Last weekend, we found ourselves a little north of Santa Barbara as we spent the day visiting the Folded Hills Farmstead to pick some berries and feed the animals. After working up an appetite, we headed to Fitzpatrick’s Tavern in Solvang as I had discovered them on the Find Me Gluten-Free app. I always get a kick out of visiting Solvang with their horse-drawn wagons, wind mills and Danish architecture. After talking at length with our waitress, I learned that they have GF buns, they prepare them on a portion of the grill that is not contaminated with gluten, and they have a dedicated fryer for their fries. I had a cheeseburger but might try the Spicy Melt burger next time. If you are looking for a no frills, standard (and safe) burger and fries this is your place.
Fitzpatrick’s Tavern Pub & Grill
25 AugSharky’s Woodfired Mexican Grill
15 Jul
Braving the smoke in Goleta from the Whittier Fire, we decided to try Hollister Village’s newest restaurant, Sharky’s Woodfired Mexican Grill. When I looked at their menu online before heading there, I found that they seek out organic, local ingredients which was very appealing to me. I ended up ordering the Sharky’s Quinoa Salad with tofu added on. This salad was uber healthy but filling at the same time. It had organic red and white quinoa, organic baby spinach, cabbage, jicama, cucumber, sweet peppers, green onions, cilantro, avocado and toasted flax and chia seeds. The dressing was an avocado vinaigrette. Online, they have a gluten-free menu guide which is very helpful, noting that the fryer is used for items that contain gluten.
Somerset – CLOSED
22 May
Last week, we went on a much needed date night to the newer restaurant, Somerset. We sat in the beautiful garden courtyard which has gotten a major facelift since the Arts & Letters Cafe days. With tons of copper patio heaters to keep you warm, it is such a nice setting to spend a Santa Barbara evening out in.
Our waitress was familiar with Celiac Disease which is always reassuring. She walked me through the menu pointing out which items were truly gluten-free and which would have cross contamination. We started with the Spring Vegetables which came with fava tendrils, salsa verde and crème fraîche. I loved the freshness of this dish, especially the perfectly cooked brussels sprouts and asparagus. I then ordered the Burrata with grilled asparagus, prosciutto, mustard greens, cured egg yolk and pine nut breadcrumbs. For this, I had to omit the breadcrumbs. 
In hindsight, I would have passed on this dish as it felt very similar to the first starter we ordered. I also had it without the egg yolk, so perhaps that would have added a little more complexity to the taste to differentiate it from the first dish. For my main dish, I ordered Braised Short Rib Osso Buco.
This was accompanied by polenta, swiss chard, cipollini onions and a horseradish gremolata. The polenta was about 50% butter which was awesome, because butter. But it also made it so rich that I had a hard time finishing more than half of the dish. I think that had I skipped the starters, I could have polished this off as the meat was so tender. I wasn’t planning on ordering dessert, but then our waitress alerted me that their Chocolate Walnut Torte was made using Thomas Keller’s gluten-free Cup4Cup flour mix. Sold.
The salted caramel was a fantastic addition to the torte. The only part of the menu that we didn’t explore was the cocktail menu as I am currently not drinking. However, one of our neighboring tables had a frothy looking concotion that looked quite intriguing. The restaurant is definitely a littly pricy compared to your average Santa Barbara restaurant. But sitting in that courtyard is worth it, even if you only go for drinks and dessert.
Pickles & Swiss
16 Jan
This past weekend I went on a lunch date with my 96-year old grandma. She loves a good sandwich, so we decided to try the new location of Pickles & Swiss at Hollister Village in Goleta. When ordering, I found out that the cashier thought she may have celiac. Not so awesome for her, but awesome for me as I knew that she would ensure my sandwich would remain gluten-free. She had the staff change their gloves and the sandwich was placed on a GF-specified tray before being heated in the toaster. I had the tuna melt which was perfectly gooey and yummy. If you are in downtown Santa Barbara, you can also try their Paseo Nuevo location. I’ve eaten successfully at that location a handful of times as well since I wrote about them 4 years ago.
Gluten Free and Allergen Friendly Expo
6 Jan
Hi GFSB! There is an event coming up in Del Mar, CA on February 11-12 that many of you would be interested in attending – the Gluten Free & Allergen Friendly Expo. This event is perfect for anyone with celiac disease or a special diet.
If you are interested in volunteering, they need help! Volunteers get free entry to the Expo and a t-shirt in exchange for working at shift at the event. Those interested should fill out this form.
If you would like to attend, but don’t want to volunteer, let me know and I will get you a $5-off coupon that you can use towards tickets.
Mesa Burger
5 Jan
I love a good burger, but let’s be honest. Having a burger wrapped in lettuce isn’t quite as satisfying as sinking into a bun. So when I saw that Mesa Burger, co-owned by Cat Cora, had a gluten-free bun on their menu, I was cautiously optimistic. When I started to question the cashier taking my order, he didn’t know the answers offhand, but he was able to find someone that did. The gluten-free buns are Udi’s and they are heated on a designated gluten-free area of the flattop. I ordered the Mesa Burger with a turkey burger, gluten-free bun, grilled onions and no sauce. Sadly, the special “Mesa Burger Sauce” has soy sauce in it so it is off limits. The fries are also a no-go for us celiacs as they only have the one fryer and it is contaminated. Wouldn’t it be nice if any future locations had a second fryer for us GF folk? I had my burger with a side salad which usually has croutons on it.
When my food arrived, I checked it as I always do and found that they had forgotten to leave off the sauce. After an apology from the manager and a quick redo, I was able to sink into the burger. The burger itself was good and the salad tasted fresh. If I were to make any changes, I would switch to Canyon Bakehouse hamburger buns as I find that they do not fall apart as easily as Udi’s. Two of my dining companions had the veggie burger and raved about the texture and taste of it. After asking about it, we were told that it is gluten-free, non-GMO and vegan and is made by Hungry Planet.
Little Kitchen
11 Nov
Whenever I see gluten-free bread listed on a menu, I am always skeptical. More often than not, it is prepared with no consideration to the people that actually will get ill if they consume gluten. So when I visited Little Kitchen in downtown Santa Barbara, I was pleasantly surprised. Upon asking the owner how they prepare the sandwiches with gluten-free bread, she asked if I was celiac and then explained that her good friend is as well. She then assured me that my sandwich would be prepared in a clean pan rather then the usual flat top. Additionally, she proactively walked over to the chef making the food to have him change his gloves and clean the work space. I ordered the Vineyard Chicken Sandwich with chips (the fries are made in a contaminated fryer). It had organic chicken with a balsamic glaze, goat cheese, caramelized onions, butter lettuce, tomato and rosemary garlic aioli served on BFree’s GF Brown Seeded Sandwich Bread. I had never had this GF bread before but found that it had a really good consistency and taste. The restaurant itself has a super cool decor. It is located right next to the Kitty which seems perfect as they also offer up a very appealing late night menu. I can’t wait to go back to try their grilled cheese (hello Sriracha mayo)!
Caffe Primo
2 Nov
This past weekend, we took a break from making dinner and headed downtown to Caffe Primo with some friends. The restaurant is right on State Street which allows for some some good people watching, or if you are my toddler, some good trolley sightings. After talking to our waitress, I learned that the tots and fries on the appetizer menu were definitely not GF due to contaminated oil. However, she assured me that I could order the GF pasta as it would be cooked in a clean pot of water and handled with clean tools. I went with the Short Rib Pappardelle with the gluten-free penne. I was exceedingly hungry so I finished my meal quite quickly. I think if I were to return, I’d probably go with something else though as I didn’t find the dish to be memorable. There was definitely a level of comfort with the waitress though as she knew what gluten was and understood cross contamination.
AH Juice
28 Jul
Hello there. Do you remember me? I haven’t forgotten about you. Life has just been quite busy. I had the urge to try somewhere new in Santa Barbara this past week which led me to AH Juice on Haley Street. This 100% organic cafe just steps from The Mill offers plenty of naturally GF foods. I ordered the Wild Smoked Salmon Free Range Scramble without the toast. The quality of the salmon was outstanding and I loved the slices of avocado that came with the sautéed veggies.
Speaking of The Mill, I’d like to congratulate GFSB’s cofounder, Courtney, on her recent wedding which took place at Potek Winery. With a very cool setting, an entirely gluten-free menu compliments of Wildwood Kitchen and Lilac Patisserie, and good company, it was one of my favorite weddings I’ve been to! Good luck to you and your husband in SLO! The GF community there will be lucky to have you! Stepping into Courtney’s role for Gluten-Free Santa Barbara will be Emily Luxford, MS, RD. Emily has “developed and published research regarding dietary modification. Emily’s focus is individualized medical nutrition therapy. Her practice includes evidence based nutrition intervention for cardiovascular disease, diabetes, renal disease, gastrointestinal disorders, bariatric surgery nutrition support and disease prevention.” Come meet us at one of our monthly meet-ups at Lilac Patisserie. If you ever have any questions, you can also always send us a message through Facebook!
Kanaloa Seafood
19 Feb
Every time that I drive by Kanaloa Seafood Market on Chapala, I always think that that their patio looks so appealing. That, mixed with the fact that it is always busy when I drive by, finally convinced me to try it out. One of the things that makes Kanaloa stand out is that they promote and support environmentally responsible, scientifically sustainable fisheries.
From their website, “Kanaloa is the only International Organization of Standardization-certified seafood company in North America, earning our ISO 14001 certification through regular third party audits of our environmental management practices, and our continuous effort to reduce the size of the environmental footprint of our entire business, including our eco-packaging and shipping methods.”
I ordered two of the Pacific Tacos. I’m glad that I didn’t get three since they were huge. The tacos were served on corn tortillas and had sautéed swordfish with poblano peppers, onions, cabbage, pico de gallo and their house salsa. I am a huge fan of fish tacos, so I assumed that I would enjoy these. Not only were these good, they were tremendously good. The poblano peppers and onions mixed with the swordfish were such a good combination that I will be thinking of these for days to come.
gluten-free in sb 