JFK Airport - NYC

So, I am once again off to Maine.  Ocean air and some much deserved relaxation.  A quick breakfast of coconut milk yogurt and Bakery on Maine granola (seemed fitting) and I'm on my way.

Flying Jet Blue.  Yipee! GF Blue chips for snack!

First stop, JFK airport, NYC.  I was a little concerned about the food there.  Honestly, it has been quite a few years since I have had to fly through JFK.  The last time I was there the only options were pizza and Japanese.  Neither very gluten free friendly.  Wow, was I pleasantly surprised!  There were many very nice and yummy looking restaurants.  I am sorry to report that I just didn't have the gumption  to ask all the questions or drop $30 for a quick lunch today.  Thankfully, there is also a lovely food court at CIBO EXPRESS.

Now, I didn't see place that was specifically labeled gluten friendly BUT  there was a wonderful salad bar.

It looked like a little Whole Foods.  It was clean and food was well separated.  There were no signs regarding allergies or ingredients so I stayed with the safe stuff.  Veggies!!  They also had separate oil and vinegar so I didn't have to worry about the dressings.

There were also many prepackaged meals that looked delicious and had all the ingredients clearly marked.

I must say, I kind of want to book another trip through NY just so I can try some of the restaurants in the airport.  Kind of sad, I know!

The Beginning

I was diagnosed with celiac about four and a half years ago.  I had been sick for over 11 years.  My diagnosis came, finally, while living temporarily in Austin, TX.  Oh drat!  No more flour tortillas!  No more beer!  About 2 weeks after my diagnosis I was sent to Greenville, Maine.  I was living in a small building next to the small hospital.  The only kitchen was a fridge and a microwave. It was mud season so all of the restaurants were closed.  The only places to get ANY food were a bar (gin is gluten free!!), the hospital cafeteria or the grocery store, which was the size of a 7-Eleven.

Downtown Greenville

Everyone at the hospital was very helpful.  They had had a patient living in the nursing home a few years prior with celiac.  So, they were knowledgeable about what was safe in the cafeteria.  Unfortunately, that wasn't a lot.  I mostly lived on Jif Peanut Butter in spoonfuls, grapes, and apples at first.
On weekends,  I would drive three hours down to Portland, ME to hit up Wild Oats grocery store for some food.  At that time, it was still very difficult to find anything gluten free.  Plus, I was not very savvy yet either. I would stock up on San-J Sesame Crackers to eat with my peanut butter and Amy's Frozen Mexican Casseroles.  Thank whoever is in charge for Amy's!!!!  They only had one thing gluten-free there at that time but it said "gluten-free" right there on it.  I ate one daily!

From Greenville,  I moved back to San Francisco.  Yay!  All the great restaurants, all my favorite foods, sour dough bread!  CRAP!!  I had to relearn it all.  Thankfully, San Francisco has a huge variety of restaurants, grocery stores and a lot of very helpful chefs. I had wonderful gluten free meals at Tangerine, Chow, One Market, The Boulevard and a serious amount of Scharffen-Burger Chocolate.  I would eat cheese and sesame crackers with some 2 Buck Chuck red wine from Trader Joe's for appetizer nightly while staring out over the bay.  I figured out what was safe at Starbuck's.  I was getting the hang of this.  (I will post more on San Francisco later as I just came back from a trip and have updated info).

Six months later and back to Austin, TX which is where I currently live.

Since my diagnosis I have lived in a few cities and have visited many more.  I look forward to sharing my experiences and helping  find new places with great tasting gluten free food!