<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>

This part is a summary of what I actually did for food in DC:

BEFORE MY TRIP:

1) My husband contacted the hotel  (Crystal City Hyatt Regency) regarding my
diet, by phone and followed up by e-mail (including e-mailing a copy of my
dining card).  He also requested a refrigerator for our room.  At check-in,
my husband gave the desk clerk a note with a copy of my dining card that was
addressed to the manager he had been in contact with previously.

2) I checked out the area through various websites and e-mailed Safeway (as
the nearest grocery) regarding their GF products.  They sent me a list that
I posted to the list earlier this summer.  (Another overdue summary to be
posted!)

3) I reviewed the DC support group's website<http://www.dcceliacs.com/> and
found it fairly helpful although not knowing the area all that well was not
sure where some of the restaurants were in relation to where I was likely to
be.

4) And of course I packed a carry-on bag with cereal, cookies, crackers,
snacks to sustain me through the trip and food for the day of travel (and my
meds, etc -- all the usual carry-on stuff).

ONCE WE GOT TO DC:

1) Went to Safeway and picked up Lact-Aid milk, sliced cheese, peanut
butter, raisins, fresh fruit, bottled water, plastic bowls, plastic
utensils, small zip lock bags and napkins. Stashed the milk, water and
cheese in the room fridge.

2) Called Restaurant Nora for a reservation.  This is a restaurant I found
on the DC group's website and was going to be our "special" dinner out (it's
expensive).   Was incredibly thrilled when I was discussing my GF needs with
the manager on the phone and was asked if there were any other needs besides
the GF diet.  When I said "no" his response was "If it's only gluten-free,
no problem!" -- and more importantly, it wasn't.  They are quite familiar
with the diet and everything is fresh and made from whole, organic
ingredients (with the exception of wild and/or foraged ingredients since
organic does not apply in these instances).    The menu changes frequently
as it incorporates only seasonally fresh ingredients.  Unfortunately there
weren't many choices that were safe for me the night we were there but we
had a good meal in spite of that.   My husband and I shared two salads to
start:  a mixed greens with roasted peach, goat's cheese and nuts and an
heirloom tomato and fresh mozzarella salad.  I had a duck risotto as my main
course.  They offer a really interesting variety of juices and I had an
orange/peach juice drink which satisfied me in terms of something sweet
which was just as well because there were really no safe dessert options for
me that evening. Here is the website:
<http://www.noras.com/restnora/index.shtm>

3) Ate at the hotel's dining room the first evening with so-so results.  Our
waiter was wonderful and very professional and after much discussion back
and forth I ordered a grilled salmon over mixed wild greens salad with oil
and vinegar -- but unfortunately it was a Sunday evening and the chef on
duty (for all our advanced preparation) seemed unaware of my needs and wound
up serving me a piece of salmon that appeared to have been sitting around a
while over a big bowl of iceberg lettuce.  That was it -- not a tomato,
carrot curl, nothing!  I was beyond words with aggravation but too tired at
that point to say anything (I was a little afraid to as I didn't trust that
I could do so politely by that time) so I started to eat it.  The waiter
came by to check on us and see if there were any problems so I told him that
I had expected a little more than what I had gotten and that if the chef had
any questions I should have been asked rather than served an extremely
unappealing dish (which I was going to have to pay $18 for!).  As I said,
our waiter was very professional and spoke to the chef and the manager (who
also came to our table) and I was ultimately served a freshly grilled piece
of salmon over mixed wild greens, with tomato, cucumber, olives and oil and
vinegar.  There was, of course, no charge for my first "salad".  A rough
start but it ended well.

4) BREAKFASTS:  Ordered my morning tea from room service each morning,
alternating between cereal (which I brought with me) and a hot breakfast
from room service.  They willingly substituted a baked potato for toast when
I ordered bacon and eggs and brought an assortment of jams (like they would
had the toast been brought) so that I was able to substitute my crackers for
toast as well.  I also successfully ordered a light dinner very late one
evening from room service, who had my dining card next to their phone so
when I called and ordered, they knew who I was and what I needed.  They were
great.

5) LUNCHES/SNACKS:  By eating a large, late breakfast I really didn't want
much for lunch and was out running around the museums and I didn't really
want to take time away from looking at the art.  I carry a very large bag
(one of those "save your  back" bags) so I was able to stash fruit,
crackers, cookies, soy nuts, an energy bar, pretzels in my bag and basically
snacked on that with some bottled water when my feet gave out and I had to
sit for a few minutes.  Plenty of cafeterias to do that in.

6) DINNERS:  Two nights were accounted for above.  We also ate at the Legal
Seafood in Crystal City.  Again, I checked their website to review the menu
<http://www.legalseafoods.com/> and called ahead to double-check that there
weren't going to be any unpleasant surprises.  The manager was very helpful
and discussed various options with me (checking ingredients in a big book
they have -- it's a vertical franchise so all the stuff comes from one
central store -- as well as asking the chef some questions).  She wasn't
going to be on duty when we were coming but she did inform the manager on
duty that I was coming and about my diet.  I had salad, grilled shrimp,
baked potato and summer squash -- all very delicious.  They did some more
double-checking on my meal and take food allergies VERY seriously there
(yes, I know it's an intolerance but the point is that they took great care
with my meal, including the possibility of cross contamination).  I felt so
comfortable (and it was very convenient to my hotel) that we ate there a
second time and I had the best meal of my trip:  scampi over jasmine rice
instead of pasta and lemon sorbet for dessert.  For you scampi lovers, Legal
Seafood's is a really good recipe.  The prices were not cheap but quite
reasonable and the food and service were both excellent.  We also ate a
place called Front Page Grill near DuPont Circle.  The waitress was very
cooperative about checking out my menu choice (grilled chicken over mixed
greens with feta and tomato) but the food was not as good as we had
elsewhere.  Prices were very reasonable and it was one of the least
expensive dinners we had while there.

I have no financial interest in any of the stores/hotels/restaurants
mentioned.  Just sharing my experiences.  Hope this helps someone else
planning a trip to DC.  Thanks again to all that responded to my query back
in July.

Jane




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