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Gluten-Free on I-95

I love traveling.. road trips, flying and even by boat. I just love to go.

I didn't travel a lot as a kid.. Until I was 10 the only states I'd been to were my home state of Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, West Virginia and Washington DC. By the time I'd graduated I had added North Carolina and Kentucky. I live in Florida now but my first time here was in 2002 and at 38 years of age I have only added South Carolina, Georgia, Texas, New York (airport only) and Connecticut to the list as well as The Bahamas (Freeport) and Cuba. I still have a million places I want to go..

Now though it's all a bit trickier because of my allergies.. I have been diagnosed as allergic to gluten, cats, pine trees and a few other things. I seem to have reactions to other things and need to be tested for more in addition to other health issues I have that food can complicate. This makes traveling HARD. I have to be careful at every place I go.. eating at events is completely out of the question now as cross contamination makes it impossible and finding dedicated gluten-free facilities is EXTREMELY rare, especially in the south.

On a recent trip back home to Virginia I pulled out my Find Me Gluten Free App and found a good lunch spot for me and the hubby to hit on our way up I-95. We found a little deli in the Richmond Hill area, right outside of Savannah, GA called Uptown Deli. It was rated amazing on the app by others with similar health issues so we went to check it out.
OMG.. from the moment we pulled up I was at ease. They clearly had everything marked that they catered to gluten-free and when I spoke with the gentleman at the counter I felt confident that our food would be safe. I ordered a grilled chicken, ham & cheese sandwich while hubby ordered a pastrami...

Listen..
This food was AMAZING. It had been at least a year since I had been able to walk into any place and order a HOT deli-style sandwich. The bun was soft and didn't taste like gluten-free bread, the meat was perfect and delicious.. the chips and pickle were the perfect addition. I was so happy after eating that lunch it made the rest of the road trip a breeze on a full belly of SAFE food which means more than anything when you're stuck in a car for hours on end! Hubby really enjoyed his meal as well and assured me we would be making a trip back to the area very soon so I could have this deliciousness again! I may need to grab a few extra pickles too.. lol



Grilled Chicken, Ham & Cheese (Kris' Sandwich)
Pastrami (Dom's Sandwich)

Once we hit North Carolina we passed a HUGE billboard for a place called JP's Pastry in a small town called Benson. It was already 7pm so we made note to hit it on the way back and that we did do. After getting turned around once (one-way, small town streets..lol) we pulled up in front of a building that let you know immediately they are there for ALL your GF needs with their awning, banners and door decals... you cannot miss it!

I jumped out and went inside and was floored. There is a small lobby area with an office off of it and a bakery in the back can be seen as well but the products up front were my focus. They had a commercial display fridge and freezer as well as a few shelves of fresh baked goods and it was ALL GLUTEN-FREE. From fresh Hawaiian rolls (we bought a pack of course), to pepperoni loaves, alfredo, cheesecake, cupcakes, cheese sticks and more this place was PACKED with so many amazing options. I could have easily spent an entire paycheck in this place. It is seriously a gluten-free dream and one I am so glad we found! We will be ordering some delivery (limited during summer months) and stopping there any time we head up or down I-95.



It was so hard to choose!!!

So when we got home I of course had to make something yummy with the Hawaiian Rolls.. it had been over a year since I had been able to eat one! I made some fries in our air-fryer that we have kept gluten-free and cooked up some steak to make sliders out of the rolls. It was AMAZING!!!


Steak Sliders

So if you guys find yourself traveling on I-95 between NC and GA make sure you check out these two spots, even if you aren't gluten-free. I promise you will NOT be disappointed!!!

❤
~Kris


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