Dairy Free Guide to One Night in Cincinnati, Ohio

You will soon learn that I convince my boyfriend to take weekend road trips with me throughout the Midwest.  In this case, we ended up in Cincinnati.  We wanted to see a rapper at a concert and the nearest concert was Ohio.  The concert we went to was The Weeknd.  We bought our tickets and we went on our way.  We also had time to stop at the Cincinnati Zoo that I went to as a child.  We were in Cincinnati a short time but long enough to find some dairy free food.

Day One: We drove to Cincinnati.  After a few hours we checked into our hotel.  We had to get a quick dinner before the concert.  We stopped at Wendy’s for some fast food.  I ordered chicken nuggets and french fries, they are surprisingly dairy free.  We ate on the drive to the concert.  The concert was at the US Bank Arena.  The wait for the concert provided beautiful views of downtown Cincinnati.  The view almost convinced us to stay another night in Cincinnati.  The concert was good and fun.  The Weeknd was amazing in concert.  He put on a great show.  It was completely worth the drive.

Day Two: In the morning we checked out of our hotel and went to lunch at Chuy’s.  This is my favorite Tex-Mex restaurant.  Every time I eat here the staff is very helpful and kind towards my food preference.  The chips are salted, very thin and crisp (extra tasty).  I always order a burrito with rice, beans and chicken with the tomatillo sauce.  (I always make sure there’s no sour cream in addition to the normal no dairy)  They’re chicken is amazing is juicy pull apart chicken.  The burritos are giant and I typically have some to take home and eat later.  I am so glad they have locations in Texas too.  It is a great dairy free option.  Afterwards, we went to the Cincinnati Zoo.  I remember as a child going to the Cincinnati Zoo, I loved it.  Going back to the zoo was so surreal.  I didn’t remember it as clearly as I thought as a kid.  In fact being there was better than I remembered.  I had a blast!!  I got to see a sloth in a tree, it was the closest I’ve ever gotten to a sloth.  More importantly, I got to feed a giraffe, it was absolutely surreal.  The best few dollars I spent.  I recommend going to this zoo, it’s one of my favorites.  After coming down from cloud nine, we headed back home.

Day one

Drive to Cincinnati, Ohio

Check into hotel

Dinner at Wendy’s

Concert

Day two

Check out of hotel

Lunch at Chuy’s

Cincinnati Zoo

Drive home

We stayed at the Cincinnati Marriott North in West Chester, Ohio.  It was a nice hotel, that was in close proximity to downtown Cincinnati.  I recommend staying here if you are in the Cincinnati area.  It was a quick trip to Cincinnati but it was amazing.  I enjoyed this quick trip.  I was able to eat some great dairy free food, see a great concert and have a good time at a great zoo.  It was great Cincinnati!

Thank you for visiting and reading!  Don’t forget to follow me and comment on this post!  Additionally you can follow my Instagram account @smilewithoutcheese  New posts every Monday!

Dairy Free Guide to a Weekend in Dallas, TX

My favorite show is Fixer Upper on HGTV.  Since watching the show, I have been dying to go to Texas.  As excited as I was to go to Texas, this trip was purely business.  My boyfriend and I were in the process of relocating to a different state.  So we were there for my boyfriend’s job interview and to look for a place to live.  So we didn’t do any sight seeing, we strictly ate and looked at many different places.  At first, I was very wary about going to the south, being dairy free.  The south has a reputation for not being dairy free friendly.  However, I found some great dairy free friendly restaurants in Dallas.  Below I will discuss each place I ate at and at the very bottom I will include a weekend itinerary.

• 

  

  Pizza Lounge: Two words: vegan pizza!!  I have never been to a restaurant with a full vegan pizza menu.  I ordered the vegan classic flip.  It was a vegan pizza with daiya cheese and pepperoni made of tofu.  It was the best dairy free and vegan pizza I’ve ever eaten.  They have pizza for both vegans and non vegans.  I highly recommend eating here.

• Sundown at Granada  I ate a wonderful vegan breakfast.  I ordered the big bend 2.0, it was a vegan Benedict.  It came with potatoes too.  It was a very good and filling.  The location was very unique and interesting.  Very dairy free friendly, I suggest dining here.
• True Food Kitchen I was very impressed by this restaurant.  They don’t serve soda and everything seems to be healthy.  To drink I had a kale and coconut smoothie, it tasted pretty good.  I ordered the Teriyaki Quinoa bowl and added tofu.  This was amazing!! So good and so filling.  Again another great dairy free meal.  The location was great and the food was better.
• RJ Mexican Cuisine Yum, yum, and yum!!  The restaurant was located in the downtown area.  I ordered the chicken fajitas, it came with rice and black beans.  It was dairy free and delicious.  The margaritas are strong and the food is great.  This is a great downtown restaurant.  For a great Mexican meal, stop here.
• Company Cafe A completely gluten free restaurant with vegan options.  I ended up ordering the veggie RX scramble with a side of vegan hash browns.  It was really good scrambled eggs with black beans and salsa.  Instead of having the toast I had fresh fruit instead.  The fruit was strawberries, blueberries, pineapple and green apples.  The waitress insured that the meal would be made without dairy.  It was a great breakfast, so good it kept me full until dinner.  I would suggest eating here, it was good and packed.  Many people were waiting to eat there so you know it’s good.
• The Porch: For the life of me, I almost couldn’t remember the name of this restaurant.  We were taken out to dinner by a friend, we went to a restaurant they recommended.  There was a lot of southern food on the menu, luckily there was a healthier dairy free option.  I ate a vegetable stir fry, I asked them to make it without the cheese.  It was pretty good, it had almonds in there that were so sweet and good.  I couldn’t help but pick them out and eat them.
• Grayson SocialWe ordered our breakfast for delivery and they delivered it to our hotel room.  I ate a fruit plate.  It came with melons, pineapples, blueberries and raspberries.  I wasn’t very hungry but it was good fruit.  It was quick and convenient.
• Spiral diner and bakery I am so disappointed, I really wanted to eat here.  Unfortunately, they are closed on Mondays and I tried to go on a Monday.  I will be back and I will eat here!  I can’t wait!!
• Chuy’s: This is my favorite Tex-Mex restaurant.  Every time I eat here the staff is very helpful and kind towards my food preference.  The chips are salted, very thin and crisp (extra tasty).  I always order a burrito with rice, beans and chicken with the tomatillo sauce.  (I always make sure there’s no sour cream in addition to the normal no dairy)  They’re chicken is amazing is juicy pull apart chicken.  The burritos are giant and I typically have some to take home and eat later.  I am so glad they have locations in Texas too.  It is a great dairy free option.

 

Day one

Flight to Dallas

Check into hotel Hilton Garden Inn Downtown Dallas

Late dinner at Pizza Lounge 

Day two

Breakfast reservation at Sundown at Granada 

Lunch reservation at True Food Kitchen 

Dinner reservation at RJ Mexican Cuisine 

 

Day three

Breakfast at Company Cafe 

Dinner at The Porch

 

Day four

Breakfast delivery from Grayson Social 

Check out of hotel at noon

Lunch at Spiral diner and bakery (closed on Mondays!)

Lunch at Chuy’s

Fly home

We stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn Downtown Dallas.  It was very nice and had a convenient location to the city center.  We had a beautiful view of Downtown.  There was no complementary breakfast but the pool was spectacular.  The pool over looks the city and is a perfect way to spend a hot day.  They were very accommodating, I recommend staying here if you are in downtown Dallas.

I enjoyed my trip to Dallas.  I had a great food weekend in Dallas.  I’m glad that there are more dairy free options than I thought.  I am looking forward to further finding more dairy free finds.  Also I am looking forward to doing more exploring of Dallas.  Thank you for visiting and reading!  Don’t forget to follow me and comment on this post!  Additionally you can follow my Instagram account @smilewithoutcheese  New posts every Monday!

Dairy Free Guide to a Weekend in Washington, D.C.

In case you couldn’t already tell, I love Washington, D.C. a lot.  I go once or twice a year.  On this particular weekend, my family and I flew out to D.C. for my brother’s college graduation.  My brother graduated from American University.  So this weekend was full of graduation and family fun.  We unfortunately, didn’t get to do much walking out at monuments nothing like my A Week in Washington D.C. blog post.  We did however get to eat some great dairy free food.  Below I break down my weekend itinerary for the trip.

• Day one
  • Fly to D.C., and pick up rented car at the airport.  
  • Check in at hotel American Inn Bethesda, Maryland.  But the room was small but, it served it’s purpose.  We did have parking and breakfast included, which is hard to come by in the D.C. area.  Normally when I go to D.C. we stay in Bethesda, Maryland or Rockville, Maryland.  We rented a car so we were able to get from place to place since we were traveling with a larger group.  

• Day two
  • Breakfast at hotel.  I ate toast with peanut butter, strawberries and blueberries with orange juice.  It was yummy and dairy free.
  • 

    

    Brunch at Wagshal’s on New Mexico.  I was very excited to eat here because of the bottomless mimosas and the vegan item on the menu.  I saw they had listed a vegan ramen dish.  Regrettably, they were out of the vegan ramen, so I settled on the Wagshal’s breakfast.  The meal come with 2 scrambled eggs, potatoes, English muffin and bacon.  It was really good!  I enjoyed it, it was a great brunch option and dairy free.  The restaurant was conveniently located close to American University so we were able to head over to the graduation ceremony quickly.  

  • Graduation at American University
  • Sight see in Georgetown.  We drove through a little of Georgetown.  
  • Dinner reservations at Paolo’s Ristorante in Georgetown.  I enjoyed this restaurant.  None of us have eaten here before.  I believe the bread was dairy free.  I ordered the vegan spaghetti, it was really good and completely dairy free.  I am happy to have found this restaurant.  I recommend eating here in Georgetown.  
  • Drove in downtown D.C.  Saw some sights like the White House, National Monument and the Capital Building.
  • Late night drinks at Guapo’s Restaurant, we stopped here from some chips and margaritas.  All very good and tasty.

• Day three
  • Lunch at Hot N Juicy Crawfish If you enjoy Cajun or seafood stop here and don’t have any food allergies or preferences.  I learned that nothing in the restaurant is not dairy free friendly or kosher friendly.  They don’t take reservations, you have to go and wait, my family waited close to an hour to sit and eat.  The host was kind enough to allow me to bring in outside food into the restaurant.  I ate at Nado’s Peri-Peri Chicken, it was right by Hot N Juicy Crawfish.  The cashier was very helpful by giving me the allergen menu.  I was able to depict was was dairy free.  I ate a plain chicken breast, a portobello mushroom and french fries.  It was quite good.  I’m glad I was able to eat a dairy free lunch.  
  • Eat at Wow Bao at airport.  I ate the teriyaki chicken bowl with rice.  It was dairy free and ok tasting.  It was the best I could do for dairy free food at the airport.
  • Fly home.  

Another great time in Washington D.C.  We didn’t do too much sightseeing but, I enjoyed spending time with family and seeing my brother for the weekend.  If you are reading this, congratulations and I am so proud of you.  Thank you for all your support with me being dairy free.  Readers, I hope this helps you have a great weekend in Washington D.C.  It is possible to eat dairy free in D.C.

Thank you for visiting and reading!  Don’t forget to follow me and comment on this post!  Additionally you can follow my Instagram account @smilewithoutcheese  New posts every Monday!

 

Best Illinois Hikes

I have lived in Illinois my entire life.  I am proud and happy to have lived here.  Illinois offers many different hiking experiences.  I have enjoyed exploring Illinois and seeing what it has to offer.  If you didn’t know I love hiking, I enjoy being outdoors and exploring nature.  Hiking is a unique form of exercise because you are able to keep moving while visually taking in beautiful scenery.  Below I will list my favorite Illinois hikes.

1. Starved Rock State Park in Oglesby, IL.  
   

   
   

   

   First, Starved Rock State Park is and always will be my favorite hiking spot in Illinois.  To be fair this was my first exposure to hiking, my family used to go on vacation here almost every summer.  As a kid I loved going here, we would hike a short trail in the morning, eat at the lodge and swim all afternoon and night.  Fast forward, I went to college nearby and still go a few times each year now.  It is most convenient for us to take a day trip to Starved Rock.  I still enjoy going and exploring different trails.  At my most recent visit we ate at the Back Door Lounge, see menu.   It is convenient to get to from the visitor center or the trails.  For lunch, I ate a 3-grain veggie burger and potato chips (both dairy free!).  I was happy to see they could accommodate people who are dairy free, vegetarian and vegan.  After eating we hopped back onto the trail.  We have hiked many different trails, honestly when we go we choose a different trail or direction.  I don’t have a favorite just love to see everything.  There’s hiking trails for different abilities, lengths and different views.  I would highly recommend hiking here, it is a good but different experience each time you go.  You cannot hike all the trails in one day (unless you are crazy), I would recommend spending more than 2 days here if you plan to hike.

2. Matthiessan State Park in Oglesby, IL. 
   

   

   Matthiessan State Park is down the road from Starved Rock State Park.  I really enjoyed hiking here too!  It’s a lot smaller than Starved Rock but it is just as beautiful.  You can easily hike majority of the trails in one day.  I had a great experience here too; I would recommend hiking here, another great place to see.

3. Waterfall Glen Forest Preserve in Lemont, IL.  
   

   

   This is a local suburban find.  It’s a nice path for walking, hiking or biking.  The Forest Preserve surrounds the Argonne National Laboratory.  The path is surrounded by trees, and there’s a waterfall on the trail.  If you find yourself nearby, stop for a a little.  You can easily do this in one day.  It is a pretty place to see in the Chicago suburbs.

4. Rock Cut State Park in Loves Park, IL.  
   

   

   My favorite part about hiking here was that we rented a paddle boat.  We were able to explore the water by paddle boat.  The trails were ok, not my favorite but if you are nearby you can stop.  You can easily do this in one day.

5. The Morton Arboretum in Lisle, IL. This is a local suburban find.  It’s a nice path for walking, or hiking with family or children.  You can view beautiful trees and walk along wood chip paths.  If you find yourself nearby, stop for a a little.  You can easily do this in one day.  It is a pretty place to see in the Chicago suburbs.
6. Shawnee National Forest in Herod, IL.  I haven’t been here yet but I plan to go in the future.  I have seen beautiful pictures and wonderful things about Shawnee National Forest.

These are my favorite Illinois hikes that I have done( in ranking order my favorite being number one and least favorite being number 5).  I am happy that living in Illinois allows me to get outside and explore my surroundings.  If you find yourself in Illinois you could hike or walk at any of these places.

Thank you for visiting and reading!  Don’t forget to follow me and comment on this post!  Additionally you can follow my Instagram account @smilewithoutcheese

A Week in Washington, D.C.

I have a fascination with Washington D.C.  I can’t put my finger on why exactly.  Is it the history, beautify, East coast vibe or that my brother moved to D.C. for college.  I have been to D.C. a lot, once for an 8th grade trip and almost every summer when my brother was in college.  This travel post will be a little different than my other travel posts.  The week I traveled to Washington D.C., was a while ago when I was still eating dairy and still getting sick.  I tried my best on this trip to avoid eating dairy but, I wasn’t smart enough (I didn’t yet develop my strategy on how to eat out at restaurants, see Tips and Tricks for Eating at Restaurants with a Food Allergy or Preference blog post) and a big enough advocate for myself.  I am going to write about my experiences as best as I can remember and evaluate if it is dairy free friendly.  I remember most items I ordered at the restaurants but not all.

Day One

• Fly into D.C.
• Check into the hotel
• Dinner reservations at Ruth Chris’ Steak House Arlington.   This was my first experience at Ruth Chris’ Steak House, it did not disappoint.  The restaurant called me to confirm my reservation and make me aware of the dress code.  I was blown away with my experience eating at this restaurant.  The service was excellent.  The restaurant is overlooking JFK airport and D.C.  I ordered a petite filet mignon without butter and shoestring sides (dairy free of course).  This is a very upscale, fancy and expensive restaurant but if you are looking for a really well prepared steak and a giant pile of french fries, I recommend eating here.  It is an amazing view and a treat if you are in Arlington, VA.

Day Two

• Brunch at Medium Rare in Cleveland Park.  The place was packed with a long wait.  This restaurant was very tasty I ate the steak frites.  It came with bottomless mimosas.  The brunch was very filling with a lot of food.  They have multiple locations in the D.C. area check it out, especially if you have never had brunch before.  
• Visit National Zoological Park.  I love stopping here.  They have a panda exhibit, it is really adorable watching the pandas sleep and eat.  Stop by if you can!
• Late lunch at  Hot N Juicy Crawfish If you enjoy cajun or seafood stop here and don’t have any food allergies or preferences.  I ate the fried shrimp and french fries (I found out later, nothing in the restaurant is not dairy free friendly, see Dairy Free Guide to a Weekend in D.C.).  They don’t take reservations, you have to go and wait.
• Late dinner at Chiptole. I ordered 2 soft shell tacos with brown rice, black beans and chicken, after I add a bag of chips.  It is very plain but very flavorful.

Day Three

• Lunch reservations at Founding Farmers in downtown D.C..  You need reservations to eat here.  This is a farm to table restaurant.  I love stopping here.  They have a meatless section and I believe they gave me a menu with items that do not contain dairy.  I couldn’t tell you what I ordered.  This is a great downtown lunch spot.
• 

  

  See the Washington Monument and stop by the Cherry Blossom Festival.  Both iconic things to see in D.C.  I am very happy to have been able to see the Cherry Blossoms this year.

• See the White House.  The White House is pretty and worth stopping at if you haven’t ever seen it in real life.
• Walk National Mall and stop at Smithsonian Museums.  This can be a very long walk if you walk all the way around the National Mall from the White House.  They are all free and you can’t go wrong with any of them!
• Dinner reservations at Matchbox in Chinatown.  It is a pizza place, I had a pizza without cheese.  It was ok food, I enjoyed eating here because we met up with my brother and his girlfriend.  It’s a great meeting spot for friends and family.

Day Four

• Lunch reservation noon Darlington House near Embassy Row.  This is a pretty restaurant with historic charm.  It was pretty expensive.  Again, I couldn’t tell you what I ordered or how allergy friendly it is.  
• Walk Embassy Row.  Embassy Row is really neat to see.  Other countries’ ambassadors live in their respective embassy.  It is cool to see what each Embassy architecturally looks like from the outside and to see all the countries’ flags that are represented.  Some embassy’s you can go inside and visit, others you can view from the sidewalk.  You can walk the long Embassy row or drive through it.
• 

  

  Walk to The National Cathedral.  It’s a long walk from Embassy Row to The National Cathedral, over a few miles.  It’s doable though.  The Cathedral is beautiful, definitely the prettiest church I’ve seen in the United States so far.  You can go up to the top too.

• I love Georgetown.  It is an expensive area with high end shores and shops.  You have to stop here while in D.C.
• Dinner reservation at Farmers Fishers Bakers in downtown Georgetown.  This restaurant is right on the water!  It is similar to the Founding Farmers restaurant.   I can’t remember what I ordered or how allergy friendly it is.  You need reservations to eat here though.

Day Five

• Lunch reservations at Capital Grille.  We ate a steak and french fries.  This was a cool place to see government workers in their suits taking a business lunch.  You need reservations to eat here though.
• See the U.S. Botanic Garden.  It is a quick stop looking at pretty plants.  If you have plants and nature stop here.  
• 

  

  See the United States Capitol and U.S. Supreme Court.  You aren’t allowed to climb up all the stairs but you can snap a picture and look at it.

• 

  

  Visit the Lincoln Memorial and Reflecting Pools.  Long walk but worth it!  So nice!

• Dinner reservations at Chef Geoff.  I ate a pizza again without cheese.  This is a restaurant in close proximity of American University if you want to stop by and walk the campus.

Day Six

• Lunch at Potbelly in Arlington, VA.  
• 

  

  Visit Arlington National Cemetery.  This is somewhere to to see if you are in D.C.. Like many of the war memorials this has a somber feeling.  There are countless white headstones of soldiers who served and died.  It is a very historical place to the amount of people who have served our country.

• 

  

  See the Thomas Jefferson memorial.  We also rented a paddle boat.  It was a great way to see some cool monuments and the cherry blossoms on the water.  It was expensive but one of my favorite and most memorable parts of the trip.

• Eat at Baked and Wired Cupcakes in Georgetown.  These were very yummy cupcakes!  Arguable the best cupcakes in D.C.  They had one vegan flavor.
• Dinner reservations at Filomena Ristorante in Georgetown.  I was so excited to eat here but most disappointed.  I found out they handmade their pasta noodles with butter.  So I couldn’t eat any of the pasta dishes.  I ate grilled chicken and vegetables.  It was very tasty though!

Day Seven

• Check out of hotel.  We stayed at Le Meridien in Arlington, VA.  I wouldn’t recommend staying at Le Meridien.  The location was good, convenient to uber in and out of D.C.  (just across the water from Georgetown, D.C.).  But the room was small, it took a while for our room to be ready and we didn’t get free breakfast.  Normally when I go to D.C. we stay in Bethesda, Maryland or Rockville, Maryland but we normally have a car with us.
• Fly home

As I mentioned in the beginning, the week I traveled to Washington D.C., was a while ago when I was still eating dairy and still getting sick.  I tried my best on this trip to avoid eating dairy but, I wasn’t smart enough and a big enough advocate for myself.  As I continue to visit D.C. I will write more blog posts about dairy free D.C. restaurants that I will find.  I highly recommend visiting D.C.  I hope you can use this blog post to help craft your visit to D.C.. Washington D.C. will not disappoint!

Thank you for visiting and reading! Don’t forget to follow me and comment on this post! Additionally you can follow my Instagram account @smilewithoutcheese

Review of Nami- Vegan Bakery in Phoenix, Arizona

I have never heard of a vegan bakery before.  I had no idea this unicorn of a place existed.  It is still hard to comprehend that there is a bakery out there where I can eat everything in the entire store and not get sick because of a food allergy.  Nami is a vegan bakery in Phoenix, AZ.  I was so impressed by this place that I wrote about it in my Dairy Free Guide to Arizona- Sedona and Page and decided to write this blog post about it.  I am awestruck that I could get dessert out in a bakery.  It has been so long since I was able to have ice cream out.  Everything in the bakery is vegan including the soft serve ice cream.  Nami uses tSoynami as their ice cream (ah-maz-ing!!!).

The place was mobbed with people but completely worth it.  I ordered the doughboy vanilla soft serve.  It was amazing my mouth is still watering from it.  It tasted as if I had never stopped eating dairy.  The cookie dough was out of this world, they hand-make it themselves.  I tried a bite of their cookies n’ cream ice cream too, it was fantastic.  I could cry just thinking about how happy I was in that day and about how amazing it was.  It was like I was transported to my happiest ice cream childhood memory with each taste.  Pure happiness.

My only regret is that I wish I had more time to spend there and was able to try more delicious desserts.  Unfortunately I had to get to the airport to get back home.  Not if but when I go back to this bakery I will try their cookie dough cake, chocolate chip cookie and namidoh cookie dough.  Of course I will get their doughboy vanilla soft serve tSoynami again.  I would also like to try the restaurant next door called Green Restaurant.  It’s a vegan-vegetarian restaurant.

For more information about Nami, here’s a link to their website.

For more information about Green Restaurant, click here.

 

I keep trying to find somewhere in Chicago, IL that compares but I haven’t yet.  If you know of a vegan bakery or restaurant near you please comment and share!  Thank you for visiting and reading!  Don’t forget to follow me and comment on this post!  Additionally you can follow my Instagram account @smilewithoutcheese

Dairy Free Guide to a Weekend in Seattle, WA

The couple who introduced me to my boyfriend, recently moved to Seattle, Washington.  Another friend of mine were planning a girls trip weekend to go visit them.  My friend and I who flew out with me are a very interesting food pair, I am dairy free and she is vegetarian.  So each restaurant we ate at had dairy free and vegetarian options.  Here’s a review of the restaurants that we ate on our weekend trip.  At the very bottom there’s a weekend itinerary that we used for the trip.

• Breakfast at friend’s apartment: Every morning I ate toast with peanut butter and almond milk.  I am very happy that my friend was trying to cut back on dairy and drinks almond milk.  Conveniently my friends’ lived in walking distance from a QFC so I would have access to other food if necessary.
• Citizen Six: I enjoyed this meal.  The restaurant had a cool interior and was walking distance from our distillery tour.  I ordered the chicken burrito.  It had green sauce on top and came with rice.  The waiter was able to assure me that my meal would be dairy free.  It was very good, I enjoyed it so much I ate everything on my plate.  Very tasty, I recommend stopping in if you are outside of downtown Seattle.
• Sam’s Tavern: I ordered just a plain burger.  I clarified with the waitress that it was dairy free.  This restaurant is in downtown Seattle, it is a burger spot for locals.  They have great burgers and fries.  If you’re nearby check it out, it was a tasty burger.
• Yard House: I love Yard House, I have eaten at one previously in Chicago.  The restaurant is great and extremely allergy friendly.  I noticed that they have dairy free cheese on their menu so I asked them to make me a dairy free cheese pizza with pepperoni.  It was really good.  I also got a side of french fries.  If you have any food allergies or preferences I suggest eating here.  They have many locations across the United States.
• Starbucks:  I am not a caffeine person but, I do love a good fruity drink.  My typical Starbucks order is a pink drink, it contains coconut milk, strawberries and juice.  It’s dairy free and very yummy!  When in Seattle you have to stop at Starbucks, they are everywhere!
• Chinese delivery: I couldn’t tell you what restaurant we ordered from but, I ordered Kung pao tofu with rice.  It was pretty good.  I am not sure if it was the fried food or the MSG but this meal gave me a stomach ache.  Next time I would ask more questions and research a better Chinese delivery restaurant.

I enjoyed my weekend in Seattle.  We were able to stay the weekend at my friends’ apartment.  I am very grateful for them.  It was much colder in Seattle than expected.  I was wearing rain boots the entire weekend (it never rained only snowed).  It was the coldest it’s been the entire year, we were not prepared with our winter gear.  Check the weather before you go (we experienced snow, wind, sun, warm and cold).  Below you will find the itinerary we used for the trip.

View from Columbia towers

Day one

Fly into Seattle, WA

Day two

Breakfast at friends’ apartment

Distillery tour at Batch 206 Distillery

Late lunch at Citizen Six

Walk Pike’s Place

Ferry ride to Bainbridge Island

Drinks at Alehouse on Winslow on Bainbridge Island

Dinner at Sam’s Tavern

Day three

Breakfast at friends’ apartment

Lunch at Yard House Seattle

View of Seattle from Columbia towers

Visit Amazon spheres and local Starbucks

Seattle Underground Tour

Late dinner delivered from local Chinese restaurant

Day four

Fly back home

Thank you for visiting and reading!  Don’t forget to follow me and comment on this post!  Additionally you can follow my Instagram account @smilewithoutcheese