It has been quiet on the blog as I have been doing what everyone else is currently doing… adapting to life with a global pandemic. As a lot of people find themselves cooking more, I have purposefully tried to get takeout more in an effort to support our local restaurants. There are so many great options in the Santa Barbara area. For the latest on my local finds, I recommend checking out my Instagram – @glutenfreeinsantabarbara. It is a way for me to highlight some great local businesses in a fraction of the time that it would take to do a blog post.
On Tuesday, I tried Neighbor Tim’s BBQ for the first time. It was definitely off the beaten path as it was in the back of a parking lot on a side street near the airport. But it was worth the trek as everything I had was insanely good. All of their smoked meats, sides (other than their mac n’ cheese) and BBQ sauce are gluten-free. They even had their sauce lab tested to be certified gluten-free. I ordered the pulled pork sandwich without a bun. It came with one side – I chose the bacon baked beans. I also got a side of the corn and bean salad. When I got home, I made a sandwich out of the meat with a Canyon Bakehouse bun. It was perfect for soaking up all of the delicious BBQ sauce.
I hope you and yours are all staying healthy and sane-ish. Please let me know if there are any great local gluten-free options that I haven’t visited yet, and please… wear a mask.
Living in Santa Barbara, there is no shortage of Mexican restaurants. However, there are limited spots that offer chips that are truly gluten-free. 
While that may be true, I had no trouble finishing them off with minimal help from my husband. When you start with a chip that is as good as their’s, you are guaranteed to have some tasty nachos. This is the perfect quick meal to have while taking a break from exploring all of the nearby wine tasting rooms.
After the 
I am pretty sure I have found my new favorite dish in town. A friend and I decided to try 
I liked the heat of the cucumber along with the toasted garlic, but my favorite was the kale salad. When I ordered the salads, I was told that all of the ones that were in the case that day were gluten-free, even though not all of them were labeled as such. When I asked why they weren’t all labeled GF, I was told that they only put the GF on the items that typically weren’t so that their customers would know. This seems like a horrible idea. You should label the items that are gluten-free whether or not those items are “typically” safe or not safe. I confirmed the ingredients and preparation for the three items I selected, but it definitely leads me to believe that they need to rethink their labeling strategy to avoid miscommunication. When you have celiac, you can never make assumptions about your food whether it is labeled GF or not.
Happy New Year! It has been nonstop here for the past few months between holidays, work, and taking care of the kiddos. For that reason, I was super excited to get out of the house and try a new restaurant. 
My favorite of the three would have to be the shishito peppers.
I asked about the sashimi carpaccio offerings as well. Our waiter let me know that none of the listed sauces were safe. However, they could substitute pure yuzu as an option. I ordered the yellowtail carpaccio in that style and was happy with the taste. I then ordered some nigiri. The wasabi that they use isn’t fresh wasabi (our waiter told us that it is too expensive), so I ordered it without. I don’t tend to trust wasabi pastes as they can have fillers like wheat starch that are not gluten-free. I also asked about the sushi rolls that they offer. Unfortunately, the restaurant soaks their seaweed in soy sauce so those are off limits. I like having another option for Asian cuisine in Santa Barbara. However, I still wish that we could have one restaurant in town that is totally GF friendly, offers sushi and has a gluten-free fryer like 
Friends of ours recently got married on the east coast, but we were unable to make the trip. Upon their return to Santa Barbara, we took them out to 
Both were gluten-free as is. The peppers had a perfect char to them. The tonnato sauce wasn’t bursting with flavor, but the peppers were plenty flavorful on their own. The tuna starter was very light. Again, the sauce wasn’t memorable. However, the melons that came with the dish were incredibly fresh and tasty.
For the main course, the new bride and I shared the Whole Roasted Branzino and the Scallops. The branzino was cooked so that the skin turned out nice and crispy. The only thing I had altered in the branzino was that they removed the head and tail for me rather than serving it whole which is just a personal preference. The scallops were served with pork belly, so they were a winner before even tasting one bite.
Overall, we had a really nice evening. The food, service and ambiance all made the night feel more special than our typical meal out, which made it the perfect place to celebrate the newlyweds.
This month, we decided to try 
Neither of the starting dishes were memorable. Since the tacos and enchiladas were off the table for me, I had the Carne Asada as my main dish. 
This dish was okay but I would try something else if I returned. Sadly, it wasn’t as GF-friendly of an experience as it was when the restaurant was Smithy (remember that GF pasta?! mmmm). I love the outdoor patio here, but I don’t know if that is enough to get me to come back.
We were in Park City for my birthday this year and I was craving sushi, so we ended up at 
They had a bunch of cold plates that were gluten-free, so I tried the citrus hamachi. This was pretty light. I would probably try another dish next time though as it wasn’t as flavorful as I had anticipated.
And then there was the sushi menu… I got a bit overwhelmed since so many rolls were safe for me to eat. Due to the fact that tempura is usually not an option for me, I opted for two rolls: the Executive and the Green Hornet.
The executive had gluten-free tempura shrimp, avocado, cilantro and was topped with tuna, lime, sweet soy & habanero sauces. This was good, but the Green Hornet was even better.
It had spicy tuna, tempura shishito peppers, avocado, cilantro and a jalapeño aioli. YUM. For birthdays, I always opt for experiences over gifts, so I continued the celebration the next day by attempting to ski jump at the Utah Olympic Park. Attempting to do something like that when you are 35 means that two weeks later, your body is still feeling it. There may or may not be footage of me taking a spill down the ski ramp while all of the 10-year old ski jump campers look on.
Our go-to spot in Park City is 
gluten-free in sb 