Gluten Free Travel Blog

At a recent DC Celiacs support group meeting, I had the opportunity to meet Maureen Burke, a lovely lady who has devoted her culinary talents to serving the gluten-free (and also casein-free and soy-free) communities. Maureen owns a specialty food company called One Dish Cuisine, which provides lunch and dinner menus for gluten-free and gluten-free/casein free guests at The Irish Channel Restaurant in Crofton, Maryland. Her mission is to "welcome these underserved populations back to the table by bringing great-tasting food, at reasonable prices, into the mainstream." You can also purchase One Dish Cuisine's "ready to cook" meals at the Healing and Wellness Center's Farmer's Market on Kent Island on Tuesdays from 5-7 pm and at the University of Maryland Farmer's Market on Tuesdays from 10:30-2:00. They will also be making their delicious meals available at My Butcher and More in Annapolis soon.... I had a chance to try many of One Dish Cuisine's specialties, which they were sampling for us at the DC Celiacs meeting. DIagnosed over 20 years ago with Celiac Disease, Maureen has adapted just about every one of her recipes to fit a gluten-free lifestyle, but her specialties available through One Dish Cuisine are meals and... Read more →

You may already be familiar with Burton's Grill, with four locations in Massachusetts, one in Connecticut, and one in Virginia. It's one of our family's personal favorites, due to their wide range of offerings on their gluten-free lunch and dinner menus -- and their focus on the gluten-free community. I recently spoke to their Vice President of Food and Beverage, Denise Baron, and posted a Blog entry about our conversation about their gluten-free menu and special events. After a summer hiatus, they are resuming their special events for the gluten-free community. The next one is a special Gluten Free Night at their Hingham location (at 94 Derby Street) on September 27. To make a reservation, call 781-749-1007. The FOUR COURSE dinner is $39.95, excluding taxes and gratuity. Does butternut squash soup sound tempting? How about Acadian Mussels? Main course choices include Haddock Imperial and even a gluten-free fried seafood trio of shrimp, scallops, and calamari (how often do you find gluten-free fried seafood?!). And to round out the dinner: Warm coconut pineapple cake or creme brulee... Read more →

I'm just head-over-heels-in-love with Rosa Mexicano restaurant. This would be the case even if they didn't have a gluten-free menu for my son to order from...but they do! My family went there last month after over a year since first visiting their DC location near the Verizon Center. Believe me, I'd like to go there monthly (at least), but our visits into the city are somewhat limited these days. And so many great "gluten-free friendly" restaurants now beckon. But Rosa Mexicano holds a special place in my heart. You can view their gluten-free lunch menu AND their gluten-free dinner menu online, and suffice it to say, they both offer plenty of choices, even for any of your table-mates that don't typically like Mexican food (or don't think they do!). Note that this isn't your typical "Tex Mex" taco cantina. Rosa Mexicano is an upscale restaurant that specializes in the true flavors of Mexico, showcasing traditional dishes as well as some you're more familiar with (enchiladas). But everything has the Rosa Mexicano unique touch. If you're a guacamole lover, don't miss their tableside-prepared guacamole, served with soft, warm corn tortillas (in my opinion, ten times better than the corn chips they... Read more →

Do you have a Bloom grocery store near you? If so, you're in luck... Bloom is one of our neighborhood grocery stores. It used to be Food Lion, but was converted to Bloom a couple years ago like the other Food Lions around this area of Northern Virginia. They've always had a pretty decent selection of gluten-free foods, and they had them fairly well consolidated in their natural foods section near the produce area of the store. When I visited the store a couple weeks ago and went to this area to grab a few of our usual gluten-free staples, I had a momentary scare. The shelves in those few aisles that stocked natural/organic/gluten-free food seemed emptier than usual. I thought perhaps they were getting rid of this special section. But upon closer inspection, I realized ALL the food on those shelves was now gluten-free. They had removed the other "natural" and "organic" foods that weren't gluten-free and integrated them into other areas of the store. They seemed to have converted these aisles to an exclusively gluten-free area and had some new gluten-free brands/products on the shelves, although the area was still clearly in transition. The freezer cases nearby were... Read more →

BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse -- who just launched a gluten-free menu and has locations in 13 states -- is running a special "Gluten Free Party for Two" promotion through September 30 that includes 2 Salads (House, Caesar, or Wedge), a Gluten-Free Pizza, and 2 Root Beer Floats -- all for $19.95 ( http://glutenfreetravelsite.com/restaurants/gfmenu_bjsbrewhouse.php ) Read more →

If you've never tried the delicious gluten-free and ready-to-prepare meals from GF Meals by Your Dinner Secret, now is the perfect time. For the month of September, they are offering flat rate shipping for only $19.99, regardless of the size of your order. So it's a great time to stock up on your family's favorites for those nights during the school year you don't have the time to create an entire meal "from scratch." This is gluten-free "from scratch" cooking...just prepared by someone else! Most meals involve little more than popping the items in the oven. GF Meals offers a great variety of entrees, side dishes, and baked goods to choose from. The company ships your order on dry ice to your home or travel destination, unless you're lucky enough to live in Southern California, where they have a regular location for order pick-up. Check out their site today. Read more →