Saying Goodbye to GlutenFreeTravelSite and the Dine Gluten Free Mobile App

It has been quite a ride over the past 12 years serving the gluten free community. When I first launched GlutenFreeTravelSite back in April 2008, "Celiac" and "gluten free" weren't yet household terms. Many people weren't even aware of what they meant...not to mention how someone avoiding gluten would be able to dine out, travel, and attend social events involving food. 

That's why I launched the website, just a few short years after our own son was diagnosed with Celiac at age two. I felt the need to educate those recently diagnosed and to provide hope that, yes, there were indeed places we could all go and get a safe and delicious meal. It just took a bit of effort to find them....

So that's what GlutenFreeTravelSite -- and later our Dine Gluten Free mobile app -- set out to do. We gave the gluten free community a way to share their experiences dining out and traveling with others who needed to be sure they wouldn't get sick when venturing out. We made it easy to find and read peer reviews of places in the U.S. and all over the world that took gluten free dining seriously. We were the first website to do this, and for almost 12 years now, it has been a true labor of love. 

However, it is time for me to move on. The landscape has changed, and people are getting this information from many different sources, some reliable and some not as much. Mainstream restaurant review sites have jumped on the bandwagon making it easier to find restaurants that offer gluten free options. I have some strong opinions about which sites serve our community best, but ultimately that is up to you to decide. Most importantly, just be smart about where you get your information. It is easy to let down our guard now that "gluten free" and "Celiac" are household terms. Most restaurants and chefs will say they can prepare a gluten free meal for you, even if it is the simple, safe fallback of grilled chicken, a baked potato, and steamed veggies. But we still need to be vigilant and ask all the questions about preparation and potential cross contamination. 

I will continue to serve the community and publish this Gluten Free Travel Blog (also in its twelfth year), as well as my monthly e-letter, Facebook, and Twitter pages. Most of the content and resources that had been found on GlutenFreeTravelSite -- minus the reviews -- has been transferred to this Gluten Free Travel Blog. (See the right hand column for Featured Pages.) You will find our huge list of Chain Restaurants offering gluten free menus, a tempting list of amazing Gluten Free Getaway opportunities, Resources and advice for those recently diagnosed, information on gluten free dining on Cruise Ships, a link to the many Articles I've published over the years, and even some of my favorite gluten free Recipes. I hope you'll enter your email to "subscribe" to the Blog's feed (found in the right column of the Blog), if you don't already. I will continue to bring you news about all the great dining and travel opportunities available to us! 

Please reach out to me at [email protected] if you have any questions regarding these topics. I'm always happy to assist fellow gluten free folks in finding the safest and best places for gluten free dining and travel. Our family has done quite a bit of travel -- both in the U.S. and overseas -- in the past decade, and I have many resources to recommend. Serving and being a proud member of the gluten free community is a constant that will never change...I'll just be doing it in a slightly more focused way via my Blog, e-letter, and social media. 

I hope GlutenFreeTravelSite and the Dine Gluten Free mobile app have enhanced your life over the years, and I wish you all the best. 

With gratitude, 

Karen Broussard, Publisher