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Hello everyone!

I had over 30 replies to my request for information about surviving GF in NJ
and NYC before I left for the US in Feb.  Once again I felt so grateful for
the support of this List.  If I missed any personal replies, please accept
this in lieu.  I have finally edited the information I collected and have
sent it to people who specifically requested it.  It is too long to include
in a List posting but I will send it to anyone else who would like it.
However, I would like to share some of my experiences with you all.

MY PRE-TRAVEL PREPARATIONS
As well as the information sent to me and bits and pieces I collected from
postings, I had a list of contacts as some people were kind enough to give
me their telephone numbers and/or addresses.  I also visited the List's
website and Scott Adams - Celiac Support Page - http://www.celiac.com/  and
downloaded lists of safe and forbidden foods, GF products, cookbooks and
suppliers.  I ordered a Shopping Guide from the TCCSSG support group, some
bread, pasta, pizza crusts and baked goods from Kinnikinnick Foods and some
GF Indian vegetarian ready meals from Tamarind Tree all to be sent to where
I would be staying.  I updated my restaurant card, laminated lots of copies
and sent a copy of it to Aer Lingus when booking my vegetarian GF in-flight
meals along with a letter stating that they should contact me if they wanted
further information or suggestions, though I brought emergency supplies in
my hand luggage just in case.  I had another more long term supply of pasta,
scones, biscuits, snacks and GF flour mixes in my main luggage.  All in all
I felt quite well prepared.

MY GF EXPERIENCES

1. My main meals on both FLIGHTS were largely GF (but not vegetarian - I
needed my extra supplies to supplement what I could eat) though some of the
accompanying dressings etc. had ingredients that some people might not be
happy with.  On the flight to the US a GF roll was included, but I
recognised it as "GF" wheat-starch based which again would not suit
everybody.  The snacks were definitely NOT GF, so again my own supplies were
useful.

2. All the ORDERS I had placed arrived on time and the companies I dealt
with were very helpful.  Kinnikinnick were even prepared to deliver fresh
baked goods to New Jersey whereas they normally only send vacuum-packed
items that distance.  All the food I ordered was fine and some of it was
delicious.  I was delighted to be able to bring home some frozen muffins,
waffles and donuts - all things I can't buy here and don't know how to bake
yet.  The Tamarind Tree meals were a great standby and were on special offer
(I think it ended in March, but you could try to persuade them to extend
it).

3. Having all the INFORMATION was a huge confidence booster, though I wasn't
always in the right place at the right to utilise it fully.

4. The SHOPPING GUIDE was very useful, detailed and easy to use (a minor
criticism is that it is a bit large in format).  Some items listed were not
available where I was shopping, but this is probably due to regional
differences in suppliers.  I read labels anyway to be on the safe side.  It
was great to find items like GF corn tortillas which we can't get here and I
stocked up on those to bring home.

5. I visited the local HEALTH FOOD STORE in Highland Park, New Brunswick and
found a much larger supply and range of GF products than is usually on sale
in Ireland.  It was interesting to finally see many of the products that I
had read about on the List.

6. I visited a number of BOOKSHOPS (some recommended by listmembers) and was
delighted to find the Bette Hagman and Jax Peters Lowell books widely
available.  I bought a copy of "Against the Grain" and browsed through and
took down the ISBN numbers of the Bette Hagman books in case I decide to
order them later.

7. EATING OUT was my biggest problem.  For lunch, I relied heavily on my own
supplies, adding whatever I found that was suitable, but in the evening it
was more difficult.  It wasn't always possible for me to choose and contact
the restaurant in advance and I found that in many restaurants, my
restaurant card scared the staff into thinking I was going to go into
anaphylactic shock or sue or both if they attempted to serve me.  Their
immediate reaction (sometimes after only glancing at the card) was "WE CAN'T
SERVE YOU" .  This was even the case in one Mexican restaurant which had
been recommended to me (Bennie's Burritos) in the Village - when I said that
other people with my dietary restriction had eaten there, she said that the
chef prepared who most of the food earlier in the day was no longer there
and they had no way of checking ingredients.  In the end she showed me some
available package labels (e.g.. the corn tortillas) and I made the safest
choice I could.  In other cases I had to settle for plain salads when I know
that with a bit of cooperation from the staff I could have done better.  Is
this a fear of litigation or just an unwillingness to be more helpful?  Is
this usual or was I just unlucky?   Does this happen all over the US?  Was
it because I used the words "medically diagnosed" (I included these so that
my needs would be treated seriously and not as a fad diet)?  I would love to
know what other people think.  My solution after a few incidents was to eat
out less and not show the restaurant card, but to pick out a few
safe-looking items, say I had a problem with wheat, oats, rye and barley and
could they check ingredients and/or make adjustments.  By the way the most
helpful restaurant was an Ethiopian one in New Brunswick (unfortunately I
didn't get the name).  I used the card there and got extra special
treatment, but it was fairly expensive.  Maybe in the US you have to pay
more to be treated well on a GF diet - here it is often the other way
round!!

8. Last but very definitely not least, a HIGHLIGHT was actually meeting a
coeliac email friend - thanks again Ginny for your hospitality, for giving
me my first taste of GF bagel and for lending me the cookbook.

I hope some of the above might help fellow travellers and I would love any
comments on any of the issues I've raised along the way.

Thanks again to all who helped - despite the difficulties we had a great
trip and would love to visit the US again,

Liz (Ward), Dublin, Ireland

PS. I have no connection with any of the companies, restaurants etc.
mentioned, but I can give further details on some of them if people want to
email me privately for it.