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Traveling

polarbearscooby

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polarbearscooby Explorer
polarbearscooby
Posted

So, for Christmas this year my Dad's giving me a vacation, I'm going to see my two friends who both have celiac disease and live near DC. On the first part of my trip I'll be staying with my friends family, so I'll be able to get food easy. On the second leg of my trip my other friend and I will be staying in a hotel in DC, and I'm curious as to any advice you have for me (especially those of you from that area, or who have to to that area) on where to find food, and etc.

I've heard Whole Foods and Trader Joes are good places?

Thanks in advance!!

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kareng Grand Master
kareng
Posted

So, for Christmas this year my Dad's giving me a vacation, I'm going to see my two friends who both have celiac disease and live near DC. On the first part of my trip I'll be staying with my friends family, so I'll be able to get food easy. On the second leg of my trip my other friend and I will be staying in a hotel in DC, and I'm curious as to any advice you have for me (especially those of you from that area, or who have to to that area) on where to find food, and etc.

I've heard Whole Foods and Trader Joes are good places?

Thanks in advance!!

Good for you! Where are you staying in DC? We have people from the area but it's a big place. Try googling gluten free Washington, dc. Look around on here. I know I saw some places in Old Town Alexandria mentioned here.

polarbearscooby Explorer
polarbearscooby
Posted
  • Author

In the Mall area.....

Have you ever been to a whole foods or trader Joes?

We don't have them here so IDK how good they are...

mushroom Proficient
mushroom
Posted

If you can't find something gluten free you can eat in WF or TJ's you ain't even tryin' :blink:

polarbearscooby Explorer
polarbearscooby
Posted
  • Author

I've found some stuff, I just know that people who live in the area know what places are good, what places are great, and what places to avoid unless I want to spend my vacation in the bathroom

kareng Grand Master
kareng
Posted

I've found some stuff, I just know that people who live in the area know what places are good, what places are great, and what places to avoid unless I want to spend my vacation in the bathroom

If you don't get much response from DC people, you might want to start a topic with Wash, DC restaurants as the title.

anabananakins Explorer
anabananakins
Posted

So, for Christmas this year my Dad's giving me a vacation, I'm going to see my two friends who both have celiac disease and live near DC. On the first part of my trip I'll be staying with my friends family, so I'll be able to get food easy. On the second leg of my trip my other friend and I will be staying in a hotel in DC, and I'm curious as to any advice you have for me (especially those of you from that area, or who have to to that area) on where to find food, and etc.

I've heard Whole Foods and Trader Joes are good places?

Thanks in advance!!

Hi! I spent about a week in DC in October. Trader Joes and Whole Foods were awesome. There is a Whole Foods near the Tenleytown metro stop. I didn't go to that one (turned out my friend worked really close to the one on Wisconsin) but it would have been really easy had I needed to. The metro in DC is super easy and nice to use.

Trader Joes is nearish to Georgetown. It's not too bad a walk from Foggy Bottom/GWU metro stop. Nice area.

I ate at Chipotle a lot. There's one at Union Station, one at Verizon Center (near 6th and F NW, really easy to get to) and heaps others probably, those were the two handy for me. I'm super sensitive and it was always fine there (I don't get the cheese or the lettuce because they are using their hands for those). There's definitely a DC restaurants thread, I wrote down a bunch of names but don't recall them all offhand, though I think Legal Seafood is one.

Google maps is very handy. You can check out supermarkets close to metro stops really easily. For instance, there was a Giant Food near Van Ness/UDC.

I looooooove DC. Have an awesome trip!

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Monklady123 Collaborator
Monklady123
Posted

I live in Arlington, just across the river from DC. :) You said your hotel is in the mall area, however that's a pretty big area. But if you're near Foggy Bottom (which is the name of the Metro stop there) there's a Trader Joe's close by. Hopefully your hotel will have a small refrigerator and microwave in your room.

Also, our mainline grocery stores here are really getting into the gluten-free thing. yay... So Safeway and Giant have a lot of good options. If you do have a microwave you could buy some of the frozen entrees -- my favorite is Amy's macaroni and cheese. yummmmmmmmmmmm I buy that at Giant. Also there are several other options in the frozen section (it's usually in a separate "health/natural foods/organic" section of the freezer) like Indian things, some other pasta dishes, etc. But an entree, then some fresh fruit and veggies and you're good. (and dessert -- Amy's snickerdoodles, omg...)

As for restaurants -- I don't go out much so I won't be too much help, but I do know some.

PF Changs has a nice gluten-free menu. I've gotten sick from every other Chinese restaurant that I've tried, so stick with PF Chang's.

Abi's (Mexican/S. American) is good -- no specific gluten-free but I've eaten there a lot and never gotten sick. Abi's is in Arlington but easy to get to from DC if you have a car.

Bertucci's -- Italian (obviously, lol) -- has a gluten-free menu. No pasta on it, but the last time we ate there I had a grilled chicken breast that was delicious, and mashed potatoes and green beans that were perfectly cooked. And some terribly decadent chocolate dessert. B)

zPizza offers a gluten-free pizza and the one near me is very careful about keeping the gluten-free crusts isolated from the "poisoned" area. ;)

Lost Dog Cafe is FULL of gluteny stuff -- pizza, yummy sandwiches, etc. :( But on the other hand they do offer a gluten-free crust, and their salads are very nice. And their "feta vinaigrette" dressing, which is what many of the salads come with, is gluten-free. (I asked to see the list of ingredients.)

Legal Seafood had gluten-free listings the last time I was there, but that wasn't very recently so I'd check on that.

Most Thai places are good for celiac because they use so many rice noodles.

Hmm.. after saying I don't eat out much it sure sounds like I do. :lol:

Have fun on your vacation!

polarbearscooby Explorer
polarbearscooby
Posted
  • Author

Wow! Thanks for all the tips!

Yes, my Dad made sure I'd have a fridge and microwave in my room! So I should be set :)

Has anyone ever tried Austin's? It's a Tex-Mex place that's supposed to be amazing, and has a LOT of gluten-free options?

Also as far as P.F Changs goes, I don't think I'll ever eat there. My Dad and I found one once, so we decided to take a look. It was awful, there were noodles EVERYWHERE and people were mixing the tongs, I just about had nightmares about that place, and we were so glad we decided to look BEFORE we ate there....I would have been sick for a month!!

I LOVE Chipotles but we'll have to see how my stomach is healing, after my last glutening it's VERY sensitive to spicy foods :P

I'm so excited! :))

lynnelise Apprentice
lynnelise
Posted

My cousin used to work at Austin's in DC and she says it's a great place to eat gluten free. I grew up in Arlington and I visit the DC area a lot. I never have trouble eating gluten free there and I always stop at Whole Foods and Trader Joe's to stock up on goodies before I leave. I now live in WV and we don't have either store here.

GFshay Apprentice
GFshay
Posted

I used to live in DC and my friend sent me this for next time I visit: Open Original Shared Link

Looks pretty informative.

I took my first trip over Thanksgiving and had a hard time feeling full and nourished when I didn't want to deal with a meal in a restaurant. I got glutened early in my trip and ended up eating in the room (with just a fridge and no microwave!) more than at restaurants because I was afraid to risk it again. My big recommendation is make sure you keep lots of protein in your hotel room! Get some sliced deli meat, peanut butter, cheese & yogurt (if you can do dairy). I also love Thai Kitchen noodles or Amy's soups and frozen meals when I feel like I need something more hearty. It sounds like as long as you're careful about the restaurants, you'll be fine. DC is very gluten-free friendly. Enjoy!

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