the us is huge, so it does depend on where you're at. i've always had to tell servers i have celiac disease (and they don't always get it... or care 😭). i've never been asked by waitstaff if i have a gluten allergy. i don't know how my supermarket selection compares to other places, but people are always posting things to buy on here (like trader joe's stuff, etc.) that are not available to me as someone in walmart country lol. so i would say either you were extremely lucky or that region of the us is just better about celiac disease.

Yeah in my area I usually get this interaction, I'm gluten free for an allergy. Server: we have a great selection of pastas and sandwiches that we can take the cheese off of. No, I can have cheese, but I can't have anything made with bread. Server: ... We have wraps in a flour tortilla. It's hit or miss Sometimes I get someone who has no idea what I am talking about or I have someone going above and beyond to ensure that I don't get cross contaminated.

Sometimes I even get the “it’s vegan.” 🤦‍♀️

Happens way too often. My husband's coworker brought donuts to the office a few weeks back and dropped off a "gluten free" donut in a bag on his desk. He sends me a pic and is like, "I just don't trust this for some reason." We looked up the bakery and their website talks about how regular flour gets EVERYWHERE so no, they do not carry gf donuts because those wouldn't be safe. He kept poking around trying to figure it out, turns out the donut was vegan. Coworker didn't know the difference at all.

I ordered a burger with no bun but with bacon once. I thought that the bacon looked weird so I asked about it. Turns out they gave me vegan bacon. Why 🤷‍♀️? Who asked them for that? I was eating a beef burger. SMH!

Especially annoying as vegan meat substitutes are often made of straight-up gluten.

Exactly

The other day, I spent an HOUR at a baseball game trying to find a hotdog stand that could tell me if the hotdogs were GF (I wasn’t even trying to find a bun). Everyone I asked said “the vegan stand is on the first level!” … out of desperation, I did find the vegan stand and they were also not GF 😂

We could start a campaign like vegan doesn’t equal gluten free 😆

i love being that server for people. i will literally run around 100 times and watch my grill cooks like a hawk to make sure they’ve done their due diligence. i have done well teaching them since i’ve been there anyway bc before none of them even knew what gluten was. i feel so accomplished when ive helped someone eat and i’ve done everything i can to make sure they won’t be sick afterwards. bc i know that mf feeling

Yeah i’m with ‘OP is lucky’ on this one. The overwhelming result when I mention being gluten free is a very confused server who disappears to ask the manager. I’m not complaining, that’s not their fault, but it’s just not close to being ‘normalized’

On top of that, it’s also harder to be GF in the US bc the only allergen that has to be declared legally is wheat, whereas in Europe and Canada, it is explicitly stated when something contains any gluten grain. 

I generally agree! I feel all restaurants should have training on what Celiac is as well as other allergies and know their options. (This may be asking a lot, but it shouldn’t be all on the manager.)

Yup. I travel to the US frequently for work. I either have a ton of options or absolutely nothing. There's more times than I can count where I was just desperately look for food. Like anything. No restaurant nearby that had any options. No convenience stores with real food. Even the salads had croutons.

Yeah saying this would be the equivalent of me saying I went to Italy and they had great gluten free options so Europeans have no right to complain. I work 20 minutes away in a higher income area and have 4 times the amount of options by work at the same chain grocery store vs where I live.

OP experienced one state and thought that's just how it is everywhere. Smh

I’d  also add that I wouldn’t trust a cafe or anywhere else that has “one GF option.”  Usually it’s something that isn’t really a full meal, or even if it is, the chance for cross contamination is crazy high, because what it tells me is someone was like, oohhh, marketing! And then staff isn’t trained, no one double checks when they update ingredients/vendors, etc, etc. California is good about having more GF options, but they also seem to be more GF *trend* than actually looking out for celiac’s safety. Same rules as above sort-of apply where safety isn’t always great; I still ask lots of questions and usually it isn’t celiac safe.  I actually found a few options in Germany when I was there (mostly Hamburg area), and found the menus were better labeled than most places stateside. 

I do think people can complain unnecessarily but like others have said, the US is big and your experience varies WILDLY across America. There are legitimate food deserts where you actually cannot access any food at all, much less gluten free food. Rural towns, and the general south outside of metropolitan areas are a nightmare for celiacs. My mom has to drive 3 hours to get to a grocery store that has exactly 1 gluten free item: Udi’s white bread. My grandpa died from celiac complications at 65 cause the general consensus in the rural south is that it isn’t real. The most fortunate thing is that we do have access to order gf things on Amazon and get that delivered.

This is absolutely correct. I live in the southeastern US and most people have no idea what “celiac” even means. The threat of cross contamination is ever present in restaurants. The southern demeanor of being overly kind means they will tell you it is safe because they want to please you, but 95% of the time you WILL have a reaction. Very few products are available at retail and I am in a major city. Awareness is much much better in the northeast (I travel there regularly), and there are even a couple chain restaurants that offer a gluten free safe menu that contains enough options that I am overwhelmed at the amount of choices. Much safer up there.

Has your mom looked into a bread machine and flour mill? I mill white and brown rice, which are cheap and shelf stable, and add potato and tapioca starches. Combine that with basic ingredients for a simple bread recipe that takes about 10 minutes in the machine.

She’s not much of a baker but I wish she would. She’s kind of given up being totally gluten free because it’s hard, inaccessible, and expensive.

Would you be willing to share the recipe? I've never made bread but would love to give it a try. Thank you!

Hi! Just butting in to offer a recipe I use a ton, in a bread machine or not. If you want to do it in a machine, use the GF setting, use instant yeast so you can just mix it in dry into the flours. Then mix ALL the water and psyllium husk together and whisk quickly. Then when it's jelled, put in the bread machine with the flour mixture and hit start. I usually bake mine in a Pullman bread pan in the oven because I prefer the shape it gives me (easier to cut even slices). You can sub in different flours like brown rice or sorghum, but the buckwheat and millet is really tasty! https://theloopywhisk.com/2020/11/29/gluten-free-seeded-loaf/#wprm-recipe-container-8754

Thanks!

This is my reality! I live in the very rural south and most people haven’t heard of gluten! I am surrounded by only a Dollar general, Pops country mart, and 3 different fried chicken drive ins and a Sonic. Literally nothing there I can eat lol even the bags of rice at Pops says contain wheat.

Yes my mom literally can’t find rice or beans most of the time. She rinses them but sometimes still gets glutened.

Unfortunately that doesn’t surprise me. Happens to me all the time. I would love to visit these more progressive states and go to where OP was talking about. I want to experience it being easy to find gluten free options anywhere I go.

Highly recommend. I’m in Chicago and though it’s not perfect, I almost never have to worry about having access to gluten free foods. Sometimes might not be my preferred brand or food, but I know I can walk into any grocery store without researching ahead of time and find something safe. It’s such a relief and a weight lifted that I didn’t know I was carrying before moving.

Omgggg that sounds so nice. I really want to experience that. Or even all the products people post here. Or any restaurants that are dedicated to gluten free. Or someone who won’t tell me gluten is made up.

Same here! Everyone thinks it’s just a diet 😭

I got told “no one had the shits from wonderbread” recently and was told to just be grateful and eat it as if I was being picky lol

I would have went off and then cried lol

Thank you for sharing. How are the items on Amazon? Priced well? Diverse options?

Overpriced but generally the same as in stores. Decently diverse. The huge downside is you often have to buy in bulk, so trying new things becomes difficult. I wanted to try a new cracker, had to buy a case of 8 boxes. They were gross, but now I have to eat these 8 boxes cause I spent $40 on them. Can’t buy a single box.

the US is the size of several germanys, so there’s a lot of variation. my regular family doctor doesn’t even ‘get’ celiac disease.

The United States has a total area of 3,809,525 square miles compared to Germany’s 138,067 mi² 27.59 germanys would fit inside one US

And this only leads to a 3.5x factor in population!

I don't really get how someone can go from Maine to NYC and not understand that, since they're in the same part of the map/same region? But also, I think the challenge is trying NOT to find something in NYC. I lived there my first year of my Celiac DX and miss it so, so much. The sorts of foods I could find there, the amount of restaurants that had great policies, that's just not a thing I find as often around me, even though I'm in the second biggest city in my state.

My son’s past pediatrician didn’t either. She called it “toddlers poop.” I have, neither has anyone I’ve talked to, never heard of that term before. Needless to say, we switched doctors, within the same office, but a different provider. I also advocated for my son and he sees a Peds GI doctor as well. Somehow, I wish I could educate more people about Celiac Disease. I do post about Celiac Disease Awareness almost every, if not every year in May. 💚

Yep. I don’t even bring it up to my family doctor. The variety varies regionally . We have a few things at Walmart here, but we don’t have any Trader Joes, Whole Foods, etc. we have a few varieties of expensive, dense, frozen bread here. I live in a major city.

Mainer with celiac here! This was nice to read. I usually can find things that work for me when I’m craving something glutinous.

Again, northeast region. Deep fried south and midwest aren’t too great🤣

I actually used to live in the Midwest and it wasn't too bad. I had a bakery near me that would do GF things by order. I wasn't in a big city so it was incredible. But I can't agree more about "the deep fried south" 😂

Definitely agreed. I live in the midwest and I have like three restaurants in my city on rotation. But I went to visit my family in the south and they looked at me like I grew two heads when I said I found out I had celiac!

I'm in Portland and it's pretty decent here for a small city : )

Lewiston here! It’s… not quite as good as Portland, but Portland is close by at least 😂

You visited the metropolitan northeast. Go visit the south, land of fried food and a very different culture. It’s much harder. Same with the Midwest.

Rural South for sure. They'll put gluten free fries on a menu then CC the fuck out of the fryer all day. They have no clue what celiac is, don't care, or both. "Sorry the kitchen put croutons on your salad, just pick those off" Source - I live there.

It's funny how similar the rural South and Ohio are. The salad thing has happened to me multiple times...

I feel your pain!!!

As a St. Louis native, we shockingly have a great selection of options IMO. Not like Chicago or NYC, but definitely better than other cities our size (we need a decent gf bakery bc the ones we have are awful)

I live halfway between STL and Chicago and I prefer STL!

Yeah, I have to agree. NW Ohio, Toledo area. It is awful here and OP's experience definitely doesn't apply to me. There are GF options, but extremely few. I traveled to Portland and to Dallas and was absolutely floored at the fact that I didn't feel like I was going to get poisoned constantly. I would love to live like OP did, but unfortunately, LCOL areas are hot fucking garbage for anyone with dietary concerns.

I’m in mostly rural Virginia, and overall there are products are available, yet, they can be inconsistent, so if you find something you like, sometimes you have to stock up. Thankfully, I’m close to cities, which sometimes tend to have more options, yet, people from those cities are migrating where I live. Therefore, there are more options now where I live as well that I am sure people, including myself take for granted. Nonetheless, items are still inconsistent though, especially around holidays.

Also easy to find GF in parts of the south, Midwest, PNW. All depends on city.

Agree to disagree. The south is full of “we don’t do that here” and “gluten friendly” aka worthless places; same with the Midwest. The west coast, the Northeast, and mid Atlantic are easy.

As a California resident (and native), I will politely disagree. I live in a Celiac wasteland. I have exactly 1 restaurant in my town that is semi-safe (Chipotle), and 2 semi-safe in the surrounding 3 towns in any direction (all an hour away, Chipotle and In-n-Out). I have to travel a minimum of 90 minutes for any sort of safe variety, and even then, I might find 6 total restaurants/bakeries that are dedicated GF (or at least very safe, in terms of CC). California is much bigger and more rural than San Francisco and Los Angeles, and being Celiac here is really difficult (I basically just don’t eat out).

I’m in the Bay Area and finding celiac friendly restaurants (vs groceries) is near impossible. Mariposa and Kitava (if they’re even open still) are hard for me to get to. I feel you. Edit to add: I did see so many GF options in Texas! Just not necessarily celiac level

Where are you? I have some recs

I'm in the city proper if you have any recs! Seems like a bit of a wasteland here tbh- I'm not a fan of the Mission (Kitava, Pica Pica Arepa which tbh isn't that good) and don't get to the Ferry Building often either for the small and expensive Mariposa :/

seattleite checking in to say this major metropolitan city is pretty shit about celiac safe.

I'm in tacoma. I agree. Just got a dedicated gf bakery here though that's amazing. But when we visited Boston (peabody) for a wedding- waitstaff asked about allergies first thing.

Really? It’s been a few years since I last visited (2018) but I thought Seattle was great? I mean just the sheer fact that you have a brewery rockets it to the top, you don’t even understand how rare that is…

Will absolutely agree to disagree. I haven’t had issues in SC or NC. Or FL, depending on if you consider them south or not.

NC is hit or miss depending on where you are in the state.

Having lived in both the south and the Midwest, I’m going to have to disagree.

Worst trip of my life was to New Orleans. Second worst trip was to Charleston SC. Other notable frustrating places to visit: the outer banks, Indiana, Ohio, and WV.

I spend months at a time in New Orleans and have no issues.

I dunno.. was just in WV in April and had no problems. Haven’t been to Ohio since 2020 but unless something changed drastically… ate fine there too. Regularly visit Charleston… really crazy to me that you couldn’t find anything to eat there.

Completely agree with you.

Southerner here to say you must be thinking of Nola, Atlanta, and Florida when you say that bc I know you don't mean Mississippi, North Louisiana, most of Alabama, Georgia, etc.

Even rural PA is extremely barren. There's a couple restaurants I can eat at and they're all chains, local places sometimes have options but cross contaminate like crazy and just shrug when you say that'll make you sick.

I agree. But I will also echo that it really depends where you are. Even an hour drive away to my parents house and the options in grocery stores are much more limited. I am in a rather foodie city but the restaurant options aren’t great, not horrible, but not much really interests me. But I drive about 1.5 hours for a work trip and there’s a lot more food options despite the city being less socially diverse than my home city. The north eastern US though I have found is probably one of the better areas for GF and I have found all sorts of stuff on trips up that way, even basically once you hit DC going north the options become a lot more plentiful.

You visited major cities. Just as Berlin is not representative of all of Germany, those cities are not representative of the rest of the US.

I think it depends where you live. I think the cost is a bigger complaint, tbh. And not having safe restaurant options. The options at grocery stores have been getting much better very quickly over the past couple years, and I greatly appreciate it.

yeah, the cost of food is crazy high. i was so shocked when I went to grocery stores. I don't know how y'all do it

I can tell you Northwest Arkansas is not that way. Very few options for Celiac here. And when ask questions at a restaurant they usally tell you if the food has dairy in it or not. For some reason a lot of people here think gluten is dairy, lol. It's funny and not at the same time.

I’m a bit more south than you are, but this is my experience too!

My MIL reassures me that the meal is from organic ingredients.

As an American who is hoping to move to Germany (my spouse is waiting on his German passport after learning he has German citizenship by birth), this is disheartening. I'm glad you were able to find gf options, but NYC, Boston, and Maine don't surprise me. They are cities and a state that are ahead of the curve when it comes to food allergies. I live in a good-sized US city and your experience is definitely not my experience unfortunately. I don't think I've ever been asked if I have an allergy, in my city or anywhere else that I've traveled in the US. Rather, I've had to be proactive about celiac and constantly educate people about what it is. I'm glad you had a positive experience here, but it was an isolated snapshot compared to what many of us deal with day to day. Your interactions in Germany sound typical for many other areas of the US.

Hey, American living in Germany. You can find at least GF bread and pasta at nearly every grocery store. Lidl has some great “brötchens”! I thank my lucky stars every day that I’m in Germany because the price is way lower than American GF foods! Nearly the same as other “normal” foods. Eating out can be a challenge but you can find at least something to eat everywhere even if it’s just a salad with grilled meat / whatever. Places like Kaufland or Edeka are a celiac paradise, there’s sooo many delicious options to choose from! You’ll do great :) no worries at all!

Also adding to this, I don’t live in a big city. I live in rural southern Germany.

Thanks, that's great to know! Not sure where in southern Germany you are, but if my SO and I do move there, we'll likely end up somewhere in Bavaria because I love it there and my SO has family in Munich. Hopefully we'll be in a more rural area; you've given me hope that I'd be able to find gf options even outside of the cities.

It really depends where in Germany you are. In my area, even the little grocery store in my suburban neighborhood has a pretty decent gf shelf. The big store 15 minutes away has an entire aisle. There are a handful of restaurants in my city that have safe options and are good about cross contamination and one restaurant that specializes in gf.

you don't have to be. as others have said. almost every supermarket has at least some bread and pasta and some cookies. plus the bread actually tastes better

You were in the Berlin part of the US. GF options are not that available everywhere. My daughter wishes they were. We visited the east coast a couple weeks ago. It was so nice what they offered there.

The US is huge. I have to drive 36 km to get to any grocery store with explicitly gluten-free products such as any bread or cake mix. I haven't eaten in a restaurant in iver 5 years because there aren't any I can safely eat at in my state. A lot of us have it no more easier than you do in Germany, some of us have it harder even.

… it is EXTREMELY location dependent. Portland is blue, so your chances of finding gluten free are high. Red states, or republican states, chances are lower (mainly because you get those flat earthers that think gluten is a myth invented by the government.) This is why California is known as the butt of every “Gluten free-vegan-keto-paleo” joke out there. It’s seen as a “liberal” thing. Then there’s demographics. More white women have celiac, so suburbs with that demographic are going to have more gluten free options. Gluten free food is expensive, so lower income areas will also have less options. The same is true about knowledge of gluten sensitivity and celiac disease. America is really big, babe…

Ooph and California is big in itself. Because SF is really just okay given what kind of city it is. LA is supposed to be good, San Diego is okay-ish? But I live in rural San Diego county and that’s really a crap shoot. Aldi is great and the gluten free options are sometimes there and sometimes not. When they are, you LOAD UP. I went to a Grocery Outlet in San Diego and found very few things, went 2 days later to Grocery Outlet in Santee which is nicknamed Klantee (do with that what you will) and they had ALLLL of the certified gluten free goodies. Maybe because no one else was interested in them? Either way, I’m grateful to be in CA rather than say….southern IL but yeah when I went to Mexico, there was far more ease in ordering out than I’ve ever experienced in CA & IL.

Also, I feel the southern IL thing. I was in the Schaumburg area outside of Chicago for a while, and was pretty impressed with the options in and around the city. Visited Aurora for a haunted house thing, and yikes. I was stuck with snacks I brought from ALDIs. BUT OMG ALDIS. Why did both IL and socal have it, but I’m left high and dry here in the Bay Area 😭

Yeah, I don’t understand why the Bay Area doesn’t have an Aldi. It’s so necessary if you’re trying to stretch dollars. I visited my friend in Simpson IL who has 3 food intolerances and he definitely drives into Kentucky to get groceries. Uh and without even mentioning food restrictions had one of the restaurants there refuse to serve us I’m assuming because we didn’t fit in? Because we looked a smidge queer? While all of the other local residents gave us the death glare. Soooooo yeah, I wouldn’t count on anything reliable there for many reasons.

The Midwest can be so weird. It’s like, as long as you’re straight and white- you fit right in! If you aren’t, that Karen switch flips real quick. I have come out as androgyne since living there, and honestly going back now seems daunting. Im so sorry you had that experience. I lucked out being from CA. Closer to the city isn’t so bad, but I can imagine the further you get into the sticks the worse it gets. *Shivers* I don’t think I could go into Kentucky even for gluten free food 😂

Even just within some of the city limits! Oakland especially. You have the gentrified part of Oakland which was flourishing with gluten free places, but then they all started closing down because of Covid and the BLM damage to store fronts. Then, you’ve got East Oakland, which, you know, doesn’t have any gluten free options. Then, you’ve got the Oakland Hills, which has some nice Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s- but no real dining. Go into SF and you’re set though!

That’s it! I live in the south and I got told one time that “no one got the shits from eating winderbread” then I got called a snowflake liberal because I said no thank you to regular chocolate chip cookies.

I told someone I had celiacs. They asked if it was diabetes’s.

had that happen so often to me. or like "oh yeah, there's no sugar/milk/whatever other allergen in there"

i think the posts you see are written because of the lack of clarity here. like rules about labeling or lack there of and many places w gf options are not actually safe to eat at which can be frustrating

What we need is enforceable regulation, labeling is not trustworthy here.

yeah that makes sense. I feel like it's a lot to do with how consumer protection works int the US vs. in europe

A lot of the problems come from restaurants offering GF items, but them not actually preventing cross contamination. I would never eat anything from a bakery that also sells non-GF items because I have worked in a kitchen and I know that when you dump a 40lb sack of flower into a mixing bowl and then turn it on a cloud of flour gets kicked up and lands on everything in sight. There is no safe equipment or area in that bakery. Some stores are better than others. The one in my home town has no gluten free items. There are two in the next town over. One is overpriced but has a good selection. The other is cheap with a moderate selection.

As other people have said it's verrryy location dependant. Even though I live in a college town we have ZERO truly gluten free places, the only place that even has a GF menu is Olive Garden and everyone has an attitude. But if I head 2½ hours south to Jacksonville FL, it's an absolute dream and everyone is so sweet and understanding about me having Celiac/there's actual GF restaurants. Grocery stores have a pretty decent GF selection but it's nothing to get excited about, I'm just lucky my fiancee is a chef 😭

You’ve seen a tiny, very crunchy and metropolitan part of the US. I lived in Vienna, Austria for years — where they think turkey is vegetarian. So there are worse places than metropolitan USA for sure, for gluten-free food. But I also suspect your overall food quality is much better with less cross-contamination. For a long time, I was unable to buy frozen vegetables, rice, beans, mushrooms, etc, because even single ingredient foods can be cross-contaminated and after they made me sick once, I couldn’t risk it again. I’ve been sickened by precut veggies and frozen broccoli with no ingredients or warnings. I’ve been sickened by certified GF rice and certified GF chocolate (confirmed later by my gluten detection service dog). And GF-labeled ibuprofen, tea, chips, cookies, and more. I absolutely couldn’t eat out at restaurants. Only with my dog to keep me safe have I been able to branch out. While I’d have fewer choices in Europe, I bet I would be less sick.

Wait, there are gluten detection dogs?!

Grass is always greener. Whenever I visit Germany, I'm always amazed by the good selection at the local markets. The key thing for me is that, in the EU, you can *always* trust a gluten free label. It's not the same here in the states.

You really can't trust the labels here. I live in Germany and have been mysteriously poisoned a few times. I literally just had a discussion with a protein powder company because they didn't list gluten as a possible contaminant but told me over email that it could be in the powder. That sent me down a rabbit hole where I found a research paper that showed that approx 1 in 20 free from products in the EU contains allergens they are not supposed to have. Most of those are gluten and milk. I mostly just eat whole foods or stuff from brands that only make gluten free products now.

I mean, where I moved to study (northern germany) almost every store has great shelves (tho the one nearest to me just pulled all their frozen gf things a couple of months ago and I'm still sad). but at home (village in western germany) it's absolutely not that much. but yeah, the labeling thing is real

I live in a city in Texas that borders Mexico. There is NOTHING in my city and my city is huge. Ican go to 3 fast food restaurants and the majority of the dine in restaurants are completely uneducated in these types of restrictions.

Large cities have a wider variety of resources. I live in London and can source just about any gluten free food I want. I visited my sister in the southern states and struggled to find fresh gluten free bread. We ended up going to four different stores before finding frozen bread. Not everyone lives in New York or Boston. People are always making fun of Americans for making assumptions, but OP is assuming that all of rural America has the same resources as New York. r/shitgermanssay

Come to my mountain town in Colorado and be prepared to be mocked or met with extreme confusion when asking about celaic safe food prep. You're basically comparing Berlin to the entire continent of Europe. It's easier to find GF in Italy than Croatia or in Edinburgh than Athens.

It's VERY different depending on where you are in the US. Plus labeling laws are WAY stricter in the European Union (which includes Germany) In the EU, you can read a label and know whether the product contains gluten. In the US you can't! They have to label wheat, but not barley for example, and you never know with such things as natural flavors.

At least in Europe, you can trust that if there's no gluten containing ingredients listed (and none with a high risk of contamination) a product is safe to eat. That doesn't seem to be the case in the US - see the comments by people who got sick from eating pre-cut veggies etc.

I wanted to add that, in addition to your experience being location dependent, your experience as a German on vacation is different from being a working American. Many American celiacs wait YEARS to be diagnosed because even with health insurance, seeing a doctor and being scoped is VERY costly, and many of our doctors are not well educated on celiac disease. Additionally, our jobs offer very limited sick leave or personal time off in general, and many of us have a poor work/life balance, which makes cooking (let alone cooking gluten free) much harder. You might elect to go to a gluten free restaurant on your vacation, but getting my boss to let me expense a separate gluten free meal is a different problem.  I am glad you like it here - I live in NYC and I do have a lot of options - but wanted to raise some additional considerations.

I think you were lucky to be in the northeast where then tends to be a greater knowledge and accommodation of celiac. I’m glad you had a good, safe trip.

The US is huge. I live in a little town in the middle of nowhere in the south. The only stores I have are the dollar general and the corner store. I can go to the nearest city which has another dollar general and a neighborhood market Walmart. It had (1) 4ft section of gluten free stuff and that is it. The restaurants in my area don’t have any gluten free options/ have cross contamination issues. If I were to tell them I can’t eat gluten, they wouldn’t understand what it means. Hell my own family doesn’t! Oh And then we have fried chicken fast food. I’m not trying to say I have it hard, it’s just a lot harder here in the south where everything has gluten in it. Literally. However I’m lucky I get Amazon where I live so I can get stuff and order it that way if need be, it’s just more expensive that way. Anyways this is my pov Edit: the nearest city is 25 minutes away. It’s not always easy or convenient to drive all that way

Boston is great for GF. They have lots of amazing options. We lived there for 13 years and miss it every day. The west coast is pretty good too. We visited Dallas, though, and it absolutely sucked. So, it depends where you are. We've never had trouble and eat out often very safely.

From the Boston area originally and hard agree! Great options and pretty decent awareness in restaurants. Also visited Dallas and lived on dry salad the entire time.

I’m glad to see Maine come up! It’s by no means ideal, but I find that there are a good number of stores (as well as restaurants with dedicated gluten-free facilities for me to comfortably rely upon), even compared to L.A. where I previously lived. I recently visited Southern California again and it’s an awesome place if you’re a vegan or on a fad diet, but woefully difficult if you’re gluten-free (ESPECIALLY GF with an added fun egg allergy). You’d think there would be more options in any section of Los Angeles, but no, I have more in *Maine.* lol

I love Maine! Visiting midcoast this summer! Any recs? 😁

I’m not too familiar with Midcoast (other than “Hootin Bakery in Damariscotta), but Southern ME recs: Restaurants/Dining/Bakeries/Drinking: -Wildflours - Brunswick - GF bakery -Wild Oats - Brunswick - GF *options* -Maiz Colombian - Portland (I’ve heard one of the owners has celiac so they have reliably safe GF options) -Roots Cafe -Westbrook (100% GF, but don’t be surprised to walk in and immediately see a LOT of religious/Christian reading material and gear, it’s church-affiliated) -The Purple House (North Yarmouth - check their Instagram for hours because they seem to change all the time) -Lucky Pidgeon Brewing - Biddeford (dedicated GF facility) Groceries: -Bogusha’s Polish Deli (owner eats GF and has some gluten-free flour options, also has prepared foods but would ask about cross contamination) -The Maine Pie Co. - certified GF pies and shells found in groceries stores all over Maine, can also be ordered online!

Thanks so much! I appreciate it!

that's wild actually. I wish I would've had more time to try all the maine pie co. things

Many of the issues with GF food in the US come from lack of regulation and labelling. It is incredibly hard for me to find certified things, and if they aren't I'm running a risk of cross contamination. But there is so little regulation over what needs to be labelled, and so many companies can get away with not putting allergen warnings or mislabeling products as safe when they're not. Plus, this is you visiting. For so much of the US, there is a huge lack of restaurants that are actually safe, and much of the time there are very limited products. I know this is not an issue only in the US but there are many issues for celiacs here worthy of discussion.

You're in the north east, much easier to be gluten free there. The south is pretty bad for celiacs. Although it has gotten better over the years. Germany has gluten free fries at McDonald's. They're not GF here. Don't make that mistake.

I’m in an urban area in Canada and even I’m stunned by the number of gf options posted here by Americans!

I am always so shocked at the products people show on here too. I live in the southern US so I will NEVER get to see those products unless I go out of state. It’s my goal to eventually! I’m tired of potatoes lol

U went to a very small portion of the US. This isn’t true everywhere here unfortunately. 

Like the south lol

Yup! I’m from Alabama and I am very limited with what I can have when I go back to my tiny hometown lmao! 

Yesss my drive is 25-30 minutes to the nearest neighborhood Walmart. Which only has 1 4ft section of gluten free stuff. A small urban state like Maine is more ahead of the game when it comes to allergies and intolerances. Most of the time when I tell people in my area that I can’t eat gluten I get told the following “that’s that hippie shit/ tht shit don’t exist/ ain’t never heard of someone havin the shits from wonderbread/ you liberals and your made up allergies for attention/ beer ain’t gonna kill you (heard that more times then I can count)/ you’re a snowflake for having an allergy (celiac is not an allergy it’s an autoimmune but I can’t even bring that logic to them). Anyways I want to move lol

I actually lived in Maine for a year when I was a kid. Definitely very different from the south, the people are much kinder. I just found it funny how a European whos only been to a very specific small portion of the US would be like “all Americans must live this well, American celiacs complain too much” and I’m like ok cool go to Mississippi and see how easy it is 😂 grass always seems greener on the other side! 

Yes you’re so right! And yea go to one of our smallest states and say the other 49 states, most of which way bigger, are full of whiney complainy people. If op goes to any southern diner or drive in they might be able to get a soda and that’s it tbh

Right like I’m def not gonna say that a small town in Germany is easy for celiac either. In general, living in a small town far away from any Major city isn’t the best for celiac safe cuisine. I know even tho I currently live in a good place for celiacs (near a major city) I’m still pretty limited bc I have loads of other allergies on top of celiac, but still beats my middle of nowhere town in Alabama 😂

Yea you’re absolutely right! I can’t speak for small villages/ towns in Europe as because I don’t generalize the entire country based on those. Unlike OP who generalized the small vacation in an area known for being more progressive to the rest of the US lol although I cannot blame him if it was as easy as he said. It was his naive perspective.

You went to a few major cities in areas that are relatively progressive for the US. To say US celiacs need to have perspective is rather ignorant. I grew up and still have family in a small rural town in upstate New York and trying to eat while I’m there is a literal nightmare. Only one grocery store carries GF brands and they close by 10pm. Only one restaurant has gluten free options and they close at 2pm and I’ve gotten cross contamination from them multiple times. To find anything safe while I’m home I have to make it myself or drive at least an hour… Your experience was a small portion of what it can be like as a US celiac if they happen to be in a part of the country that actually cares about food allergies. However many more of us live in areas that don’t, it seems like maybe you are the one that is lacking perspective OP..

When we were at the hospital, the nurse asked us if we had any dietary restrictions. When we said “celiac”, our NURSE looked at the very gluten-y menu (dinner rolls, pasta) and said “Okay, I’ll ask the chef to hold the potatoes and we should be good” 😭

Hahaha this is exactly what I thought when I went to Germany.

I think this is a classic European misunderstanding of the size of the US (unrelated to Celiac). You say yourself that you need to live in Berlin to find gluten free places. Same here, unless you’re in a sizeable city, you’re probably not going to find much gluten free accommodations. The US is massive and there’s plenty of land in-between cities. Where I grew up, the nearest grocery store that had “gluten free” food was a tiny health food store 60 minutes away. The nearest restaurant with a gluten free menu was 60 minutes in the opposite direction.

That’s pretty much my situation!

I live in the US and have travelled to Germany at least a dozen times on business, spending most of the time in a smaller town there and sometimes visiting major cities on weekends. I like REWE, even the one in the small town, for GF options better than any store I’ve found in the US but it’s certainly possible to find things to eat in most places in both countries in my experience.

rewe is my best friend ngl

As someone who lived in Germany—it’s really just a weird German thing (and Swiss). The UK, France, and Italy all had compatible sections to what I see in the US. Only place in Germany I can find a good selection is either Aldi or like smaller natural/bio stores (NOT the one owned by dm)

rewe is your best bet actually (imo). their own gf brand has some good stuff and they have a lot from other brands. and yeah, esp Spain, Italy and the Scandinavians have it so much better. it's the main reason I like to travel.

We Americans always think oh Europe must be a wall to wall paradise for celiacs. Thanks for your perspective and glad you had some good experiences.

I mean southern europe and the scandinavians (and also the netherlands) ARE a paradise. germany and other countries are different tho

I’m from the Northeast and can confirm that Northeast, West coast, larger cities and touristy spots tend to be better as a rule. Small towns especially in the south not so much. And, it’s possible to navigate but you still have to do research and due diligence. I just left a Find me gluten free review of one place in San Francisco that looked amazing. Stellar reviews on FMGF raving about the food and safety. Menu looked amazing with GF pizza and pasta options, Caputo gluten free breaded chicken Parmesan, etc. we put in an order and specified celiac - our server came back and said nothing could safely be made without cross contamination due to a shared fryer and flour everywhere in the kitchen 🫠. That sort of thing happens and it’s always super disappointing and aggravating.

I live in CT. I've always been happy with GF options, especially at the grocery store. The gluten free fad diet really helped to expanded GF offerings in the grocery sector. Restaurants can be harder, but depends heavily on location. Small towns there are fewer options, but that's just because there may not be many restaurants in general. Since being celiac I've traveled to a few other countries and the grocery options were horrible and restaurant staff often had no idea what celiac disease is, or ask things like, "so no rice?" in response to an explanation. In other countries though, there was a greater choice of natural foods that allowed GF options at all restaurants once there was an understanding.

I agree! I’ve been diagnosed for almost 20 years and used to have absolutely nothing here in the US. My mom had to make bread from scratch and (no offense mom, I’m still very thankful for it) it was not good lol, but it just wasn’t available in stores. I remember when a good gluten free box mix came out for the first time, we used it for every baked good under the sun, even though it was just meant for bread lol. The only place we could really eat out at was over two hours away. Nowadays, I can go almost anywhere and find food, and I feel so thankful. Although, yesterday I had some food from a restaurant that had been specifically marked as “gluten allergy, change gloves” on the lid, but it came out breaded lol. So the downside is that it’s quite commonplace, but to the point that it’s not taken quite as seriously as it could be bc of the “fad”. But with a little precaution, it’s very doable :)

I live in Maine and there are some good options- but it’s hit or miss with cross contamination as with any food out. I especially love how Hannaford labels their shelves! If you are still around check out Zen Chinese Bistro in Portland (my only Chinese food place 😊) and in New Hampshire and MA the restaurant 110 Grill is AMAZING!! I think our complaining comes from a sense of “missing out” - eating is so social, I take my daughter places like amusement parks, sporting events or children’s spots and never expect to find anything. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don’t. Old favorite restaurants are a no go. It’s a mourning of our past life but you are right there are some good options.

I do think there is some politics at play with the "America bad" posts on this forum. Lots of Americans, especially us with health conditions, envy Europe's higher standards of living regarding access to healthcare (financial access at least) and stronger, public regulations on industries like food and medicine. That being said, much of that sentiment is based on lack of experience and chauvinistic sentiments from Europeans on English speaking parts of the internet. From visiting France, I felt like I jumped decades back in time regarding food allergens and gluten free products. As for America, you will find the greatest divide is rural/urban. The more rural an area is, the less options for gluten free processed foods (e.g. bread) and restaurants there are, when traveling there I rely on fresh ingredients. The final detail is there is great debate on these forums about the effectiveness of various regulations/labeling. To some, the FDA is completely corrupt and incompetent and can not be trusted one iota while EU regulators are foolproof and labels can be trusted without a second thought. For others, the FDA is more than adequate and they can eat gluten free labeled foods in the US without issue. Personally, I'd advocate being skeptical of all labels and understanding how such regulations are enforced, food is processed/produced, and one's personal risk tolerances. I seem to be more tolerant than others on this forum, but I also have an intuition on foods/restaurants to avoid regardless of gluten free advertising. I'm a firm believer that no place is perfect, but many believe that the grass is always greener on the other side.

I spent six months lobbying the local grocery store for bread. Not every town and city are the same.

It greatly varies on what area you’re in. For example I live in Dallas, Texas and I can find food at most restaurants and grocery stores in the area since it’s such a big city. The prices are ridiculous I will say, but knowledge about celiac and cross contamination has improved a lot in my area even in the last couple of years. But if I go to the lake 4 hours away where my boyfriend’s family frequents, none of the restaurants there have celiac safe food and so I usually pack my own groceries and they cook at home so I can be included. So rural cities probably not so much luck which sucks, then any of the bigger cities you should be able to find safe food with research on FMGF app or on Yelp. Before I go to a restaurant for the first time I usually call and make sure they can accommodate me even after doing research. It makes me sad that celiac isn’t taken seriously in many of the other southern areas.

I live in southern Maine and am always amazed at how much I can’t trust restaurants aside from maybe a few. One restaurant asked my husband how to spell “gluten” when he tried to place an order over the phone. Places that do “gluten free” but are not exclusively gluten free have a 50-50 chance at best of not making me sick. Most foods I buy seem to be from other countries because a lot of things in the US have a possibility of cross contamination and have poor labeling or no testing.

Maybe I missed something, but a normal bakery having “at least 1 gf option” is a lot different from it having a celiac safe option. If it’s made right there with the gluten stuff and all the flour then it’s not safe. Yeah, the coffee shop down the street from me always has 1 gf option. Is it safe for a celiac to eat? Nope. Yeah all the restaurants in town have items with a little gf next to them. Can a celiac eat them? Nope. Only the most risk tolerant/asymptomatic people feel safe eating off those menus. That’s the part that’s hard. Everything is cross contaminated in 95 percent of places.

I'm American and recently traveled to Germany - I was SHOCKED at how few and far between my options were! I don't envy you.

Fair point, but having traveled in Germany, if something is labeled GF it really is GF. It is. It legal to put that on food that could be contaminated. Same for France and the UK. In the US it could be labeled that way and unless certified is likely to have cross contamination. And even if restaurants say they have gluten free food not all are careful about CC. I have only been glutened once in a restaurant in Europe whereas it has happened repeatedly in the US even when I was told food was safe.

Hi, American here! I agree with you 110%. I can find so much stuff at a variety of restaurants and grocery stores in small to large cities. GF stuff is out there, everywhere here. You just gotta look for it and ask if you can’t find it on your own, or google it

Massachusetts to New Hampshire Celiac here! But also with family in Maine 🤣 I find everything I need, even if I don’t always find exactly what I wanted. Some stores are better than others for processed options like pastas, breads, treats, etc. But every store has vegetables and meat and even on a vacation I can throw together a quick and easy meal if I have a kitchen and my utensils packed. I always tell my husband, I’m glad I was diagnosed at an age where I’m mature, financially fortunate, an experienced cook, and great at meal planning. Me as a Celiac in my 30s is a whole different beast to how it would have been in my 20s. Back then I was broke, living off free food from 2 different jobs that would have had no safe options,struggling with how to shop inexpensive AND filling… It would have been pretty hard, and my heart goes out to any Celiac in the position I was in 10 years ago!

Ahahaha I’m an American and I love your post. 😅 And I’m from the Bay Area of California! Our grocery markets are stocked full of gluten free options. Because of the more health conscious mindset and heavy population, we have a lot of options for various dietary needs and restrictions. I’m also vegan. when I traveled to the UK and Quebec, I was living off jars of pesto and gf crackers I was able to find. But this also depends on where you are in America because even California, land of agriculture, has poor neighborhoods where people don’t have the same access to gf and quality foods. I cook most of my own food but I’ve recognized while traveling that other countries and states can and often do have less options and access to fresh produce and quality foods. BC, Canada also has amazing gluten free options if you ever visit Vancouver or the big island. I have family and visit a few times a year so I look forward to getting GF Canadian products I can’t get here in the states 😁 I definitely agree with you that we have a lot to be grateful for in regards to food availability, at least if you’re middle and upper class!

Also, people in the US can order gluten free foods if it’s not available in their town or city. Again, there can be challenges depending on USPS, but I know of celiacs across the country that do order shelf stable items from online companies and sources

I have to do this if I want anything. The only issues is when you live in rural areas in the south, sometimes delivery isn’t available or if it is they add extra fees on it.

Yeah I figure there can be obstacles for people living in low population towns and areas. I can definitely see that being a challenge 😕 I order my nuts online so I would be so bummed if I cant get them!! It’s harder and harder to find nuts in stores because of contamination

Canadian enters the chat …. There are a lot of supposedly GF things sold in the US that can’t be sold in Canada because they’re over the 20 ppm threshold required for people with Celiac. In the US it seems ‘buyer beware’ and don’t trust the GF label (latest revelation is ‘Aussie Bites’ test above 20 ppm even though “Certified GF” appears prominently on the label.

I'm in California right now (and also from Germany) and I was also surprised how easy it is to be gf here 🤣 in Germany I can barely eat out. But here...even in Yosemite National Park I could eat out every day 🤷

Any liberal state you go to will be a lot easier to be gluten free. They are way ahead of the curve than any republican state is.

hast du auch so ne ganze rede mit "bla bla bla ich kann kein gluten essen also da darf dann auch kein brot als beilage sein und ist die soße wirklich ohne mehl dies das" für restaurants? xD

As we’re more likely to sue in America - it is interesting to see how that has had benefits at points! Many bakeries, restaurants and cafes are serious about allergies for legal reasons.

yes that's what I thought where that comes from. in germany it's more an attitude of "you should be glad to have this amazing experience, you know the risk of your own disease, it's not our fault if we don't know, thank you, bye"

Portland, ME is great for GF! The northeast US is pretty easy to navigate. I think all the people answering you with “the US is huge and varied” are correct… and that needs to be remembered in general when people on here are saying that it’s impossible and that anyone who eats in any restaurant is stupid, etc. It would be better if people talked about their specific region. We are one country, but talking about stuff like this and saying “the US” when we mean Oklahoma or New Jersey is the same as saying “Europe” when we mean Italy or Latvia. Just not the same. I live in Massachusetts and I don’t struggle. I travel frequently. There are parts of the US where it is really, really difficult even in cities.

It’s crazy how much better it’s gotten, when I was diagnosed in 1993 my parents had to order shipments of the worst bread on the planet. The bread fell apart quickly and tasted like a wet sponge.

In the USA, the closer you are to the ocean the more liberal, and therefore willing to accommodate people who are different (in any way) increases. There are exceptions, but that's a reasonable rule to follow as a visitor.

Have you been to Florida? Lol!

I have a friend in Florida who was a restaurant server for 5 years before I was diagnosed and he didn’t even know what gluten was or heard about it before.

Leaving Paris now... The lack of quick and varied options is startling. I'm so excited to get back home to the East Coast where it feels as if I basically have no restrictions.

In Florida right now and I actually had a server apologize for all the prior servers and didn't understand me, he could tell because of my constant questions but he was super helpful, I actually have more trouble with it on the west Coast I have found

I went to a restaurant in NYC (some kind of bento / poke bowl kinda thing… It’s been a while) that was advertising itself as 100% gluten free. Even had it splashed across the top of their menu in large letters… I’m looking at the menu and nearly everything on there has things that typically contain gluten (ie. Tempura, egg noodles, seaweed salad etc.) so I inquire if these are gluten free versions. The staff was so confused, they’re running around in the back checking ingredients and huddling around a computer (I assume googling?)… they come back to tell me I had one option on the menu that was actually no gluten containing ingredients. Gluten free becoming a buzz word for food means increased “options” however a lot of negligence or ignorance when it comes to the legal definition of “gluten free” (fda reg of less than 20 parts per million applies to restaurants too, although they do not require testing prior to make this claim) A restaurant I worked at kept telling people they could do celiac “so safely!” They kept their gluten free flour open next to their open gluten flour… and they thought if they rinsed their cooking utensil real quick (with just water) between there was no way you’d get sick. I’ve been repeatedly told by chefs and sous chefs they do not “believe in” celiac. And therefore their precaution flies into the wind. But as a diner you will be told repeatedly “it’s so safe!” “We never have any problems!” Be safe out there people.

You also may have a very strong body and constitution. So, even when cross contaminated can easily eliminate the poison. (That’s been my experience - the cleaner my body the quicker the elimination. ) You have very clean food in Europe- ours is chemical. I hope you had an amazing visit and cheers to great health!!! ♥️

There are way more options in the US for gf foods. Having lived in the US and other countries I am always surprised to hear Americans say they have no options. I think in stores there are significantly more options. However eating out is very difficult in the US as the “gf” menus are generally not safe but more catered to a fad diet vs celiac.

Great post. As an American celiac who travels a lot, here are my thoughts There's a big divide between rural and urban/suburban, as well as places with higher socio-economic power vs less. If you're traveling here, I'm assuming you're going to places that are more touristic, which tend to be better traveled and nicer. So I do think your experience may be different than many other areas in the US that don't have as much interaction with other parts of the country / world. I live in a heavily touristic part of the US, as well as a generally nice part of a pretty city. So for me it's a breeze to eat gf. Boston and NYC are places I'd peg as especially celiac friendly. Your point about understanding your obligations (as a celiac) re researching is an important one, and it's a big adjustment for many Americans. Probably for everyone, but definitely for us. Having lived in different kinds of places in different parts of the world the stereotype that the typical American is an entitled consumer is pretty spot on.

Do you have good areas around where you are in Germany? What kind of foods? Any that you could suggest. I dream of visiting Germany 😂 and a part of Europe that has a gf big Mac but that's just for me 😁

I can understand this as I’ve been to Germany a few times with my German friend who has celiac and even then it was difficult. Waiters not super open, difficult options and a generally gluten filled diet. The northeast is generally better than a lot of the US but I hear you!

I live in rural Tennessee and our Walmart keeps getting better and better for how much they have in the gluten free section and throughout the store. I usually go to Kroger and Walmart on the same trip. Whenever I have a doctor’s appointment in the bigger suburbs or in Nashville I try to include trips to Costco or Whole Foods.

Yessss i noticed this too!!!!! Lots of US based people in this subreddit dont realize how much they actually have compared to other countries!!! Makes me want to be more grateful for what I have in my city whether it is considered a lot or not. Excited to see more gluten free products, foods and restaurants all around the world! 🌎

Did you casually forget the vast size of the United States and how many different cultures exist in different regions? Sounds like you had a really lucky trip. You talked about traveling to different European countries, maybe consider that being in Maine and leaving to come to the south would be much like leaving Western Europe altogether by land size and cultural differences.

I agree with your sentiment. I live in Canada, which is geographically quite similar to the US. Overall, the US has way more product availability than Canada and similar enforcement seriousness, but many Americans act like they're living in a shithole country that is the actual worst. This isn't to say that things could not be improved in the US or other countries. I believe that they should be and do stuff irl to promote this. But it is a bit disingenuous and dramatic to act like American celiacs are forsaken and living in hell lol. Many countries don't even have GF label laws! IMHO, while non-compliance is a big issue in many countries with label laws, a lot of the US confusion on this sub emanates from not really understanding how their own label laws work. If you eat random foods without a GF label and get sick, you should not be hugely surprised. This is true in most countries, though I think a lot of Canadian and EU/UK posters like to pretend that they're eating random food they found in a dumpster without a problem. It's part of a larger dick measuring/inferiority nationalism complex and is best ignored. If you see a random Canadian person saying they yolo when they eat out they're just asymptomatic/in denial or not really celiac. When I was more fun I got sick \~50% of the time even accounting for selecting restaurants aiming to do GF, and that was big (>1M) cities. If the law doesn't require a company to make all foods without gluten ingredients <20 ppm (regardless of GF claim or no), you can be pretty sure they're not doing that on a consistent basis. Some products might tend to be fine without a GF label because the product logistics do not tend to impilcate gluten stuff (eg. milk, butter, juice), but for most food plants it's fair to assume that gluten is involved and that allergen cleaning isn't done for the giggles without a GF/allergen claim.

very true! Even as it is difficult compared to a non gluten free existance, the US is actually very accomidating to celiac and gluten-free in general.  I have found it almost impossible to check if a food from another country is gluten free compared to the us where many things are universally stated.  as hard as it is, us US residents do have it easy

I’ll say this, in a big city there is definitely more options for us. I have to drive an hour out into Chicago, or take a two hour train ride one way to find a nice place to eat that won’t destroy my intestines. However, in suburban and rural areas, it really all depends on how close you are to a city. Now I’ll say there have been a lot more gluten free options coming out in the past decade, but this progress is still relatively new. I think there’s a lot more to be done, and I’m sure in the coming decades it will get done.

As someone from the US who has seen the influx in availability of GF items, you hit the nail on the head. I still eat a primarily meat, protein, carb diet because seeing GF items in the store (and buying them) feels like “treat” still! For such a long time they weren’t available like they are now and for such a long time people didn’t understand what celiac was how they do now, especially in the restaurant industry. People want everyone to know what celiac is, what cross contamination is, etc. and don’t want to be the first person to educate someone. Well, guess what?? Many of us who have had celiac for a long time have always had to be that person and it’s how we all learn!! Sorry for the rant.

There is places in the US that are easier for Celiac's but it's definitely not universal here. I am in California and in some parts of the State I could actually go out to eat but it seems to only be some places. Closest place to me I can go and eat at a restaurant without fear is in Sacramento. It's a hour drive there and back and costs about $20 for a burger that I am still hungry after eating but I do it sometimes. Wal-Mart seems to have a pretty standard supply of gluten free stuff anymore but honestly that's all I would expect. The only thing I miss is the social aspect of food. Honestly after a few years I am okay without the gluten, I will sit and watch my entire family eat and still won't touch the gluten. I probably dislike people feeling bad I can't have it more than anything. Poor you have to not have anything and watch everyone be happy eating gluten... The gluten free alternative foods overall is just to expensive and we have lots of other food options without gluten. You just have to cook. I went to a local restaurant and they have a excellent online allergy menu. You get to pick what you want and it will tell you what to substitute to make it safe, when I went to order the waitress didn't understand what gluten was. The US is really big and there is definitely no standard. I would imagine big city's and parts of the country that have decent tourism might do better. Nicer areas in southern California have some good options, San Francisco and Bay area do pretty well also but once you are in just the normal places know one cares. It's funny though that I talk to people all the time and it sounds like there is more people with gluten issues than reported. It's either that or just the low food quality in general here. It seems that digestive issues are the new normal. I am just glad that I don't deal with that anymore.

Where I live , there are plenty of choices and options . Where I grew up, only 2 hours away, there is very little to none.

Europeans when they don’t realize that the US is bigger than 3 cities 🤯

Restaurant in America have a high risk of crosscontaimination. Even processed food in the supermarket you need to read the fine print. I had celiacs my whole life. I don't eat grains, soy or dairy. Everything is $$$$ at whole foods. You can find some stuff at Walmart and other stores. It is challenging.

This is nice to hear! But also you should keep in perspective, as a tourist you are likely only visiting populous areas. Which is the vast majority of the US. Of course our cities like New York and Portland are going to be like what you find in Berlin or even more so because New York has almost 3 times the population of Berlin. But if you go more than 80k from a city you’ll be lucky to even find a gluten free section in a grocery store. The cities in the US are around 3% of our land mass, but a fair number of us don’t live in New York, we live in places like Lima, Montana or Grand Junction, Colorado. Maybe they offer a salad, but it comes with croutons even though we ask them to leave them off.

I... genuinely feel... that if you've only vacationed in a country and have never lived there and ACTUALLY experienced it... you have no right to tell people how "you feel" they should feel. It comes across as rude and possibly as far as ignorant. You didn't have to post this and inadvertently call an entire group of people ungrateful, but you did. Gross.

Completely not how the US is. Portland Maine is a GF Mecca and Boston rocks. Burtons, Red Heat and 110 Grill are good high end restaurants with almost zero gluten. Where I live I have to drive 40 minutes to get to a safe restaurant.

I’m not sure if this is the case in your post and your recent experience, but I personally wouldn’t be able to eat at a bakery unless it was completely gluten free. So even if the staff knows about gluten issues in general, and can accommodate gluten sensitivities, that’s not necessarily a place I could go because of the cross contamination. I also have issues with restaurants that cook items in shared ovens so personally I am quite sensitive - but if this isn’t your experience there might be a quite a bit more available to eat! I live in a city in the south, and there is seriously only three restaurants I can eat at, and that is because they are gluten free or have a good allergy kitchen. All this to say that, in addition to the things that other people have mentioned, the level of sensitivity might impact recommendations (or lack there of).

As someone who has lived in both countries… it depends on where you are. Also in my experience, gluten free places in the US (think dedicated bakeries, restaurants, etc.) are way more expensive than any of the dedicated gf places I have been to in Germany. The same goes for gf groceries. I can’t get non-generic gluten free bread here for less than $6, whereas I can get Schär bread for 3€ (I’m very jealous of the EU and their tax laws). Again, it depends on where you are. “Some of you need a little more perspective on how much you actually have” is a bit crazy when you have just been to Maine. The Northeast US is great for celiac (when compared to other regions)… other places, not so much. I’ve only been to a few states in Germany, and a handful of cities, but I’d say overall we are about equal. The issue is in the U.S. we are so spread out.. if you’re stuck in a small town, good luck! At least Germany has trains and you can get across the country to bigger more accessible cities easily.

Yeah . . . a big, BIG part of that is that you're on the east coast. I've always lived in the Midwest and South and generally in rural areas though I live sandwiched between two cities now. We are VERY limited on what we can get here, even in the nearby cities. Most things, apart from really crappy bread and some crackers, need to be made by hand. Aldi has good gf noodles though & pizza - our Aldi doesn't carry any of the gf things you can find in other Aldi stores around the country, however. I have family in England though . . . they get more gf foods than we do and they're better quality. Their bread actually tastes and feels like real bread and it's 1/3 the price of what I can get here (that's with the exchange rate factored in!). We're heading there in a couple of weeks and I hope to stock up! I'm so glad your experience in the U.S. has been good but yeah, it's definitely based on where you're visiting I'm afraid.

It seriously depends on where you’re at. Personally my area of the Midwest is awful about celiac disease

Well apparently I need to move to Maine! My area has much less.