Safe Travels in Ireland - Daly's House

Jason here. The second B&B we stayed in was Daly’s HouseB&B in the village of Doolin near the beautiful Cliffs of Moher. Indeed we could see some of the cliffs from our room window.

With such nice views, it was also pleasant in that I was able to have gluten free meals each morning. I opted for French toast with bacon and eggs each day. It was more than enough to fill me up until dinner, even after the 2 hour hike along the cliffs.

Bacon in Ireland tastes like thin cut and salted ham. Very different then American or Canadian bacon. It was a nice change of pace, but not something I’ll be looking for at home. Ham is something I tend to enjoy during the holidays, not an everyday sort of meat.

The French toast was made with brown bread, which Kayleigh and I both found delicious. We talked about brown bread in a previous post, so be sure to check that out in our Dunberg B&B Review.

Kayleigh here. Daly's house had such a charming atmosphere with it's homey decorations, well stoked living room fireplace, and Susan always ready to welcome you in from the cold with a hot Bailey's coffee. Doolin can be a cool and windy spot even in the warmest of seasons- it felt so good to have somewhere warm and inviting to recharge at before running off on your next adventure.

The location is just perfect, too. Right around the corner from the shopping/pub strip, a short but scenic walk to the Doolin Docks, and right down the street from the hiking trail to the Cliffs of Moher. We never had to touch our car until it was time to check out and head to Dublin!

Safe Travels in Ireland - Dunberg B&B

Jason here. I must confess I have never stayed in a B&B before our Ireland trip. B&Bs are far more popular then hotels in Ireland so we found ourselves booking a couple. I can start off by saying I loved our B&B experience, and hopefully will be booking more wherever our next adventure takes us. I found them to be cleaner, cheaper, better located, and larger than any hotel room I’ve booked in the past.

The first we stayed at was the Dunberg B&B in Cork. It’s run by Kay, who is extremely nice and well versed in celiac and gluten free foods.

As soon as we arrived Kay offered us some gluten free scones, tea or coffee. After such a long drive from Dublin, it was nice to just be able to relax. The scones were amazing. There were 2 with sultanas, and 2 plain. I particularly liked the sultana scones, which I ate with strawberry jelly. The black currents tasted very similar to raisins, and along with the strawberry jelly made the scones tasted very fruity. I think I ate 6 scones in the course of 2 and half days. When we left Kay even packed a couple up and let us take them with us for the car ride ahead.

It was also our first experience with a full Irish breakfast- bacon, sausages, black and white pudding, eggs, mushrooms, tomato, and beans, amongst other regional variations. The bacon was the usual Irish bacon, which tastes like thin cut and fried ham. I found it a bit saltier then American or Canadian bacon. The beans were in a sort of tomato based sauce, and everything was served piping hot.You should give it a try at least once during your stay!

In the morning, along with the full Irish breakfast we had, she made us some delicious Brown Bread. Brown bread reminded me of a less grainy wheat bread, and went excellent with butter. Kayleigh is even now searching for a recipe and I am sure will be trying to reproduce it hear at home.

Kayleigh here. Kay and her son really went out of their way to make sure we had a memorable stay in Cork. She covered everything from porridge to black and white puddings to chocolate fingers with our evening tea, without Jason ever needing to make a substitution or go without a part of the meal. She made sure we could find our way around the area, and very patiently and thoroughly answered our questions about gluten free dinner spots and what we might be able to find in other parts of Ireland. For this, I will always remember our stay at the Dunberg B&B, and cannot recommend it highly enough.

BlueSteele Cafe Review

Jason here. Kayleigh and I were recently town in Tacoma shopping around for a new car. Whenever we travel away from home we look for gluten free places to try that we might not have otherwise made the trip out for. This time Kayleigh found a recently opened café called BlueSteele Café.

Before I get into my order, let me say the service was fantastic and answered my reaffirmed that gluten free flatbread options were available. It’s a good feeling to look a menu and have the capability to order nearly everything on it.

To that end, I ordered the Chicken Bacon and Ranch (CBR) flatbread. I really wish there was a BlueSteele close buy, because this was freaking fantastic. I haven’t had any bacon and ranch items in a quite a while, which I am sure contributed to how delicious this tasted. Plenty of ranch, with crunchy bits of bacon and flatbread. I don’t eat flatbreads very often, so the comparison I was reminded of while eating my CBR was of a deliciously crunchy crusted pizza.

I also ordered a mocha with my meal, which is unusual as I rarely order coffee. I was impressed with the intricate design created from the cream on top, and it tasted delicious. However, it was easily eclipsed by the flatbread. While I really enjoyed my coffee, I’m not really a coffee connoisseur so I am curious about hearing some other opinions.

Kayleigh here. While the menu was somewhat short, I think it is important to note that this means every item is done well and made to order right behind the counter. Each section of the menu had a vegetarian option, to my delight- enough to please any palate! It was interesting to see a flatbread option with mozzarella and brown sugar, too- never seen one for a sweet tooth before! Looking at the specials menu, I ordered a white chocolate cherry almond concoction for my drink. It was absolutely delicious! Now, I need to figure out an excuse to be down in the area again, so I can try something else on the menu!