Hawaiian Interlude, cont’d

As promised, I’m back to share my story of one dream of a waiter, who treated me to an extraordinary dining experience.

He even gave me a special recipe!

On this particular evening, we enjoyed a lovely meal at the hotels’ outdoor café – complete with said waiter, who went well beyond the call of duty.

The previous night, we had explained to him our disappointment earlier in the week – a dinner that had been set up with the hotel for a special occasion.

Despite the advance notice, the meal had not only been disappointing, but confusing.

(It was unclear whether the wait staff and the kitchen even knew about my dietary restrictions).

I’ve long been aware of a certain “disconnect”, as I call it, among restaurant staff – meaning that whatever special instructions you give to your waiter might not get all the way to the chef.

This is why you always need to ask, and ask again, whether your food was properly prepared and is indeed gluten-free.

The process can be frustrating and tiresome to say the least.

So, imagine my delight when this particular waiter informed me that the hotel takes food allergies very seriously.

When dessert arrived with a non gluten-free cookie sticking out from the sorbet at a jaunty angle –  never a good sign –  he whisked it away and personally prepared a fresh serving.

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Hawaiian Interlude

As I sit here, writing these words, I realize that one week ago today, I was still on the island of Lanai, in Hawaii.

Around this time, I was likely sitting by the pool, basking in the sun, while buried in a good book.

At the time, I couldn’t imagine a better way to welcome in the New Year, and that feeling hasn’t changed!

The island of Lanai is one of the lesser known of the Hawaiian Islands – and it is certainly among the smallest.

The driver, who shuttled us from the airport to our hotel, described it this way:

“There are only three main roads, that are paved.” he said, “This one, that one, and the one over there.”

He had us laughing all the way to the hotel.

Since we were traveling, I once again resorted to my very own personal guidebook on how to travel in style – gluten-free.

You can read all about it in my previous post, if you like, or keep reading for a brief re-cap of my experience in Hawaii.

As always, I tossed a bag of cereal in my carry-on, so I knew I was good for my morning meal.

I like Udi’s Gluten-Free Granolas, preferring the original flavor sweetened only with honey.

That way, I can add my own extras like pumpkin seeds and raisins.

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