I just got back from vacation a few days ago, having enjoyed a full week away on a road trip with my husband. During this trip we celebrated Mother’s Day with our daughter and her partner, and we also celebrated our thirty-sixth wedding anniversary. During this trip we also learned it is Celiac Awareness Month! I hadn’t even realized that was a thing, until just happening to drive by a very thoughtful restaurant in Strasburg, PA, that had put a big sign out on the road celebrating it! This very outward gesture demonstrated that there is growing awareness, care, and respect for the celiac community. I couldn’t be more grateful for these efforts and for such welcoming, accepting service.
A celiac diagnosis
I was diagnosed with celiac a few years ago, quite unexpectedly. It comes as quite a surprise when you’ve grown up Italian and Polish – and pasta, pierogi, and pizza are mainstays in your diet, to suddenly be told you have celiac. These gluten-filled foods were not just staples or favorites, they were my comfort foods. It is a baffling diagnosis to receive in your 50s (I know now that this is not so rare). But you adjust… There is a lot of information available now. There are many, many food choices and ways to make changes to your diet and to your kitchen at home.
What is a bit more difficult is finding safe options for dining out, especially while traveling. My husband and I often try to stay in hotels in rooms with kitchenettes. That way I can prepare my own meals and not rely on eating out. Of course, eating out together is one of our biggest joys when traveling, especially when meeting up with friends and family. It’s always a pleasure when we do find places where I can eat safely.
A road trip to Pennsylvania
We took a road trip down to central Pennsylvania, not really knowing what to expect in the way of gluten-free restaurants. We’ve both been through the area countless times, but not many times since my diagnosis. And usually, we are simply driving through. But we both use the Find Me Gluten Free app (of course!) – it’s indispensable, so we felt we would do okay. It looked like there would be a good number of options. I didn’t know just how good the options would be.
A series on living gluten-free
I have been kicking around the idea of doing a series of celiac, or gluten-free living, posts. This seems like the perfect moment to get started. So for my own recognition and celebration of Celiac Awareness Month, my first post is giving a big shout out to a few places that really stood out on this trip. These places deserve big thanks for going above and beyond, and for making those of us who cannot safely consume gluten feel welcome. Huge thanks to them for understanding what celiac is, taking it so seriously, and for offering delicious options that are just as exciting as any other menu choices.
An outward gesture
I need to start with Fireside Tavern in Strasburg, Pennsylvania. It was their sign that I saw when just enjoying a drive through the Lancaster County countryside (see main pic). Unfortunately, we never got to eat there, so we didn’t get to enjoy what looks like a fantastic menu! Hopefully we’ll be back, and will be there at a time when the restaurant is open. In addition to putting Celiac Awareness literally right out front, they are even running a raffle in honor of Celiac Awareness Month (how cool is that?). Check out their site and bookmark it if you’re local to the area or think you might travel through.
The number one app
I have to mention the Find Me Gluten Free app. Probably everyone with celiac is already aware of this app, but I’ve used other apps that simply do not compare. I feel FMGF deserves this to be noted. No app is going to be flawless, but in my experience, Find Me Gluten Free continues to provide the most useful information, the most reliable restaurant reviews, and the most comprehensive listings. I haven’t gone wrong with it, whereas I have actually found recommendations in other apps that could badly mislead users. During this trip, I relied on it heavily.
Doing celiac in luxury
A big highlight of our stay was getting room service (it had been a long time!). We decided somewhat on a whim to stay at The Hotel Hershey. We love staying in these lovely, finer, historic hotels. I never expected the Hotel Hershey would be able to accommodate celiac in their dining choices. I found myself feeling completely unworried about anything I ordered, as several people there happily assured me that they prepare gluten-free foods in separate areas of their kitchen, and stick to safe practices. Although I can’t vouch for all of the restaurants on site, and none of them are dedicated gluten-free, I can say that anything I enjoyed, including the gluten-free baked goods from Chef’s Market All Day Cafe, were safe for me, and delicious. This is a fantastic hotel, now one of my very favorites, and it was a true joy to stay there.
Pizza!
My husband knows how to make a great pizza. He managed a pizzeria – many years before I was gluten-free, and he has made many awesome gluten-free pizzas from scratch at home. However, I hadn’t enjoyed a pizza out since being diagnosed. Then on this trip I found Piazza Sorrento. This wonderful Italian restaurant got such great reviews on Find Me Gluten Free that I felt comfortable taking a chance.
The pizza was excellent. Having grown up in New Haven, CT, I’d be lying if I said I love gluten-free pizza crusts as much as a nice, thin, Neapolitan style crust, but Sorrento’s gluten-free pizza was awesome – the sauce, the cheese, the seasonings, and even the crust, were all fantastic. We returned another night, and I had a delicious Chicken Piccata over risotto. Piazza Sorrento is not a dedicated gluten-free facility, but they are endorsed by the Gluten Intolerance Group of Harrisburg (GIG) and the Gluten Intolerance Group of North America. Piazza Sorrento takes gluten-free very seriously, and they are rightly proud of their gluten-free menu.
Across the river
Two great standouts from Mechanicsburg that I must mention, were Black N Bleu and Metro Diner. Black N Bleu is a restaurant with a great energy and atmosphere. They were kind enough to give us a print menu before we even decided to eat there, just so we could see the large number of options they offered for gluten-free. Two of us who ate there have celiac, and we both did fine and enjoyed our (different) meals greatly. Metro Diner was another great choice. It was a blast, with delicious food, and super friendly service. Again, two of us who ate there have celiac, and we both loved our meals and had no issues.
My favorite grocery store
This mention might seem a little goofy, but ever since discovering Wegmans, I get excited any time I get to shop at one. I keep the app on my phone for traveling, and I receive the email newsletter as well. How pleasantly surprised I was when I received notification that they were celebrating Celiac Awareness Month at Wegmans, with descriptions of new gluten-free items they had created. There are a lot of ways Wegmans can be a model to other supermarket chains, and this is yet another. And it should go without saying, but for those meals we prepared in the room at some great Marriotts on this trip, we did our shopping at Wegmans!
Gratitude
These are just places or people I want to offer sincere thanks to. They understand that gluten-free is not a fad for those of us with celiac or other gluten sensitivities, they respect us enough to accommodate these issues, and they offer items that are just as exciting as anything else on their menus. I have been a professional baker, and my husband has been a professional baker and a chef and has managed a restaurant (all many years before “gluten-free” was really a thing). We are both aware of some of the difficulties and challenges that must come with accommodating celiac in restaurant kitchens. We know there are some additional costs, and extra training. The places we visited on this vacation were very much a part of why this was such an awesome trip.
YMMV
I want to include an important note; my celiac is symptomatic. I tend to know when I have been “glutened,” with my own, unmistakable, telltale signs. So I’ve judged my experience of each of these places, and made my recommendations, based on that background. Obviously, everyone is different, with their own sensitivity and their own symptoms. None of these places were dedicated gluten-free, so, as they say, your mileage may vary.
Pennsylvania
I live in Vermont, which is a stunning and very special place. We also have excellent restaurants. Farm to table is big here, locally and organically grown are big here. Even veganism is well accommodated here. What isn’t represented very broadly here, is gluten-free. The eateries that really, reliably and consistently accommodate celiac here are few and far between; I rarely eat out when I am home in Vermont. I have enjoyed many trips to and through PA before, but living with celiac, I was amazed by how many choices there were for eating out. The above were only a few out of many that I enjoyed while there. Even farmers’ markets offered great gluten-free options.
Get in touch
If you are able to visit any of the fantastic eateries I visited on my road trip, please let me know how you like them! I’d also love to hear about other establishments that are going above and beyond, so please drop me an email or leave a comment. Also, keep an eye out for more posts about my experience with celiac or with living gluten-free.
As always, thanks for reading.
~ Nellie
Image: main image is just a quick snapshot I hurriedly took while parked off the road, of the sign for Fireside Tavern and its recognition of Celiac Awareness Month. Unfortunately, I wasn’t thinking of taking amazing photos of the amazing food I was enjoying, so I don’t have the pictures I’d really like for this post… I’ll just have to go back!
