Food:	(3.5 / 5)
Service:	(4.0 / 5)
Accuracy:	(4.0 / 5)
Gluten Free Options:	(3.5 / 5)
Average:	(3.8 / 5)

Tonight Laura and I dined at Ford’s Fish Shack in Ashburn.  Ford’s is a local restaurant chain that was established in 2010 with another location in Chantilly, Virginia. This is the first time visit to this location and overall it was a good experience.

Ford’s does not have a separate Gluten free menu, but have several items available and they are willing to discuss any allergic needs to better meet your needs.

I ordered Ford’s Fantastic Lemonade; one of the signature drinks from their Hand-Crafted Cocktails.  Ford’s Fantastic Lemonade blends Smirnoff Blueberry Vodka, Cranberry, Pineapple, and Orange Juice to make this libation.  

I liked the drink, but felt that “fantastic” is a stretch to describe it.  It was refreshing, but a bit light in the flavor.  I don’t think it will be my go-to drink during future visits, but I have not crossed it off the list.  The drink costs $9.

For dinner both Laura and I ordered the Maine Fried Seafood Baskets with Sautéed Sea Scallops.  Mine came with French fries while Laura had the sweet potato fries.  Ford’s uses a separate fryer from their breaded entrées to avoid cross contamination.

Scallops and Fries

The scallops were okay.  Other restaurants in the area have better scallops.  The coleslaw was pretty good, but for some unfortunate reason Ford’s uses a preservative with Gluten in it to maintain freshness. The fries were ok, but tasted like they hadn’t changed the oil in the dryer in a long time.  This meal cost $19.90

Scallops and Sweet Potato Fries

The reason why Laura’s plate looks sparse is because her meal was completely Gluten free due to her allergy.  As stated above Ford’s coleslaw was not Gluten free which was unfortunate, but we were surprised to find out that their sauce and ketchup were also not gluten free.  Ford’s didn’t offer, but to be fair, we didn’t ask for any gluten free substitutions.

Laura says that the sweet potato fries were good, but a little soggy.  They were seasoned with a little bit of an Old Bay favor so they had a savory flavor to them.

Her meal also costed $19.90

For dessert I had the Banana Pudding.  This was fantastic.  Fresh banana, caramel, whipped cream, vanilla wafer in a fantastic mix to end the meal on a high note.  Served without the vanilla wafer makes this the only gluten free dessert Ford’s offers, but it’s a good one at $6.50

Banana Pudding

Overall the experience was a good one.  The food could have been better, but on par for the price (at least for the area).

Shawn

Welcome to On-The-Go by MurphyLeisure.com.  This company is dedicated to providing valuable reviews of vacation locations, leisure activities and restaurants reviews to help your vacation planning with a food twist- we are [mostly] gluten and dairy free.

Let me explain, I am gluten intolerant. Celiac– no, I am not formally diagnosed, but let’s just say that if I doubted my benefits from going gluten-free, my last accidental exposure made it abundantly clear that I should avoid it. And I gave my poor digestion genes to my kiddos. So, that explains three of us. Shawn- he is a bit different. He embarked on this lifestyle because he was hungry and I cook gluten-free. But after a time, he admits he feels better when he avoids it, too. So he isn’t strict, but avoids it when he can. So me, I use “Paleo” as a guideline, eat organic and grass-fed when I can, try to minimize preservatives, artificial colors, and processed foods. But I’m not strict because let’s face it- as a full-time working mom with busy school kids and life on the go, sometimes you have to compromise.

So here we are- a mess of food allergies, and we love to move. Restaurants, vacations, etc. and as anyone on this lifestyle knows, that is hard to do while traveling. So this is our chance to blend our love of adventures and traveling with food allergies. So, grab a seat and come along with us.

Thanks and Enjoy!

Laura and Shawn