Finding Friendly Food

We say goodbye to the family and head into London for a few days. We drive to Heathrow to return our rental car and realize we’ve missed lunch. We hop into the M&S in terminal 3 to find they have pre-made gluten-free sandwiches. The chicken, bacon and mayo version is dairy free so I’m a very happy camper. I had no idea such a thing existed. And it even tastes good. 

This post is about our second visit to London. If you’d like the London posts in order, start here.

The first morning we’re back at our favorite London (all the world?) breakfast spot, Where the Pancakes Are. We decide on one savory and one sweet again. For savory, we choose the Boulder with gluten and dairy-free pancakes, avocado, roasted squash, cherry tomatoes, tahini and chickpeas. What an amazing flavor combination. For sweet, we go back to our favorite from the last visit, Banana Mallow. They’ve changed it up a bit and this time it’s more like banana pancakes with a big dollop of marshmallow cream on top. Oh, it’s still delicious, but not quite as special as the last time. 

After breakfast, my boyfriend heads off for a day of writing and I get to wander around London. It’s an incredibly warm day so I’m out in shorts…in London in May… and I decide I just want to be outside all day. I grab an oat milk latte from Roasting Plant Coffee and head across the London Bridge to sit by the Thames and read the new book I’ve just bought, Malibu Rising by the author of Daisy Jones and the Six, Taylor Jenkins Reid. After a while I’m ready to move around again. I want to pick up some dark mint Hotel Chocolat for my son for his birthday (shhhh, don’t tell him) and then head over to one of my favorite museum’s, Victoria and Albert. Once inside though, I can’t stand the thought of being inside on such a lovely day and I see a big courtyard, garden cafe and large water fountain. I’m guessing there are at least 100 people sitting out here enjoying the weather. I find a spot by the fountain, sit down, take off my shoes and pull out my new book. I do walk by the cafe, but I don’t immediately see safe food for me so I decide to skip it and grab some carrots and hummus on my way back to the hotel. 

It’s the last day of this quick trip. It’s raining and neither my boyfriend nor me are feeling particularly well. We opt for a lazy day in the hotel, but sometime in the afternoon I get restless so I find an indoor-ish market and hop on a train for a visit. Leadenhall Market is my destination. I walk around for a bit. I see a French bakery called Aux Merveilleux de Fred, and just for fun I decide to see if they have anything that’s friendly for me. I notice a sign that says their mini cakes, which look yummy, are gluten free. I ask if any are dairy free. Sadly, I’m given bad info that all but the white chocolate version are. I order three to try and luckily, when I’m checking out, I mention to the cashier (and maybe manager) that I’m dairy free and so excited to try these. He looks horrified and says oh no, they all have dairy. He tells his coworker that she gave the wrong info, refunds my money and hands me a giant meringue as an apology. I’m disappointed but happy that a crisis has been averted. I eat the meringue later at my hotel and it’s really good. Not over sweet and a bit chewy. Perfection. So while I can’t eat their cakes, if you’re only gluten free, maybe you can try them.

In the morning we leave for the airport to head home and I stop by what we consider our local coffee place, Grounded, to grab a quick oat milk latte and vegan, gluten-free peanut butter bar. The coffee is great as always. The bar is good, but not the best. I’m on a mission to try as many safe foods as I can.

One last note, we had a layover in Salt Lake City, Utah on our way back to San Francisco and I find the most Jenn friendly restaurant I can imagine. It’s called Vessel Kitchen and all their food is labeled for allergens and on the healthy side. I opt for the roasted lemon mustard chicken, vegan cashew caesar broccoli and roasted brussel sprouts. I can’t believe how good it is. In an airport! They have locations all over Utah, too.