Gluten Free Guide to Northern Virginia: Historic Leesburg

Gluten Free Guide to Northern Virginia: Historic Leesburg

Before I moved to Northern Virginia, I had no concept of what it was like. Scratch that, I had some negative ideas about what it was like. At best, it was provincial. At worst, backwards. I know, I know. These were my own perceptions of what it meant to be in Virginia, and I've been proven wrong about them more times than I've been proven right. One of my favorite things since we moved here has been setting out to see what's out there-beyond the pull to Washington, DC.

This weekend, I struck out on my own toward the Leesburg Outlets in search of pants for work. On past trips, I've resigned myself to the slim pickings of food in the area around the outlets during lunchtime, but this trip I decided to go earlier than usual to avoid the Columbus Day crowds. I took a detour to find some gluten free breakfast in Historic Leesburg.

And there across the street from a statue of a Confederate soldier in a town named for an infamous general, I found a little quirky, hippie spot. What I found was Shoes, Cup, and Cork, and they had delicious gluten free breakfast options!  And almond milk! Specifically, I had the maple walnut Kind healthy grains with almond milk instead of yogurt with a large tea. I can't wait to go back here and sit outside when the weather warms back up again in the spring.

I also can't wait to try out the gluten free options at Palio. See that down there? It says gluten free pasta available upon request! That will be a nice treat after a few months of eating clean.

And if nothing else, come to Leesburg to look at all of the beautiful historic buildings and go shopping for antiques!

 I'll meet you there!

Lolli and Pops: Gourmet Candy in Tysons Corner, Virginia

Lolli and Pops: Gourmet Candy in Tysons Corner, Virginia

As you know, I live in Northern Virginia, and I love to share bits and pieces of all that there is to do and see not only in DC but also in my very own Northern VA. While I was waiting to meet a personal shopping client the other night, I realized that I had stumbled upon Lolli and Pops. My best friend sent me their link a couple weeks ago, and there it was!

Once you read this post, you will pretty much know what I'm going to get everyone always for birthday and Christmas presents and shower gifts and new baby gifts. So, spoiler alert!

As you can see, I went from thinking "Oh, I'll get something for my husband" to "We have to come here and buy gifts for everyone we know." I took lots of covert pictures, but you'd have to see it to believe it. It's room after room of themed candy, some by geographic location, some by chocolate or fruit candy. The employees dress in straw hats and striped aprons, and it's just adorable.

Gluten Free Guide to Northern VA

Don't fret, StartCloseIn isn't about to become a food blog, but I have had a few questions emailed and Instagrammed to me about gluten free friendly-not exclusively gluten free*-options that I like. We live in Northern VA, and I have been gluten free for over a decade. I'm also dairy free, which complicates things a little. However, it's become second nature to me, and I'm always happy to share a few tips! I thought a weekend post was the perfect place to do that. If you or a loved one will be coming to Northern VA anytime soon, please pass this list along!

I'm going to focus primarily on places that have gluten free menus available, always look online beforehand or ask while there, which, unfortunately, tend to be chains. I've also included a few favorite gems from foods that don't tend to rely so heavily on flour. There are many places to get things like salads (watch the dressings for soy sauce, of course!), hot food bars (Whole Foods labels, Wegmans is hit-or-miss), or gluten free bread and cookies (Mom's markets are my favorites in this part of the world, and I only ever buy GF bread that has been made fresh that day or is frozen. Rudis and Udis are the best).

This is not the list for those things. But, it's the list for feeling like a regular person ordering off a normal menu in a restaurant where people can eat gluteny foods, too. It's the list for having your pizza and beer, too. It's the list that lets you say, "Hey guys! Let's go out for pizza!' and watch the expressions on your family's faces. It's that list.