Isle of Wight this weekend. Bit of a flying visit to the in laws to see them and pick up our wetsuits for a surfing weekend we have coming up soon.
We set off early from London on Saturday, getting up even earlier than I would for work. No time for breakfast in the rush to leave so by the time we arrived quayside in Portsmouth, I was in need of sustenance.
Went into the ferry terminal’s shop with hopes not high. As usual, hot counters full of sausage rolls, burgers and bacon butties. Just as I resigned myself to having a black coffee only (they make a surprisingly good one in there) I spotted my new friend, Mrs Crimbles. Yay! Two varieties on offer, giant chocolate macaroon or a coconut jam ring. Settled for the macaroon.
How did it taste? Moist, dense, coconutty….and very sugary. Closer inspection of the contents label revealed the largest ingredient was sugar (no quantity given) and the second was coconut at 29% so the sugar percentage was at least equal to or greater than 29%. The label also advised the 70g Mrs Crimbles macaroon contained 314 calories and 15.4g fat. Phew. This seems like a lot for a macaroon?
Luckily for my (non-GF) husband, I couldn’t eat it all so he tried some and gave it a definite thumbs up.
When we got onboard the ferry, I noticed the ship’s food/drink outlet also had a basket of the 2 Mrs Crimbles alongside the more traditional offerings of buscuits and Scottish shortbread.
Despite the sugar overload I enjoyed my Mrs Crimbles Giant Chocolate Macaroon, I just wouldn’t/couldn’t eat a whole one.
One final point, I’d like to salute Wightlink for providing gluten free options in both the quayside ferry kiosk and onboard their ship. It may be sugary and the choice limited in comparison with the ‘normal’ options but it’s a start, and one which other similar companies should be introducing.
Gluten Free Mrs D
Since you’ve found this blog post you might find these more recent posts useful. Gluten free fish and chips at the Boathouse located between Ryde and Seaview. Or how about a trip to the wonderful Crab and Lobster in Bembridge for a gluten free lunch or dinner?
Were you able to find restaurants in the IOW with gluten-free menus? My 86 yr old Mum was recently diagnosed with celia sprue (US term, and I'll be visiting in September 2010 and looking for good places to take her out to eat.