Raglan Road -- Lunch/Dinner -- Table Service -- Downtown Disney

*This dining experience took place in May 2014.Raglan Road, located in Downtown Disney (soon to be Disney Springs), has been one of my favorite gluten free and dairy free go-to places for a while now. It's my hands down favorite spot in Downtown Disney (with Cooke's of Dublin a close second!). The received the 2014 Best Restaurant in Orlando award and have also received the best gluten free restaurant award in the past as well. With it's offerings of gluten free (and dairy free) fish and chips, onion rings, and more, it's fair to say it's a great dining option at Disney.I recently attended a work conference at Disney and the conference was located near Downtown Disney, which meant I was there a lot. Every day for the 3 day conference, actually. I also visited Cooke's of Dublin during the conference and enjoyed the scallops and chips which were divine. Trust me, go visit them too!But back to Raglan Road. I stopped by for lunch with my friend Alexis from Gluten Free in Orlando. I can't say that we've been there together since the Lunch & Learn this past fall, and it was nice to go for a long lunch break and catch up with her.When we arrived, we both decided to order the Citrus Salmon Salad. It's naturally gluten free and dairy free on the menu, and a great light choice for a lunch (or dinner). The salad is served with fresh salmon, orange segments, almonds, and a citrus vinaigrette. I had it for the first time in December 2013, and I fell in love with it immediately.I found the salmon to be cooked perfectly again and the salad well dressed (key with a good salad!). I love the almonds and citrus segments in the salad too. So good! I think the presentation the first time was a little nicer but overall, it's still a gorgeous plate of food. And tasty as well as safe - the most important thing to me! Alexis also ordered dessert (there just really aren't great gluten free AND dairy free options there), and I have to say that I wish they'd make a dairy free version of her dessert. She got the strawberry and apple crumble with vanilla ice cream and fresh cream. It looked amazing! Head over to Gluten Free in Orlando to see the pictures and full review. I have to say, gluten free diners should definitely order this dessert.Overall, it was a great meal, as always. The staff are very knowledgeable and always ask if there are dietary needs before they even take any orders which is great. It's also nice to get a fair amount of variety in a restaurant, so you don't just always order the same thing (although I am partial to those fish and chips!).I give this a solid 8 out of 10 for great service, special diets offerings, and of course, fabulous company (that gets a 10 out of 10!).Have you been to Raglan Road? What are your favorite gluten free and dairy free dishes to order there?

Cooke's of Dublin -- Lunch/Dinner -- Quick Service -- Downtown Disney

*This dining review took place in May 2014.Ok, you guys, I have a problem. And it's name is Cooke's of Dublin. I have been to this quick service restaurant at Downtown Disney kind of a lot lately. Um, it's that good. As you know, I'm a sucker for great gluten free and dairy free fried foods, and this place fits the bill more than nicely. What can I say? I like great places like this that give me variety. On this particular visit, I stopped by on my lunch break during a work conference. The good news is my conference was at a hotel in Downtown Disney. That bad news...I wanted to eat at Cooke's of Dublin for every lunch (ok, maybe that's not bad news, but I wanted to go here a lot). On a side note, go to Downtown Disney in business attire and see the funny side looks you get from Disney guests. It's rather hilarious. I looked a wee bit out of place. But I digress.Back to the awesomeness that is Cooke's of Dublin. As you can see from my previous post, the offerings available at Cooke's of Dublin fried gluten free & dairy free is pretty vast. Where else can you get fried scallops, shrimp, fish, chips, chicken tenders, and onion rings? (OK, with the exception of chicken tenders & scallops, you can get these all next door at Raglan Road too!)On my previous visit, I got the shrimp & chips which is my favorite so far at Cooke's of Dublin. This time, I really wanted to try the scallops. I had them at Raglan Road over the holidays and while expensive, they were divine and also got me fully addicted to the best condiment there - sweet chili jam. Order this when you go. You'll thank me for it.The scallops & chips is a reasonable $12.95 (or maybe it was $13.95 with an upcharge. I was too excited to pay attention). The scallops are only available at Raglan Road as an appetizer and are $15, so this was a bargain in my opinion. Not only did you get the same condiments as you get at Raglan Road but you also get chips. Win and win. The scallops were really well cooked - not rubbery at all. The chips were also well cooked. I just love that they cook all the fried items to order. Nothing's getting soggy and your food comes out piping hot. The way fried food should be! Again, my only slight complaint is a common theme of undersalting, but I think salting is problem subjective here. I also think it's a bit of an art (see my dinner review of Boatwright's for perfectly salted crawfish bites). I always add a bit of salt to mine as soon as I get an order at Cooke's of Dublin. My meal came with sweet chili jam and a lime cilantro mayonnaise. When I had it at Raglan Road, I didn't eat the mayonnaise because I didn't know the ingredients. This time I asked, and they said it was just mayo no dairy ingredients like sour cream or milk. Yay! You know I love my condiments. I admit, I didn't love the lime cilantro mayonnaise. It just wasn't my favorite. It was good but not great. Now that jam. Oh the sweet chili jam. That stuff is amazing. Next time I may just ask for two containers of it instead of the mayo.Overall, I was very pleased with my choice of lunch that day. The scallops are a fabulous option, and I have to say, between the shrimp & scallops is a tough choice. I'll probably order these two exclusively at Cooke's of Dublin when I visit. I think the scallops really are a great money saving option at Cooke's of Dublin versus Raglan Road.I'm taking a bit of a Downtown Disney break during the Disney Springs construction this summer, but if I find myself there, this will likely be my lunch spot of choice! I give this a solid 8 out of 10 for great food and special diets accommodation...and sweet chili jam! Have you been to Cooke's of Dublin? What's your favorite fried thing to order there GF/DF?