The Gluten-Free Life is Good in Colorado!

You may have noticed that the blog has been pretty quiet lately. That’s because we were enjoying a wonderful vacation in Denver, Colorado! Here are some highlights from our trip.

• A hike through the mountains at Vail, powered by granola bars from Annie’s and Kind (sadly, neither of which are available here yet)
• An amazing time at the Great American Beer Festival, where I sampled brews from Omission, New Planet, Rickoli, Sprecher, Lakefront, and more
• A visit to New Planet Brewing, which makes gluten-free and gluten-reduced beers
• Delicious gluten-free sandwiches at the Olive & Finch eatery
• Gluten-free fried chicken at The BSide
• An amazing shared-plates meal at Root Down, where 90% of the menu is or can be gluten-free
• Plenty of fabulous Mexican food!
• A late-night gluten-free ice cream cone at Little Man Ice Cream
• Amazing gluten-free pizza from Tony P’s (probably the best I have ever had, in fact!)
• Tons of varieties of cider from Woodchuck Cider, the Colorado Cider Company, and Stem

Now, all of this didn’t happen by accident. My very thoughtful brother-in-law did a ton of research and checked out the Denver Celiac Support Group before our visit. It certainly paid off, and in the future I’ll be sure to check out local Celiac associations for dining ideas!

The Old Triangle Welcomes Celiacs, Too

One of my first (and worst) gluten-free eating experiences was at The Old Triangle in Moncton, where they basically refused to serve me so I ate martinis for lunch. Subsequent visits to the Halifax, Charlottetown, and Glen Arbour locations, however, went much better, so I decided that it was time to review their flagship Halifax pub.

We arrived at suppertime on a busy Saturday night and were lucky enough to snag a table in the dining room where a local band was playing. A server greeted us right away and suggested Clancy’s beer for a beverage. I said that although that sounded like a great idea, I am gluten intolerant so it wouldn’t be my choice of beverage! She quickly pointed out their other gluten-free beverage options: Propeller sodas, several local ciders (including Bulwark and Tideview), and La Messagere beer. (They usually carry Glutenberg but are out of stock right now due to the trade dispute. It should be back by the end of the month, though!) I opted for a sparkling raspberry Tideview cider while Mike had a Propeller IPA.

Read more…

Hanging Out at the Halifax Seaport Beerfest!

Last weekend, Michael and I attended the Halifax Seaport Beerfest. It was an absolute blast! I was really impressed by all the gluten-free options. The following gluten-free beer makers were on hand:

• Bard’s Beer
• Brasseurs Sans Gluten (makers of Glutenberg)
• Mongozo
• Nickel Brook
• Schnitzer Brau

And, there were some gluten-free ciders available too:

Read more…

Cooking Up Some Dinner with Chef Sean Kettley!

When I was diagnosed with Celiac disease, there were a lot of things that I thought I would never be able to do. One of my biggest wish list items was to attend a cooking class. (Normally, food is cooked for or by a group of people, so it’s hard to accommodate special dietary needs.)

Luckily, Finbar’s came to my rescue! Every month, they offer a cooking class, and this month’s feature was gluten-free! (We requested this class last month, and were so excited to see it happen so quickly!) We got to watch chef Sean Kettley prepare an amazing three-course meal.

Read more…