BD's Mongolian Barbeque

Wow. My recent visit to the BD's on 86th Street was, let's say expansive. No, not expensive, expansive. I'd say I reached about a 7 on the Bloat Meter. All this time I thought it was because I overate when I went there. Not so my friends! This time I only had 2 small dishes and few bites of a mini-desert.

I like this place because I feel I have total control over what I'm eating. I can freely choose foods that I know agree with my body. So why the bloating? It's the SAUCES!!!! Only 2 of sauces were gluten free and only 3 contained no soy. But I thought, "a little sauce isn't going to do me in." I was so terribly wrong. My first dish had ny strip beef, onions, tons of mushrooms, broccoli, garlic and a tiny amount of shredded cheese with the Shiitake Mushroom sauce. Normally I can't digest bagged shredded cheese but in very small amounts I'm okay. It's the cellulose that's added to the bagged cheese to keep it from caking that makes my guts revolt if eaten in large amounts.  So I think I'm doing good at this point.

Time two and I have kielbasa with onions, tons of mushrooms and the Shiitake Mushroom sauce. Still think I'm doing good. Feeling full, my appetite satiated but room for more. I stop anyway and have only a few bites of the Oreos & Cream mini desert. Although tiny and cute as a button it was certainly processed food, that's been frozen, flown, thawed and garnished. Still having only a few bites I felt my body would be fine. A few bites of a desert never hurt me before.

By the time I got back in my car the expansion began. I could feel my stomach growing but luckily I could see my gut growing and growing more than feel it. There have been times when I've bloated so badly I can literally feel my skin stretch. It's not only uncomfortable it's painful. When your skin stretches 3-4 times it's normal size within 1 hour, it really hurts. Your skin hurts more than your guts do. It's a very weird pain and I don't like it!

Back to BD's...it was the gluten laden sauces that did me in. Everything else I ate was what I consider "safe" for me. Will I try BD's again? I'd like to say no but I probably will. Next time I'll go for shrimp & scallops with Lemon sauce and see what happens.

If anyone is reading this, I'd say go there. You have more control over what you're putting in your body than you do at any other restaurant. If being gluten free is your only concern then go! If you can't have a long list of foods and ingredients like me, go with caution.