Back from Atlanta

I have to start by saying that Atlanta is such a beautiful city. Really very lovely. If ever you have to opportunity to go there, do. I am partial to Chicago, it is my home, but Atlanta is now in my top five. A great mix of old and new architecture. Warm. (OK, a bit humid.) Very green. Lots of large hills (not sure I can really call them mountains since I spent most of my childhood living in the Rocky Mountains.) Compared to Chicago, the city has very little traffic, foot or automotive. I look forward to going back.

I you do ever happen to head to that fair city, you MUST try a restaurant we went to. It is called The Real Chow Baby. It is one of those make-your-own-stir-fry places. The wonderful thing is that, on their regular menu, each sauce is labeled if it is sugar-free, low-sugar, vegetarian, vegan, or... gluten free! My boyfriend, who has no dietary restrictions, loved the place. You can be as creative or conservative with your ingredients as you want. All of the rice noodles are cooked separately from the wheat-filled ones. If you indicate that you have a food allergy/are gluten free, they cook your food on a separate wok. All you can eat for $12.99. A great place to take someone who has a hearty appetite. Avoid the mojitos, though. Among the worst I have had. (Very disappointing.) Oh, and do not go there if you are in a hurry.

In my effort to make sure I had gluten free options for the trip I over packed a bit. We brought along a cooler that we filled with cold cuts (Applegate Farms has the best turkey ever!), cheese, drinks, mayo, etc. I baked some Chebe flatbread to use for sandwiches. Chebe is officially my favorite GF quickbread. So tasty and easy. Even the boyfriend liked it. The only problem is that I now have more trail mix than I could ever possibly eat. What was I thinking? It is rather good. Cashews, hazelnuts, semi-sweet chocolate chips, dried cherries and dried blueberries. Mmmmmm... Because of all the food we brought along, and the free continental breakfast at the hotel, we only had to buy one meal a day. We saved a ton of money that way and I did not have to worry about finding tons of places to eat that could accommodate my diet. For my first vacation since going GF, it was a resounding culinary success. Oh, and the city was pretty darn great, too. ;)