Gluten Free/vegetarian Dining In Key West & Norway

[Peggy P.]

Hi,

I will be traveling to Key West, FL and to southern Norway this year and was wondering if anyone could offer any dining suggestions/ advice for either place.

Peggy

[babysteps]

Peggy-

We were in Norway 2 yrs ago before I was gluten-free. Can say the food was quite tasty, and everywhere the English is excellent (often with a Scottish accent, as there are ferries that link Scotland and Norway).

I would try contacting your hotels or city tourist centers for their suggestions on restaurants.

You may want to avoid the smorgasbord thing - basically a giant sandwich buffet - although if you are set on one, try arriving when it opens for the day or meal, as most items aren't on bread yet so if you're first at the buffet you can minimize CC risk.

Most hotels in Scandinavia seem to offer rates with or without breakfast. Breakfast is usually a buffet with many choices - but again buffet=CC risk, so depending on your tolerance of gluten, avoid/beware/get there early.

Most towns have an open market, in the larger towns are open every day-could be a good source for 'whole' foods and snacks.

Happy travels, let us know how it went!

[buffettbride]

The Margaritaville in Key West will surely accomodate you. Call ahead. I have heard several good experiences about eating at Margaritaville restaurants around the country.

I'm so jealous you get to go! Key West is high on my to-do list!

[NJKen]

Hi,

I will be traveling to Key West, FL and to southern Norway this year and was wondering if anyone could offer any dining suggestions/ advice for either place.

Peggy

That's one heckuva trip you're taking.

Anyway, I was in Norway two summers ago. At each of the four hotels I stayed in, the servers at the breakfast buffet knew exactly what "gluten-free" meant, and at three of the four they had gluten-free bread or crispbread in stock. (I spoke only English during my trip, and had no communication problems.) I had gluten-free pizza at Peppe's and Dolly Dimples. These may have been made with wheat starch, I'm not sure; so if you are particularly sensitive to wheat you may want to avoid these or try to contact them in advance. (Starch is a carbohydrate, and gluten is a protein, so wheat starch can be obtained that is below the Codex threshold for gluten, I believe it is 200 ppm.) The gluten-free cookies and other products available at the health food stores clearly indicate whether wheat starch is an ingredient. Seafood is also commonly served in restaurants, so you should have no trouble getting a dinner without gluten. I even found one restaurant that had gluten-free pasta.

Celiac is more widely known in Norway than here. Enjoy your trip!