Back from Denver A-OK

[Zizzle]

I just got back from a 3-day business trip to Denver, CO, and I'm happy to report no LC flare, despite eating all my meals out. I could not believe how much easier it was to eat gluten and dairy free in Denver. At every restaurant I would simply tell the waiter I had to eat GF/DF and they quickly lit up and said, "Sure! So you can have item A, B and C, we can make item D by omitting the cream/soy sauce/cheese etc, I will instruct the kitchen, make sure the dressings are GF or will substitute one that is" etc. It was DELIGHTFUL. It almost made me want to move to Denver. In fact, I hear neighboring Boulder is probably the most gluten-free friendly town in the country.

We ate mostly at upscale restaurants on Larimer Street, a popular dining and nightlife area, and I never felt I needed to eat at chain restaurants that advertise GF (there was a Maggiano's nearby). Breakfast was a real pain because there were only coffee shops nearby. I usually had tea with a banana and nut bar, then potato chips for a snack. I should have ordered plain eggs through roomservice, but I couldn't justify the expense.

I haven't eaten such delicious food in so long, it makes me want to start looking up GF/DF recipes to make my diet more interesting.

So if you ever have to travel to the Denver area, rest easy and ENJOY!!

[JoAnn]

Zizzle, it's nice to know you can travel and eat out without having problems. I think my biggest problem in eating out is the hidden soy in so many things. Were they able to assure you there was no soy? I noticed you list it as one of your intolerances. I guess I need to plan a vacation to Boulder. JoAnn

[Kari]

Hi Zizzle,

I've been wondering how your trip went - that's wonderful news!!! I live in Littleton, 30 minutes from downtown Denver and about 50 minutes from Boulder. I very rarely make it to either place - usually head for the mountains when leaving home - but that's great to know.

Kari

[Kari]

How true JoAnn - I got glutened by soy in a Japanese restaurants 4 days ago :(. They had a great gluten free menu, but the miso soup got me. I didn't order it - so I was very surprised when the waitress brought it to the table. I asked for her assurance that it was gluten free, and she said she had asked the cooks, who assured her it was. Well, after the first spoonful (which tasted like heaven), my red flag went up, and after 2 more spoons, I knew I had to trust my instinct and stop. I asked to see the gluten free menu again, and sure enough, it was not listed there!!! You have to be a regular Sherlock Holmes to deal with this disease..........

Kari

[Zizzle]

I suppose I need to cross soy off my list of intolerances. I never cut it out 100%. I was still allowing small amounts of soybean oil, soy lecithin and GF soy sauces in my diet, and it never seemed to make things worse, so I plan to continue eating small amounts of mostly fermented soy products. What's funny is I only said gluten and dairy free and the waiters would sometimes say "you can't have that because there is soy in it" - even if it wasn't soy sauce with gluten.

In general I think upscale restaurants use less gluten and fillers overall, so there is less risk of contamination in their restaurants (ie. no flour for heaps of batter to fry cheap junk food). Even the mexican restaurant assured me their homemade (delicious) corn chips were gluten free. It was a treat to enjoy chips and salsa with a group again.

I did cheat once. I tried an Osteria's homemade goat cheese ricotta - maybe a half teaspoon. It was heavenly, and I didn't get sick! Their homemade italian cold cuts were GF too. Yummy. Although I imagine the cross-contamination risk was high with all their great looking bread.

But overall I ordered relatively simple dishes (Kari-I'm naming the restaurants in case you come into town): flat iron steak with potatoes and vegetables (Osteria Marco); whole mediterranean branzino served with cooked tomatoes, pickled onions and greens (Tag); seared rare tuna in three mole sauces (Tamayo); spinach salad with bacon, GF bacon dressing and poached egg on top (Prima Ristorante); potato galette with smoked salmon and GF/DF scrambled eggs (Rioja); lamb jalfarizi and white rice in an indian restaurant.

The only thing that made me feel sick was eating so close to bedtime! I was so full I had to prop up my pillows one night to fall asleep!

[Kari]

Thanks for the restaurant names Zizzle - you sure keep great records!!! I have the same problem about eating late - especially if it's meat - I sleep poorly and have bad dreams :(.

Kari

[Zizzle]

Me too. Red meat = fitfull sleep and crazy dreams.

[MaggieRedwings]

HI Zizzle,

So happy that you had such a good trip and lucky that you were so successful in eating out the entire time. The dinners you listed sounded great but would never make it on my list of meals since I have way more intolerances than you and a lot of us do too. You had me drooling through your trip. Maybe someday it will be manageable for me.

Maggie

[hoosier1]

Zizzle,

Going to be in Denver all next week. What restaurants do you recommend?

Rich

[Linda in BC]

So glad to hear that you had a good trip and found a GF haven in the city of Denver. I predict that more and more this way of eating will become mainstream. As of two months ago, we actually have a diner here in my little town where I can pop in and get a GF muffin, or have a sandwhich on GF bread. This is a first and I am so enjoying it!!! And if we have that here in backwater Bc, you can bet they are starting up all over the place. Mind you, the reason they have GF products is because the mother of the gal who owns the diner has a GF bakery business ( no store front.. she ships all over BC.) If not for that, we probably would still not have any restaurants that serve specific GF food. There are no others.

Anyway, wonderful about your Denver dining experiences.

[Zizzle]

Rich,
I had no transportation and was eating with colleagues, so I was limited to the areas near the convention center. I did see there are a number of GF-serving restaurants around town: PF Changs, Maggianos, Freshii, even an Udi's Cafe! But if you're downtown where I was, I think you will find all the upscale restaurants will understand your needs and adjust things as needed. My personal favorite was Tamayo for Mexican and Tag, but these only had 2-3 entrees that were GF. Made ordering easy!! A number of GF travel websites will list many more options. Enjoy meeting waiters who actually understand!!

[Robbie]

Glad it went so well