Eating Gluten-Free in Thomas, West Virginia

Last weekend I visited Thomas, West Virginia. Thomas is a super small town in the Allegheny Mountains. My family has been going to Thomas for years, but I have a new appreciation for this small town since moving to the city.

The main street in Thomas offers antique stores, art galleries, and plenty of gluten-free and paleo friendly foods.

The Purple Fiddle

The Purple Fiddle a unique cafe and music venue. Even though the menu is small, I am always able to find something because they are so accommodating to dietary needs. They offer gluten-free bread for their sandwiches. Since I like to eat lower carb most of the time, I usually order one of the sandwiches as a salad for lunch to make it gluten-free.

They also serve alcohol and have a selection of ciders. I recommend Samuel Smith’s Organic Cider. It’s very low in sugar but not bitter. Also to drink, I found Spindrift sparkling water in their drink selection, which is similar to La Croix but flavored with real fruit. I tried the grapefruit flavor, which was so good! Their selection of organic tea is awesome as well. I tried the organic african nectar by Mighty Leaf and I highly recommend.

Grapefruit Spindrift and Organic African Nectar Tea from The Purple Fiddle

Thomas is worth a trip just to check out the Purple Fiddle and listen to the live music. I recommend going on a Saturday afternoon for lunch and listening to the afternoon band.

Wild turkey wrap as a salad, under the turkey is homemade spicy cranberry salsa, and walnuts. You could also get it on gluten-free bread.

Tip Top

Tip Top is a coffee shop, bakery, and bar down the street from The Purple Fiddle. Tip Top offers fair trade coffee, food, cocktails, and fair trade chocolate. There were so many gluten-free options here. They offered gluten-free bread with their brunch menu items and had some gluten-free bakery items. Also, on Fridays they have a burger night and serve local grass-fed beef!

I spent a lot of time browsing their fair trade chocolate selection. There were so many brands I’d never seen before, which is surprising since I frequent the chocolate aisle of Whole Foods. I decided on the Maple and Nibs and Smoked Chai bars from Raaka. They were both delicious, but the Maple and Nibs was my favorite! I also got a gluten-free banana nut muffin which was a nice treat.

Tip Top is decorated with beautiful local art on the walls and they have signs hanging that say “filter coffee not people.” I love spending time here on my trips to Thomas.

I was so pleasantly surprised with all the gluten-free options I was able to find on this one street in Thomas. I’m already looking forward to my next trip.

If you want to visit Thomas, West Virginia but are wondering what else to do besides main street I suggest: Blackwater Falls State Park- 5 miles away, Davis- 6 miles away, or Deep Creek Lake- 33 miles away.