New York And Indianapolis

[UKGail]

Hi everyone. I've been basically shutting between home and work for the 6 months since going gluten free, and have only eaten a couple of times at trusted friends places. I have fairly strong reactions to airborne gluten and gluteny smells (mainly neurological), so am not keen on eating out unless it is in a gluten free place. At this point in time I also still need to keep to a mainly meat, fish and produce diet.

My family have decided they want to fly to New York and then have a road trip to Indianapolis to catch up with family we haven't seen for a few years for our summer holiday. Does anyone have any suggestions about self-catering accommodation in either of these places, and/or any gluten free restaurant/cafe recommendations? For New York we would stay in either Manhattan or in Westchester.

I am also a bit nervous about driving across country to Indianapolis, not because of the distance (we drove 2,000 miles last summer in Europe when I was sick and didn't know why...) but because of the difficulty of access to safe food during a long journey without all the usual picnic supports from home.

Any advice from more seasoned celiac travellers or residents of these places would be very welcome.

Thank you very much.

[ndw3363]

I live in Indianapolis and we do have some restaurants that may work for you. Not sure since you seem to be super sensitive to even the environment of the establishment. If this is true, you may have to do take out, but you would know best for that. I don't know of any strictly gluten free restaurants in the area. My favorite sit down restaurant is Cooper's Hawk winery - I've never gotten sick there. Their gluten-free menu is extensive and I go multiple times per month (the Napa Chopped Chicken salad is my new addiction). For quick and easy, I like Jason's Deli. This may be a problem for you to go there if you are super sensitive to inhaling anything as they do have regular bread around. But again, never had a problem there myself. Unfortunately, I can't help you on the roadtrip aspect since I haven't had to do one since becoming gluten-free. I would just pack a large cooler of safe foods that you know you can have and then picnic at rest stops. It's cheaper this way too! Hope you have a great time in our city!!

[UKGail]

Thanks so much for responding ndw. Cooper's Hawk looks great, with yummy food. I seem to be ok if I am in a room that is large and well ventilated, so this might be ok, if you trust them. The deli looks more problematical as its menu is bread-based. We have a small cafe in our neighbourhood which does lovely fresh home-made food, and its extensive selection of home-made cakes are mostly gluten free. When I found out I was gluten intolerant I thought "great, I still have a restaurant nearby to go to". Wrong! I went there to buy one of their gluten free cakes, and felt like I had been hit by a wall of flour as soon as I walked through the door. I had a similar experience at our local small deli, when trying to buy a bagel for my daughter. I realise this is not a typical celiac reaction, and may be an allergy instead.

Thank you for your advice. I have printed off the details for Coopers Hawk, and will save them for the trip.

[Jestgar]

You could get a little cooler for the car: Open Original Shared Link. Get some lunch meat, cheese, whatever at a store and you are set.

[curlyfries]

I'm from Indianapolis but don't eat out much. You might try going to www.glutenfreeindy.com and joining the on-line support group. They can give you some great ideas on where to eat.

[UKGail]

Jestgar and Curlyfries - thank you very much for your suggestions. The cooler looks like a good idea, and not something I've seen in the UK. I'll give the indy support group a try too, thank you.

I am still having to think about whether I can go or not (or at least travelling any further than NY) as I am still struggling to eat anything out of a packet (I have a very, very limited list of items I am ok with). I tried peanut butter again on Friday and spent the whole weekend with all the usual lovely symptoms of a full-on glutening. It was a new jar, so I can't blame anyone else for double-dipping.

It feels a bit like Hobsons choice, do I go and risk ruining the holiday for the rest of the family if I get sick, or not go and miss out, and make my poor husband do all the work looking after the kids? They are teenagers so we only have a few years left of them agreeing to go on holiday with us anyway.