Lunch at the House of Blues- Low-Carb Style

 

Better than a Rubber Biscuit

As I slide into the wooden seat and begin to soak in all of the ambience and Blues Brothers likenesses the familiar dread of what may lie inside the pages of the menu begins to bubble up.  Am I going to pay $20 for a plate of vegetables and a flat lifeless chicken boobie? In this case I found something way better than a rubber biscuit.

 

The House of Blues at Downtown Disney did not disappoint this low-carb "princess". (I was referred to as princess a number of times at Disney so I'm going to roll with it.) I started the meal with one of my magical low-carb cocktails and then set about finding something I would enjoy eating. 

 

So as a disclosure, I eat out a fair amount and most of my life takes place in a restaurant.  My job is to teach culinary students how to run the front-of-the-house operations of a restaurant.  So, Tuesday through Friday my work day is at Infusions (the school's restaurant) and if I want to see my husband, my son and I head into The Pressroom, where he is executive chef.  I am luckier than most type 1 diabetics in that I am constantly surrounded by chefs who will generally make me whatever I ask for. Thank you, pirates of the house of Swill & Gorge..

 

That being said, I get apprehensive about mining new menus. One never knows what might appear on those plastic wrapped menu sheets just waiting to hijack my day with hidden sugar in the dressing or a puree of potato hiding in a cream soup . . . ta-dah- high blood sugar!

 

There are also a lot of advantages of being familiar with a professional kitchen- I know which items are prone to have sugar added in, which items are likely to be easily modified without pissing off the line cooks too much and how picky I can be based on the business levels I see in the dining room. (FYI - the kitchen will be more likely to accommodate you on a Wednesday night than 7:30 on a Friday.)

 So, back to the House of Blues' delicious, spicy, engaging meal that had me plate-licking happy. 

 

 So what exactly did I order?  

 

The Heat Seeker

Certified Angus beef patty topped with pulled pork, pickled jalapeño peppers, buffalo sauce, Pepper Jack cheese on a brioche bun served with fries.

 

 

 

 

 

So what exactly did I eat?

 

The Heat Seeker, then I split the brioche bun between my son and my nephew and swapped my son my French fries for his veggie of the day. But let's be clear, this is low-carb, not no carb.  The pulled pork definitely had some sugars as did the pickled peppers and the pickles in the cup.  I ended up giving myself insulin for 15 carbs.  Each delicious one was worth the tick it earned on the gears in my insulin pump.

 

By the end of this meal I went through everything but the china and the flatware.

 

 

 

 

It was spicy-hot, juicy and filling.  We had a jam-packed vacation but for me this meal at the House of Blues won the Culinary Low-Carbie Award.

I should also mention that the server did a perfectly respectable job and made sure we were all happy with everything we had ordered, good service should never be overlooked.

 

So, low-carb eaters, I recommend adding House of Blues to your restaurant rotation if the mood strikes you for a hearty, guilt-free meal.