Gluten Free Northern Indiana

Beautiful

Who are you and where are you?
My name is Sarah and I am in northern Indiana near a tiny town called Shipshewana. (Population 662)

Tell me about your relationship with gluten..
I have had several blood tests that showed I am gluten intolerant, and have been gluten free for about three years. I have never been tested for celiac, but the brain fog and extreme exhaustion that hits when I’m “glutened” tell me I need to stay away from gluten for good!

Why should gluten free travellers visit your town?
My town is tiny, but the gluten free awareness in this community has been growing recently. Until recently, it was hard to find anything that was gluten free, but now it’s becoming a more friendly place for our types! 🙂

Tell me something fun about your town..
This charming town is in the middle of an Amish community, and there is almost always something fun happening. In the summer, there is a huge flea market on Tuesdays and Wednesdays that brings many tourists all season long. But the fun doesn’t end when summer is over! From the fall crafter’s fair to the ice festival to the next event coming up, the pajama sale, there is something fun going on almost every month. The pajama sale is a big event where all the town shops open really early – usually at 6:00 a.m. – and if you are wearing your pajamas to shop, you get super discounts! There are lots of fun shops in town, horse and buggy rides, and more. Also, between the Town Center and the Blue Gate Restaurant Theater, there is almost always a concert or play/musical to check out.

Where is your favourite place to eat out in your town and why?
I’m going to talk about two places…

The Blue Gate Restaurant has delicious, Amish style cooking that is hard to beat. Amish cooking is usually chock full of gluten. But The Blue Gate has a separate menu that shows their gluten free options for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and how to order them. You don’t want to miss their mashed potatoes and chicken!

Blue Gate Restaurants

But my favorite place for gluten free food is a few miles out of town, called Rise ‘n Roll Bakery and Deli. They have the most amazing baked goods! They have gluten free bread, granola bars, angel food cakes (OMG!), cookies, delicious. muffins, and frozen donuts. They also have a lot of sauces and other things that are naturally gluten free: salsas (pineapple, peach, tropical, black bean, corn, and more), other sauces, fruits, vegetables, apple butter, peach butter, and every kind of jam and jelly you can imagine. They also have frozen fruit slush that is very tasty!

Besides the amazing muffins, my favorite part is that they have gluten free lunch options in their deli. They have gluten free bread for sandwiches and subs, and delicious soups and salads. This is a very popular place, and you don’t want to get there too late in the day- they are always very busy, and by the end of the day you’ll find them cleaned out of almost every baked good! (And if you’re travelling with someone who is not gluten free, they won’t want to miss Rise ‘n Roll’s cinnamon caramel donuts! They are to die for and one thing I really miss since being gluten free)

There is also a large bulk food store called E & S Sales that has gluten free flours, grains, pasta, crackers, chips, and baking mixes (brownies, cookies, cakes, etc.). They have a deli that recently started making gluten free bread, raisin bread, cinnamon rolls, and cookies. They also have yummy fresh salads if you’re looking for lunch.

Do you live in Northern Indiana or have you travelled there? Where is your favourite place to eat gluten free?