NicoleAJ

Disneyland does do the same thing. In Futureland I got a cheese burger with a real-tasting gluten free bun and french fries from a dedicated fryer. The chef came out to talk with me about the meal before I ordered it and then he personally brought it out to me and said that there were no problems with cc and that he had prepared the entire meal from start to finish himself.

At the restaurant (is it called the Blue Lagoon--something like that), I made reservations in advance. The chef called me at home and assured me that I would have no problem. When I arrived, the chef described the options and then prepared the meal himself and brought it out to me. In addition, the people at the gate were very understanding when I brought in foods for "medical necessity" (though I didn't really need them with all of the food they were able to provide). In Adventure Land they have a stand that only sells McD's french fries, so nothing has ever gone into that hut except for the ff and soda--very safe. I had a great experience in Disneyland and can't wait to go back!!!

I just thought I'd post about my trip to York Beach, Maine, as it was the first trip in quite some time that I did not get ill. First of all, the Hannaford's on Rte 1 has a decent gluten free selection, with plenty of Amy's organics, Pamela's cookies, Larabars, etc. This was helpful since I was staying in a cottage where I could cook food. There aren't a lot of places in downtown York Beach where you can actually get food--the Goldenrod had never really heard of gluten. But if you do have a car, then you'll easily be able to get a good meal. At Fox's at Nubble Light, they were extremely accomodating with all of my requests--I had lobster, and they said that they weren't sure if their margarine mix had gluten, so they melted fresh butter for me instead. They also checked the ingredients on the sour cream before bringing it out (for my baked potato). They took cc issues very seriously--and their prices were very reasonable $19 for a 1 1/8 lb lobster, baked potato and a salad. I also had luck eating lobster at the Weathervane in Kittery Maine and getting halibut at Robert's in Kittery (though that was a bit pricier). Allison's in Kennebunkport, Maine was also accomodating--they were able to make prime rib without flour. I didn't get a chance to go to the York Harbor Inn, but they also seemed really accomodating and I used to love going there before going gluten free. If any of you travel to southern Maine, you should have no problem finding food (especially if you like lobster). I was there for a week and didn't get sick a single time.

I've had good luck in Boston--most upper end places will know what you're talking about, particularly if you bring a Triumph dining card along. I wouldn't risk the pubs though. Don't forget about Legal Seafoods--their gluten free menu is great. They even have an LS in the airport, so I was able to get a gluten free meal before going onto the plane.

Oh my goodness Franceen--that's aweful! I've never heard of a place that's been so tyrannical about eating their food (especially in a locale that depends upon tourists). How could it possibly hurt them to have you bring your own food into a buffet lunch? Frankly, they should have been falling all over themselves to make sure that a conference of 350 guests had all of their needs taken care of. In fact, the majority of conferences that I've attended (even if they are at less desirable locations/hotels) have asked about dietary restrictions prior to the conference. It's unbelievable that they would treat you that way and even more appalling that corporate wouldn't get back to you with a free trip to the Hilton of your choice.

Even at budget hotels, any time I've used the phrase "medical necessity," they've immediately gotten me in contact with the general manager to find out what they can do to make my stay more comfortable. I certainly hope skbird has a better experience than that. It also sounds like your aweful trip merits bashing the hotel in any online review you can find as well as a ring to the better business bureau or any hotel association or chamber of commerce they might be a part of.

I'd contact the resort itself about dietary restrictions for medical necessity. In fact, I think you'll be much safer in a resort than you would be anywhere else in Mexico since they go out of their way to accomodate their guests and want them to return with large groups (such as weddding parties). Most big Mexican resorts that cater to American tourists have really great chefs, and as such, they are often able to accomodate a whole host of dietary restrictions. Any fruit that you get at the resort will be thoroughly washed with purified water--they don't want their wealthy clients getting Montezuma's revenge. However, if you were to go to a grocery store, you never know what kind of labelling laws they have, so I wouldn't trust the packaged foods. And you certainly wouldn't want to eat any vegetable or fruit without a thick skin.

Is this an all-inclusive resort? If so, I'd imagine that at breakfast and lunch there will probably be large buffet-style offerings. If so, you can always get the fruit, and there will probably an omelet station--just ask them to clean out the pan for you (the chefs that interact with the customers, in my experience, have always spoken impeccable English and are really obliging with requests). For lunch, you can always ask for a salad, and then they usually do different burgers and hot dogs and things on the grill (by the pool) if you don't want the buffet--often times they'll just have a tray of cooked burgers that are separate from the buns--I would just ask what they've seasoned them with (because you never know).

Finally, there will probably be a lot of seafood, beef, and chicken for dinner, but they will also probably use a lot of sauces. I would make nice with the head chef or the manager when you first arrive, explain all of your concerns and ask them what on the menu can actually be altered to suit your dietary needs. I'd also bring a Triumph card or a typed up explanation of all of the things that you can and cannot eat that someone can go over with the chef--if you can write in Spanish, then you might want to translate that into Spanish if possible (not all of the chefs that don't interact with the clients will be fluent in English).

Most of these resorts have a formula for success, which entails that the customer is always the primary concern, and because you'll be there for several days, they know if they accidentally poison you with gluten, then you won't trust them the next day, and then you'll warn people away from the resort in the future instead of telling all of your friends back home just how wonderful and accomodating they were. I would be proactive now. Call the resort, tell them your concerns. You might even be able to store foods that you get through customs in their freezer, or they might give you a microwave for your room (in which case you might want to try to take soups and shelf stable microwaveable foods). They might even already have a list of all of the things on their menu that don't contain the common allergens and gluten. If you do this, then you can try to bring as many foods into the country as possible, but if they all get taken away, you can still rest assured that they will do their best to take care of you during the entire length of your stay.

I hope you do get a chance to go back. It's such a culinary treat, especially post-diagnosis, and very romantic as well!

GFP--feel free to use my post about Le Reminet. I've added the post separately on this forum. Also feel free to edit it down if you like because I know that it's excessively lengthy.

Wow, that is both unfortunate and humorous that your friend had the experience with the auto-loo. Is it true that madames have been known to take their clients there, or is that just a traveller's urban legend? Whether it was true or not, I felt it wasn't worth it to check on the cleaniness standards of those toilettes if I could possibly help it.

I had the most overwhelmingly positive experience at Le Reminet in 3 rude des Grands-Degres (telephone: 0144070424). A couple owns the restaurant--the wife, who takes the orders has celiac, and the husband is the head chef. We heard about the restaurant here as well as on a few other forums and decided to try it. They open at 7:30, and because we happened to be there before 7:30 on the Thursday night that we arrived in Paris, we were able to get in, but I would highly recommend making reservations ahead of time as it is very busy and fairly small, and since most dinners take 2 to 3 hours, some people who didn't make reservations had a really long wait outside.

When we arrived I had my French diner's card out, but when I asked for the meal sans gluten, they told me that that would not be a problem, and asked me what I wanted (tons of things on the menu can be altered to exclude gluten). By the way, for those of you (myself included) who don't have great mastery of French, the staff is fluent in English and happy to oblige--it seems that they fill the front room with tourists (many of them American) and they have a bottom floor dining room where a lot of the locals eat. Interestingly enough, I heard the man sitting next to me order his food sans gluten as well, so we struck up a conversation with the couple beside us, and it turns out that he was from Belgium (also a celiac) and his wife was originally from Spain. We talked for quite a while about where it's easiest to find gluten free meals in Europe, and they showed me their gluten free product guides for Spain, Belgium, and France.

I ordered pumpkin soup, which they served without cream, which must have had gluten in it--it was absolutely incredible. I haven't really had good fresh soup since my diagnosis (except if I make it at home), so this was quite a treat. Then for the next course, I had lamb, which was delicious and cooked to perfection. It came with a cheese and eggplant dish that really made the meal, and it was garnished with a tomato reduction and a pesto as well as a creative looking and tasty fried potato structure. It was, by far, the best meal I've had at a restaurant since going gluten free. For dessert, I had the most phenomenal dish. It was a coffee meringue that was as crisp as a cookie, and then it had dollops of the richest and creamiest chocolate mousse. They sprinkled cocoa powder over the dish, and then served an espresso jelly on the side--it was out of this world.

We enjoyed the restaurant so much that we made reservations for Saturday night as well. Surprisingly, we saw our gluten free couple in the Louvre the next day, and they had made reservations for Saturday at 8 as well, so again, we were seated next to them, and continued our conversations from the other night. I was so overwhelmed by how good the lamb dish was, that I ordered again that night, along with the mousse, but this time with a mixed green salad instead of the soup--again, since I ordered the meal sans gluten, I didn't even have to worry about asking about the dressing.

At this point in our trip, I'd had a few cross contamination issues at other places that had made me ill, and I never had a single problem after eating either meal at Le Reminet, so, again, we made reservations for Sunday night. This time I had the pumpkin soup and the mousse, but for the main course I had a pork chop that came with this type of cheese and fried onions on the top, and it came with this gluten free potato au gratin dish that was absolutely delicious. Again, the meat was cooked to perfection, and everything was wonderful.

I can't speak highly enough about this restaurant. The service was fantastic (maybe a bit slow to get the check, but after a great meal like that, who really cares anyway--it was just nice to spend a bit more time with my sweetheart in that romantic atmosphere). It is also a bit pricey in comparison to some of the other restaurants you could find in Paris (we spent approimately 100 euros for each meal--some a bit higher some a bit lower), but we also got a decent bottle of wine with each meal. However, we thought it was well worth the money to leave each night having had a fantastic meal that caused no concerns of gluten or cross contamination.

In fact, the other couple said they hadn't had too many problems gluten in Paris but only because they sent most of their meals back once or more in order to make sure that they were right.

By contrast, Le Reminet was not just a good restaurant for eating a gluten free meal (i.e. the type of place you wouldn't want to patronize if you didn't have gluten concerns)--it was just a great restaurant where you happened to be able to get gluten free meals with no concerns. This is why my boyfriend was willing to go back so many times--he had a great fish dish, some really succulent rabbit and got the lamb one night as well. It came to feel like our restaurant in Paris, and I hope that the next time I return that Le Reminet is still thriving, so I can give them lots of business again.

I apologize for the length of the post, but I couldn't hold back having had such a great experience!

Many varieties of rice vinegar actually do contain gluten because they are brewed with grain alcohol--this is why she said it wasn't ok. You just have to check with the companies about which rice vinegars are ok and which are not.

I've been eating the rice bars and gorilla munch for a while now and have not had a problem. I once read somewhere, however, that no matter what cereal you eat, you're probably going to encounter even a few ppms of gluten through cc; consequently, they suggest that you not eat gluten free cereals on a daily basis. I tend to mix it up, eating cereal a few times a week, muffins, pancakes, etc.

It's important to get it checked out--I bled for months to the point of exhaustion before we got the proper diagnosis. At first it was believed that I had internal hemmroids, which I had had before, so the treatment was a type of steroid, but this did not stop the bleeding. Upon receiving the third colonoscopy in 5 years, they discovered that I had proctitis, which is essentially the same thing as ulcerative colitis, except the ulcers only settle in the rectum instead of the colon. Proctitis is treated by a different type of suppository than hemmroids are, and after only a few weeks of treatment, I was back to normal. It's a chronic disease that will go away and return throughout your life, particularly during stressful periods, but now at the first sign of blood, I simply use the meds for a week or so and I'm back to normal. But you'd be amazed at how much blood you can lose through stool and still be able to function normally--it's just tough for women who already lose some iron in their normal cycle--if you lose too much blood, talk to your doctor about whether or not you might need iron supplements to account for the loss.

GFP, these actually weren't restaurants on your list--I never seemed to be in the correct area at the proper time for any of those. I can post to your site, but I do need to look through the old receipts to find out where each of these places were.

I think a map of public restrooms could definitely be helpful, as I was leery about using the pay toilets on the streets.

Berneses,

Thanks so much for the recommendations! I'm really excited about the trip, and I'm happy that there are so many places in the area that are accomodating because my initial searches didn't turn up many results. It's great to hear recommendations from a local to really know where to go. Of course I know I can have boiled lobster and a baked potato almost anywhere, but I'd like to have a few other options as well. Thanks again!

Nicole

Hello everyone,

I don't actually live in your area, so I probably wouldn't be able to get together for a meal (I'm in PA right now), but my family does have a cottage in York Beach, ME and I'm going to be there for the next week. When we're there I spend a lot of time in Portsmouth, Kennebunkport, Perkin's Cove, Ogunquit, etc. I haven't been back there since going gluten free. Do any of you know of restaurants that would be accomodating? I notice that there aren't a lot of chain restaurants with gluten free menus in that area. I'll probably do a decent amount of cooking and packing snacks, but I know that my family will tire of doing that, so if you have any suggestions, I'd really appreciate it.

I just have to rave about the quality of Gamble Mill Tavern in Bellefonte, PA (right near Penn State in State College). They have the most wonderful food, and it's one of the few places I've been that I've absolutely never gotten sick. The first time I went, my boyfriend made the reservations long in advance and asked about gluten free options, and they asked him to call back on the day of the reservation. That day I called the restaurant and they were amazingly knowledgeable about the problems with soy sauce, cross contamination, etc. When we showed up at the restaurant, the hostess seated us and pointed out on the menu (without my mentioning it) the pencil marks where they had indicated what I could eat and what types of substitutions could be made. When the waitress came to the table, she offered my boyfriend bread and carried my breadplate away without even asking me--she knew I couldn't eat it and didn't make me feel awkward about it at all. I got this delicious lamb dish and a salad with a gluten free white balsamic dressing. After dinner, the waitress brought out handmade confections (as is the tradition there), and before bringing them out, she checked if they were gluten free, which, in fact, they were.

I have been back to Gamble Mill on numerous occasions, and each one has been a pleasure. I went there last week and called ahead, as I always do. This time the waiter actually brought out a typed up, laminated list of all the gluten free options as well as lactose free, mushroom free, nut free, etc. I was truly impressed. The waiter told me that the wife of the owner (or it might have been chef) is gluten intolerant as well, so this helps to account for their uncommonly attentive food preparation. I highly recommend this restaurant to anyone living in or visiting the central PA area!

I had hypoglycemia before diagnosis and after nearly two years of the gluten free diet, it's about the same as it was before. However, I do find that when I have really low blood sugar, I do feel a bit more desperate about it on the gluten free diet than I did before going gluten free. Sometimes I'm just not near something that I could just quickly buy to stop the reaction--I, too, simply have to keep things in my purse and eat frequently to prevent this from happening.

I was so encouraged by the responses of Floridanative and Tanya from Chicago when they said that they spent time in Paris without a single cross-contamination issue. Unfortunately, I wasn't quite so lucky.

I did my research, I went to plenty of pricey and upscale places, used my gluten free dining cards in French from glutenfreetravel.com, tried to find things on the menu that would be naturally gluten free, was excessively polite and showed gratitude for their time, and tried as much as possible to speak in French. During each meal, the waiters/managers would carefully listen about cross contamination issues and other hidden sources of gluten and they would always say "no problem," but I still managed to feel lousy during much of my trip to Paris. Of course I had a wonderful time, but in addition to my tours of the sites, I also ended up taking tours of the majority of McDonald's and Starbuck's bathrooms in Paris. Often times it wouldn't be an immediate and violent reaction--just a prolonged illness, leading me to believe it was cross contamination rather than outright gluten.

Of course it didn't help that my non-celiac boyfriend and I actually got food poisoning at an Indian restaurant there half way through the trip. I usually have great luck with Indian cuisine because much of it is naturally gluten free; however, I immediately felt ill and told my boyfriend that it must be gluten, but he said that he felt exactly the same way. For the next 24 hours we shared the immodium caplets and spent a lot of time slowly sipping tea, staying within a radius of accessible bathrooms. After that I'm not sure if I had gluten problems or simply lingering effects of food poisoning, but it still wasn't pleasant.

Unfortunately, I'm just hypersensitive to gluten and to cross-contamination. I often get ill if I try to go out in the States, and Paris was no different.

The resounding exception to this rule was Le Reminet near Notre Dame--I'll post about it on another thread.

Calico Sue,

I'm really glad that you didn't get sick from McDonald's in Paris! I just came back from a trip to Paris at the end of May, and when I went to the McDonald's France site in French, it said that the fries were not in fact gluten free. It's probably best that you didn't eat much of the food there because, unlike in the U.S., they didn't have gluten-free options.

Also, thanks for the postings on London--I do research there every once in a while, but I haven't been back since I was diagnosed with celiac.

I'm glad they've allowed you to bring in a small amount of food, but if you want a bigger amount of food, one of my tricks has been to get the type of windbreaker that folds into a large pouch. You take the windbreaker out of its pouch, fill that huge pocket with food and then tie it around your waist. They'll never touch your rear end to see if it's really that big or just stashed with food--just remember not to sit down on it when you get in.

Barkat has these mexican rice meals that have black beans and corn in them, and you only have to add hot water and let it sit for 8 minutes. I was just on an eight hour flight and took one of those along with me as well as some Boar's head turkey and cheese rolled up around slices of avocado (asked for a knife when I got on board and got a strange look until I explained why). The stewardess also brought me quite a bit of fresh fruit because she felt badly that I could not eat their food.

I think that some companies do put those on there for legal reasons so if there is a slight chance of cross contamination, they will not appear at fault. That being said, I steer clear from those products that say they may contain wheat. If a product says that it is produced in the same facility that processes wheat, I usually call the company to see what their policies are. In my mind, it's never worth taking a gamble with my health. Your friend make take risks with sesame, but I'm sure she's got an epi-pen nearby in case she has a reaction. Unfortunately for us, we can't do much of anything to lessen the effects of a gluten reaction.

Caroline,

The symptoms are different for everyone, and some people are even asymptomatic. A lot of people get diarrhea, gas, bloating, brain fog, bloody stool, malnutrition, weight loss, headaches, nausea--it's a whole range. Once you're totally off gluten for a while that's when you'll notice when a single eating incident has caused you to feel sick. You'll learn your own symptoms soon enough--it's just important to be cautious in the mean time so that you don't have to worry about what it feels like to be glutened.

I actually still get bloody stools from time to time, and I'm not 100% sure if its gluten related. My doctor identified it as ulcerative colitis--I even have the still shots that show parts of my colon bloody and damaged, but the GI doesn't really know enough about celiac to say definitively whether or not it is related to trace amounts of gluten or damage that will never properly heal or what. I've only seen one other person here post about proctitis. Does anyone else have it and know more about potential links with celiac disease?

Actually I ate at the Hard Rock Cafe in Philadelphia. It's listed in the Triumph dining guide as being celiac friendly (don't buy the guide by the way). So I went there and spoke with the waitress and the manager and gave them my Triumph dining card and she gave it back to me assuring me that all was gluten free, and I was violently ill for days. It could have been the tea I had the next morning, but I'm not totally sure on that one. When I returned home (I was on a trip), my clothing didn't even fit me properly anymore. They seemed to know what they were doing when I spoke to them, but I haven't been that sick in a long time.

You may also consider the fact that you're eating too many fruits and vegetables. I know it's all you've got, but too much fiber can cause quite a few problems with D. I do agree that nuts are a great option as are avocados. Are you maintaining your weight in all of this?