bit, I opted to try the paella this time, which contains a bit of butter. Hands down, it was one of the best things I ate that night. The seafood in it was fresh and the flavors were incredible.The salmon was lackluster and dry, so I'd probably skip it next time.Of course, you can't go wrong with the steamed crab legs (no need to add drawn butter to these -- they are super sweet on their own), steamed clams, and steamed potatoes. I also tried the carved beef again, which was good, though a bit overdone. To be fair, I asked for a more well-done piece, so next time I might see if I could have one more on the medium side.The thing I was looking most forward were the steamed mussels with garlic and chorizo. Ron and I were both blown away by these on our visit, and I couldn't wait to get them again. Sadly, when the chef made them they were overcooked and the flavors weren't that balanced. I missed that big punch of garlic and flavor that we got on the last visit. They were still good, but not as incredible as the first time we went.For dessert, the chef noted there were two gluten free desserts on the buffet -- Flan and chocolate mousse cups. They both contain dairy.I did try the chocolate mousse cups, and they were super delicious. I also liked the raspberry sauce on top of them.The chef also brought me two Erin McKenna's Bakery NYC brownie cupcakes and Enjoy Life Foods Snickerdoodle cookies. These are a nice option if you're looking for more special diets options beyond gluten.Overall, I really enjoyed my meal at Cape May Cafe. I still think the buffet is outstanding for options and flavors, and it continues to be a huge favorite in my family.Have you been to Cape May Cafe? What did you think of the buffet options?