For parents of young children, sometimes you feel that a drink is necessary. Santa Barbara has no shortage of breweries or wine tasting rooms. But the breweries aren’t really a draw for Celiacs and sometimes wine just feels a little too refined when you’ve got boogers and spit up on you from your offspring. Enter the Santa Barbara Cider Company… an entirely gluten-free, family friendly tasting room and patio that still feels cool enough that your childless friends will want to make an afternoon or evening of hanging out there.
There are always 12 different ciders on tap, with 5 more taps coming in the near future. They have 4 different flavor profiles so there is truly something for everyone. The ciders feature fresh pressed juices (nothing from concentrate) that are sourced from three different states and there are no artificial colors, sweeteners or preservatives added. Basically you can feel good about getting your drink on. I did a taster flight so that I could sample their different flavors. I had Grow a Pear, Tropical Hopical, Viva and Homemade Apple Pie. My favorite was Grow a Pear, but Viva which combined pomegranate and lime was a close second. Homemade Apple Pie tasted exactly as it was intended, bringing back memories of Thanksgiving. The Tropical Hopical blended mango with hops and would be a good choice for those who would love the hoppy taste without the gluten. There are exclusively GF snacks for purchase (think potato chips, cookies and trail mix). They frequently have food trucks, but they can’t vouch for them being safe for celiacs as expected. I had Woodstock’s GF pizza delivered while we were there which went perfectly with the cider. If you want to have a drink with a side of corn hole, board games and fun tunes, Santa Barbara Cider Company is your new go-to place.
After spending the day downtown to attend the March For Our Lives, I thought it would be nice to support a local business that appeared to be gluten-free friendly by the looks of their menu. We’ve walked by 
The burger featured locally sourced beef on their cheese bread. Since I was unable to have their fries, I had this with the side salad which was another large portion. As much as I enjoyed having the option of eating a burger with a bun, I really want to return to try the Moqueca de Peixe as it is also naturally gluten-free and sounded very good.
gluten-free in sb 