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Last week was the third time in the last year I’ve gone to New Orleans for work.  It is extremely hard to find anything gluten free in the Big Easy, and there are very few resources/reviews out there, so I thought I’d share some tips that I picked up from my travels.

1. Fried seafood is your worst enemy

I love all varieties of seafood, so you would think the New Orleans, being a port city and all, would be a great eating destination.  Wrong.  I’d guess about 95% of all of the seafood here is fried, or on a bun.  Would I like to sink my teeth into a shrimp Po Boy?  Sure, of course I would.  But I can’t.  Would I like some seafood gumbo?  You betcha I would!  But, virtually all of it starts with a roux base, and any time I’ve asked if that was the case the waiters look at me very strangely, so I’ve started just avoiding all of the soups/gumbos/jambalayas.

But – there is one restaurant I found in New Orleans that saves me everytime I’ve gone there.  The Original French Market Restaurant on Decatur.  The first time I went I was with a college friend – but once I had these barbeque shrimp I was hooked!  The next time I went I had it THREE TIMES.  Sadly, I didn’t make it down there this time, but I regret it every day that passes.

Barbeque shrimp (mobile upload)

I know the quality of this image stinks, but I promise they are amazing!  If you can get over the whole ripping-their-heads and shells off-thing, then you are in for a treat!  The barbeque sauce is gluten free (I asked a lot of questions), and once you get down to the shrimp they are so fresh and moist and succulent you can’t stop eating.  It’s super messy, but worth the effort.   It comes with a side of potatoes and vegetables, but I had a suspicion that they were cooked in some sort of sausage/meat grease so I passed on those.

Original Farmer’s Market

1000 Decatur

2. If you have the money, spend it! (But not at Emeril’s restaurant)

On this trip, I was so busy that I didn’t get back from work until about 8pm (9pm my time).  I was crabby, tired, and hungry from a day of eating protein bars and fruit.  Luckily I have a group of work chums who are almost always in the mood for going out and trying new places.  So, Tuesday night we went to GW Fins on Bienville in the French Quarter.  At first I was a bit apprehensive to suggest this restaurant because it’s a bit pricier than the average spot around the quarter – but I knew that I could eat here, so I went ahead and suggested it to the group.  They obliged, and it was a meal to remember!

I was out with the co-founder of our organization, so I decided to leave the camera at home.  Apologies, apologies. (There are some good food pics on the Yelp site, however).

The menu here changes daily, so I can’t promise what they’ll have when you go.  I got the butterfish with sweet potato hash and fresh corn.  It was AMAZING.  I didn’t know what butterfish was, but I figured butter + fish can’t be bad.  To me it tasted like a creamy halibut steak.  I liked the dish so much that I attempted to recreate it at home (semi-successful, and I did manage to take some pictures for an upcoming post).

GW Fins

808 Bienville Street

Why not to go to Emeril’s restaurant NOLA: there’s literally nothing that I could eat except for a caesar salad (no croutons) and soup.  Plus you’ll want to shoot yourself when you see the biscuits that your dining partners get (although the people I went with didn’t seem all that impressed either).

Another place not to go if you’re hungry and want actual food = Acme Oyster House.  The only thing I could eat there were the oysters, and while I’m sure they were delicious, I didn’t feel like having oysters and a vodka drink on an empty stomach was the smartest thing to do.  I did get a delicious sweet tea and vodka drink

3.  Pralines are gluten free!

Southern Candymakers is the BEST spot for pralines in New Orleans, as far as I’m concerned.  They have a ton of flavors, and they’re always making them fresh.  My favorites are peanut butter and creamy (but I’ve also tried the coconut, rum, original, and chocolate varieties, and all are great …don’t judge).  So, if you can’t find anything to eat, you can always grab some pralines and let the sugar carry you through the day!

Buttery gooey praliney

Southern Candymakers

334 Decatur

So, I hope this run down was helpful.  I’d still advise you to bring some Kind bars and fruit with you at all times so you don’t faint.  Next time, I’m going to the Columns Hotel for sure.  I drove by it about six times, and would like to spend some time on the porch, drinking sweet tea with mint:

Columns Hotel

Hello ladies and gentlemen.  My name is Anna and I have Celiac’s disease.

I haven’t had this disease all my life, and had many glorious years of eating whatever and whenever I wanted.  About three years ago, I started noticing some odd things going on…*digestively*.

My tell-tale signs:  I was gassy (to the extreme), bloated, tired ALL the time, crabby, irritable, had (ahem) diarrhea, and I felt downright off.  But what really struck me as a problem was the hiccups.  I was getting hiccups 5-6 times a DAY, for no apparent reason.  I became a pro at all of the hiccup-eliminating tricks (hang upside down, while drinking out of a cup water with a butter knife pressed against my nose).  But I just knew that something was wrong with my normal bodily functions.

So, in true Type A fashion, I started Googling/Web-MD-ing my symptoms.  I narrowed it down to IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) or Celiac’s disease (which I had never heard of).  I took all of my research to my university health center and asked for a test.  My lovely RN obliged, but also wanted a stool sample (yuck).  So I had a vial of blood taken and sent for testing, and skipped home with my paper bag filled with that intimidating plastic cup.

Well, after reading the instructions for the stool sample, I decided that I was far too delicate and lady-like to do anything of the sort.  So, I sat around and waited for the test results to come through.  Somehow, I knew in my heart that it wasn’t just a coincidence that every time I ate a Subway sandwich, it ended up in the toilet an hour later.

I got the call while I was in class, and anxiously checked my voicemail.  It was confirmed.  I had Celiac’s disease.  The RN said something about gliadin A and B, but all that was going through my head was, “Alright, well now what?”

The RN had warned me that the only “cure” for Celiac’s was a lifelong gluten free diet.  LIFELONG.

And so began my gluten free journey.

For about a week, I pretty much only ate fruits and vegetables.  I wasn’t sure what had gluten, what didn’t, what might have it, or where on earth I could get gluten free food on a college campus.  I was used to late night pizza, sandwiches, and bagels for breakfast.  I knew how to eat healthy, I thought I knew a lot about nutrition, but I was clueless.  Since I was also a vegetarian at the time (I’ve since added fish/shellfish to my diet), it was an extra challenge.

But over time, I slowly adapted my diet and found a way to live with this nagging disease.  I found the few stores in Michigan that carried gluten free items, and read up on what to avoid in the supermarket.

I haven’t intentionally consumed gluten since my diagnosis, but I am still coming to terms with the fact I will never again eat gluten.

I can’t say that I’ve embraced my disease. I still complain internally nearly every day that I have to think so hard about everything I put into my body. Because, let’s face it, it’s not easy!

Gluten, in all of its varied forms, is delicious.  It’s what makes bagels stick to the top of your mouth, it’s what makes croissants indent like pillows under your grip, and it’s what creates those adorable little butter jaccuzis on a cut English muffin.

That said, there are some aspects of living with Celiac’s disease that I actually love.  I’ve become exceedingly conscious of what I’m eating, down to each and every ingredient.  Therefore, I’m less likely to eat something with Red Dye #4.  I also have been forced to seek out restaurants, stores, and foods that I would not have normally tried.

But mostly, a lot of the time, it’s kind of the pits.

There are probably a lot of people out there living with Celiac’s who are in this limbo land.  Which is the purpose for this blog.  Simplicity, humor, and realism.

I’m aiming for a tonal mix of Jennsylvania, Gluten Free Goddess, Gretchen Rubin, and a dash of Chelsea Handler under the topical umbrella of everything that is gluten-free.  While I thoroughly enjoy reading the beautifully written Gluten Free Girl & Goddess, and have benefited from many of their recipes and reviews – they are to me what Martha Stewart is to Guy Fieri.  I can’t seem to find the fun (or money) to buy 9 different kinds of gluten-free flour.   My kitchen is about 4 ft by 10 ft.  I don’t own ramikens, a rolling pin, or even a blender.

I plan on doing a bit of griping, a little cooking, a lot of eating out, and sharing the tips I’ve learned on incorporating Celiac’s into my life, not the other way around.