I had heard that new restaurant, Bettina, has amazing pizzas so we decided to try it out since it mentioned gluten-free options on their online menu. The restaurant itself was very appealing. My kids loved it because it is located at the Montecito Country Mart where they have a fire truck, carousel and horse that will move for a couple of quarters. The bad news is that the GF pizza is not celiac safe. They use the same oven surface as their regular pizzas. The good news is that they have a fantastic shrimp dish on the menu which is GF. The sauce was so buttery and flavorful that I found myself trying to get every last drop of it. I was a bit surprised that the non-GF “gluten-free” crust had an upcharge of $5 on the menu. I could understand it if they had to take special steps to avoid cross contamination, but as that wasn’t the issue, it seemed high to me.
Bettina
11 DecMizza
4 Dec
Ever since the restaurant Pizza Mizza closed, I had been meaning to try Mizza. I always liked Pizza Mizza’s gluten-free crust which was made with cup-4-cup flour and cooked on a clean surface. However, when my husband and I tried Mizza today, we found out that the GF pizza option they have is cooked on the same surface as the regular pizzas. After speaking with the manager, he confirmed that the new Mizza Pizza delivery service (are all of these names confusing you yet?) is made in a different kitchen than Mizza and they are able to cook the GF pizzas on a clean surface. Hooray! If you want to eat at Mizza, there are still some gluten-free options for you. I had the chopped salad while my husband had the arugula and roasted potato salad.
I also ordered the pan seared halibut for my son and to bring home as leftovers. It was served with heirloom tomatoes, roasted potatoes, carrots and broccolini.
Although I was bummed to not have gluten-free pizza for lunch, I was glad to have some safe GF options to choose from. I do love that the restaurant is in La Arcada as the courtyard is particularly magical this time of year with the holiday decorations.
gluten-free in sb 