...can be the worst. But I don't have to tell you guys that! I just got back from a whirlwind trip: Los Angeles for a wedding and Iowa City for a grad school visit. Both cities have a hippie contingency—health-conscious and allergy friendly. But what I always forget is that ANY new restaurant is a battlefield in the war against my stomach. Even the Whole Foods in West Hollywood was a new experience! On the good side, there was an option to have a deli sandwich made on Rudi's gluten-free bread. On the bad side, they were out of bagels.
Iowa is naturally gluten-free.
We went out for sushi and I explained my situation to the waiter. "Oh!" he said, looking concerned. "Thank you VERY much for telling me." That made me feel great. Then our sushi plate came, drizzled in soy sauce.
A girl can only eat so much dried fruit. The trip to Whole Foods was great for my flight home: chocolate-covered pretzels (Glutino) made a nice plane-snack and I ended up buying these little individual packs of peanut (and almond) butters (Justin's)—under three ounces, so airplane-safe! I packed a loaf of Rudi's bread (let's be honest. It NEEDS a toaster. And it fell apart in my suitcase) so I could have a peanut butter sandwich in my hotel room, with fresh fruit and coffee from the little lobby canteen.
The first thing I did when I got to Iowa City was explore their food co-op. I was disappointed to see that they had no fresh baked gluten-free goods and only Bard's beer on the shelf (I prefer Redbridge.) I did notice, however, their bulletin board and suggestion box... I know where I'll be putting in my two cents!
If I leave New York, there'll be lots of changes. But I already made a vegan & wheat-allergic friend in the Iowa grad program, and we agreed to bake up a storm while we're not writing the next great American essay collection.
If you end up in Iowa and I stay in Chicago, perhaps we can have gluten-free meet-ups.
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