It’s hard to believe that three months ago today I left Japan.  In some ways, it seems like ages since I left, and in others, it feels like just days ago.  On March 14^th, I left Japan in a whirlwind, after an emotionally wearing four days.  As my plane lifted off the ground at Narita, I breathed a huge sigh of relief, but I didn’t regret being in Japan for a minute, and I still don’t.  I’m thankful for that time with my family and getting the rare opportunity to get to know my nephews.

As I look back on Gluten Freedom during that time, it’s particularly eerie that I published this post 45 minutes before the earthquake hit.  Clearly, I had no idea what was coming.

In those three months, I haven’t seen my brother, sister-in-law and the boys in person. Shortly after I left Japan, Alden, Pete and Chip were able to ultimately get stateside (after many, many flights), thankfully. Rob is still in Japan and his ship actually left Yokusuku yesterday to embark on another tour. He’ll be reunited with his family later this summer.  I’m going to see Alden and the boys this weekend and I can’t wait to be with them.  Chip turned two yesterday and he continues to be a sweet and wonderful child, full of personality.  Pete’s growing and I’m sure has changed so much since we parted ways in March.  Alden remains my hero and has been an amazing mother throughout all of this.  Can you tell I’m excited to see them??

Chip and me on a morning walk in Japan

From March to June, I finished up a successful lacrosse season, got through exams with my students, and am now enjoying a more leisurely pace of summer.  I’ve had two articles published in Living Without Magazine, on Washington, D.C. and Montana/Wyoming and tried to keep up with Gluten Freedom when I have a spare moment. This May, former students and advisees of mine graduated from college.  (I’m old!)  More former students then graduated from high school in June.  I have a new niece, Anna Lohne Metcalf, born in May.  David and I’ve been to four weddings, in Atlanta, Richmond, New York and DC, with a fifth on the way this weekend on the Eastern Shore.

So many things to celebrate!  Life is good.

Living Without's June/July Issue

As some of you know, I spent a significant part of my life calling the DC area “home.”  When I was diagnosed with celiac, I was living in Alexandria, Virginia, so my gluten-free journey started in our nation’s capital.  I recently had the opportunity to write another article for Living Without Magazine about traveling to Washington, D.C., in honor of the 4^th of July.  This article (found in the June/July issue) highlights the festivities unique to our nation’s capital on this patriotic holiday, but is also useful for navigating the city any time of year.

My Article!

Check out the restaurants and activities for yourself!  Doesn’t it make you want to take a quick trip to DC?  If you don’t have time to pick up a copy at Whole Foods, you can read “Happy Birthday America: Celebrate the 4^th of July in Allergy-Friendly Washington, DC” online by clicking here.

We love DC: David and me at Obama's Inauguration

Which of these restaurants and sights are favorites of yours?  Anything I left out?

I love Mexican food, in fact it’s one of my favorite genres of food.  It can be tricky to find good, Mexican cuisine that is safely gluten-free, as there are often language barriers and risks of contamination.  When we lived near Washington, D.C., I was lucky enough to find two Mexican places I loved: Tortilla Coast and Rosa Mexicano.  Much to my excitement, when we moved to Atlanta, I discovered that there’s a Rosa Mexicano in Atlantic Station, just a few miles from us.  David and I went to the Atlanta Rosa Mexicano last weekend and were just as pleased with our meal here as back in the District.

A word of warning: Rosa Mexicano is not your cheap, order by number, Mexican food.  Rosa Mexicano’s food is high-quality, with fresh, natural ingredients.  Not only does Rosa Mexicano serve great food, but they are gluten-free friendly, as they use corn tortillas and they fry their tortilla chips in a fryer that’s free from gluten.  If you check out Rosa Mexicano’s website, they even have a gluten-free menu.  The Atlantic Station restaurant didn’t actually have copies of the GF menu, but having perused the online version earlier, I had an idea of my GF options and what I wanted to order.  When going to Rosa Mexicano, or any restaurant, make sure that you double check with the chef about what’s gluten-free, even if they have a gluten-free menu.  Our waiter was very friendly and willing to run back and forth to the kitchen for us.  He double checked everything for us.

If you go to Rosa Mexicano, you must get the guacamole that they prepare table side.  It’s so good, I want to lick the bowl.  Every last bit of guac gets scraped out of the dish’s crevices.  Their guacamole’s amazing, fresh, and you know exactly what’s in it because you see them make it.  (A celiac’s dream!)  As I mentioned before, the chips are gluten-free as are the tortillas so I can dip away!  David’s a competitive eater when it comes to guac, so I just have to make sure I eat quickly and/or hoard some of the avocado-goodness on my plate.  Normally I take my time when I eat, but it’s hard to maintain any manners when the guacamole is put on the table.  Every man (and woman) is left to fend for himself (herself).

For my entrée, I usually go with one of the versions of the Tacos al asador: pork, steak or chicken.  These are actually more like fajitas than what I think of as tacos, and I love ‘building my own’ from the platter of meat, veggies, beans and rice.  On our most recent visit, David and I each got one order of tacos and shared.  I love being able to share at a restaurant!  David ordered the pork and I chose the chicken.  I don’t usually order chicken at restaurants, but Rosa Mexicano’s chicken tacos are delicious and I particularly look forward to the cheese, onions and peppers that are cooked with the chicken.  These dishes come with unlimited corn tortillas, and the black beans are speckled with cheese.  David and I splurged that night by ordering two entrees, but in the past we’ve just ordered the guacamole and one order of tacos, and it was plenty of food for the two of us.

If you’re craving Mexican food and want a restaurant safe from gluten, you should definitely check out one of Rosa Mexicano’s locations in Atlanta, DC, Miami, L.A., or New York.  While the food’s a little pricier than most Mexican establishments, it’s worth the splurge.

As I’ve mentioned a few times on Gluten Freedom, I have a bit of an obsession with all things Top Chef. Just thinking about Bravo reality television, makes me nostalgic for my television waiting for me back in northern Virginia.  Speaking of my old home, my DC sources tell me that filming of the next Top Chef Restaurant Wars just started filming this week in Washington, D.C.  How exciting!  I wish I was there to stalk Padma, Tom and my other favorite celebs.  (Yes, those are my top celebs.  Well, if you don’t count Desmund Tutu, Mike Krzyzewski and Barbara Kingsolver.)

I don’t have much information about the season, just that they’re in the nation’s capital, only minutes from my former residence on a high school girls’ dorm.  Ah, what I would give to know a little more about the taping plans.  Who’s involved in the shoot?  How good Padma’s scar will look with the cherry blossoms in the background?  Will Tom be drinking and promoting Diet Coke, walking down the Mall?

Does anyone have any good gossip about the filming of Restaurant Wars? Please share any information!  Healthy cooking in the White House Garden with Michelle Obama?  Catering a cocktail party in the Smithsonian with historical hors d’oeuvres?  A challenge that requires the use of cherries to celebrate the cherry blossoms?  Ballpark food and a shameless plug of the Nationals in a futile attempt to boost ticket sales?  A plethora of possibilities!  I can guarantee you there will be more ‘Gladware’ and GE Appliances than DC has ever seen before.

Check out what these DC bloggers speculated about the shoot:

Top Chef DC, or There Aren’t enough Exclamation Points

Metrocurean: Top Chef Starts Filming Today

This weekend I headed north to the Washington, D.C. area for a visit.  It was my first time back since we moved in early August and it was great to see everyone, catch up with students, family and friends.  Of course I didn’t miss the opportunity to go to some of my favorite restaurants and bakeries to get my fill of all my gluten-free favorites in the nation’s capital.  While many others on my flight were up here to run the Marine Corps Marathon, I was here to visit and eat!

Gluten Freedom’s Northern VA/DC Area Favorites (Click on the links to check out previous posts I wrote about these yummy places.):

Evening Star: My all time favorite restaurant in northern Virginia, they just created a new fall menu and I enjoyed the pork tenderloin with creamy polenta, walnuts and mushroom gravy.  All naturally gluten-free of course!  The waiters are great at Evening Star and I always feel well taken care of at this great restaurant in Del Ray.

Buzz Bakery: I got my birthday cake here this year and I love their gluten-free baked goods.  On this visit I got the chocolate cupcake with vanilla frosting and a brownie for the plane ride home (well, I ate most of it before I left town actually)

Tortilla Coast: I called ahead and they made me a batch of tortilla chips before the fryer oil got contaminated with glutenous items; chicken fajitas with corn tortillas

Cake Love: A great spot in Shirlington to get baked goods to go.  I ordered the yellow cake with vanilla butter cream frosting and enjoyed my treats at home with mom and dad on Sunday afternoon.

Thai Shirlington: Of course I had to get the panang perfect!

What a great weekend!  I came back to Atlanta well fed after a fun weekend with family and friends.  I miss them already.

As any celiac knows, it’s great to have a meal at a restaurant and feel healthy the next day, but it’s really great when you eat there twice, and both times emerge healthy and happy! I went to Tortilla Coast last night with some friends and the meal was just as excellent and gluten free as the first time I went.

Also, I called ahead in the morning to tell them that I would be dining there that night and they fried a special batch of chips for me before the oil got contaminated with gluten. When I arrived they served them to me and they were warm, salty, crunchy and delicious! So I got to have chips and salsa just like everyone else. How awesome is that?! It’s so nice to feel normal when dining at a restaurant.

One of my favorite places to go for lunch on Saturday is Whole Foods in Alexandria (1700 Duke Street). First of all, I could spend hours wandering the aisles at Whole Foods, looking at all of the beautiful items. There is so much for the celiac to eat at Whole Foods and they even make their own line of gluten free foods which can be found in the freezer section. The apple and pumpkin pies actually taste like real pie!

While I could write all day about the incredible gluten free products, the part of Whole Foods that I love the most is their prepared food section. Oftentimes when friends suggest a lunch date, I choose Whole Foods. The store even has a large area to sit at the store or you can take it to go. Today I went with my friends Meredith and Ellie and we each had yummy and very different meals.

I love the salad bar at Whole Foods for many reasons. Their ingredients are always fresh and everything actually looks good…not like it’s been sitting there all day! Also, they list every ingredient in every item on the salad bar.

A word of warning though: Celiacs should always be careful about any kind of buffet/salad bar because of the potential for cross contamination. One of the things I check out first is where the items are located in the salad bar. For example, if there’s chicken next to a cold cous cous salad, I will avoid that chicken as well because of its close proximity to the cous cous as it’s likely people have dropped cous cous into the chicken. While sometimes I’m disappointed that there are things I can’t have, there are so many options that I always have plenty of healthy and yummy items in my salad.

Today in my salad I had a variety of goodness on top of my greens. I had the usual carrots, corn, and grilled chicken, but I also topped my salad with snap peas, a quinoa & chickpea salad, grilled veggies and a cold red bean and rice salad. I also purchased the new Mary’s Gone Crakers ‘Twigs and Sticks’ that I substituted for croutons so as to add a little saltiness to the salad. I usually go with the balsalmic vinagarette dressing, but as I said before all of the ingredients are listed for every item, included salad dressings, so there are many options! Enjoy!

Whole Foods
1700 Duke Street
Alexandria, VA 22314
703.706.0891

The husband and I had been reading about Blue Duck Tavern (24th and M) for awhile and hearing great things about the cuisine. Before even eating at the restaurant I loved their philosophy of using fresh and local ingredients. (As I’m a ‘wannabe foodie’ I’m a bit obsessed with the local food movement…more on that later!) We knew nothing about whether or not Blue Duck would accommodate my dietary needs, but I figured that simply due to the fact that they use such natural and fresh ingredients, there would be something I could eat. And fortunately we were right!

This summer the husband and I decided to experience Blue Duck cuisine first hand and we took his parents and sister for a birthday celebration. The decor of Blue Duck is very unique. There are wooden rocking chairs in the lobby and there’s a rustic American feel. Blue Duck is attached to the Hyatt, but you never notice or realize it while you’re in the restaurant. The kitchen is totally open to the restaurant so you can watch the chef in action…that always makes me feel safer about my food because they have to be clean if people are watching! We sat at a huge wooden table (at times it was hard to hear each other, so I would prefer a booth) and started examining the menu.

I had mentioned my celiacs when I made the reservations and the hostess I spoke with assured me that it shouldn’t be a problem. Once we arrived they already had documented my allergy and my waiter immediately told me to pick exactly what I wanted and he would ask the chef. The waiter was very knowledgeable about the ingredients, but he always double checked with the chef which made me feel safer. (Sometimes I get concerned when a waiter acts overconfident and doesn’t want to talk to the chef because he insists that he knows everything.)

Not only did the waiter check with the chef about the items I wanted, but he also asked the chef whether or not there was gluten in the selections of my family members. This was awesome because one of the things I miss as a cealic is being able to share bites of food with the people I’m with! There were very few things I could not have on the menu. I believe there was only one entree that I could not have or that couldn’t be modified in some way to accommodate me.

So what did I get? The menu changes all the time because they use fresh ingredients. I ordered lamb that was unbelievable. It was so tender and the sauce was delicious. I could have it totally as is. They didn’t have to modify it at all. I believe the lamb I ordered this summer was different from what’s currently on the online menu so you’ll always want to check with the chef about their current items. The best news was that pretty much all of the sides were gluten free, including the grits and mashed potatoes! We also shared a baby green salad, white asparagus and a pate.

Blue Duck was the perfect venue to celebrate with family and friends because the meal was very much family style. We passed sides and appetizers around the table and I could participate in the culinary sharing. When people ask me what food I miss the most since being diagnosed as a celiac, I tell them that it’s not the food, it’s the experiences. Wedding receptions and birthday parties where you have to watch everyone else eat together are difficult and even a little lonely. Fortunately, I have wonderful family and friends that are always looking out for me and finding ways to make me feel included. At Blue Duck, I felt a part of the festivities! I could even share homemade peanut butter ice cream for dessert.

Overall, the food at Blue Duck is amazing. They are committed to fresh and simple ingredients, which is a perfect combination for celiac customers. The waiter did not pretend to know everything about celiacs, which I actually appreciated because he checked on everything. When going to Blue Duke (which I high recommend) you definitely want to make reservations in advance.

Blue Duck Tavern: 24 & M Streets, Northwest
Washington, D.C.
202.419.6755
Menu: http://www.blueducktavern.com/gallery/blueduck/menu.html