Traveling Gluten Free

Are you looking for Gluten free options in a big city on vacation? This is one of my favorite resources. I google "yelp gluten free" and then the name of the city. For example, "yelp gluten free san francisco" and then your search engine should bring up on Yelp a ton of gluten free places in that city with reviews and everything. You can even switch the "location" and put in the exact zip code of where you are going to be and it will help you find restaurants that are gluten free in that location. I will often call a place to double check they serve gluten free food before I actually go there. There is nothing worse than getting somewhere and finding out that they don't really have any idea what gluten free means. I went to a thai restaurant recently and asked what dishes they can make gluten free. She said, "Everything". I have never gone to a restaurant and had them say that before. Even this restaurant. I found that a bit alarming. It can be a good idea to dig deeper and ask "how do you make it gluten free?". If they say they use tamari (gluten free soy sauce) that would be one thing. But chances are if the recipes call for oyster sauce, pre-made sauces, etc. they will contain regular soy sauce which contains wheat. I also will ask them for dairy free items. My understanding is that many people tolerate butter fine. Sometimes they ask me if I want it cooked in olive oil instead and I gratefully say yes. Other times it's more about if it comes with cheese or if there is cream in the sauce. It all depends on how much of a reaction you have as to your comfort level. If you are really sensitive I would be tempted to grill the waiter a bit. If you are not very sensitive, you could just ask for gluten-free and hope for the best.