Traveling while gluten-free and vegan is entirely doable, I do it regularly for work, but it does require a little more intention than just showing up hungry and seeing what’s available. I learned that lesson memorably in Milwaukee, which you can read about in my first post. Since then, I’ve developed a mental framework for eating well on the road that I rely on every trip.
The honest answer is that your experience will vary a lot by city. A trip to a major metropolitan area is very different from a work conference in a mid-size town with limited options. But certain things hold true almost everywhere, and that’s what I want to share here.
Asian restaurants: your most reliable friend
If I’m in an unfamiliar city and need to eat, my first instinct is to find an Asian restaurant. Across Chinese, Thai, and Vietnamese cuisines especially, there is almost always something I can eat: rice, tofu dishes, vegetable stir-fries, rice noodles. The base ingredients align well with how I eat.
That said, there is one thing you cannot ignore at any Asian restaurant: soy sauce. Most conventional soy sauce contains wheat, and I have gotten sick from it. It’s not always obvious because the dish doesn’t taste like bread, but it’s there. When dining in, ask your server whether they have gluten-free soy sauce or tamari. Most places that see enough dietary requests will have it.
For takeout or delivery, when you can’t ask anyone, I follow a simple rule: avoid anything with a brown sauce and don’t use the soy sauce packet unless you can read the label and confirm it’s wheat-free. Some packets are fine; many are not. White sauces and dishes with no sauce at all are generally safer territory.
A cuisine-by-cuisine breakdown
Chinese: Usually a solid choice. Look for tofu dishes, vegetable dishes, and steamed rice. Apply the soy sauce rule above. Ask about the sauce before ordering anything sauced.
Thai: Generally very good. Thai cuisine leans heavily on rice and rice noodles, which are naturally gluten-free. The main thing to watch: many Thai dishes include egg as a default. Pad Thai, for example, is traditionally made with egg. Just ask for it without, most restaurants will accommodate this without blinking.
Japanese: More variable. Some Japanese restaurants will have plenty of options; others will have almost nothing that works once you factor out soy-based sauces, tempura batter, and egg. I always look at the menu online before committing to a Japanese spot. Don’t assume.
Korean: Rarely has dedicated vegan or gluten-free options. Meat is central to most dishes, marinades often contain soy sauce with wheat, and banchan (the small side dishes) can be unpredictable. I generally skip Korean restaurants when traveling unless I’ve researched a specific one in advance.
Ramen shops: Usually not workable. The broth is almost always meat-based and the noodles contain wheat. Some places now offer vegan broth and gluten-free noodles, but it’s the exception rather than the rule. Check the menu first.
Mexican: Can be a great option, but needs a little homework. Corn tortillas are naturally gluten-free, rice and beans are typically plant-based, and a good guacamole is one of the great travel foods. The catch: many Mexican restaurants have a limited vegetarian menu that leans heavily on cheese, sour cream, refried beans made with lard, and flour tortillas. It’s worth checking the menu online before you go to make sure there are actual options, not just one sad cheese quesadilla.
Vegan restaurants don’t automatically mean gluten-free
Most major cities now have dedicated vegan restaurants, which is wonderful, but don’t assume that vegan equals gluten-free. Many vegan restaurants use seitan (which is literally wheat gluten) as a meat substitute, and wheat shows up in plenty of plant-based sauces and preparations. A vegan menu is a great starting point, but you still need to scan for gluten. Always.
The apps that make all of this easier
Yelp has become one of my most-used travel tools. You can search by cuisine, filter by dietary options, read reviews from other people with dietary restrictions, and get a real sense of a place before you commit to showing up. Reviews from other gluten-free or vegan diners are particularly useful, they’ll tell you things the menu won’t.
Delivery apps like DoorDash, Grubhub, and Uber Eats, are genuinely useful even when I’m not ordering delivery. The menus are usually complete and easy to scroll through, which lets me assess a restaurant’s options from my hotel room before deciding whether it’s worth the trip. I use them as a research tool as much as an ordering platform.
The mindset that makes it work
Travel eating on a restricted diet rewards people who do a little planning and punishes people who wait until they’re starving to figure it out. Ten minutes of research before you leave your hotel or before you land, can be the difference between a great meal and a frustrating evening of trying to make a side salad work as dinner.
It gets easier the more you do it. You develop instincts for which cuisines to prioritize, which questions to ask, and which situations to avoid. And every once in a while, you stumble into an incredible meal in a city you didn’t expect. That part never gets old.