Schadenfreude Sandwiches
After my experiences in Germany on finding gluten-free food, I can’t help having a small titter at this story from the Telegraph.
I’d have loved to find a nice sandwich, as I can all over the UK and The Netherlands, but Germans don’t seem to be able to produce any ready-to-eat gluten-free food.
An Alternative To Motorway Services
As my old friend was going around the M25 and then down the A3, we’d decided to meet at Cobham and Stock D’Abernon station and go to the Carluccio’s in nearby Cobham.
It was a good choice to make, as there was two hours’ free parking outside of the restaurant and the food was certainly not of Motorway Services standard.
The restaurant also had quite a high percentage of well-turned out ladies amongst the clientele.
So it was a visit worth making!
The Fastest Gluten Free Pasta In The East
I eat quite a bit of gluten-free pasta in Carluccio’s, but in some ways the best place for this is their restaurant in Cambridge.
Normally, when you ask for gluten-free pasta, they advise you there will be a little wait, but not yesterday.
So just as I was settling down to have a long sip of lemonade, which had just been delivered to my table, I was surprised to see the pasta arrive. This was probably only after about five or six minutes after I’d ordered it.
As I used to live in the area and be a patient of a gastro-enterologist at Addenbrookes, I know the area has a high number of coeliacs. Why this should be so, I know not!
But I also know that the restaurant uses methods to get the pasta to the table quickly.
The pasta was excellent incidentally and tasted exactly the same as in their other restaurants.
Food At Last
It was a short walk from the Gare de Paris Est station to the Gare du Nord and the 11:07 Eurostar for London.
I made it easily and an hour or so later, I was having lunch.
Food At Last
It was actually tofu, which I’ve never had before. But it was good to have a meal I could trust. The tea was very good too.
What I always think, is why if Eurostar can do gluten free food so well, why can’t other train companies?
The Final Insult From Germany
The only thing, I consumed on the train was water, Coke and an orange juice in the morning. But others were luckier!
The Final Insult From Germany
The muffin could have been nice. The notes say the following.
Contains colouring. Contains antioxidant. Contains preservatives. With presevative, curing salt. Contains sweetener. Contains caffeine.
Nothing at all is said about gluten.
I suppose gluten is compulsory in Germany!
The Problems Of Eating On The Move For A Coeliac In Germany
Just because I’m a coeliac, it doesn’t mean that I don’t want to eat gluten-free food on the move.
In the UK, there are a lot of options.
I can get gluten-free bars like EatNakd or Eat Natural in many places.
At stations, there is usually a good choice at Marks and Spencer of various snacks, which often include sandwiches.
There is also the coffee chains, like Starbucks, where I can usually find a bite of something.
And on top of that most pubs can probably rustle up something to go with half of decent cider or a glass of wine.
But in Germany, I found little to eat on the move.
As I returned from Ulm, I was very hungry, as I hadn’t eaten since breakfast. But there was nothing obvious at the station. So I looked at this vending machine.
Vending Machine At Ulm Station
I got a bag of crisps, which at least said they were glutenfrei.
Note though there is only one flavour in the machine and they were paprika. But I was so hungry, that I ate three packets.
Back in Munich, I had time to kill, as the sleeper to Paris didn’t leave until 22:50.
I should have done the sensible thing and go to the pizza restaurant, but I thought that I’d find something. I did and it was this salad.
A Revolting Salad At Munich Station
It was one of the most revolting I’ve ever tried to eat. Especially, as the only implements were my fingers. The picture doesn’t really do justice to the salad and especially the cheese and ham mixture on the top. Alternative layers of revolting cheese and ham had been sandwiched together and sliced up. In the end I gave up and put it in a bin.
I should have been entitled as I was on a First Class sleeper, to use of the DB Lounge. But after installing myself there at about 20:50, I was promptly turfed out, as it shuts at 21:00. So I was left to fend for myself in the cold for nearly two hours.
Incidentally, I could have gone back to the hotel and its warm bar, but there had been an altercation in the subway linking the station to the city centre, so I had to stay put.
It was then, that I met half a dozen Watford supporters on a stag do. They were trying to buy a sausage without bread from a fast food stall and not getting much joy, as apparently, it was against the rules. They were just getting fed up with their restricted diet of beer, bread and sausage.
I had been in Germany for two days, and I’d never found anything acceptable to eat on the move.
If it hadn’t been for the wonderful pizza, I might have starved. I can’t live by coffee with two sugars alone.
I think the rule is you must plan, where you are going to eat. Germany doesn’t seem to be like the UK, Italy, The Netherlands, Belgium and France.
On the other hand, I tried to plan at Ulm and that didn’t work out! Years ago, I didn’t plan in Berlin, but the hotel was good and sorted out two of the best gluten-free restaurants I ever went to with C.
Gluten Free Pizza And Beer In Munich
I never thought, I’d be able to write a post with this title.
But I had the second memorable meal of the trip at Pizzesco.
The beer was one of the best gluten free beers I’ve ever had and is available from Beers of Europe.
The pizza was excellent too.
I have a feeling that this restaurant was working a rather informal payment method. If you wanted another bottle of beer, you just seemed to get it out of the fridge and they then counted the empties for the bill.
I doubt that would work in the UK.
Incidentally, the Italian owner used to work with Dr. Schar and that could be why his pizzas were so good.
And I Think I Had Problems!
I had now not eaten anything, except for the fruit salad and an EatNakd bar since lunchtime on Wednesday, over twenty four hours ago. It hadn’t been helped on the train from Nuremberg, as the well-upholstered fraulein, ate a supersize baguette stuffed with sausage. So I booked into the Excelsior Hotel by the station and got connected to the wi-fi. I knew that usually good hotels can do a good gluten-free meal, if pushed. But this one probably couldn’t tonight, as they had a function on and cooking was limited.
But no matter, as I found this WordPress blog called Gluten Free In Munich. And with a bit of help from one of the receptionists in traditional Bavarian costume, with her frontage in full sail, I was able to get directions to a gluten free restaurant.
But my problems were really quite small compared to those of this guy here.
Starbucks Don’t Do Gluten-Free In Germany
One of my standbys in the UK is Starbucks, where at a pinch, you can usually get something that is gluten-free.
But not in Germany! The manager of this Starbucks in Munich, said they might be getting something later in the year.
A Disastrous Attempt At A Meal
I tried to eat in Nuremberg and found it difficult. Eventually, I was served a meal, but as you can see it was cooked in flour.
A Disastrous Attempt At A Meal
I’ll say this though, they didn’t charge me.
What seemed lacking in all my searching was a restaurant that was serving something like a salad Nicoise.
Eventually, I bought a good fruit salad from a stall.
it Salad From Nuremberg
At least I got a fork with it.
The Anonymous Widower 