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Santa Barbara Fair

29 Apr

When we used to live in Santa Barbara, we would go to the fair every year. Since it was our first year back, there was no way we were going to miss it. There is something so enjoyable about laughing like a hyena while being tossed upside down and spinning around. The options for food were a bit limited as expected. I got corn on the cob without the fake butter topping.

I also couldn’t pass up the kettle corn. Since all it consists of is corn, oil, sugar and salt, it was gluten free. We finished this disgustingly fast. It was that good.

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Taking Advantage of the Ridiculous Weather

28 Apr

After an excruciating day at work, I felt the need to take advantage of the beautiful weather and have an al fresco dinner. We went to Pierre Lafond on State Street and sat on their patio so we could watch all of the people in town for the Gaucho Reunion. I ordered the Greek Shrimo Salad as my main dish which was tasty, but could have used some more shrimp. We also shared a side of the grilled broccolini.

This had the perfect amount of salt, and was speedily consumed. After dinner, it was still warm out so we walked to Yogurtland to get some frozen yogurt. I love how they have each flavor labeled whether it is GF or not. I got the peanut butter flavor and topped it with reeses peanut butter cups.

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Baked Potato at Natural Cafe

27 Apr

We closed on a house this past week and have been celebrating with tons of Mexican Food. So, for tonight, we decided to go a little healthier with a baked potato at Natural Cafe. There is just something about a baked potato that is so satisfying. Does anyone have any tips for other great baked potatoes in the area?

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Cafe Luna

25 Apr

My celiac friend and I spent the day exploring Summerland and the antique shops that line Lillie Avenue. When hunger struck, we stopped at Cafe Luna to get some food. They do not have GF bread, but they will make any of their sandwiches into a salad. I had the turkey sandwich as a salad. It came with cheese, sun dried tomatoes and onions with a balsamic vinaigrette.

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Gluten-Free Pizza Night

22 Apr

We wanted to have a low key dinner last night so we headed over to Pizza Guru. We ordered two pizzas to share. The first was the White House with no chicken. It came with a garlic white sauce, basil, artichoke hearts, onions and mozzarella topped with cilantro and sun dried tomatoes. We also ordered the Guru Baja.

This pizza had a baja black bean base, shredded pepper jack cheese, red and green peppers, carmelized onions and was topped with lettuce, pico de gallo, crumbled cotija cheese, cilantro-lime sour cream and avocado. I really liked the heat from the pepper jack cheese. As we were leaving, I bought a GF chocolate chip cookie to enjoy when we got home!

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Sunny Saturday

21 Apr

I had a rare Saturday off and it was so sunny outside so a friend and I took advantage of the outdoor patio at Scarlett Begonia. I had the shrimp and grits which were served with poached eggs. Ever since my trip to New Orleans, I have had a craving for shrimp and grits so this was the perfect fix.

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Date Night at Julienne

20 Apr

It has been a bit crazy around here since we are nearing the end of closing on a house. Last night, we were both up to going out for dinner so I took the opportunity to bring my husband to Julienne to celebrate our impending home ownership. We started with the Cauliflower Florets which included diced carrot, parsley, Tuscan kale and micro grated Pecorino Romano. Then I had the Little Gems.

I loved this salad. It had roasted beets, radishes, walnut, French feta (my favorite part) and a Fennel Pollen Vinaigrette. For my main dish, I ordered the oven roasted pork belly. Pork belly….mmmmmm.

Topped with toasted mustard, this was fantastic. It was served with brussels sprouts, carrots and apple sauce. For dessert, we shared their ice cream of the day which was an orange creamsicle flavor. It reminded me of having an Orange Julius in my younger years.

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Root 246

14 Apr

From the moment we sat down, it was clear that we were going to have a great meal at Root 246 in Solvang. Our waitress, whose sister also has celiac disease, was incredibly helpful and informative. We started with an order of the nuts which were warm and served with lemon, thyme and salt.

My dad and I then shared two starters… the oysters and the mussels. The oysters were meaty and fresh.

The mussels and the sauce that they were cooked in were absolutely wonderful.

They were served with fries (GF!) that successfully soaked up all of the delicious sauce. Our waitress was very clear explaining that the fries were in a separate fryer. However, the fryer is next to another fryer (not connected to it), so there is a chance that oil could splatter from the fryer next to it. I took my chances because I was really craving fries.

For my main dish, I ordered the scallops which were served with pork belly. YUM. I am not ashamed to say that I finished every morsel of this dish. They were meant to be served with crispy mushrooms, but since those were not GF, I had it without them.

We ordered three side dishes to accompany our mains: broccolini with garlic and crushed almonds, crispy kale with salt and shishito peppers.

I enjoyed all three, but I think the kale was my favorite. It sort of melted in my mouth.

The shishito peppers were interesting and flavorful as well.

I wasn’t planning on having dessert. My mom ordered a scoop of their Tahitian Vanilla Ice Cream. My dad ordered the butterscotch pudding taster with a peanut butter cookie. When our waitress, Dana (I think that was her name), brought their desserts out, she brought me some sort of a chocolate flourless cake so that I would have something to eat.

Any restaurant that insists that I eat GF dessert is all right by me. We really thought his meal was fantastic. Even though I feel like I lucked out having our waitress, I got the impression that any of the staff there would be as competent as her.

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A Feast with the Family

12 Apr

My parents are in town so we decided to get some good Italian food for dinner. Once again, Olio e Limone proved to be one of the best restaurants in town. I started with the Insalata Primaverile which had mixed baby lettuces, grilled eggplant, roasted bell peppers and goat cheese with their olio e limone dressing. For my main dish, I had the Petti di Pollo Saltimbocca alla Val d’Ostana. Typically, the chicken is dusted with flour, so they just prepared mine without the flour.

This chicken breast was pounded very thin and then topped with prosciutto, fontina cheese and marsala wine. The dish was served with a side of potatoes and broccolini. Every time we eat here, it is just so darn good.

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Dinner at Cielito

12 Apr

Two nights ago, a friend and I went to Cielito for dinner. This was my first time in the restaurant portion of the restaurant/taqueria. Our waiter was really good about checking things in the kitchen for me. We started with some special which is pictured above. We also got the ceviche peruano which I liked. It had sea bass, aji amarillo pepper, red onion, red jalapeno, cucumber, crispy choclo (like corn nuts), sweet potato and a lime-ginger sauce.

I would get this dish again. We ordered the Tamal de Requeson y Acelgas next.

These corn tamales were steamed in corn husks and served with fresh ricotta cheese, swiss chard, thick cream and a roasted tomatillo sauce. I love tamales so they were consumed quite quickly. The last item we had was basically three fish tacos. With the fresh cilantro on top, they were fresh and tasty.

After eating, we walked upstairs to check out the space they had. There was a really cool lounge feel to one of the areas. There was also a great space for a dinner with friends upstairs. Perhaps I have found my birthday dinner location!

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