Is gluten-free friendly the new norm?

Posted on August 13, 2012 by claire

While I was abroad in Austria, being a celiac was hard. Not only is most of their traditional cuisine breaded or drowned in flour-based sauces, gluten-free wasn’t a thing that had really caught on yet. Most restaurants did not know what gluten was and I would have to explain what I couldn’t eat very carefully to be able to dine safely. We cooked a lot, but even that wasn’t fabulous. The gluten-free section at the grocery store covered only basics like breads and some cookies. I got used to being disappointed regularly at meals – a sad life for a foodie.

Here, in Rochester, I have found that my options are pretty wonderful. Walking through Wegmans the first time, I felt like a kid in a candy store while walking down the gluten-free aisles (plural!!). There were breads, pastas, snacks, beers, frozen food, and many brands and choices within each category. Dining out has also been a good experience. I have opened menu after menu with GF clearly labeled, and when its not, the server almost always knows how to accommodate my needs.

I thought Rochester must be unique, but then, I went to Boston and to my pleasant surprise, dining was no problem. I ate Japanese with gluten-free sauce, tapas from a gluten-free menu, and burger dish that was created sans bun! The phrase, “please inform your server of any allergies” was everywhere, even at a coffee shop.

I have to wonder, am I just particularly aware of the changes in living with a food allergy because of my experience abroad, or is gluten-free friendly becoming the new norm? What do you think?

Update!

Posted on January 26, 2012 by claire

I feel pretty terrible. I’ve neglected this site for five months. I haven’t written anything, not updated my platform, and didn’t check my email. I did this intentionally. In August, I moved from New York City to Vienna, Austria. While I mentioned that in this post. I thought that perhaps I’d continue Gluten Free and the City in Vienna, but change my focus to Vienna, instead of New York City. But after a while I realized I’d rather just write about my new experience here in a foreign city and country rather than focus on being gluten-free. So, I stopped posting. I stopped checking email. I started German classes and have been doing other side projects.

Then, today I decided to check my email. I had an email from a woman who was traveling to NYC in December and wanted to know of a place to eat in midtown near the Christmas-y sites. I felt terrible. I had just left her hanging without a response. And, I knew of a place as well. Then, I checked my google analytics, and was surprised to find that more people actually visit my site than before even without anything active. I had given up on my site, but others hadn’t given up on me.

So, I’m writing this as a “sorry it’s been so long, can we still be friends?” kind of post. Even though I’m not living in NYC anymore and therefore can’t really write anything current about living the gf life in the Big Apple, I am still happy to answer your emails about my experience living there, gluten-free. I promise that I WILL check email!

Thanks everyone for reading!

Claire

My Plan B

Posted on June 7, 2011 by claire

On Saturday, a friend of mine sent me an article from the New York Times about gluten-free (another one, so soon?!). It was about the recent growth of gluten-free focused businesses like bakeries and stores resulting from the owner’s dreams of a “plan B.”

It is fitting that I would read this article now. Although I’ve revealed to my readers that I am getting married soon through posts about gluten-free cupcakes, menu tastings, and how to accommodate guests with food allergies and dietary restrictions, there are more big changes ahead in my life. Alex and I are moving to Vienna, Austria in September. Alex is a dual Austrian/American citizen and to keep his Austrian citizenship must complete civil service with the government for 9 months. It’s a temporary move, and while necessary, is also about the experience: traveling, learning and hopefully speaking a foreign language, making friends, exploring a new city, and doing this all before we have to “settle down.” I am incredibly excited and incredibly nervous. But, it’s really happening now, we’ve bought our plane tickets.

Of course with this move, we’re leaving our jobs and leaving New York City (not to mention friends and family- but they’ve promised to visit). I’ll be sad to leave the life I’ve made here, but I’m ready for a change. I have been happily employed at my job for three years starting right out of college. I’ve realized in those three years, that maybe, what I thought I wanted to do after college, isn’t playing out how I imagined. While I do love my organization, and the people I work with, I’m not sure that the office-desk job is right for me. So, I have a plan B.

Maybe I’m a little young for a plan B (did you figure out how old I am?). Maybe, it’s really Plan A 2.0. Whatever you want to call it, it’s a big change from what I’m doing now. Going gluten-free had a huge impact on me: from learning how to adjust to the new diet to writing this blog, it’s a big part of my life and I think I’d like it to be even bigger. You see, I’m just like those women in the New York Times article. Even though gluten-free awareness has certainly grown, it’s not mainstream, and in a city a large and all encompassing as New York City, there are still only two dedicated gluten-free bakeries and dedicated gluten-free shop. I don’t think it’s enough, and I’d like to do more for the gluten-free cause than just write this blog. I want my own gluten-free business.

The most common question I get when I tell people I’m moving to Austria is, “What are you going to do when you’re there?” Well, first I need to learn German. Then, I’d like to travel. And when I’m not doing either of those things, I’ll be working on my plan B.

Traveling Abroad Gluten-Free: Austria

Posted on July 15, 2010 by claire

Phew. I’m back from my vacation in Austria; a well needed break from the daily grind. I got some sun, took in beautiful views, and made some big life decisions (girlfriend no longer, I’m engaged!). I also ate a lot of sausage. I have to imagine that being a vegetarian in Austria is more difficult than being gluten-free. Austrians love their meat, pork, especially.

While I was in Austria, I spent 4 days in Vienna and then 4 days in the southern region at a lake called Millstatt. It was lovely to be able to see the city and the countryside. It also allowed me to experience gluten-free Austria eating in and eating out.

Eating Out

Before I left, I posted a quote about traveling and food (among other things). Basically, it talks about the value of eating like a local while traveling. By embracing the local food culture you get to participate in the larger culture by doing something you have to: eat. Therefore, I’m a big advocate for eating out while traveling, although it does pose certain challenges for those wish dietary restrictions, if you’re armed with the tools mentioned previously in “Traveling Abroad Gluten-Free” you should do just fine.

Traditional Austrian cuisine includes a lot of key dishes that sadly us gluten-free folks can’t enjoy: wiener schnitzel, knudel, spaetzle, and many many desserts. However, Austrian cuisine is also generally meat and potato heavy, so you’re likely to find a dish you can eat (just make sure to ask about the sauce). Even though you probably won’t learn German for a 10 day trip, make sure you know certain key words like gluten, wheat, barley, spelt, rye, and flour. If you can communicate with your waiter that you CAN’T eat those things, you’re in good shape.

Even though I ate in most of the time while in Vienna, Alex and I did have one big dinner out to celebrate our engagement at Zum Schwarzen Kameel. We made reservations far in advance and Alex explained to them that I couldn’t eat gluten. When we got there, the waitstaff was fantastic. They spoke English perfectly and were incredibly accommodating to make sure my dishes didn’t contain a trace of gluten. We had a very filling three course meal consisting of lobster, fish, and steak. It was very indulgent, but hey, we were celebrating. I imagine you’d have a similar good experience at any well-respected fine dining establishment.

In the South, we ate everyday at the Inn we were staying at: Villa Verdin. All their food was cooked in house, to order, fresh, and local. One night, I ate a trout that was caught that day from the Lake-can’t get more fresh or local than that. Since I happened to be traveling with a bunch of native Austrians, they did most of the work for me, determining what I could and could not eat, but like I said, if you know the key words, you’ll survive. Additionally, this particular place served plenty of salads and vegetables-items naturally gluten-free, and didn’t cook at all with flour.

Eating In

If you’re staying in a hotel with a kitchen or an apartment while in Vienna, I suggest cooking in once or twice. Don’t get me wrong, I think that eating like a local is a big part of the travel experience but with a gluten intolerance/allergy or celiac disease, Austria can be a bit tough. A break from eating out once or twice during the week will probably feel good and ensure that you’re staying away from gluten.

I was lucky enough to have many native Viennese help me locate gluten-free foods while I was in Vienna. It turned out a friend of a friend also has celiacand I got the inside scoop of where to shop. In Austria (and Germany, I’m told), there are stores called Reformhaus which carry organic and natural products. Like in the states, organic and gluten-free seem to piggyback, so you’ll find a selection of gluten-free items here. In Austria, there is an organic food store that is a mecca for us gluten-freerscalled Bio Maran. “Bio” in Europe is code for organic. Bio Maran was great. There was gluten-free bread, beer, pasta, snacks- you name it. Most of there products were in one section labeled “Gluten Frei.” Throughout the store, there were labels under gluten-free products with this phrase which made finding gluten-free products a no-brainer. I picked up some gluten free beers from Neumarkter Lammsbrau (yayayayay), some muesli, rice cake snacks, bread, and crackers. I could have gone way overboard, but these seemed like essentials.

Another perk of having these few gluten-free items was that when I went to Lake Millstatt, I had my own supplements to the provided breakfast (muesli with their yogurt and my bread with their jams). I also was able to enjoy the delicious spreads they provided with bread before dinner. Although it felt slightly strange to carry around my bread and crackers, I felt like I could enjoy meals with the rest of my gluten eating clan without feeling left out.

Resources for Eating Gluten Free in Austria

Bio Maran

Reformhaus

Zum Schwarzen Kameel

Orlando de Castello (gluten-free menu)

Villa Verdin

Book of Yum’s Post on Traveling Gluten Free in Austria and Germany