<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>> I recently returned from a Vantage Travel trip to the Northwest. Our trip began in Seattle, bused to Tacoma on to Portland where we joined the Columbia River Queen down the Willamette, Columbia and Snake Rivers following the Lewis and Clark Trail. The boat had my GF bread for me as requested. However, I was assured that they would also have bread for me at our hotel stays in Seattle, Tacoma and Portland - no such luck. (Of course, I brought along a little to tide me over as when I was called that bread would be provided at the hotels, it seemed much too good to be true). While the Maitr D was helpful, I might have had a bit of difficulty had it not been for Desmond, our waiter. The first night I asked the Maitr D about hamburgers - assuming, of course, that I could eat them. He said probably not. When I suggested that I understood that all hamburgers supplied in the U. S had no fillers, he checked and said they were GF. Not a confidence builder! The first thing that Desmond, our waiter, told me was that he had worked for P. F. Chang's and that he knew all about the diet. And he really did. Each evening when I went to dinner, he had a list of the food from that night's menu that I could order. He promised me that he checked with the Chef if he had any questions about a certain dish! He gets a standing ovation! I kept reminding myself that we were in the U.S., not Europe where the Vantage River boats are superb - and the Maitr D, head waiter and most of the wait staff knows Celiac Disease. We had 4 lunches out - at one they prepared fried chicken for me coated with soy flour. It was so delicious I have bought soy flour since I am home and hope to try it soon. At 2 stops there was nothing - but of course, I ate the salad and some tuna in foil wrapper which I brought along with me. Judy, our tour director, was very helpful; however, she had never heard about Celiac Disease. I promise you she knows about it now! She did make sure that my included dinners at the hotels were Gluten-Free. The trip was very interesting and varied. We traveled by bus, boat, train and rafted down into Hell's Canyon. On a scale from 1 to 10, I would give it an 7 1/2! (I gave the Vantage River boats a 10!) I would definitely use Vantage Travel again. Concerning the restaurants in Seattle and Portland, I hope that any of you traveling to the Northwest (or the Northeast) will go to www.glutenfreerestaurants.org. What a wonderful selection of restaurants that they have - this plus the national restaurants that indicate that they have a Gluten-Free menu makes eating out so much easier. In Seattle we ate at the Wild Ginger restaurant. (I got the name of this restaurant when I requested suggestions on Listserv). As it was just 2 blocks from our hotel, that seemed the easiest to get to. It was excellent. The wait staff definitely knew 'Gluten Free' and I thoroughly enjoyed my dinner. The roast duck was superb! We asked the concierge at our hotel how long it would take to get ot Edmonds for Kalli's fish and chips, but it wasn't feasable to spend so much time traveling to get there. But in Portland I had my fish and chips! We were able to catch a bus to Corbett's Fish House for dinner! I thought that I had died and gone to Heaven! They actually started out wanting a healthier menu using rice flour and canola oil to fry their fish and chips. It wasn't until later that someone told them about Celiac Disease. Aside from bringing in rolls for those requesting them, they don't have any wheat flour in the kitchen! No chance for contamination! Wish they would open somewhere in St. Louis! The bottom line - I stayed well the ENTIRE trip!!!!!! * Send administrative questions to [log in to unmask] *