Bringing Gluten-Free Chicago to Baltimore. It's a Win.

Da Luciano's
8343 W Grand Ave
River Grove, IL 60171
708-453-1000
dalucianos.com

This wonderful restaurant is near Chicago’s O’Hare airport. Why am I mentioning it to Baltimore area celiacs? Because they will now SHIP gluten free food!! They offer gluten free food I have literally never seen elsewhere including gluten free ravioli, tiramisu, cannoli, and much more. Check out their website! My husband - who does not have celiac disease - says their gluten free food doesn’t taste gluten-free. (Doesn’t taste like it’s missing anything.) All I can say is I am very happy whenever I eat their food.

This restaurant is owned by a husband and wife who have children with Celiac disease so they really know how to cook for celiacs. If you’re ever in Chicago, it’s a must visit.

-Susan

Gluten-Free and Looking for Your New Favorite Place to Eat (that's not your kitchen?) Your answer is: Pizzazz Tuscan Grille. Go, Now!

www.pizzazztuscangrille.com

711 Eastern Avenue
Baltimore, MD 21202-4320
(410) 528-7772

I've now been to Pizzazz Tuscan Grille more than 5 times, and I'm always delighted with my meal. I thought the only place I could get a gluten-free sandwich -- with the bread -- was either from my kitchen at home or Lilit Cafe in Bethesda, MD. It turns out that Pizzazz Tuscan Grille right in Baltimore is serving up an outstanding selection of gluten-free friendly items. Sandwiches are served on chewy, not crumbly, gluten-free rolls. The crust for the last pizza I had was on a Whole Foods Market Gluten-free Bakehouse crust. If you've eaten one of these crusts, they are dense and heavy, but delicious and (once again) have some chew to them, rather than the typical crumbly and sandy mess that has been the foundation for so many gluten-free items for the past 15 years.

Pizzazz is attached to the Pier 5 Hotel, but from what I can tell, caters not only to the hotel guests, but also to Baltimore's own. With a distinct atmosphere that combines seated dining areas, a bar, order-out, and outdoor seating (when the city isn't encapsulated by three feet of snow and ice), Pizzazz is offering up the right combination right in the downtown Baltimore area. From great food (check out their menu) to a hospitable staff who get to know the regulars and hotel guests with ease.

To be honest, I've only been for Brunch and Lunch, but I'll be going back for Breakfast and Dinner because I want to try a gluten-free pasta dish prepared somewhere other than in my kitchen at home. Plus, there are so many options, it's going to take quite a few visits, and that's ok by me...as well as the family and friends I take with me.

If you're still on the fence about whether you'll go or not, check out their extensive menus. But, seriously, I can't imagine you'd be disappointed.

-Kate

Wanna Eat Out?

Foodie Bytes (currently a Beta site) is a restaurant menu search engine.  It is amazing and easy to use.  Once at their site, you have a choice of logging in, or using the site as a guest.

Basically, you choose your city, and then your type of search.  You can search by restaurant or by type of food.  If you don't already have a place in mind, you can simply choose your city, then "food search", and type in "gluten free".

The results are sortable by neighborhood, price range, distance, and type of food (e.g. steakhouse, Mexican, etc.). You can combine, or stack, the sorts too, by adding or removing the different criteria selected.  It's very simple to use.  There are also customer comment areas for each food item and for each restaurant, so you can see what others thought

My favorite feature, though, is one you have to login for.  You can create a login with Foodie Bytes or you can use your OpenID (if you have one).  Once you log in, you get your own home page (with the option to upload a photo - if you'd like).  On that home page, you can keep tabs on your item, restaurant reviews, and favorites.  You can also maintain a wish list for both items and restaurants.  This is my favorite part.  What if you have a birthday or special occasion coming up, and people want to know where they can take you?  Or what if you just want to be able to run out quickly without taking the time to go on a web search first?  Just grab your wish list and go!  So great.

I've now spent a few days wandering around this site, and I think it's fabulous.  Each item description also lists portion sizes, type of cuisine, and the item's categories.  In addition, there are links for the restaurant, the full menu, and a Google map.

Go and check them out!  Their popularity is growing, and their restaurant base is excellent.  It's the site I've been wishing for for months.  The only drawback, for me, is that it only focuses on major cities at this point, and I don't live right in a major city.  I'm hopeful, though, that they will continue to expand as their client base grows.

-Mikki

The Good News

The more I eat out at restaurants, the less I feel that I must explain every minute detail of why there can be no gluten in my dish.  At the beginning, for me, dining out was so painful of an experience, I would end up bringing my own food to be heated and served with the rest of everyone's meals.  This could be considered the time Before Gluten Awareness (or BGA).  My story was that if I ate any gluten, an ambulance would have to carry me off, and that's just not good business for a restaurant.  It seemed to get the point across that this was not just some fad "diet" thing, but much more serious.  Even though, I probably wouldn't have had to be carried off in an ambulance, I would have had 3 months of painful recovery from something that I was trying so hard to keep in check.

Canada, Italy, and Ireland has this diet under control.  Traveling to any of those places and just requesting for my meal to be gluten-free was easy as pie (the gluten-filled kind that don't take as long to bake...).  I just kept wishing that the States could get it together.  I mean, Baltimore is the World Headquarters for Celiac Research.  One would think that Baltimore would at least be on top of their game.  But, alas, no, Baltimore has been one of the last remaining large cities to jump on the Gluten-Free Bandwagon.  

I am currently on vacation in Chicago, IL and Milwaukee, WI where gluten issues are not a problem.  The word gluten is uttered, and there are no worries about what you will receive in front of you.

Ladies & Gentlemen, 

I would like to announce that I believe that we have entered a new era in Gluten Awareness. This is Good News.  I believe it is thanks to people like you and me who stumble into restaurants and request meals that are gluten-free.  We're now seeing almost an onslaught of Gluten-Free Menus, Servers who are knowledgeable about gluten, and restaurants dedicated to catering primarily to the gluten-free market.  So, I thank you for that.  We have created enough demand, and now we are beginning to reap the benefits.

Keep up the dining out and requesting your meal to be gluten free / educating the server, chef, etc. on the importance of this offering to their financial success!

Take Care!

If You Would Rather Purchase Products Than Eat At A Restaurant...

I realized recently, as I was going to make myself dinner, that I haven't posted about stores that stock gluten-free products.  I've been so focused on the difficulties of eating out when gluten-free, that I just completely glossed over the fact that there are many places in and around Baltimore where one can purchase gluten-free products and ingredients.  If the stores have provided lists of gluten-free products, you can find them as links below.  I will also list a few of my favorites as well.  So, with that in mind, here we go:

Whole Foods Market [Harbor East]

1001 Fleet Street

Baltimore, MD 21202

410-528-1420

Gluten-Free Products List

Whether you are a visitor to Baltimore staying in one of the hotels in Harbor East, or a long-time Baltimorean, Whole Foods Market is the place to go for gluten-free products. While this store has gluten-free products scattered throughout, my favorite place is in the freezer section right in the middle of the store.  If you are walking toward the back of the store, the right side of the freezer section contains a section of gluten-free products from their Gluten-Free Bakehouse.  Their sandwich bread is especially good!  If you continue back, Van's Waffles are also in the freezer section.  Be sure you check to make sure you've grabbed the gluten-free version (some aren't!).  On the left side of the freezer section, there is a wide variety of Amy's frozen products.  Once again, you'll have to make sure that you are buying a gluten-free product, because some of them aren't!  As you'll see from the products' list, there are hundreds of gluten-free items located throughout the store.

Whole Foods Market [Mount Washington]

1330 Smith Avenue

Baltimore, MD 21209

410-532-6700

Gluten-Free Products List

While the parking can be a little hectic at times, this Whole Foods Market also has an outstanding selection of gluten-free products.  Head to the back of the store and on your left you'll find the freezer section.  You'll have to try the Whole Foods Bakehouse Gluten-Free Pie Crusts; they are fantastic for quiche!  This store also stocks some of Sweet Sin Bakery's Individual Desserts right in the same freezer case.  They are quite pricey, but if you're looking to indulge, I'd definitely recommend the Pecan Tart, but there are probably four or five others to choose from as well.

Whole Foods Market [Annapolis]

2504 Solomon's Island Road

Annapolis, MD 21401

410-573-1800

Gluten-Free Products List

Whole Foods Market [Gaithersburg]

316 Kentlands Boulevard

Gaithersburg, MD 20878

301-258-9500

Gluten-Free Products List

Trader Joe's [Towson]

1 East Joppa Road

Towson, MD 21286

410-296-9851

Gluten-Free Products List

Whether you happen to be in Towson visiting one of the colleges, visiting family, or you just live in or around Towson, Trader Joe's is an excellent place to stock up on gluten-free products.  Once again, the parking situation is not optimal, but you'll realize it was worth it when you get home and try a bite of their Sweet Without Wheat Tiramisu.  While I wasn't ever a big fan of Trader Joe's--I'm not really sure how I came to that conclusion--I certainly have changed my mind.  They have some fantastic gluten-free products:  from fully-prepared entrees and desserts, to gluten-free ingredients.  You'll have to pick up one of their Sweet without Wheat frozen desserts.  It's in the first aisle on the left in the freezer.  I do not recommend any of their homemade gluten-free breads, but that doesn't mean the rest of the gluten-free products aren't any good...I also highly suggest their gluten-free Granola that sits alongside the rest of their cereals and granolas.  In fact, I'm eating some right now as I type this.  My personal favorite is the tropical forest variety, but that's just me.

Trader Joe's [Pikesville]

1809 Reisterstown Road

Pikesville, MD 21208

410-484-8373

Gluten-Free Products List

Trader Joe's [Columbia]

6610 Marie Curie Drive

Elkridge, MD 21075

410-953-8139

Gluten-Free Products List

Trader Joe's [Annapolis]

160 F Jennifer Road

Annapolis, MD 21401

410-573-0505

Gluten-Free Products List

Trader Joe's [Gaithersburg]

18270 Contour Road

Gaithersburg, MD 20877

301-947-5953

Gluten-Free Products List

The Natural [Timonium]

2149 York Road

Timonium, MD 21093

410-560-3133

Gluten-Free Products

You might be in Timonium because you live there, or because you're visiting the Maryland State Fairgrounds, or because you're visiting family.  No matter why you're there, The Natural is a great resource for gluten-free products.  The Natural is hidden at the very end of a Shopping Center in Timonium, across from the Maryland State Fairgrounds.  When you enter the store, head right down the aisle straight ahead of you, and you will find a huge variety of gluten-free products on your right.  The Natural stocks lots of Ener-G products, so if you're a fan, you'll be in heaven.  If you're like me, they have plenty of other products to keep you happy and coming back.  From Glutano cookies and crackers, to Pamela's cookies and Glutino breakfast bars, Tinkyada Lasagna noodles and other gluten-free pastas.  Now, I am personally disgusted by Ener-G products, but that's my opinion.   But, don't stop there, keep walking to the freezers in the back of the store and you'll find Glutino frozen pizzas: cheese or spinach and feta.  I highly suggest picking up one of these.  They make a great lunch or dinner.  I find them filling, despite their rather small size.  On the right wall freezer section, you'll find even more frozen foods:  Kinnikinnick products, such as sandwich bread and their delicious cinnamon rolls.  I recommend Glutano's Bagels.  You'll have to wander around the store to find the other hidden gluten-free goodies, but it's worth it.

Wegmans [Hunt Valley]

122 Shawan Road

Hunt Valley, MD 21030

Gluten-Free Products List

If you've never been to a Wegmans, you have not experienced everything there is to experience.  Wegmans is HUGE.  If you have social anxiety, I recommend not going on a Weekend.  I'm not making this up:  there was a Bus Tour one weekend that stopped at Wegmans.  Anyway, you'll have to do a bit of hunting for the gluten-free products, but many of them are located right in the middle of the store, where organic foods and health supplies are.  While Wegmans is huge, I've always been slightly disappointed by the lack of variety of products.  But, you'll find lots of glutano products (from cookies to crackers to pastas) in their gluten-free aisle.  Grab a bag of Glutino pretzels.  You won't be disappointed, unless you were looking for them to taste exactly like gluten-filled pretzels...  Anyway in the freezer case right near the gluten-free aisle, you'll find Glutino sandwich bread and bagels, as well as Foods By George gluten-free cornbread (which is outstanding, especially as part of a cornbread stuffing!)  Refer to the product list link above for a full listing of gluten-free products.  Many of Wegmans' brand products will say whether they are gluten-free.

Traveling?

if you are concerned about traveling because you don't know what to do about the whole food situation, you could do what I did for the first 5 years of being diagnosed: pack a cardboard box with gluten-free food to last you for the entire trip...  But, really, who wants to do that?  

Suggestions:

• Research your destination:  Google Search: (your destination) and gluten free.  Check to see if your destination has a Trader Joe's or Whole Foods Market because, if they do, you are pretty much guaranteed at least a few gluten-free selections!
• If you are traveling to a destination where English is not the spoken language, learn how to say "gluten free" "no wheat, oats, barley, or rye" in the spoken language.
• Travel to Canada and/or Europe (Italy, France, England, Ireland).  They are much more accommodating of gluten-free needs than the USA currently.  Trivia:  All children in Italy must be tested for Celiac Disease by the age of 6!
• Stay in a hotel that offers a kitchenette and go grocery shopping while traveling.
• Once you arrive at your destination, if you are having difficulty finding gluten-free food, go to the local grocery store and get food there.  

Most importantly:   Remember that food is not the biggest part of traveling, enjoy the sights, meet people, and have fun.  Don't focus on food if you don't have to!

Enjoy!