Category Archives: Accommodations

Dining Gluten-Free With Friends in Istanbul

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Last weekend I spent some time with a friend I haven’t seen in months. While we were catching up, she asked about my trip to Turkey last November. I told her about the astonishing ancient cities I saw — Ephesus, Aphrodisias, Hierapolis, Pergamum — and about the beauty and history of Istanbul. But I found myself talking even more about Oya Özden and her family.

Oya is the founder of the Living With Celiac Association of Turkey. I contacted her organization before my trip, and she e-mailed me a celiac disease information card, written in Turkish, that I could show to chefs and other restaurant staff. She also gave me some general guidelines about dining in Turkey (which you can read in this post). While I was in Selçuk, she e-mailed me to ask where I was staying in Istanbul. I told her it was the Erguvan, a boutique hotel in the Sultanahmet district that’s a short walk from Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque. The next day, Oya e-mailed to say that she had contacted the hotel about my diet. I appreciated her help, but I didn’t realize how much Oya had done for me until I arrived in Istanbul. The staff at the Erguvan actually baked gluten-free pastries for my breakfast, from a recipe provided by Oya. (This was, I should add, in addition to the impressive breakfast buffet at the hotel, which already included gluten-free items such as boiled eggs, fresh fruit, dried fruit, and several types of cheese.)

Oya also invited my husband and me to have dinner with her, her husband, Hasan, and their daughter, Nil. (Oya and Nil are pictured above, with me.) They took us to a banquet hall on the Asian side of the Bosphorus. The dining room was full of celebrations (I counted one wedding, one 45th wedding anniversary, and one high-school reunion). There was no set menu; instead Oya had made special arrangements in advance (her celiac support group has met at the banquet hall in the past). For us, the kitchen staff baked gluten-free pide, a substantial bread that looks like a giant waffle; I’d seen it on menus throughout my trip, but this was the first time I was able to try it. There were also appetizers that consisted of a wafer-thin gluten-free bread topped with lamb, parsley, and spices. Oya had arranged for gluten-free mezes, which included hot peppers, yogurt seasoned with garlic, rice-stuffed vegetables, a hot tomato sauce, and a dish of leeks and carrots, all of which were delicious. The main course was lamb, and for dessert there were several treats, including dates filled with cheese. I also tried raki, Turkey’s unofficial national drink, for the first time at dinner (similar to ouzo but not sweet). It was a fabulous evening from start to finish, partly because of the great food but mostly because of the wonderful company.

I realized at dinner that Oya is an incredible activist. After being diagnosed with celiac disease, she went on to form a national organization in a country where the disease is not well known. In addition to providing information and support to adult celiacs, she created a booklet for children to help them understand the disorder and the gluten-free diet (it’s available as a printed booklet as well as on the organization’s website). Oya is also in touch with her counterparts in other European countries and has lobbied Turkey’s government to provide support for celiacs. In Turkey, celiacs now get a government subsidy for certain gluten-free provisions every month. (In North America, I’m grateful just to see celiac-safe products on store shelves, even if they are priced sky high.)

Meeting Oya reinforced for me how important it is for the gluten-intolerant to share information and advice. It also made for the most memorable night of my trip. Thanks again, Oya, Hasan, and Nil!

Erguvan Hotel [address] Aksakal Cad. No: 3, Sultanahmet, Istanbul, Turkey [tel] +90 212 4582784 [fax] +90 212 4582788 [e-mail] info@erguvanhotel.com [web] www.erguvanhotel.com

Majesty and Mystery at Machu Picchu

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Of all the places I’ve visited, Machu Picchu is probably the one that fascinates me the most. It was an incredible thrill to see the lost city of the Inca (even if, according to some accounts, the place was never really “lost”). In any case, Spanish conquistadors never found it, so its massive stone walls and structures were left for centuries mostly to the llamas and other creatures who roam there.

One of the trickiest things about Machu Picchu is finding a place to stay. (Tourists who take the Orient Express train there and back in the same day don’t have to worry about this, but they usually end up with less than four hours to explore one of the most incredible sites on the planet). The Orient Express-owned Sanctuary Lodge, just outside the gates of Machu Picchu’s tourist entryway, is the most famous option (it’s one of the most expensive hotels in the world). At the base of the mountain is the town of Aguas Calientes, which hardly existed a decade ago; now it’s a collection of hostels and trinket shops that cater to travelers. And then there’s the Inkaterra Machu Picchu.

Inkaterra is an ecologically aware Peruvian company that operates three resorts. Its outpost at Machu Picchu is on the site of a former tea plantation at the foot of the mountain. The 85 cottages stand on 12 acres that overlook the Vilacanota river. The grounds include a top-notch spa (which my muscles were glad to find after hiking up and down Machu Picchu’s stone staircases), and an animal sanctuary that features almost 200 types of birds… and two Spectacled Bears (a species of bear that is native to South America).

The Inkaterra also features a gorgeous dining room. I’d let the staff know that I have celiac disease when I made the reservation, and they were incredibly accommodating — but the nicest surprise was that much of the restaurant’s menu is naturally gluten-free. For dinner that night I started with an appetizer of corn, olives, beans and cheese, followed by an alpaca steak with a gooseberry sauce and baked potato. In keeping with Inkaterra’s ecological commitment, most of the ingredients are from local farms; some are grown on the resort’s own property. The meal marked the end of one of the most fascinating days of any trip I’ve taken.

Inkaterra Machu Picchu [tel] 800-442-5042 in North America, +51 1 610 04000 in Peru [web] www.inkaterra.com

Roundup: With a Little Help From My Friends

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It’s always a pleasure to get restaurant recommendations from readers. But I need to acknowledge another group that has been sending a lot of great information my way: my non-celiac friends. Blessed with eagle eyes, they are sharp when it comes to picking up gluten-free news, and thoughtful when it comes to passing it along.

My friend Leslie, author of The Ladies’ Room Reader Quiz Book: 1,000 Questions and Answers About Women and the Things They Love, has a particularly keen eye. While researching a story on Tampa, Florida, she discovered that the Lee Roy Selmon’s restaurant chain (named for the first Tampa Bay Buccaneer enshrined in the National Football League’s Hall of Fame) has an extensive gluten-free menu. Another of her finds is Café Formaggio, a Long Island, NY, restaurant that serves gluten-free pasta, pizza, brownies, and beer. Her most unusual discovery so far has been Chiarelli’s Religious Goods, also on Long Island, which makes gluten-free Communion wafers. Leslie also discovered the impressive Gluten Free Diet Center on Eating Well’s website, which includes extensive information about the diet, many recipes, and a Q&A with the executive director of the Gluten Intolerance Group.

Another friend — Yvonne, author of The Everything Family Christmas Book: Stories, Songs, Recipes, Crafts, Traditions, and More — told me about a new cafe in Calgary, Alberta: Primal Grounds Cappuccino Bar & Eatery. It has two locations and a broad list of gluten-free meal options that includes curry pineapple chicken, shepherd’s pie, and beef lasagna, as well as sandwiches that can be prepared with rice bread.

Jenna, who co-writes The Haiku Diaries, found out that Firefly restaurant in Washington, D.C., offers a glamorous menu for gluten-free gourmets, and that Panzano, an Italian restaurant in Denver, bakes gluten-free focaccia. Both properties are owned by Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants.

Stephanie, who lives in Toronto, passes along the names of celiac-friendly restaurants she hears about from a co-worker who has celiac disease. She was the one who told me about Four, which I wrote about in June. One spot she told me about recently is Mio RistoBar, which is located in Toronto’s Financial District and offers gluten-free pasta and entrees.

Some of my friends find gluten-free spots even when they’re not looking for them. Ellen was taking her kids to the optometrist’s when she passed an Italian restaurant offering a gluten-free menu. It turned out that the restaurant, Sambuca, was one I’ve dined at but haven’t yet written about for this site; it’s an institution on Manhattan’s Upper West Side.

As I was finishing off this column, my sister-in-law Michelle e-mailed me about gluten-free recipes from Gourmet magazine, including one for chocolate chip cookies and one for lemon layer cake. The recipes are from Gluten-Free Baking Classics by Annalise Roberts, a book that has just been reissued. That reminded me of all of the help I’ve had from certain family members… but that will have to wait for another time.

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I’m leaving for Turkey tomorrow (November 6th), so this blog will be quiet for the next two weeks. But I will be back after that to share my latest finds.

Getting Away From It All in Chile

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Taking a vacation used to be about getting away from it all. Now, it feels like wherever people go, we’re plugged in almost as well as we are at the office and at home. Most of the travel that I do is for work, so I lug along my laptop, hunt down WiFi hotspots, and respond to e-mails as if I were at my desk. The problem is, I’m just as much of an e-mail addict when I’m traveling for pleasure.

Maybe that’s why I appreciated Hacienda los Andes, a small outdoor lodge in Chile, so much. Getting there was an adventure in itself — the property is roughly a two-hour drive from the city of La Serena — through terrain that ranges from scenic olive groves to dramatic cliffs and valleys (the Hacienda is also accessible from Vicuña and Ovalle; its staff will arrange transfers for visitors from any of those three towns). It had been some time since I’d found myself in a place where my cell phone didn’t get a signal, and that was a good reminder to put away the tech toys.

The Hacienda los Andes is spread over a thousand acres, stretching from the Rio Hurtado to the top of the Cerro Gigante mountain. On the site is an old gold mine, which my husband and I hiked to on our first day there. There’s also a serene courtyard, a series of hammocks strung up around the casa and its terraces, a sauna and a Jacuzzi. The biggest attraction is horseback riding: the Hacienda’s German-Austrian owners, Clark Stede and Manuela Paradeiser, lead incredible tours on horseback that can be tailored even for those who haven’t ridden before. There’s also mountain-biking and Jeep tours of the foothills of the Andes. At night, the view of the southern sky is breathtaking.

What I loved best about the Hacienda was its kitchen. Only a small part of the acreage at the property is cultivated for growing; most of the produce comes from the small farms of the Rio Hurtado Valley. This turned out to be heaven for a celiac: because everything was made from scratch in the Hacienda’s own kitchen and the nearby village, there was no problem with mysterious sauces or ingredients. The staff was incredibly considerate of my dietary restrictions, and they also went the extra distance for me; for example, by baking a gluten-free corn bread for me to have with my breakfast (the results were a little crumbly but still delicious). The staff was equally considerate of my husband’s request for vegetarian dishes and another guest’s lactose-free diet. While I didn’t find any nuggets at the abandoned mine, I did feel as if I’d struck gold in the Andes.

Hacienda los Andes [address] Rio Hurtado, Hurtado, Chile [tel] +54 53-691-822 [web] www.haciendalosandes.com

On the Road With Gluten-Free Girl

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Even before I interviewed Shauna James Ahern, I felt as if I knew her. That was because of the many incredibly warm, humorous, and inspiring posts she has made on her blog, Gluten-Free Girl, which she created after being diagnosed with celiac disease in 2005. The success of the site led her to publish a book, Gluten-Free Girl: How I Found the Food That Loves Me Back… & How You Can Too (Wiley, 2007), which was selected as one of Amazon’s best books of the year. Since going gluten-free, Shauna has met and married the man of her dreams, and in July 2008 she gave birth to a daughter, Lucy. Shauna and her husband, Daniel Ahern, a chef, are currently at work on a new book, Dancing in the Kitchen, about love and food and how they intersect. Shauna is also working on a book she calls Feeding Us, about eating during pregnancy and through a child’s first year of life.

How often do you travel? Normally, it’s at least three or four times a year. Last year I traveled much more because of the book tour, but now that Lucy has arrived I probably won’t travel as much, at least for a while.

Where have you traveled since being diagnosed with celiac disease? I’ve been to New York and Los Angeles many times; also Chicago, Portland [Oregon], San Francisco, Vancouver, Tucson. I also do a lot of local travel around Washington state. Danny and I went to Italy for our honeymoon. It was the biggest surprise to me — everyone thought you couldn’t go there because of all the pizza and pasta, but it was the best place in the world. People care about feeding you very well, and most food over there doesn’t even require gluten, it’s all about what’s fresh and in season. Every drugstore has gluten-free food, and you can bring gluten-free pasta to a restaurant that doesn’t have it and they will cook it for you. I also learned that Italians with celiac disease get two paid work days to go shopping each month!

What foods or snacks do you pack when traveling? We all know that on planes they don’t feed you. For example, on the flight to Italy they claimed they had a gluten-free meal but they ran out. When I fly I take a yummy grain salad, like a red quinoa or brown rice or millet, with goat cheese. I keep it cold in the fridge so it’s ready to go. When traveling with a baby, you need something you can hold in one hand, like a granola bar. [Editor’s note: For a gluten-free granola-bar recipe from Shauna, click here.]

What other things do you bring with you? I always travel with an iPod and a journal to write in. You get good writing time on a plane!

How do you prepare for a trip? I don’t like to overplan — it’s not like I map out day-by-day where to go — but I like structure, and I never walk into a place blind. I like Google Earth; before we went to Italy, we used to look at towns in Umbria, where we stayed for a week, and to see the road between towns. I research everything. I ask all my friends, and friends of friends, because I really believe in word of mouth. I love guidebooks. I also spend a lot of time Googling. The more you look for a specific town, or a specific neighborhood in a town, the more you find.

Any favorite restaurants? When we were in Umbria, we went to this tiny village, Gubbio. It’s a fortified 12th-century city where nothing has changed in 500 years. A friend told me about this place, a medieval banquet hall called Fornace di Mastro Giorgio, where we ended up having a 3-1/2 hour lunch with friends. It was incredible. [For Shauna’s post about her travels in Italy, click here.] Another of my favorites I found in New York at the start of my book tour: Gramercy Tavern. My husband used to work there, and the fall tasting menu that week was gluten free. We also went to Hearth in the East Village; it was really superb, and made us feel very welcome. In Portland, Oregon, there is a fish-fry place, Hawthorne Fish House, that is entirely gluten-free — you can have fish and chips, onion rings, everything. Portland is incredible for gluten-free food. Seattle is too — I can’t think of many places there where I can’t eat.

Any favorite hotels? A farmhouse-style lodging, Brigolante Agritourism, just outside of Assisi [Italy].

What’s your favorite city to visit? New York. I lived there for years, from 1997 to 2001. I love the Upper West Side. I go to Danal, Gray’s Papaya (where I get a hotdog without the bun), Babycakes, and Tea & Sympathy. Plus I always love discovering something new.

What’s your dream destination? My husband and I both have Irish heritage, and we want to go to Ireland together. I’ve heard it’s got the largest number of diagnosed celiacs in the world.

Do you have any other advice for gluten-intolerant travelers? Don’t approach it with fear. You can’t approach travel that way, and you can’t approach eating that way. Do your research so you have some ideas where to go, but once you’re there, let go and enjoy the place. You can’t shut down your life. Be brave and try everything that’s gluten-free.

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Editor’s note: While Shauna didn’t mention it by name, she knows of another great restaurant that takes excellent care of its gluten-free guests: Impromptu Wine Bar Cafe, where her husband is the executive chef. This well-reviewed spot is known for its romantic ambience, moderate prices, and sensitivity to food allergies.

Impromptu Wine Bar Cafe [address] 4235 E. Madison St., Seattle, WA 98112 [tel] 206-860-1569 [web] www.impromptuwinebar.com

UPDATE (10/21/08): Daniel Ahern is taking a break from the restaurant business, and is no longer cooking at Impromptu. However, he has trained its new chef to cook gluten-free and to keep the kitchen safe from cross-contamination. For Shauna’s post with this news, click here.

Photograph provided courtesy of Shauna James Ahern.

A Tale of Two Newfoundland Inns

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Newfoundland’s capital city, St. John’s, is a place with a rich sense of history: European fishermen started fishing from its harbor in the 1500s, and its famous downtown route, Water Street, is the oldest street in North America. It’s also a city that’s changing fast: there’s construction all over town, new attractions have opened up in the past few years (such as The Rooms, which contains a museum, art gallery, and archives), and it’s got a thriving nightlife and live-music scene. The accommodations I found in St. John’s were as eclectic as the city itself.

The Park House Inn is a bed-and-breakfast on a quiet residential street that’s a short walk from downtown. The Second Empire-style mansion was built in 1870, and its sweeping spiral staircase, towering ceilings and elegant antique and reproduction furnishings make for a grand setting. While I loved my suite (which boasted a Jacuzzi tub), I was most impressed by the kitchen. I’ve encountered bed-and-breakfasts that consider “breakfast” to mean a couple of slices of toast with jam. At the Park House Inn, breakfast is made to order for each guest, and the staff is familiar with celiac disease. The cook carefully prepared cheese-and-vegetable-filled omelettes for me, serving them with seasoned potatoes and fresh fruit. I spent three nights at the Park House Inn and enjoyed every minute.

My trip was planned so that I would see different sides of St. John’s, so I transferred to Blue on Water for the next three nights of my stay there. Blue on Water is a boutique hotel that faces Water Street, and all you have to do to get to the heart of the action in St. John’s is step outside (George Street, the main pub-and-club thoroughfare in the city, is steps away). The hotel is luxuriously modern, and its stylish design is complemented by amenities like wireless Net access and CD/DVD players. Best of all was the ground floor restaurant, also called Blue on Water, which serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Again, the staff was familiar with celiac disease, and prepared excellent gluten-free breakfasts (and one outstanding gluten-free dinner) for me.

Staying at a classic bed-and-breakfast or a modern boutique hotel is a matter of individual preference — but I was glad to discover that both properties are skilled at taking care of gluten-free guests.

Park House Inn [address] 112 Military Road, St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada [tel] 866-303-0565 or 709-576-2265 [web] www.parkhouse-nl.ca

Blue on Water [address] 319 Water Street, St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada [tel] 877-431-2583 or 709-754-2583 [web] www.blueonwater.com

Summer in St. Moritz

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The town of St. Moritz, located in Switzerland’s Engadine Valley, is famous as a winter resort. It’s not just on account of the reference in the James Bond movie Goldfinger; the 1928 and 1948 Winter Olympics were held here. But when I visited St. Moritz, it was early September and the weather was still warm and summery. The town gets 300 days of sunshine a year (and it was sunny throughout my five days there), the valley was lushly green, and the lake was filled with sailboats. I know that winter is its most celebrated season, but I’d recommend visiting in summer, when the range of activities (golf, tennis, mountain biking) is wider. St. Mortiz is also a great starting point for day trips. From it, I took a train to Thusis, where I hiked through the Alps and saw Viamala, the place where Caesar made his historic crossing through the mountains. Closer to St. Moritz is the Valley of Fex, another great hiking spot (if you visit on a rare rainy day, you could visit the Nietzsche-Haus, where the German philosopher spent his summers, in Fex’s tiny town of Sils).

Because I was attending a conference in St. Moritz, I spent far too much time indoors. The conference meetings and events were spread among three hotels — the Kulm, the Kempinski, and Badrutt’s Palace — and all of them came through with celiac-safe meals for me. However, these are all top-notch luxury hotels with long practice in catering to their guests’ requests, and I had had advance discussions with them via phone and e-mail to ensure that they would be able to provide gluten-free meals.

One spot in St. Moritz that particularly impressed me was a place that didn’t have advance warning about my dining restrictions. The Hotel Misani is a three-star hotel that is a youthful, less-expensive alternative to the long-established local hotels. Its rooms are decorated in a mix of Asian, Indian, and Middle Eastern styles, and each one is unique. The Misani’s main dining room is decked out in rustic local style with wooden panels on the ceiling and the walls, typical of the Engadine houses that date back a century. I had an excellent gluten-free dinner here, served by the Misani’s friendly staff. It was a nice reminder that luxury exists at all price points in St. Moritz.

Badrutt’s Palace [tel] +41 (0) 81 837 11 00 [email] reservations@badruttspalace.com [web] www.badruttspalace.com

Hotel Misani [tel] +41 (0) 81 839 89 89 [email] info@hotelmisani.ch [web] www.hotelmisani.ch

Kempinski Grand Hotel des Bains [tel] +41 (0) [web] www.kempinski-stmoritz.com

Kulm Hotel [tel] +41 (0) 81 836 80 00 [email] info@kulmhotel-stmoritz.ch [web] www.kulmhotel-stmoritz.ch

Mi Casa Arequipa Es Su Casa

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arequipa_santa_catalina.jpg

I’m wary of Trip Advisor. Praise is often overstated and criticism can be downright nasty. I know from reader responses to my guidebooks that some people have funny ideas about what makes an establishment lovely or loathsome. (One man wrote to me, demanding that I remove a restaurant from Frommer’s Toronto. The reason? He’d picked up a “bad vibe” from a waitress there.) Still, Trip Advisor can be a valuable guide. It led me to Casa Arequipa, after all.

Arequipa is Peru’s second-largest city, a monumental wonder carved out of sillar, a ghostly white volcanic rock (the city lies at the foot of El Misti, a volcano best described as “currently inactive”). It’s known as La Ciudad Blanca — the white city. For all of its beauty, Arequipa is probably the most overlooked inhabited spot in Peru: the standard tourist itinerary allows a day at most to visit the city’s two top attractions: the Universidad Catolica de Santa Maria, home to the world’s most famous human sacrifice (Juanita, the Inca maiden whose well-preserved body was found in a frozen crevice of Mount Ampato), and the Monasterio Santa Catalina (the photograph above shows one of its cloisters). After taking in these sights, people decamp to the Colca Canyon or the Cotahuasi Canyon.

I spent four days in Arequipa in November, and I wish I’d had longer. My charming casa-away-from-home was a big part of the reason why. Casa Arequipa bills itself as a boutique bed and breakfast, and with only seven rooms in a renovated colonial mansion, the staff is devoted to caring for each guest. Breakfast is included in the rates, and it’s no buffet brush-off; meals are individually prepared. When I explained my dietary concerns to the staff, they responded with delicious omelettes, fresh ham and cheese, and fruit plates. They also surprised me with their thoughtfulness: one staff member called my next hotel to explain celiac disease to the staff there. Another staff member talked to the tour operator for my Colca Canyon trip, to make sure that I’d be able to eat at the restaurants we’d be stopping at on the way in and out.

Casa Arequipa has other charms, too: the rooms are decorated with antiques and decked out with modern amenities; the staff acts as your own private concierge service, making reservations for tours, meals, and spa treatments; and the casa is located in Vallecito, an upscale neighborhood that’s a 10-minute walk (or two-minute cab ride) to the Plaza de Armas, the historic town square.

One more thing: Casa Arequipa’s owner divides his time between Arequipa and Washington, D.C., where he operates a restaurant called Las Canteras. I haven’t checked it out yet – and I have no idea whether it will be as amenable to requests for gluten-free meals as the Casa Arequipa – but I’ll definitely be visiting it the next time I’m in D.C.

Casa Arequipa [address] Av. Lima 409, Vallecito, Arequipa, Peru [tel] 51-54-284-219 [email] reservations@arequipacasa.com [web] www.arequipacasa.com