It took me some time to find a suitable apartment. Not really that it is hard to find an apartment in New York, but the city is so cramped up and apartments are so small and close to each other that proper kitchens are not really on top of the wish-list when looking for a spot to live. Therefore, they are hard to find. After a while I made my decision for one with an extra long kitchen, which offered up to 3(!) m preparation space and had a small freezer to keep frozen food alive. Another factor was important for me: in walking distance was a so-called ‘Natural Market’ which offered quite a wide variety of gluten free products… bread, bagels, rolls, frozen pizza and even chocolate glazed donuts.
This article was published in ‘Beat The Wheat - Bulletin 4’
of the Coeliac Youth
of Europe www.cyeweb.eu:
When I was sent to the US I stayed in a hotel for some weeks in order to find an apartment and to grow into the new lifestyle. The hotel didn’t really offer anything gluten free but gave me a good chance to look over the typical US breakfast: ‘bagels with and without chocolate cover, pancakes, peanut butter and jam, Danone yoghurt and every other day some bananas or apples’. To find a gluten free breakfast is not easy but on the other hand it is also not usual to have any breakfast in NYC. More common is it to have a brunch … combined breakfast and lunch. And here the options start. Going to a nearby Deli generally offers you the classical omelet, sandwiches or burger choices. Again, sometimes with a gluten free menu accompanied, otherwise just ask the waitress.
Gluten Free In New York
“I’d like to have the bacon cheeseburger with onions, mushrooms and the gluten free bun. Oh … and can I substitute the fries with mashed potatoes, please?” This is how you order your food as a celiac in New York City. Well, at least if the restaurant doesn’t have a gluten free menu. Living gluten free in New York is extremely easy, once you know how to approach it.
Of course, when I moved to New York in 2011 it wasn’t that easy to figure out. I didn’t know any celiac in the US and needed to first find my way. For the first days I got some recommendations from friends, who’ve been visiting the states before and with some Internet research it wasn’t a big challenge after all. New York has more than 500 restaurants competing with each other, so everybody is looking for something special to offer … e.g. gluten free menus. And that is also stated in the net. Some delivery sides offer a filter for gluten free (lactose free … ) dishes and there are also ‘gluten free finder’ apps for iPhone and Android available.
Of course there are more markets like that available … most famous is ‘Wholefoods’, which sells kind of everything which is available on the gluten free US sector … from local products to international ones, like Schär.
To setup a life abroad also means to meet new people and make friends. I got quite soon the recommendation to try out www.meetup.com, a website initiated after 9/11 to connect people. Here the gluten free contact groups of NY are rated as the most active amongst the 9,000 groups worldwide. These groups are offering loads of interesting activities … people who want to promote their favorite restaurants reserve a table and publish it online… no big applications needed, just RSVP online and have a good time.
Overall, New York is a great city which makes it quite easy to live in as a celiac, whether you want to go out, meet people or just want to impress your friends. And if you want to have some more detailed info, feel free to contact me.