Asheville, North Carolina

This year for our wedding anniversary, Michael and I went to Asheville, North Carolina.  Since my parents moved to North Carolina last September, Asheville is a lot closer than Charlottesville, the town we visited to celebrate our anniversary the past couple of years.

Our major excursion for this trip to Asheville was the town's biggest attraction:  the Biltmore Estate.  We assumed that Michael wouldn't be able to eat there, but we were happily surprised that he was able to have the iced tea and Cobb salad.  Hooray for Southern freshly-brewed iced tea!  For lunch the second day we were going to go to Standard Pizza Company, but unfortunately they were out of their gluten-free pizza dough.  We were disappointed, but since we were quite hungry, we decided to try out plan B:  Posana Cafe.  I'm so glad the pizza restaurant was closed because this place was excellent.  They even had a dairy-free chocolate dessert!  I'd like to go back to Asheville just so that I can go to the Posana Cafe again to check out their dinner options.

I took the above picture when we went out to dinner at the Fig Bistro.  It's hard for me to pass up a restaurant that has duck breast.  This one came with raspberry sauce, wilted greens, and farro.  Wow.  Maybe someday I'll learn how to cook seared duck breast, but in the mean time I can think about going back to this restaurant and having it there again.

Sanibel Island

Can you guess what this is? It's a manatee! During the last week in February we visited Sanibel Island, Florida, aka manatee country. Michael's parents took us and his sister's family to a beach-front condo, from which we could literally walk out onto the beach to hunt for shells, play in the water, and watch the sunset. Another highlight of the trip was when we went to a marina to see the manatees swimming and playing in the water. The weather was sunny and in the eighties the whole week -- absolutely wonderful after several months of New England weather.

Besides the beach and weather, the food options on Sanibel also really impressed me. I wasn't sure how much food I would be able to find at the grocery stores to feed us, but I was happily surprised. Bailey's General Store had labels on the shelves for their gluten-free items, and they even had Bob's Red Mill products, coconut milk ice cream, and Applegate Farms bacon. We ate out for lunch at the Island Cow, which had a great gluten-free menu. The girls and I also had delicious dairy-free sorbetto at PocoLoco and Pinocchio's Original Italian Ice Cream, although unfortunately neither place had any corn-free options for Michael. He made up for it with some Breyer's ice cream back at the condo, though.

Some other family-friendly restaurant possibilities to keep in mind for a future visit include Matzaluna Italian Kitchen and the Sanibel Grill. And if Michael and I were ever on Sanibel for a date night, Sweet Melissa's Cafe and the Mad Hatter both look like great places to go for a romantic evening out.

North Conway, NH

A couple of weeks ago Michael's parents came to visit and we all drove up to North Conway to spend the weekend there. We had a great time together going swimming, hiking, and having fun at Story Land. At Story Land itself the only things Michael could eat were the cotton candy and freshly squeezed lemonade. Fortunately, Michael likes cotton candy and lemonade, so he didn't mind snacking on those for a few hours. And the girls were more than willing to help him with the cotton candy. The next time we go I need to remember to pack Michael a sandwich, though, so he has something a little healthier to balance out all of the sugar.

We also had a great time going out to eat together. For dinner we really enjoyed going to The Black Cap Grille, which had several gluten-free dinner options and Michael's favorite gluten-free beer, Bard's. The restaurant even offered gluten-free buns so that Michael could have a hamburger, his first at a restaurant in years. For lunch we went to A Taste of Thai restaurant, which had excellent service, nice ambiance, and great-tasting Thai food. For being in the mountains of New Hampshire, I was really pleased with finding two family-friendly restaurants where we all enjoyed going to eat. The next time we visit I'd like to check out Shalimar of India, which also looks like a good option for us.

Charlottesville, VA (#2)

Michael and I went to the Charlottesville area again this summer to celebrate our wedding anniversary while my wonderful parents watched the girls. This year we spent less time hiking in the heat and humidity and more time wine-tasting in the nice air-conditioned tasting rooms. I don't know that my palate is any more refined than it was before the trip, but I can say that I still prefer red wine to white wine, except for the sweet white wines and ice wines. Our favorite vineyard in the area is still Veritas Vineyard and Winery, which we have gone back to every year that we've visited Charlottesville. The wine is consistently of high quality, and the grounds are beautiful.

This year we stayed at Le Bleu Ridge Bed and Breakfast, which is south-west of Charlottesville. The room was great, the owners of the bed and breakfast were very friendly, and the breakfasts were amazing. They consisted of three courses, none of which contained any wheat or corn. The first morning we had fresh fruit, frittata, salad, and coconut rice pudding. The second morning we had scones, salad, breakfast sausages, and berry-filled crepes. Danielle, one of the owners, even gave us some leftover fruit and scones to take with us on the road.

For the rest of our meals we decided to try out some more restaurants in Charlottesville. For lunch we wanted to go to Lemon Grass, a Thai restaurant that has great reviews and carefully labels which items on the menu are gluten-free. Unfortunately, the restaurant was closed the day we were there. However, we had great success with our dinner choices. The first night we went to Hamiltons', which is on the downtown mall, the outdoor pedestrian area. It was a great place for a special dinner date, and I'd love to go back to try out more of the entrees and desserts. The second night we went to Duner's, a restaurant that several locals recommended to us. The interior looked like a rustic beach shack with plain wooden booths and tables. With curiosity and amusement we watched as more and more Mercedes pulled into the parking lot and the restaurant was packed by 7 pm. However, once our meal arrived, we knew why. The food was high quality and the portions were large. I thoroughly enjoyed my seared duck breast with asparagus spaetzle and peach-citrus glaze.

Hanover, NH

Michael, the girls, and I went up to Hanover on Saturday, June 18th, for my 10-year college reunion. (Technically, it was my 11-year reunion, but Dartmouth groups three classes together for a "10-year" reunion.) It was great having a picnic lunch on the green, spending time with a couple of my close college friends, and walking around campus and along Pine Park.

After the walk we wanted something refreshing for snack, so we decided to try out the new gelato shop on Main Street. I was so excited that they had two flavors that were dairy-free, egg-free, and corn-free, so we could all enjoy the gelato together. The flavor of the strawberry gelato was especially nice. And the texture was more like soft-serve ice cream, not as icy or cold as regular ice cream or sorbet. Even Naomi, who refuses to eat ice cream or anything too cold, liked it!


Finally, before heading home we went to dinner at the Jewel of India, an Indian restaurant that Michael and I frequented while dating. The food tasted great, but unfortunately the restaurant puts cream or yogurt in almost everything. The next time we visit Hanover, I might want to try going to Mai Thai, another restaurant on Main Street that Michael and I used to go to. Lui Lui in West Lebanon now has a gluten-free menu, so we could also go there.

Going to the Upper Valley reminded me of the many excellent restaurants that Michael took me to on dates when we lived there. Unfortunately, not very many of them are suitable for children. (I.e., if we're going to spend that much money on dinner, we don't want to take our children, as wonderful as they are.) If we ever go back just the two of us, at the top of my list would be to go to Zins, Simon Pearce, or the Parker House Inn. In the mean time, I'll think with fond memories of our picnic on the green and the lovely strawberry gelato.

Christmas in Portland

This year we celebrated Christmas in Portland, Oregon with Michael's side of the family. We did some last-minute gift shopping, got our nails painted, and visited the local pottery shop for the kids to make their own ornaments. In addition, we enjoyed the Christmas Eve and Sunday services at Athey Creek church.

Another big part of Christmas, of course, was the food. One Sterrett family tradition is to have a big pot of wassail on the stove. I'm not sure of the exact recipe, but this year's version was egg-free and alcohol-free so the kids could drink it, too. And on Christmas Eve we had the traditional dinner of turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, and green beans.

Before and after Christmas we also enjoyed going out to eat. Thursday night we had a babysitter come so that the adults could eat out together. We went to the Macaroni Grill, which has excellent allergy information sheets so Michael knew exactly what he could order. To no surprise, he got steak and red wine, which he said were great -- he would happily go back for more. On our last night in Oregon we had eaten up most of the leftovers, so we decided to go out to eat again, this time with the kids. We went to Typhoon, a Thai restaurant chain in the Portland area with notations on its menus as to which foods are gluten-free. We especially liked the chicken satay, tom kha gai soup, Thai yellow curry, and phad Thai, and we'd love to go back the next time we're in the Portland area. Perhaps next time we'll also make it over to Bob's Red Mill to take a tour and have lunch.

Charlottesville, VA

Last weekend Michael and I took a mini-vacation to the area around Charlottesville, VA to celebrate our ninth wedding anniversary while my parents watched the girls. This is the second year that we've gone to the Charlottesville region, and we feel like we've barely begun to explore all that there is to see and do, and especially all of the great places there are to go out to eat.

Each year for our anniversary we like to go out to one really fancy restaurant and have a wonderfully decadent meal including salad, main dish, wine, and dessert. Last year we enjoyed the food and atmosphere at L'etoile in downtown Charlottesville. This year we went to the Joshua Wilton House in Harrisonburg, Virginia. This restaurant is the best one we've gone to in quite some time. All of the food tasted great and the atmosphere of the restaurant was lovely. For Michael's main course he ordered his usual favorite, a filet mignon, which came with rosemary-garlic roasted potatoes, pan-roasted broccoli and a port wine reduction sauce. I was feeling adventurous and wanted to try something new, so I asked for the grilled duck breast with sweet potato puree, bacon-roasted asparagus, and a Pinot Noir fresh cherry glaze. Wow, was it good. We decided to complete the meal with a creme brulee for Michael and a mint chocolate pudding cake with raspberry sauce for me. The mint flavor was such a great addition that I want to try to replicate it at home by adding some mint extract to my current hot fudge pudding cake recipe.

Last year for our other dinner out Michael and I went to a Thai restaurant. There are several Thai restaurants in the Charlottesville area, so perhaps the next time we visit we'll try a different one. This year we went to an Indian restaurant, which was also quite good. And I just discovered another Indian restaurant in Charlottesville, so maybe we'll go there sometime, too.

The best surprise of the weekend was the Rise Pizza Works restaurant, which makes pizzas with gluten-free crusts, in addition to white and whole wheat crusts. Michael and I both liked our pizzas so much when we went there for lunch on Saturday that we went back on Sunday for more.

Ogunquit, Maine

Last week we went with Michael's parents to Ogunquit, Maine for the Memorial Day weekend. We rented a three-bedroom house and had a great time exploring Ogunquit and playing at the beach. We also enjoyed our visit to York Wild Kingdom, which is a combination zoo and amusement park. Sabrina especially liked the paddle-boat ride, and Naomi loved riding on a pony. I think I remember reading that they have picnic grounds, so next time we could bring food for a picnic lunch.

On our first night in Ogunquit we went to the Post Road Tavern. We went there in part because the restaurant had advertised that it had some gluten-free options, but the real draw was the Strongbow cider they had on tap. Michael really likes Strongbow, and we don't often find it where we live, especially not draught. Once we got there we discovered that the restaurant was also very kid-friendly. They provided Sabrina and Naomi with games, coloring and activity books, and crayons. The restaurant ended up not having many corn-free options for Michael, but he was happy with the steak and asparagus. In addition, the girls and I got to enjoy some great fish and chips with homemade tartar sauce.

Since the rental house had a grill, we decided to make use of it on our second night there. Just down the road from the house was the Village Food Market, where I purchased some meat, roasted potatoes, and the ingredients to make a spinach salad with strawberries. I could have brought all of this with us to Ogunquit, but I did enjoy my walk down to the food market and back. I also need to remember that there is a Hannaford Supermarket in York, which really isn't too far from Ogunquit. The map shows it as being off of Route 1 in York, Maine. If you take exit 7 off of I 95, then turn right to go south on Route 1 (instead of turning left to go north toward Ogunquit). The Hannaford will be on the right at the second traffic light.

On our last night in Ogunquit we went to the Blue Elephant Thai Restaurant. I was quite pleased with the restaurant: it had good food, quick service, and a nice atmosphere. I especially appreciated the quick service since the girls were hungry when we got there. We ordered some chicken satay appetizers, which were brought to the table in just a few minutes.

I'm not sure that there are many other child-friendly restaurants in Ogunquit that also have wheat-free and corn-free food for Michael. The one other possibility that I saw was Angelina's Ristorante and Wine Bar. I would like to try to go there the next time we visit Ogunquit.