Monday, February 20, 2012

Gluten Free Travels to Quebec City

On a recent chilly weekend my dear friend celebrated her birthday and I joined her on a trip to Quebec City to commemorate the occasion. Like any seasoned gluten free traveler I googled my options, downloaded a french restaurant card  and packed a bag full of snacks. French is the sole language of Quebec and although it's less that a four hour drive from our home in Maine it felt worlds away.
 So far away that we thought about taking on new identities....as ice figures. Until we realized that we'd melt eventually.

We did some great sightseeing around the area including the Hotel De Glace for a chilly drink and a ride down the ice slide.
The first night we had dinner at Voo Doo which was near our hotel on the Grande Allee. I had the risotto which was warm and filling on a very chilly night. Thankfully I wasn't around a thermometer to remind me exactly how cold it was but it was a don't-go-outside-without-long-underwear-and-at-least-two-jackets-cold. Our waiter was great and took one of my print outs back to the kitchen. Plus they brought Sara a flaming birthday cake...

The next night we had dinner at a traditional Quebec restaurant the
Aux Anciens Canadiens  and I was delighted when I found Risotto on the menu. Seriously, I'd much rather have risotto on a cold night then a salad! Our waitress was less enthused that our waiter from the night before but double checked with the kitchen for me.
Their risotto was covered in cheese and my favorite part was the veggies. After a chilly walk in which I couldn't even begin to work off that plate of cheese, we ended our night at the revolving restaurant above the city.
It was a great trip and I was glad to be prepared with my bag of gluten free goodies. I managed to eat safely but was pretty nervous with the language barrier at times.

2 comments:

Ang said...

So glad you were able to eat safely! Getting glutened on a trip is the worst!

sno dundah said...

Sooooooooooo glad you were home to celebrate my birthday and were able to stay safe on the trip. It meant so much to have you there.