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| One of the two entrances to the Turf Club Bar and Grill at Saratoga Springs Resort |
I've had quite a few people recommend Saratoga Springs' table service restaurant Turf Club Bar and Grill. Everyone I've received the recommendations from have told me how wonderful this restaurant is at accommodating special diets. For me, I've never been likely because I have felt it was off the beaten path, and I've also never stayed on a vacation at this resort. But, I really wanted to try something different on my way back from MCO airport, so I decided to check it out.
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| Open air patio seating is readily available |
One of the first things I noticed about this restaurant is its options for outdoor seating. Although I opted to stay indoors due to the heat, I thought this would be a perfect place to have a leisurely lunch or dinner on a cooler day. It has spectacular views of the lake and of Downtown Disney.
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| Indoor seating. Very club-like atmosphere. |
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| Lunch menu. I ordered the GF/DF modified "Crispy Chicken Breast Sandwich" |
After being seated inside, I was greeted by the chef, who went over the menu with me. He said there were a lot of options, and he was correct. I was pretty pleased that I had such a variety of entrees to choose from. Appetizer-wise, there wasn't really anything short of salad that was gluten free and dairy free. He did mention the buffalo chicken dip is gluten free, but contains butter (so those of you who are strictly GF can enjoy this). For entrees, all of the burgers were good. The chef said he could do a modified GF/DF version of the shrimp scampi pasta. The crispy chicken breast sandwich could actually be made with the crispy coating. (yes, I was sold on this one!). The Reuben sandwich was ok, as was the barbeque pork tenderloin sandwich. There were a few other options, but I sort of tuned them out once I heard the crispy chicken was safe! I ordered mine without the goat cheese or the rosemary focaccia. Instead it came on a Udi's roll (I still am obsessed with these. Thank you Udi's for making these!). I also got the french fries.
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| Crispy Chicken Breast Sandwich on a GF/DF roll and minus the cheese with fries |
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| Close up of the crispy chicken breast sandwich. Yum! |
I must say, this sandwich was to-die for! As you can see, it was quite large. I actually had to cut it in half to eat it. The GF/DF coating was actually very crispy, as well as being very tasty. My only slight suggestion was to add a little more salt to the breading, but otherwise, it did an excellent job of creating that crispy chicken sandwich taste and texture. I don't think I've actually had a sandwich like this since going GF/DF over 3 years ago (chicken tenders don't quite count). It was fantastic. The balsamic marinated onions and tomatoes were very good. I loved this. The arugula was a nice touch for the choice of greens, mixing well with the balsamic dressing. Believe me, I scarfed this down. The fries were good. Nothing spectacular, just plain old good french fries. Next time, I might try the homemade chips. I know the slaw they had was not mayonnaise based, and the server mentioned that it was a sweeter slaw. Not sure I'd do that, but it might be a good option, if you like slaw.
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| Mango sorbet with fresh fruit |
I also decided to get dessert. The sorbet flavor that day was mango. The chef said they would add some fresh fruit. I like the mango sorbet a lot. It's something different than the traditional raspberry, which I get a lot. Although there wasn't a lot of fruit accompanying the sorbet, it was all very fresh and very tasty.Overall, I was pretty impressed with this restaurant. They really did seem to have a lot of GF/DF options. I was especially impressed considering that my lunch was a walk-in, having not made an ADR. So, this is a great option regardless of advanced notice (but definitely make an ADR whenever possible). I didn't get to meet Chef Ron, who I've heard a lot about, but the other chef on duty was fabulous.Definitely a solid 9 out of 10 for excellent options and service.
**This dining experience took place in June 2012.
