Was It Worth The Stop?
Finding Gluten-Free Along The Way

One thing I knew before we headed out on our recent 15-day road trip (see Can Math Solve The Packing Problem?) was that finding places to eat would require almost as much planning as my wardrobe capsule did.

Though eating gluten-free at home for the past year or so has gotten fairly routine, traveling is another story. ICYMI, you can get caught up on the reasons behind my dietary change in Gut Instinct: Grains Of Truth. Sometimes we were looking for a restaurant because we were hungry and happened to be nearby. Other times, the promise of something gluten-free was reason enough to work a stop into the day.

I can usually find something to eat almost anywhere, as unthrilling as those options might be. However, the places showcased in this post were the standouts because they offered something specifically gluten-free that caught my attention, made the stop easier, or was simply too good not to mention.

And almost every time, it was absolutely worth the detour.

Sacramento

We started out strong with our lunch stop on Day 1 in Sacramento, which gave us two of the biggest gluten-free wins during our travels. I discovered Fire & Crisp via a social media post that came up on my FYP (thanks, algorithm). This place’s signature item was its gluten-free Nashville-style hot crispy chicken sandwiches. We ordered ours at spice level 1 on a gluten-free bun as well as the loaded gluten-free mac and cheese. Winner, winner … chicken dinner lunch.

The chicken was juicy, the gluten-free bun actually held together fairly well, and the mac and cheese tasted pretty much like I remembered mac and cheese tasting before I stopped eating gluten. YUM! However, when I went to find a link for this restaurant to include in this post, I found that it had permanently closed as of the end of August.😢

Another Sacramento area establishment that came across my FYP was Pushkin Bakery, a small chain that exclusively offers gf/vegan baked goods. Not far from our lunch spot was their sister location, Babes Ice Cream & Donuts, which I wound up being even more excited about than the chicken.

Why? Because I finally found a gluten-free fried donut. Not baked. Not donut-shaped cake pretending to be a donut.

A fried donut. With sprinkles. Plus a cruller and a fritter. And yes, it was all very good and worth another visit if we’re ever in the area again. 😊

Ashland

That evening, we met friends for dinner at Louie’s in Ashland, Oregon, where the menu included extensive gluten-free, vegetarian, and vegan options. The restaurant is located in the older, downtown part of the city and had a lovely outdoor dining area along the creek, which made it an especially nice place to linger over dinner.

The food was good, although there was no separate fryer for the french fries, which was disappointing considering the attention to dietary needs. Another option suggested by our friends was nearby Greenleaf, but I wasn’t able to get useful information from its website ahead of time, so Louie’s won out.

Medford

Breakfast the next morning took us to Crackin’ and Stackin’, where gluten-free pancakes are available. Pancakes, waffles, cinnamon rolls, and donuts would become a bit of a theme on this trip.

Apparently, once you tell me something that used to be off-limits is available gluten-free, I feel obligated to investigate. For research purposes, naturally.

Olympia

During our visit with our daughter, we made a return trip to The Leaning Maple, a 100% gluten-free restaurant in Olympia, Washington. Their signature menu item is waffles; you can get them sweet, savory, or as part of a sandwich. So, so good!

There’s another place in this general area that deserves mention; however, we didn’t go there during this visit. Although not exclusively gluten-free, Miss Moffett’s Mystical Cupcakes offers a wide variety of fresh-baked treats that meet many dietary needs. The cinnamon rolls we got during our last trip to Washington did not disappoint. The video below was taken during a previous visit.

Hood River

Along our way back south, we made a stop in Hood River and ate at Love & Hominy, where the tasty tacos made for an easy gluten-free meal. We’ve found that tacos can be one of the more reliable choices when traveling, assuming the tortillas and fillings cooperate, and this spot worked nicely for us.

Klamath Falls

Then came Rolled and Scored, a small baked goods shop in Klamath Falls. The photo at the top of this post was taken there. The reviews were glowing about the gluten-free goodies (along with the other menu items), but many included a caution to get there early because the bakery often sold out of specialty items. We stopped by as we headed out of town in the morning and managed to get a couple of blueberry scones, which were very good.

By this point, as you can tell, finding gluten-free bakeries along the route had become something of a side quest.

A very tasty side quest. 😉

Arcata

Back in California, Slice of Humboldt Pie in Arcata was a winner as well. They offer gluten-free versions of their small hand-held pies, individual and family-sized pot pies, sweet pies (whole or by the slice), and other treats. We stopped in for dessert after having pizza for dinner (nothing to write home about). My notes from the trip simply say “yum,” which may not qualify as a detailed restaurant review, but it does tell you what you really need to know.

Willits

Lunch in Willits brought us to J.D. Redhouse, a charming general store we had popped into after our Skunk Train ride. Surprisingly, gluten-free bread was available at the lunch counter, and I was hungry, so this decision was made on the spot. Not every gluten-free find needs to be spectacular. Sometimes what matters is simply being able to order a sandwich without turning lunch into a research project.

Monterey

Monterey turned out to be particularly good territory for gluten-free eating. First was Nece’s Gluten-Free Bakery & Cafe. My trip notes for this one say “yum yum,” which apparently puts it one notch above Arcata on my highly scientific rating scale.

Dinner at Old Fisherman’s Grotto on the wharf offered something unexpected: gluten-free eggplant parmigiana. It was delicious. They also had gluten-free cheesecake made with almond flour, along with two flavors of crème brûlée. That entire meal was a standout.

This is where eating gluten-free while traveling gets fun. As I shared earlier, I can usually find something to eat almost anywhere. Finding something I genuinely wouldn’t expect to be available gluten-free is a different matter entirely.

Breakfast the next day brought us to The Breakfast Club, where I had a gluten-free waffle. It’s so nice when a restaurant puts a notice about offering gluten-free items front and center rather than having to hunt for information on the menu.

And because apparently Monterey felt I had not consumed enough gluten-free baked goods yet, there was also Lilly Mae’s on Cannery Row, where cinnamon rolls entered the picture. I was willing to make the sacrifice.

As for more substantial food, Rosine’s was another wonderful find, especially after a long day of sightseeing. It’s located in the historic downtown core, and even though the cuisine type leans towards Italian, they offer gluten-free bread and pasta substitutions. I had the stuffed salmon, which was delicious.

Paso Robles

Clearly by now, the bakery-and-donut portion of our itinerary looks far less accidental than I might ever have claimed it was. Our travels through Paso Robles included a stop at SloDoCo. With a motto like “Donuts for all. All for donuts.”, I was excited to give this place a try. And again, we were not disappointed. Best of all, we found out that one of their four locations is only about a 45-minute drive from where we live. Oh yeah!

Arroyo Grande

Our last stop on this gluten-free investigation tour was at Sweet Pea Bakery, another location that offers items for a variety of dietary needs. The online menu looks impressive, but apparently we didn’t get there early enough on that particular day because there wasn’t much available. This bakery isn’t far from where my sister lives, so I’ll plan on an earlier visit next time I’m in the area.

There was one place we ate at in this same general area whose menu clearly stated gluten-free items as well as dedicated fryers, and yet I had an unexpected and undesirable outcome. Since it’s difficult to know whether there was gluten in the food or it was some other trigger that caused the issue, I’ve decided to not share any details about that restaurant.

So, Was It Worth the Stop?

Mostly, yes. What surprised me most was not that I managed to eat gluten-free while traveling. I expected I could do that.

What surprised me was the variety. Fried donuts. Cinnamon rolls. Pancakes. Waffles. Pizza. Chicken sandwiches. Mac and cheese. Eggplant parmigiana. Cheesecake. A year or so ago, I might have assumed some of those foods were simply off the table.

Instead, searching for gluten-free options became part of the road trip itself. Some stops were convenient. Some were good. A few were memorable enough that I would happily go back.

One important note: although I eat gluten-free, I do not have celiac disease. I’m still not certain how sensitive I may be to cross-contamination, but I do my best to avoid it. That means asking about things like shared fryers and preparation methods when I can, but the choices I made on this trip may not be appropriate for someone who needs to strictly avoid even trace amounts of gluten.

We didn’t chase gluten-free stops across the map. We found them along the route we had already chosen, and that was part of the fun of our road trip. In the end, it wasn’t just about finding something I could eat, but finding things I was genuinely excited to eat. When you travel, do you plan your meals around your route, or your route around your meals?

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Photo credit: MMPerez and myself

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