How to Pick Out a Restaurant with Gluten Free Food In America!

Ever been wandering the streets of some new place desperately searching for somewhere you can eat? Even if it's just a salad? You know the people you're with are getting frustrated, they could have eaten at the first place you stopped at! And now you're on your tenth? Everyone is hungry and tired and you feel horrible because you're the one who is holding everyone up. Been there? I've been there too many times but through that I feel I've gotten pretty good at picking out restaurants that will have gluten free options. So here are my tips for finding a restaurant (somewhat) faster in America! It's somewhat different in other countries and the only other country I feel a little more confident talking about is Italy. I'll have another post on how to look for food in other countries.

 How it can feel looking for Gluten Free Food

1. Hippy, organic, or just plain health restaurants

Not a restaurant but delicious nonetheless 

While most of my friends turn up their noses at places like these I run to them! It's not about health for me, it's about those magic words "Gluten free". And for some reason most of those somewhat out there health conscious tiny restaurants have gluten free options and are knowledgable about it! If I see one of these places I always head there to check it out first. I'm not sure how to describe it more but soon you'll develop an instinct for which types of restaurants to go to.

2. Bright colors

This may go along with the above tip but for some reason I've found that many places with gluten free foods (excluding hole in the wall places) are painted in bright, fun colors. That place with a green, pink, and yellow store? Go, check it out! The worst that can happen is your wrong (which as previously discussed can happen A LOT when you're in a new place).

3. Big Cities

 For tips one and two, big cities are your best friend. I've found that the bigger, more health conscious the city the more options you'll have! I haven't been to California yet but I'm dying to get over there for the large variety of options I keep hearing about! I've found more options in NYC and Chicago so I'm assuming it will hold true in other big cities, especially the health conscious ones. If you're traveling to a small town or passing through on your way to somewhere else those will be your biggest challenges. When you can walk down a street and have tons of restaurants trying to pull you in it's easier to follow tips one and two however small towns? You have to drive everywhere! Hopefully the next few tips will help with that.

4. Italian

This is cheating a little since this was actually IN Italy… but the concepts the same

I honestly discovered this when I was in Italy and found when I came back that it still applies here! Italy is great about testing and dealing with celiacs. Celiacs get government help and every child is tested when they are little for celiacs. Living over there was a little like paradise which is surprising for such a gluten loving country! But I've found that many Italian restaurants back in America still have this kind of awareness. It may not be to the level of cross contamination and how careful they should be during preparation but most often they have gluten free pasta! You may have limited options and the wrong kind of pasta with the sauce, but hey! You've got pasta! Even Olive Garden has gluten free options though I'm not a huge fan of them for cross contamination, quality, and knowing how to cook gluten free pasta (too many crunchy noodles served to me) but it will always work in a pinch.

4. Word of Mouth

Some of the best places I've found have been from recommendations from people who know I'm gluten free but aren't gluten free themselves! I'm always up to check out the smallest rumor that a place may have gluten free food! I found a bakery up here in Houghton, Michigan called Roy's that makes the most delicious muffins, cupcakes, and cookies.  Letting people know about your food restrictions can often lead to helpful information. So don't be too embarrassed! Especially if it's a medical thing (rant about that later) I've found most people are willing to help! Plus you never know when you'll find someone else who is gluten free and make a friend! When you stop at a hotel try asking someone at the front desk, most of the time they will be clueless but on the off chance they aren't you may find a spectacular meal you weren't expecting!

5. Good old Google Search

I fall back to this one a lot even though I've found it doesn't work very well. I don't know if most restaurants just don't advertise gluten free in a way that is easily detected by Google or what. But I wouldn't count on this helping you out as much as you hope. Usually it comes up with chain restaurants and Wendy's. However, occasionally you will find a gem and be thankful you used Google! In Ann Arbor, Michigan my then fiancé and I found a great pizza place called the Original Cottage Inn which had great options close to the University of Michigan. And another place in Ypsilanti I've found was called Aubrey's which had burger options with a gluten free bun!

Aubrey's- both meals are Gluten Free

 And if all that fails, well wine is Gluten free!

Airplanes

Traveling Sunrise to Sunset

When I was little I used to love flying. I would look around the airport in awe trailing in my parents wake as they led us through the seeming incomprehensible maze to the right plane. I would fight with my brother to have the window seat and press my nose up against the glass to watch the ground shrink away. Lets be honest… I still do that last part. I'm a window seat girl through and through.

But now that I travel alone and with a gluten intolerance I'm falling a little out of love with the whole scenario. When I was flying to Italy I spent 12 hours on planes and was stoked to find out that they serve gluten free meals (so much less stress my naive self thought). However 2 hours after that meal plus nerves ended up with me experiencing the wonderful results of food poisoning in the tiny airplane bathroom. Fun. My travel since then was a little less dramatic until I again had to spend all day traveling to get to my honeymoon destination. Where, while there no gluten free food included I experience the hunger and frustration of trying to find food in an airport. While also sick. Ugh.

So, while those two experiences made my love of flying take a pretty rough hit my love of traveling won't let me avoid it. Hence these tips I've come up with to make flying more enjoyable and less nightmarish!

Airplane Gluten Free Food

1. Bring lots of your own food

While airports are super strict about liquids, it seems like they could care less about food! Which is great for those with dietary restrictions. Pack a lunch, snacks, and maybe even a dinner! While this tip only works for the way to some location for me it can be a life saver. Your full, the people your with are happier, you save tons of time and money trekking around looking for food. And lets be honest, you feel a ton better because you're eating food that isn't the candy bar or plain chips that every gluten free person has had to turn to at some point.

2. Plan ahead!

Perhaps the most critical lesson that every person who can't have gluten needs to learn is how to plan ahead. And not just ahead in the oh this is what I will eat today sense, but in the if I can't eat anything where I'm going for a week do I have enough food to feed myself with? I once went to a conference in NYC and the people I was with (and myself) couldn't afford to eat out much. Plus my credit card decided to stop working and I only had 20 dollars of cash. The result? I had packed enough 'snacks' that I ate better than the people who could go out and get $1 pizza and utilize the free breakfast each morning. Moral of the story? Bring enough snacks that you could eat decently for several days. This includes a suitcase full of snacks for wherever you are going (I adore KIND bars but fruit snacks, raisins, dried cranberries, etc are all great choices). I also like to pack a sandwich or two for the first travel leg. You can't bring peanut butter in jar but I was able to get a peanut butter sandwich in. Also if your a little risky (read are ok with not refrigerating your sandwich every minute) I have packed a meat and cheese sandwich which improved my mood considerably.

3. Don't trust people who claim your food is gluten free

This includes any people who work in the airport, reviews on the net, etc. Everyone has a different sensitivity level and many reviews who say something is gluten free don't know anything about cross contamination! I've watched so many people make a gluten free product and then use the same utensils on it as they did a gluten containing product and basically ruin it for anyone who is very sensitive. Once again this is a reason to bring your own food but if you can't or are on your way back from somewhere then research restaurants before hand so you know what you are getting into. On my way back from the Dominican Republic I ended up just getting FroYo with no toppings because it was the only food I could be fairly certain wasn't cross contaminated.


The overarching theme to all of these is to plan out how and what you will eat ahead of time. While I also half plan on getting lucky and stumbling into a restaurant that proudly announces they have gluten free food (another post on that for Italy!) I always make sure that I can at least survive if I can't find anything.

Please share any tips for traveling you've found!