I know this has nothing to do with food, or Santa Barbara for that matter. But I had to take a little time out of my day to wish our puppy a happy birthday. A little less than two years ago, we rescued her from a shelter in Baltimore, MD. We decided to give her the birthday 10/10 because my memory is awful and it was easy to remember. So happy birthday to the most wiggly, adorable and wonderful puppy.
If you were to ask me what my top three breakfasts in Santa Barbara were, this would be one of them. It isn’t even a breakfasty type dish. But for me, it is the most wonderful way to start a day. Tupelo Junction‘s red beans and rice is so colorful and delicious. It consists of red beans, rice, roasted shallots, corn, spinach, tomatoes and parmesan. Yum.
See that really dark picture? It is hard to make out, but that is a delicious bowl of GF pasta with bolognese sauce ready to be pounced on. We went to Ca Dario last night, which was clearly the right decision when I saw on the specials menu, “Gluten-free pasta with choice of any sauce.” It was the most hearty, rich bowl of pasta I have had in a long time, which was perfect after not having anything to eat all day. Even better, they gave me a side of parmesan that I dumped on the pasta to make it even more fantastic. When making the reservation, I had asked if they would have GF pasta available tonight and they confirmed, but I would check with them if you are planning on dining there.
The Classic Margherita Pizza
We tried to go to Taffy’s tonight to try their GF pizza. When we got there though, they told us that they didn’t have any crusts at that moment. We were kind of set on pizza, so we decided to try Pizza Mizza instead. I am very glad we did. These GF pizzas were 9″ so they were more of a personal pie size. I liked the crust a bit better than Pizza Guru’s. It was firm enough to pick up, and it had a good taste to it. We ordered the Classic Margherita Pizza with garlic and the Pesto Veggie Combo without mushrooms. My husband and I both liked the Pesto Veggie Combo better than the Margherita but they were both tasty. As far as the cross contamination issues, I was told that they use a different pizza cutter for the GF pies. However, I had to request that the pizza be placed on a separate surface than their regular pizzas. So, if you eat GF out of necessity, make sure that you follow-up with the staff.
Pesto Veggie Combo Pizza
The last leg of our trip this summer was the one I was most anxious about. I had read about the French being difficult for others trying to eat GF. I did a bunch of research and had a whole spreadsheet of places that would be open in August and could be accommodating for a celiac and a vegetarian. Overall, I did not get sick AND I found my new passion….. le macaron.
We stayed in the 6th Arrondissement at the Relais Christine Hotel, which was in a great area and was quite charming. We walked around a bit when we arrived, stopping at Maisen Larnicol where I had my first macaron… salted caramel. It was love at first bite. For dinner, we walked to a place called Au Gourmand. As I was showing the waiter/manager my GF travel card in French, he explained to me that he was a Celiac as well (and lactose intolerant). I knew I was in good hands. He brought me GF bread (which was a bit crumbly but I wasn’t about to complain). He also brought out some truffle mashed potatoes when we were waiting for our dishes that was unbelievable. I couldn’t believe my luck… a Parisian celiac on the first night! After dinner, we walked back to our hotel neighborhood and got some gelato in a lively nook. The gelato place was called Amorino and seemed like quite the hot spot.
Looking down from the Eiffel Tower
For our first full day in Paris, we woke up early and had the hotel buffet breakfast. For me, this meant fruit and tea, but they also had meats, cheeses and yogurt that appeared GF. We decided to walk to the Eiffel Tower which was a bit of a hike. When we got there, we figured we might as well climb the stairs to get to the top. After descending, we walked to the Arc de Triumphe. Despite getting caught in the rain unprepared, it was an enjoyable walk. We then walked along the Champs d’ Elysees back in the direction of our hotel. By this time, we were getting hungry and cranky so we stopped to get lunch at Fauchon. They have prepared foods for purchase with window seating that overlooks Place de la Madeline. I had a very tasty risotto and a salad. After eating, we stopped in their shop next door for some macarons. We then walked back within the Jardin Tuileries and upon arriving at our hotel, crashed due to our tired legs. Upon waking, we decided to walk around our neigborhood to find a dinner place. We decided on Cafe Buci, mostly due to the location. It was on a great people watching corner with a fantastic sounding jazzy, New Orleans-style band playing across the street. The food was pretty awful. I had steak but it was almost inedible. However, the ambiance was perfect. We then walked to see the Notre Dame lit up at night which was quite beautiful. After that, we called it a day.
The next morning marked one year since we got married in Santa Barbara. I understand we set the bar pretty high by having our first anniversary in Paris, but that is how I like to roll. We had breakfast at the hotel and then got an early start at the Louvre. It is a HUGE museum… we were there for a good 4 hours until we reached the point in which it was necessary to eat. We tried going to a place that was on my list called Biobia, but they were closed because it was Sunday. Instead, we found a cute looking bistro called LeBis where I enjoyed a salad with rice on it and frites. Once we finished, we were on a mission to find a lock. There is a bridge called Pont des Arts where people from around the world have fastened their locks to the fenced sides with words of hope and love adorning the locks. There must be thousands of these locks that cross the River Seine. We finally purchased a lock and wrote a little message on it. Then, we carefully picked a spot that we would remember and attached our little lock of love to this bridge. After that, we visited the Notre Dame which was quite beautiful. Once we were done taking it all in, we walked to Jardin de Luxembourg. This was a perfect place to sit for awhile and just take in the moment. It also gave us time to formulate a game plan. One year ago, we had a Mexican fiesta wedding and swore that every year after that, we would celebrate by eating Mexican food. In Paris, this is easier said than done. After returning to our room and doing some research online, we found a place called Rice and Beans that looked very promising. However, to get there, we had to walk through a slightly sketchy neighborhood that was full of adult shops and peep shows. Finally, we got there, only to find out that the only thing they had available on the menu were the burritos and guacamole. This GF lady ended up having a burrito sans the tortilla with a side of guacamole. We finished the day by stopping at Maisen Larnicol to get some more macarons and caramels.
Locks on Pont des Arts
Our last full day in Paris started with the hotel breakfast again. We then took the metro to Invalides. After taking the metro back to our arrondissement, we decided to have lunch at Laduree. I had an unbelievable delicious salad and some tea. Then we got to the good part. We got in line to purchase some macarons. I might have gone a little crazy with buying these little goodies. We took our beautiful treats and brought them to a bench in the Louvre so that I could happily consume the box’s contents. About five seconds later, there was no evidence that 8 perfect macarons had been in the gorgeous box. We had some time to kill so we walked to Jardin de Luxembourg where we had a little siesta in the sun. After bronzing, we headed back to the hotel to get ready for dinner. The hotel concierge recommended Fontaine de Mars, so we decided to go there. We both started with a really tasty goat cheese and tomato dish. I then had steak frites which was quite good. Finally, I sealed the meal with a great creme brulee. We took the metro back to the hotel after the meal and started to pack for our trip back home.
All night, I dreamed about the Laduree macarons, so the first thing we did when we woke up was to run to Laduree and buy some for our family as well as a few for ourselves. On our flight back home, I officially fell in love with British Airways operated by Open Skies. They served a mini-package of Laduree macarons. After noticing that I didn’t care for the GF meal served, the flight attendant gave me two extra boxes of the macarons which I happily accepted and consumed.
GF muffin, cookie and thumbprint
This morning, I really wanted a muffin, so we tried Our Daily Bread. They have loaves of GF bread for purchase, carrot cake muffins, cookies and thumbprint pastries. I asked if they could make their sandwiches with the bread, but they said no. It also seemed like they weren’t too careful about cross contamination. After using tissue to handle my husband’s muffin, the man then went to use the same piece of tissue on my GF items before we stopped him. It is definitely exciting to have more options in town, but I hope that businesses take the whole GF thing seriously and educate themselves and their staff.
Tonight we decided to try Palazzio and their GF pasta. We shared the caesar salad without croutons. Then, I ordered the fusilli shrimp pompeii with the GF “noOodle“. Our waiter explained that it is 95% water and 5% yam flour. Yeah… that sounded weird to me too. It had something of a thin rice noodle consistency. I ordered a saucy dish since the waiter mentioned it was a bit strange tasting on its own. It wasn’t bad. I prefer rice pasta, but at zero calories, I am not complaining.
Our trip to London was a quick one. My brother that has Celiac lives there, so it was nice seeing his neighborhood. When we arrived to our hotel, we had about ten minutes to get ready for dinner which was in our hotel. We went to Bar Boulud, located at the Manderin Oriental at Hyde Park. They had GF bread for me which my brother informed me was the Genius Bread by Glutino. It was quite tasty. I also had salad, a huge bowl of mussels and frites. They seemed well-informed of what was GF and wasn’t.
The next morning, we had breakfast at the hotel. This meant more GF bread which went perfectly with some eggs and fruit. We took a bus tour of London so that we could pack the most sightseeing in for a short visit. After working up an appetite by climbing to the top of St. Paul’s Church, it was time to find some food. We got back on the bus and got off again at the Tower of London. We intended to eat at Wagamama, a GF-friendly noodle chain, but the location at the Tower was closed. Instead, we went to GBK, a burger place that had a whole sheet listing what I could and could not have. Particularly tasty was the garlic mayo I got to dip my “chips” in.
We then did a tour of the Tower of London which was incredibly interesting. My favorite things to see were the crown jewels, but the white chapel that held the armor and artillery was fascinating too. We then took the bus back to Hyde Park and walked around Harrods for a bit. That store is insane. You could spend a whole day there and still not see everything. We then prepared for our dinner at Dinner. As this was located in our hotel, they too had the GF bread. This restaurant was really creative. Their menu is based on “historic British gastronomy”. I started with the meat fruit, a recipe that comes from about 1500. I then shared the wing rib of Irish angus which was a dish from about 1830. Everything was delicious.
The next morning, we had breakfast at the hotel again and then walked to Buckingham Palace. We got there in time for the changing of the guard, which we all found pretty dull. We then walked to Westminster Abbey which was unreal. After spending time there, we took a cab to our lunch destination, Cotto. If you have celiac and are visiting London, you must visit this place. GF pizza, pasta, bread and desserts dominated the menu. I had a pizza while my husband ordered a GF pasta so that I could try it. The owner, Leno (who was awesome), then brought me a tiramisu. Now I have never had tiramisu, so I had nothing to compare it to… but this thing was SO good. The rest of the day was spent walking around and window shopping. Before we knew it, dinner time had arrived. My brother insisted we go to a place called Hunan, a chinese restaurant where you tell them what you can’t eat, and they take care of the rest. The man in charge did a good job at telling my brother and I which dishes we could not eat. However, it was a little confusing some of the times when others brought our dishes out. It was a really interesting take on eating out though.
We would love to return to London, especially to try more restaurants. My brother has found tons of GF options there in just one year. It was definitely helpful that there was not a language barrier.
View from Hotel Caruso in Ravello, Italy
This past summer, we went on a family trip to Italy, London and then my husband and I continued on to Paris. This post will share some restaurant recommendations for Italy, the most GF leg of the trip. As a note, I had printed out travel cards in both Italian and French to prepare for this trip, but found that I rarely had to use them!
The first unexpected GF surprise occurred on our flight to Italy. While flying British Airways, I was served a really tasty gluten-free pound cake. This thing was fantastic. On the packaging, there wasn’t a brand name, but it gave an email contact which was: handmadepastries@gmail.com. I haven’t had a chance to get in touch with them, but if pound cake is/was your thing, you must get a hold of this item.
Once we arrived in Italy, we made our way to the spectacular Hotel Caruso in Ravello, Italy. We decided to have dinner at the hotel for the first night as it came highly recommended and was convenient after a day of travel. The meal started out great. They served me GF bread and seemed on top of everything. Later in the meal, however, we were all served an item that they assured me was GF. After taking a bite, I knew it tasted off. It was at that moment that the server explained to another person at the table that the dish was soaked in beer. This was a frustrating way to start the trip, but after that, there were no more issues.
After a great breakfast the next day of GF bread, fruit and eggs, we headed to Mt. Vesuvius where we climbed to the top. After descending, our driver for the day brought us to a fantastic lunch spot called Primo Amore. I had trouble finding it online, but if you are near Pompeii, speak to a local and find out where this place is. I know that it was not right near Pompeii, but maybe a half hour away. They had fresh GF rolls that they served my brother and I (One of my two brothers also has Celiac). They also had a GF beer I had never had, as well as pasta and gnocchi for us!
After lunch, we explore Pompeii with a guide which was an unbelievable experience. To see this whole city intact was mindblowing. After we were done, we headed back to the hotel and decided to try a local place for dinner. After walking through the incredibly charming town of Ravello, we went to a restaurant called The Garden. There, my brother and I had unbelievable GF pasta dishes. Mine had sun dried tomatoes that were beyond amazing. The tomatoes from this region alone are worth the trip.
Hotel Caruso Pool
The next day, we had the hotel breakfast again and then got some pool time in. This pool pretty ridiculous. It had an infinity edge with views of the mountains, Amalfi Coast and Tyrrhenian Sea. For lunch, one of my brothers joined my husband and I in walking around Ravello to find something to eat. We stopped to eat at La Vecchia Cantina. I had the seabass that was incredibly tasty. My brother was able to order a pasta dish that the restaurant made with rice rather than the non-GF pasta. They knew exactly what we meant when we said, “senza glutine”.
View from Villa Rufolo
We spent the rest of the afternoon walking around and meeting up with my parents to look at Villa Rufolo. This was an old home of a wealthy resident from many years ago. The views were insane. The architecture was also incredible… very rustic and beautiful. We then rushed back to the hotel to get ready for dinner. For dinner, we went to Don Alfonso which was one of those above and beyond meals. We had a private room for the 7 of us. When we arrived, they gave us a tour of their wine cellar which dates back to 6th century BC. The meal was fantastic. It was a LONG meal… about 4 1/2 hours… but it was delicious. In those hours, they served my brother and I GF breadsticks and 4 different kinds of gluten-free breads. Each of them were great. This place comes highly recommended.
The next morning, my husband and I had fruit while overlooking the pool. I then had a pre-birthday massage which was nice. For dinner, we walked to a place in Ravello called Cumpa Cosimo. I had tasty GF pasta with sausage. My mom, dad and husband all had the penne arrabiata which they finished immediately. The owner noticed, and returned with another huge portion for them to share. We loved this place. It was casual and delicious. After dinner, we went to the Ravello Music Festival. We saw the Berlin Philharmonic Sextet Virtuoso at the Oscar Niemeyer Auditorium. It was nice to be able to take advantage of the local music festival while we were there.
View of Positano from Boat
Our last full day in Italy happened to be my birthday. We chartered a boat to bring us to the island of Capri and along the Amalfi Coast. After walking around Capri for a bit, we got back on the boat to reach our lunch destination in Nerano. The restaurant was called Conca del Sogno. For lunch, I had GF pasta (big surprise there!). The waitress also brought out tons of items for the table to share including fresh cheese, cherry tomatoes with rocket, marinated tomatoes, zucchini and eggplant, salmon and anchovies. After a long day on the water, we returned to the hotel to relax until dinner. I wanted to try another local restaurant for my birthday, so we went to Salvatore’s in Ravello. I started with the caprese and then had fish. This restaurant was ok. If we went back, we would probably not return just because there are places that were so much better. After dinner, we went back to the hotel piano bar to have a drink. Upon asking them if any of the little desserts they brought out were GF, the waiter left and came back with a whole plate of little GF goodies. When my mom asked for a candle, they realized it was my birthday and had the pianist play “Happy Birthday” as I blew out my candle!
GF goodies at the Hotel Caruso piano bar
Ravello, Italy was a wonderful place to visit, and was so easy to eat gluten-free. I can’t wait to return there!
gluten-free in sb 