Thoughts on Travel and Gluten

One of the things I love about traveling for work is the ability to see places I never would have visited otherwise. So far in almost 2 years I've been to Cleveland, Colorado Springs, Denver, Houston, Kutztown (PA), Reading (PA), and if you count airports, Philadelphia, Newark, and Charlotte.

I've been able to meet a few online friends, see old friends I haven't seen in years, and even got drunk with Rob's aunt and uncle, who I rarely see.

That said, traveling is, of course, pretty obnoxious. All the germs, rude people, delays, uncomfortable seats, and nights alone in hotel rooms quickly get old and make me long for home.

When I went gluten-free, travel became somehow more frustrating. As a traveling consultant my diet was almost all restaurant-based until my celiac diagnosis, and truly I had taken it for granted that I could go out with fellow consultants to any restaurant we agreed upon.

Being gluten-free isolated me from my fellow consultants and forced me to actually think about what I ate.

I was diagnosed while on a project in Houston, Texas, which was truly a blessing. Houston had a ton of gluten-free options, such as P.F. Chang's, Carrabba's (both of which have gluten-free menus) and a giant grocery store called H-E-B, which has a magically extensive selection of gluten-free foods. I learned how to be gluten-free inside of H-E-B.

That last sentence sounds like the most boring country song ever.

And now I'm in rural Pennsylvania, with just a Wegmans, a hotel refrigerator, and a hotel microwave. You can figure out how well that goes for me.

But TODAY, my friends. TODAY. I drove 30 miles to a small cafe in West Reading, PA that serves all gluten-free food. I was hesitant, since gluten-free food can be done well or terribly. I ordered a gluten-free pasta primavera with garlic aioli and a "bread"stick. Here it is:

Pictured: nom nom nom

It was DELICIOUS. I love when restaurants make me feel like I'm eating REAL food instead of some afterthought.

It was SO delicious, in fact, that I ordered the FUDGY CHOCOLATE CHIP BROWNIE.

It was truly a fabulous experience. If you're ever in the West Reading, PA area and you eat gluten-free (and/or vegan and dairy-free!) I highly recommend the GoodEatz Gluten Free Bakery. Free wine on Tuesday nights for ladies!

Basically this is my long way of asking, would anyone be interested in a blog about eating gluten-free as a frequent traveler?